I’m thrilled to have one of Austin RWA’s rising stars, Tracy Wolff joining us here today. She’s the acclaimed author of A Christmas Wedding and the incredibly hot Full Exposure (a big hit with some of the folks over here in Iraq). Tracy’s joining us today to share an excerpt from her new release Tie Me Down and she’ll be giving away a copy of her upcoming Spice Briefs to one lucky commenter!
Thanks so much, Jess, for having me here today. I love your blog and am thrilled to be a guest author here.
My new release, Tie Me Down, takes place in New Orleans, a city that I lived in for four years while I went to graduate school. It’s a city near and dear to my heart for a lot of reasons, including the fact that it is where I met my husband, fell in love, got married, had a baby, and where I learned to really be a grown-up. It is also the city where I learned how to cook. So, in light of that—and in celebration of my latest erotic suspense—I thought I’d share two of my favorite New Orleans recipes.
The first one is Mardi Gras Madness, an alcoholic party punch that packs an incredible wallop—but that is so good it’s hard to have just one. I should know, as it was my signature drink during the years I lived in the Big Easy. It helped that they sold it frozen at walk-up and drive-thru daiquiri stands in 32, 48 and 64 ounce varieties (did I mention that I turned 21 in New Orleans?)
Mardi Gras Madness
6 oz. Dark Rum
3 oz. curacao
12 oz. pineapple juice
12 oz. heavy cream
6 oz. cream of coconut
6 cups crushed ice
Directions: Mix ingredients in blender until smooth and creamy. Serve in a specialty glass. Rim glass with sugar. Serves eight
The second recipe I wanted to share with you is for Bananas Foster. One of the first really nice dates my husband (then boyfriend) took me on was to New Orleans’s famous Brennan’s restaurant. That’s where I had my very first taste of Bananas Foster—a house specialty as they invented it– as I gazed across the table at the man I was rapidly falling in love with, It’s been a favorite of mine ever since. This is Brennan’s actual recipe for the yummy dessert.
Bananas Foster (serves four)
– 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
– 1 cup brown sugar
– 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
– 1/4 cup banana liqueur
– 4 bananas, cut in half lengthwise, then halved
– 1/4 cup dark rum
– 4 scoops vanilla ice cream
- Combine the butter, sugar, and cinnamon in a flambé pan or skillet.
- Place the pan over low heat either on an alcohol burner or on top of the stove, and cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves.
- Stir in the banana liqueur, then place the bananas in the pan.
- When the banana sections soften and begin to brown, carefully add the rum.
- Continue to cook the sauce until the rum is hot, then tip the pan slightly to ignite the rum. When the flames subside, lift the bananas out of the pan and place four pieces over each portion of ice cream.
- Generously spoon warm sauce over the top of the ice cream and serve immediately.
I hope you enjoy the recipes as much as I do J
Oh, and one more thing—I’ve included an excerpt of Tie Me Down below. I hope you enjoy it.
“I’m sorry I jumped down your throat this afternoon.” She said the words quickly, as if they tasted bad.
“I thought that was my line.”
She shrugged. “Maybe both of ours?”
He nodded. “Okay.”
“So go ahead and say it.” She watched him expectantly.
“I’m sorry I was an ass this afternoon?”
“You’re not supposed to say it like it’s a question.”
He grinned because he couldn’t help himself. Then reached for her hand and tugged. “Come on in.” He dragged her through the living room and down the hallway to the kitchen. “You want a drink?” He nodded to the bottle of tequila on the counter.
She glanced at the discarded lime peels. “It looks like you’ve been drinking enough of that for both of us.”
“Not even close.” Then, because he couldn’t keep his hands to himself for one second longer, he pulled her into his arms. “I’m glad you came.”
“Me too.”
He rested his chin on the top of her head for a minute and just breathed in the sweet honey scent of her.
She shoved against his chest, pushed him away. And for a brief moment he felt bereft, though for the life of him he couldn’t figure out why.
Striving for control, needing to keep his hands busy with something other than her, he reached into the bar cabinet and pulled out a shot glass. “You ever tried Patrón?”
She wrinkled her nose. “I’m not a big tequila drinker.”
“This isn’t any ordinary tequila.” He poured a shot, handed it to her. But stopped her when she started to sip.
“If you’re going to do a shot, you’ve got to do it right.”
Genevieve lifted one cool brow, licked her full lower lip and nearly had him coming in his fucking jeans. “I didn’t realize there was a wrong way to do this.”
“Sweetheart, there’s a wrong way to do everything.” And then he was putting his hands on her waist and lifting her up so that her sweet ass was on the center island, her legs just a little bit open.
Stepping between them before she could change her mind, he slipped yet another god-awful suit jacket off her shoulders—he was seriously going to have to do something about her wardrobe. Maybe if he ripped it all off her . . .
Licking a trail from the hollow of her throat to her breastbone, he savored the taste of her.
“Mmm, salty.”
She blushed, then leaned back on her hands so that her breasts were thrust forward. “It’s a hundred degrees in the shade. Hard not to sweat.”
It took all his self-control to take things slowly when all he really wanted to do was to eat her alive.
“I wasn’t complaining,” he murmured as he trailed his tongue over the curve of first one breast and then the other. Then he slammed back the shot of tequila and finished it off by biting into a lime slice.
Her mouth was slightly open, her eyes wide as she stared at his lips. “That’s the right way to do a tequila shot?”
He loved her voice, the syrupy sweetness was a turn-on even without the hard-ass tone she deliberately injected into it. With the hard-ass tone, it was irresistible. “It’s the best way.”
“I bet.”
He poured another shot. Handed it to her. “Here. You try.”
He shrugged out of his T-shirt and nearly smiled as she did the same. Would have, if his first look at her body hadn’t brought him all the way to the edge. She was still covered in little bruises, the love bites he’d given her the last time they’d been together. It was hard to imagine that he’d done that to her, had marked her as he’d marked no other woman. Had claimed her as he’d never had the desire to do before.
Maybe he was a Neanderthal, because looking at her covered in his marks— seeing her proudly wearing the evidence of his desire for her—turned him so hard and fast his vision blurred.
Shit, how he wanted this woman. Was dangerously close to becoming obsessed with her.
Her sexy pink tongue darted out, swiped across her top lip and then her bottom one, as if she couldn’t quite decide where to lick. And every thought he had or might have had got lost in the wild need pumping through him.
Groaning, he tangled a hand in her hair and urged her closer. “Come on, sweetheart,” he whispered. “Taste me.”
So, do you have a favorite drink or dessert recipe? Leave it here for a chance to win a copy of my Spice anthology, Naughty Bits.
