Everything to Make Him Yours at Midnight
Happy New Year! To celebrate the start of the New Year, Tara and Kym – my awesome publicists! – and I have teamed up to put together a romantic and delicious meal for two that is really sure to please any night of the year!
To start off the evening, we suggest a “Ruby Yacht.”
For one serving you’ll need:
1 tablespoon pomegranate juice
1 tablespoon simple syrup*
1/2 cup chilled Champagne
1 orange twist
Put the pomegranate juice and the syrup in a champagne flute, then the champagne. Top with the orange twist and serve.
*Recipe for the simple syrup:
½ cup boiling water
½ cup superfine sugar
Pour the boiling water over the sugar and stir until the sugar dissolves and the syrup is clear. Chill before using.
The main course is next…
This is a dish I made for my hubby a couple of years ago and he told me it was the best meal I’d ever made him. Only took me twenty years.
Perfect Pot Roast for two:
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt
One 1 ½ to 2 pound chuck roast
1 onion
3 to 4 carrots (I love cooked carrots so I usually add more.)
Pepper
2 cups (or more) beef stock
2 fresh rosemary sprigs
2 fresh thyme sprigs
Heat a large pot over medium-high heat. Add one tablespoon of olive oil and let it get super hot. While it heats, prepare the other ingredients.
Generously salt the chuck roast on both sides with the kosher salt. Cut the onion in half from root to tip, then cut off the top and bottom and peel off the papery skin. When the pot is very hot, place the onions in the oil and brown on both sides, about a minute per side. Remove the onions to a plate.
Next, thoroughly wash, but don’t peel, the carrots. Cut them roughly into 2-inch slices. Throw the carrots into the same (very hot) pot. Toss until slightly brown, about a minute or so. Remove the carrots from the pot and allow the pot to get really hot again. Add another tablespoon of olive oil to the pan. Place the meat in the pot and sear it, about a minute per side. Remove to a plate.
Now, with the burner on high, deglaze the pot by adding 1/2 cup of the beef stock and whisking constantly. Deglazing loosens all the burned flavor bits from the bottom of the pan. When most of the bits are loosened, move the pot to another burner, put on low heat, and place the meat back in the pot. Add in the carrots and onions. Pour enough beef stock into the pot to cover the meat at least halfway.
Lastly, put in the fresh rosemary and thyme sprigs, tucking them into the juice to ensure that the flavors are distributed throughout the pot. Cover the pot and cook for about 3 hours. (I really don’t think you can overcook this. I’ve left it longer.)
(Recipe courtesy of The Pioneer Woman Cooks by Ree Drummond. I’ve tweaked it a little bit.)
Serve the post roast with an Asparagus, Gruyere & Parmesan Tart:
You’ll need:
1 package Puff Pastry
1 bunch asparagus, ends trimmed
½ cup Gruyere
½ cup Parmesan
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pinch salt
1 pinch pepper
Preheat oven according to puff pastry directions. Thaw the puff pasty (it doesn’t take very long). Once thawed, sprinkle half the cheeses onto the puff pastry. Line the asparagus on top of the cheese. Scatter the rest of the cheese on top of the asparagus and drizzle with olive oil and pinch of salt and pepper. Bake for approximately 20 minutes – until pastry dough has puffed and lightly brown. This is seriously to die for.
(Recipe courtesy of Tasty Kitchen blog.)
We hope you saved room for dessert!
In my novella, YOURS AT MIDNIGHT, there’s a scene with my hero and heroine that involves making trifles. Or, to be more exact, the playing with an ingredient that goes into making a trifle. So whether you choose to make this ahead of time, or make out it together, here’s the recipe…
1 angel food cake, divided into halves
1 large package fresh strawberries, washed and sliced
1 container Cool Whip, refrigerated (not frozen)
8 individual vanilla pudding cups
Layer 1/3 of the strawberries on the bottom of a large, clear serving bowl, put half of the angel food cake on top of that (cut it into chunks so the strawberries are covered with cake), spread 4 of the puddings onto the cake layer and put half of the Cool Whip on top of that. Repeat with 1/3 more of the strawberries, the second half of the angle food cake, the last 4 puddings and the remainder of the Cool Whip. Use the final 1/3 of the strawberries to decorate the top. Enjoy!
Are you wondering which ingredient my hero and heroine play with? Hmm…
Oh, hey, we’re not through yet! As midnight approaches, what better way to celebrate than with K.C.’s Peppermint Milkshake!
Kym uses a Magic Bullet single drink mixer (I don’t honestly know what that is, but I want to go to her house for cocktails) to make a 12 oz (1 ½
- K.C.’s Peppermint Milkshake
cup) drink. If you want to double it and put in a blender, that works just as well.
You’ll need:
4 scoops Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream–the brand of ice cream makes a huge difference ;)
¼ tsp peppermint extract
¾ c. skim milk (no extra calories needed)
1 full size peppermint candy cane
2 mini-peppermint candy cane
Whipped cream topping
Optional: Crushed candy cane chips, Chocolate chips, or shaved chocolate
Adult Only Version
Reduce skim milk to ½ c.
Add ½ shot peppermint schnapps
Add ice cream, peppermint, milk, and broken candy cane to mixer. Mix to desired consistency, making sure candy cane is completely chopped up. On adult version add schnapps after it is mixed and blend in for ten seconds.
Top with whipped cream, sprinkle with crushed candy cane, chocolate chips and/or shaved chocolate. Garnish with mini candy canes and enjoy! There you have it! Everything to make him Yours At Midnight!
Robin Bielman
Robin Bielman lives in Southern California, a bike ride away from the ocean if she’s feeling really adventurous. She loves books and baking and running on the treadmill while watching her favorite TV shows. When she’s not reading or writing her next story, she’s spending time with her high school sweetheart husband and two sons. She is addicted to cafe mocha’s and if every day were Cupcake Day, she’d be a happy camper! She loves to connect with readers. You can find her on-line here:
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