Join Man of the Month creator, New York Times bestselling author J. Kenner, and USA Today bestselling Southern food expert Suzanne Johnson as they guide you through their favorite bar bite and drink recipes served at The Fix on Sixth. And don’t forget to spend some time learning a little bit more about the private lives of your favorite characters in all new snippets and short stories!
Brought to you by 1,001 Dark Nights, BAR BITES is now available!
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Book Description:
Before Austin’s hotspot, The Fix on Sixth, became known for its sexy and fun Man of the Month calendar contest, the fictional downtown bar had already developed a reputation for fabulous drinks and mouthwatering bar bites—exactly the kind of venue to take a date and strike up a romance. Now it’s your chance to see exactly what’s on the menu … and to get a peek at the private lives of the men and women who not only work at The Fix, but who’ve made it the place to be in Austin, Texas.
Join Man of the Month creator, New York Times bestselling author J. Kenner, and USA Today bestselling Southern food expert Suzanne Johnson as they guide you through their favorite bar bite and drink recipes served at The Fix on Sixth. Learn how to make the delicious bar bites that Tyree’s bar has become famous for. Whip up your favorite cocktail with the same flare as Cameron or Eric. And don’t forget to spend some time learning a little bit more about the private lives of your favorite characters in all new snippets and short stories!
Most of all, come share a drink, a bite, and a laugh with us! We’re so glad you’re here.
So pull up a chair, raise a glass, and dig in with your favorite Man of the Month characters, and meet a few new ones, too!
Cheers!
My Review:
I had a lot of fun with this review because it isn't really as much of a review as it is DINNER! Haha
I was really lucky to be accepted to be on this tour because it involves two of my favorite things, books and cooking. I have enjoyed the chance to make some of Suzanne M Johnson's recipes in the past through her work with Lexi Blake on the Masters and Mercenaries Bits and Bites so when Inkslinger PR asked for bloggers to help with this blog tour I jumped at the chance. The Man of the Month books are such fun, swoon worthy reads and food playing such a central role in the stories I couldn't want to get the chance to try out some of these food that make me drool as I read about them. Before I show you what I made I also want to mention how much I love the little 'Slice's of Life' we get in the actually cookbook. These quick looks into the lives of some of our favorite characters are always a fun way to peek in to the worlds we have already 'left' but have been missing since we closed the last page in each characters book. Also, let's just talk about how each month's recipes have not only some fun foods that are totally yummy but drinks to go along with them and y'all know I am totally down for that, ha! I think I may need to have a re-read party for each Man of the Month and make the recipes that go along with it, any one else in?
I chose two recipes, we'll start with the yummy:
Mushroom Spinach Risotto Balls
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup diced Vidalia onion
2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
7 cups chicken broth
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
1 box of frozen spinach, thawed and drained
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 eggs
4 cups panko breadcrumbs
6 cups oil, for frying
MUSHROOM RISOTTO
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt one tablespoon of butter and add the mushrooms. Cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Remove the mushrooms and set aside. Add the other tablespoon of butter to the same saucepan over low heat and add the onion. Cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Add rice, stirring constantly for 2 minutes, then pour in wine and stir for an additional 2 minutes. Add 1 cup of chicken broth to the rice and stir until absorbed. Continue this process until all the broth has been added and the rice is tender, approximately 25-30 minutes. Never quit stirring. That’s the most important part. Remove from heat and stir in the mushrooms and 1/2 cup of Parmesan. Add salt and pepper to taste. Spread risotto on a large cookie sheet, cover and refrigerate overnight.
Onion chopping = tears and of course, wine!
I used baby bellas. In the end it would be quicker and perhaps a tad easier to make them with a white button mushroom but I love the hardiness of the bellas, I think any mushroom would be a good choice for this so go with your favorite!
Even my camera was starting to wear down at this point, seven cups of chicken broth and just as many glasses of wine! *wink*
TO MAKE BALLS:
Combine mushroom risotto, 1/2 cup Parmesan and spinach in a large bowl. Roll into 1 inch balls and coat with flour. Place on a cookie sheet and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Heat oil in a Dutch oven or deep fryer to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs. In a separate medium bowl, add the panko breadcrumbs. Remove the balls from the refrigerator and dredge each one in the egg then panko breadcrumbs. Place 4 balls at a time in the oil and fry 1-2 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.
It's not cookie dough, but it tastes pretty yummy!
Little kitchen problems, haha
It's really important to let that oil heat up to 350ºF.
Just go ahead and have another glass of wine while you wait, I promise it will be worth it!
They turned out so lovely. A side of lemon mayonnaise with some cilantro mixed in or a garlic aioli would be a wonderful accompaniment.
I will say that before you begin to make these go ahead and open up the bottle of wine you plan to use while making the risotto and pour yourself a big old glass from that bottle. I love risotto but honestly it is a pain in the tush. It's so yummy but you need to make sure that you didn't just finish arm day at the gym and that you have a good hour to spend between your 15 minutes of prep and 45 minutes of stirring, ha. I have always thought when it comes to risotto you almost need 4 hands and as many days, haha. That said I really enjoyed this recipe, I think for me in the future I might add a little more seasoning, maybe some Tony Chachere's if you're a southern girl like me or some Old Bay if your from the Northeast...those of you on the there side of the country, just go find one of those two and you'll be just fine, ha. I wanted just a touch more flavor but all in all they are really good and they even get the thumbs up from my 12 year old!
Recipe Two (because I can't just do one and I need dessert!
White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
1 stick butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips
1 cup dried cranberries
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until smooth, then add egg and vanilla. Slowly add flour, baking soda and baking powder until blended. Stir in the white chocolate chips and cranberries. Place 1 tablespoon at a time on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes.
I am always happy to get the chance to use my stand mixer, one thing I would change with this recipe and only because of have a 6qt mixer is that I would double the recipe just so it mixes better in, plus they're super yummy so more is never going to be a bad thing!
This is such an easy recipe and could easily become a go to cookie recipe for you!
I will say the dough is a 'dry', thick dough.
Don't be scared, it does not make a dry cookie!
Bring in reinforcements when necessary, but make sure you keep a close eye on them...somehow, who knows how, I ended up with fewer cookies than expected. *hmmmmm, haha*
This recipe is an easy quick cookie recipe that you will fall in love with. The cookies bake beautifully. One thing to note, they barely spread so don't roll your cookie dough into balls or you'll end up with...cookie balls, lol and make sure you make each cookie a decent size as they won't get any 'bigger' as they bake. I really enjoyed whipping these up and I am pretty sure I am going to enjoy scrapping the crumbs into my mouth just a few hours after having made them. If I don't eat them all on my own no doubt my family will have their hands all over them soon!
~ Happy Reading and Cooking Y'all!! ~
Excerpt:
Nolan Wood checked his watch as he glanced around the house. Shelby’s house. Or it had started out that way anyway. Now it was his, too. Just as much as she was his.
With a shake of his head, he realized he was smiling. Not that he wasn’t usually—on the whole, he was a pretty laid-back, happy kinda guy. But since he met Shel, it took a rock solid effort to wipe the smile off his face. His Shelby. His paradox. The buttoned-up woman who’d let a loose cannon like him into her life—and in the process had changed him completely.
They’d been together for months now, but he’d known right away that she was special. And that feeling just kept getting stronger, until sometimes when he was around her he thought he might burst if he couldn’t release the pressure.
Then again, that’s one reason why he loved his radio show; that was one hell of a pressure release, after all.
Although it wasn’t quite as good as sex…
The thought seemed to shove him around, and he turned to face the suitcase he’d left by the door. For a second, he frowned. Afraid that maybe he was doing this all wrong.
But it was too late now. He’d already made his decision, his plans, and he was diving in.
He pulled the old-fashioned tape recorder out of his backpack. He’d thought it had a fun vintage flair when he’d found it in the station’s dusty storeroom along with a pack of unused cassettes. He’d snagged the device and the tapes, then recorded the message. Now, he put the cued-up cassette into the recorder, checked that the batteries were good, and added a Post-it note to the top. He left the whole thing on her coffee table. All things considered, much better than a printed note.
Then he drew in a nervous breath, grabbed his suitcase, and gave the inside of the house one last, long look.
This was it, he thought as he headed for the door. For better or for worse, everything was about to change.
About J. Kenner:
Julie Kenner (aka J. Kenner and J.K. Beck) is the New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of over forty novels, novellas and short stories in a variety of genres.
Praised by Publishers Weekly as an author with a “flair for dialogue and eccentric characterizations,” J.K. writes a range of stories including super sexy romances, paranormal romance, chick lit suspense and paranormal mommy lit. Her foray into the latter, Carpe Demon: Adventures of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom by Julie Kenner, is in development as a feature film with 1492 Pictures.
Her most recent trilogy of erotic romances, The Stark Trilogy (as J. Kenner), reached as high as #2 on the New York Times list and is published in over twenty countries.
J.K. lives in Central Texas, with her husband, two daughters, and several cats.
Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter
About Suzanne M. Johnson:
USA Today bestselling author Suzanne Johnson is family trained, a south Georgia native who's been cooking all of her life, creating not only some really unique food, but precious memories that re-occur every time she smells something simmering in the oven. In all of her books, Suzanne shows that making a delicious meal doesn't have to be complicated--it just has to be made with love. So go ahead, don't be bashful, dive right in. Who knows? You might just make a few memories of your own.
Website ~ Facebook
BAR BITES Books and Cooking Tour
May 16
May 17
May 18
May 19
May 20
May 21
May 22
May 23
May 24
May 25
May 26
May 27
May 28
