Cerise DeLand's Blog, page 33

STANHOPE CHALLENGE hits #14 on Amazon Regency list and hits #49 on ARe BIG LIST!

ARe readers put STANHOPE on their
main BESTSELLER LIST!
ARe Fanning myself with my lace and pearl fan!!!! THE STANHOPE CHALLENGE box set is flying high! Thanks to all of you readers who adore a good Regency tale!
OMG!
I grope about for my smelling salts. I sit and tap my toes on Aunt Matilda's Aubusson rug. Can I dance alone in the parlor? Will she think me mad? Send me off to Bedlam?
Fanning self.
I planned to look at all my pictures from my recent scrumptious trip to Paris and upload them to my computer. But gee, I may have to go sneak a cup of hubby's brandy.
I will be putting up good pix, you realize, don't you?
Of Malmaison. Swoon.
And Fountainebleau. Be still my heart.
Saint Chappelle. Oh my.
Chantilly. I am definitely using Chantilly in a story soon. Did you know that the Duc d'Aumale who was the last inhabitant, was brother to Charles X, last Bourbon king, donchaknow, and he fled to England with a to-die-for art collection.
So I have to use that, don't I?
tee hee.
You know I will!
THANK YOU (blazing big kisses) to all of you who are buying my books and loving them!
sigh.
Where is that brandy....

Morticia Knight brings us #M/M historical, HESITANT HEART! Exclusive excerpt!

M/M BDSM Historical (1920’s)
Sam is a naïve young man who arrives in Hollywood to escape his brutal father. When the older, sophisticated Aaron rescues him, Sam discovers what it means to fully surrender himself to another.
Eighteen year-old Sam Cunningham is used to living with lots of secrets. He’s had to hide his true nature his entire life or else incur the wrath of his strict and abusive father. When he’s faced with a horrible ultimatum, he flees to Hollywood where he hopes he can escape the fate his father has planned for him.
Aaron Rubenstein is a wealthy and sophisticated man who loses himself in painting portraits of bound men to help stave off his loneliness and despair. Unable to find a lasting connection with anyone, he’s had to resort to paying lovers not only for their affections, but to be allowed to indulge in his darker passions. Aaron’s only respite is his nights at the Hampton Road sadomasochism club where he’s a respected Dominant.
Naïve and inexperienced in the ways men can please one another, Sam takes a job at a bathhouse where he first glimpses a beautiful older man. Aaron notices the sweet towel boy watching him with interest every time he patronizes the Temple of Eros bathhouse. A traumatic incident for the innocent towel boy triggers Aaron’s protective tendencies and he’s compelled to rescue the gentle Sam from the clutches of the Temple’s manager.
They embark on a journey together that teaches them both things about themselves that they never knew. As their bond deepens and Sam is trained for his first night at the Hampton Road Club, an unknown danger lurks. Will Sam’s father find him and destroy both men’s chance for true happiness together? Or will Aaron protect his boy and keep him for always?
Reader Advisory: This book contains a scene of branding.
Buy Links:
Totally Bound: https://www.totallybound.com/hesitant-heart
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Hesitant-Heart-Hampton-Road-Club-ebook/dp/B00ORUOTD8/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1415160726&sr=1-7&keywords=morticia+knight
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hesitant-Heart-Hampton-Road-Club-ebook/dp/B00ORUOTD8/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1415160797&sr=1-3&keywords=morticia+knight
To follow what madness I might be getting into, check out my blog here: www.morticiaknight.blogspot.com Also on Facebook and* * * * * * The boy stirred again, and this time his lids fluttered open. He appeared confused then frightened as he peered up at Aaron. There was an immediate tension in his body.“Ah, you’re back with us.” Aaron smiled in reassurance. “Can you sit up?”The only response Aaron received was a continued stare from the large doe-like eyes of the obviously terrified towel boy. His beautiful aquamarine eyes…“Come on now. Saul’s gone to get some help…”Aaron frowned as the young man trembled and shook his head, still seemingly unable to speak. His head lolled to the side and Aaron feared he might pass out once more. It had to be the heat of the room. Aaron pressed his hand lightly to his chest.“Breathe. You’ll make yourself faint again. How can I find out your name if you do that?”A whoosh of air came from the boy and he gulped in more. He exhaled forcefully again and in and out until his breathing became regular. “There we are, much better. Let’s get you out of this dreadful heat.”Aaron rose gracefully to his feet, dragging his charge along with him. He resisted and Aaron paused. It would have been no effort to force the boy to go where Aaron wanted, but he had no interest in doing that. There was obviously something that the young man was very upset about and Aaron was determined to find out what it was without frightening him any further.“S-sir, wait. I need to get you a towel to cover yourself.”This is what’s bothering him?It seemed unlikely, but Aaron was willing to tread carefully with him until he calmed down some more.“I’m sure all the patrons of this purportedly elegant bathhouse have seen one or two danglers in their time, so don’t fret upon my account.”Aaron had his arm around the skinny little thing and once again advanced them toward the door of the steam room.“Are…are you taking me to a private room?”The trembling and tension increased and a realization slammed into Aaron. The boy was a terrible actor and his purity was genuine. Aaron stopped and angled the young man’s body to face him, holding one shoulder to keep him there. Grasping his chin gently and raising it, Aaron waited until the boy’s eyes met his own.“Is that what you think? That I want to pay you for your sexual favors?”Watching in dismay as he nodded, his lip quivering, Aaron wondered if any jury would really mind all that much if Aaron strung up the bathhouse manager. The act would have to be a service to society, after all.“That’s not going to happen, understand? You’re not going to do anything you don’t want to do and I’m not going to molest you in any way. But I must insist we leave this room. The temperature is beginning to get to me as well.”The door opened and Saul entered along with the hostile looking manager. Aaron bent down to whisper in the young man’s ear.“Trust me.”Incredibly, the boy completely relaxed and moved closer to his side. The manager gave the towel boy a quick glare before turning to Aaron.“Mr Rubenstein, I do apologize. I don’t know what’s gotten into him. Get away from Mr Rubenstein. You’re fired.”Aaron felt the boy buckle and Aaron clutched him tightly to his body so that he wouldn’t collapse again.“Such a shame. And here I was looking forward to his company this afternoon.”The manager arched his eyebrows and straightened up. “Oh, beg pardon. Of course.” He lifted the corners of his mouth into a gruesome fake grin. “Whatever pleases you, sir.”“Excellent. Right now it would please me to escape the suffocating heat of this room.”The manager gestured for them to go ahead and as he passed Saul, he noted the narrowing of his eyes. Saul knew him well enough to know that Aaron never hired the young boys at the bathhouse. Once they’d exited, Aaron turned to the manager, his arm still loosely draped around the towel boy’s shoulder.“I would like the nicest room you have, along with some seltzer water. Is there any fruit available? I’m wrung dry.”“Absolutely, Mr Rubenstein. Will Mr Liebowitz be joining you both?”“Not today, I’m afraid. I want this delectable creature all to myself.” Aaron regarded Saul and gave him a wink, the action hidden from the manager’s view. “Another time, perhaps?”Saul snorted then seemed to regain his composure. “Ah, well. I suppose I’m being given the bum’s rush then, eh?” Saul gestured to the towel wrapped around his hips. “If you will all excuse me, I do believe I’ll change into some grander duds and be on my way.”Aaron acknowledged Saul again then turned back to the detestable manager. “Lead the way. I’m quite anxious to enjoy my afternoon.”

#99cents for limited time! STANHOPE CHALLENGE, the #REGENCY #boxset about a family cursed to never find happiness w. those they love

THE STANHOPE CHALLENGE is my first boxed set Regency release.  Starring a family of brothers who believe in the family curse, they are reluctant to fall in love and to marry the ones they love.

Only 99 cents for 4 novels, the box set is on sale for the introductory time!

The books in this series sat on 3 different bestseller lists for over 12 weeks.

Now the stories are expanded. One is poignant. One is funny. One is sweetly heroic and the last is a spicy adventure on sea and in a pasha's harem!

So this is a set you do not want to miss!

99 cents! Run!

Allromance ebooks https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-thestanhopechallengeregencyquartet4regencyromances-1666892-166.htm

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PCJR1MY/ref=rdr_kindle_ext_tmb

Nook http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/THE-S...

Kobo http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/eboo...

iTunes

Who's your #hero? FB Party w Desiree Holt tomorrow at 11 EST/10 Central!

We've got fun, giveaways, guests, discussions of what makes a hero, military and not!
We start at 11 EASTERN/10 Central.
We WANT YOU TO COME!
https://www.facebook.com/events/602104836561316/

EXCERPT from THE STANHOPE CHALLENGE, 4 brothers, 4 romances, 1 family curse! #99cents

https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-thestanhopechallengeregencyquartet4regencyromances-1666892-166.htm
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PCJR1MY/r...

Need nibbles of my Stanhope men in action?
 Of course you do!
 Here is LORD STANHOPE's IMPROPER PROPOSAL!The Stanhope Challenge, Book 1
Lord Adam Stanhope faces the Stanhope Challenge of wanting to marry…and knowing it will be loveless. But he takes one look at his childhood friend, now a lovely widow, and proposes a marriage in name only. But when he learns that his bride is determined to be his lover as well as his wife, he faces a bigger challenge: Accept her delicious offer to delight them both in bed or spend his life in a greater torment…alone.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *And the taste?
Excerpt Copyright 2014, Cerise DeLand, All rights reserved.London, January 1809It is a truth, universally accepted, that a politician in want of the premiership must also be in want of a wife.Felice knew that was her new husband’s justification for marrying her so quickly.“A reason as good as my own,” she told herself as she combed her hair back from her face and fluffed the ruffled bodice of her wedding dress. She pursed her lips, wondering how Adam really kissed a woman. How he kissed his mistresses. He had merely brushed her own mouth with his after the ceremony minutes ago. She’d always thought her lips worth more than a peck—and she was determined that this second husband of hers would do more than ignore her.“I’ll insure that he does,” she resolved, with a check of her figure in the cheval mirror in the retiring room of her new brother-in-law’s mansion on Grosvenor Square. “After all, the fictitious Miss Proper has charms that Adam does not know about.” Nor should he!That secret could ruin her marriage. “And I intend to keep both!”So go to your wedding breakfast and be done with this mooning! You accepted his proposal! Now reap the rewards! London Society is open to you—the excitement of their lives, their intrigues ready fodder for your pen. For your romances and your poems.She frowned at herself.Be honest, Fee. You want more than inspiration for your stories. More than a means to repay that nefarious man your first husband’s debt. You want Adam Stanhope gracing your own bed, not just his look alike walking on the pages of your newest romance. You want him inside your body. Making you wet and warm. And kissing your—A quick knock at the door had her whirling.“Dear Felice,” cooed her husband’s Great Aunt Amaryllis from behind the portal. “Do come out now. We are quite eager to applaud you and Adam. The guests, too, are clamoring for the receiving line!”Most likely, the men want more wine while they make wagers on how soon Adam will bed me. And the women? They want to assess how a country mouse like me managed to snare the renowned, rich and eloquent Adam Stanhope. Third son of the earl. Widower. Father. Some day soon, the head of his party, if the papers and broadsheets are to be believed. And thereafter certainly, Prime Minister.“Adam Stanhope,” she murmured to herself. “A great catch, Fee. If you can intrigue him.”And there was the rub.Adam, now thirty, was notorious for outlandish behavior. When he’d turned seventeen, he’d run away from home and sailed to Hong Kong to work with his cousin in his Far Eastern trading company. Four years later, he’d come home to finish his education at Cambridge, marry the beauty of the Season and run for Parliament. He’d won twice now. But since his wife had died in childbirth, Adam had made a name for himself as a rake. He was just like his brothers in that regard. Still, he was the only one who had married and challenged the Stanhope family curse. For it was a legend that no matter whom a Stanhope married, no matter that person’s quality of character or breeding or good intentions, once wedded, a Stanhope lived in hell.“I will be happy.” Felice repeated the phrase that had become her motto ever since Adam had appeared in Kent last month and proposed. “I’ll dispense with this hideous man plaguing me at once. Then I will devote myself to ensuring Adam is happy. I will be a social asset to him. And a good mother to his son.”What more could a man ask for?* * * *“A politician has to have a wife! Who the devil put that ridiculous rule about, Reggie?” Adam Stanhope asked his friend as he paced in his brother Jack’s drawing room at eleven in the morning. He threw back another shot of Jack’s fine brandy and coughed. “Oh, lord, that burns all the way down. Whose idea was it to stay out all night, eh?” He scrubbed his hand over his face, acknowledging his predicament had less to do with excess alcohol than with Fee Wentworth. Correction, Stanhope. “Dammit, you’d think a respectable widower with an heir earned the right to be free!”“No help for it, old man,” Reggie responded and drained his glass of spirits. “Damn good stuff, if I say so myself! But see here, Adam, you admitted you need her. We’ve been through this entire argument before. You’ve got a bit of a reputation, courtesy of that Miss Proper ramblings and—”The far door burst open. Adam’s oldest brother, Jack, appeared in all his dark imperious hauteur. He took one look at both men and slipped inside to shut the world out. “Now, Adam. Reggie. What the hell are you doing in here drinking?”Adam cocked a long black brow at the man who expected to be obeyed in all things. “Drowning my sorrows.”“Too late for that!” Jack’s mouth twitched in a grin. “Get the hell out here and let’s toast the good health of the bride and groom.”“Come, come, Jack, you know what this means for me.”Jack’s black brows arched high. “Oh, I do. One look at your bride and I have a very good idea that—”Adam scowled at his brother. “She’s lovely.” Damned gorgeous, in fact. And mine, god help me now. “But I have ruined her.”Jack startled. “You’ve had her? Already?”“No, no. That’s not what I mean.”Jack strode over to remove the snifter glass from Adam’s fingertips. “I know what you mean. And this does not help.”“I’ve known her since she was ten, Jack!” Adam thrust out a hand, roiled by what he had just done to this sweet, shy woman.“And? She was a charming child then. Now you have—““Wrecked her life! That’s what I’ve done!”Jack narrowed his eyes on his brother. “How late did you stay at White’s last night?”When Adam said “Ba!” and shook his head, Jack peered at Reggie. “How late?”The man winced and brushed imaginary crumbs from his cravat. “Five. Six. Not certain. We were winning at dice, you see, and couldn’t leave.”Jack stared at the ceiling. “I hope to god it was profitable.”Adam grinned. “Five thousand in my pockets I hadn’t had before!”The far door opened again. An auburn-haired man stuck his head in and grimaced. “What the hell is the delay here?”Jack beckoned him. “Wes, Adam is having a rather belated moment of introspection. Do come in and help me talk sense into our youngest brother.”Wes took a step inside and shut the door behind him. In his cavalryman’s dress blues, he leaned back against the door. “What’s the matter, Adam? Nerves?”Adam rolled his shoulders. “Every man’s entitled. You told me so yourself.”“That,” Wes chuckled as he limped over to the chair beside Adam and fell into it, “is before a man goes into battle!”“Well, I am!”Wes gave him the quelling glance his men termed The Demand. “You are married.”“I know I thought it a good idea. Despite the nightmare I lived through with Sarah.” The mere mention of his first wife sent a wave of revulsion through him. “Everyone thought it a good idea. My colleagues. The Prime Minister. But you both, most of all, know this won’t work.”Wes pursed his lips. “I’ve seen your new lady wife, and I say give it a go. If you admit defeat before you start, you’re doomed.”“This is not a cavalry charge,” Adam murmured.Wes shrugged. “Perhaps it should be.”“Wes, have a little pity,” Adam pleaded, his head splitting from too much whiskey and too little sleep.“No pity for you,” Wes shot back. “Felice lives up to her name in temperament as far as I can tell. And her figure, Adam, has certainly become more alluring than when I last saw her in Great Aunt Amaryllis’ garden.”“She was ten!”“Was she, now? Hmm. No wonder she was flat-chested.”“Now see here,” Adam admonished his older brother. “Her figure is—”“Superb and yours to explore.” Wes wiggled his brows suggestively, then looked at Jack. “We met her when we first summered at Aunt’s house. What year was it Father foisted us off on the poor old gel?”Adam groaned. “It doesn’t matter!”I liked her then. Enjoyed her wit and intelligence every time we met. Now I’ve gone and hurt her irrevocably.Jack shook his head. “Don’t argue with him, Wes. He’s got a snoot full from an all-night gambling rout at White’s. It only encourages him to debate you. And neither of us can ever outtalk him.” He gave his brother, the Colonel and Man of Action, a wide-eyed look of despair. “The curse is upon him.”“Oh, hell,” Wes mourned. “Not that again.”Adam frowned at both of his brothers. “That again? I don’t seem to recall that either of you is yet married. Why not?”“Not our time,” Jack told him.“No woman I like enough,” Wes added. “You, Jack?”“None I cannot live without,” Jack said with pointed disdain for the subject. “Come on, Adam, let’s do our drinking out there with all the others.”“They all wonder, you know,” Adam offered, his gaze on the door.“What?” Reggie asked when the two Stanhope brothers didn’t respond to him.All three Stanhopes considered Reggie Mortenson with bleak expressions.Adam answered for them all. “They wonder when Felice will leave me. As we speak, they are out there taking wagers on the number of months she remains.”“The Stanhope women don’t all leave,” Jack reminded Adam.The three brothers winced and looked at anything but each other. Adam knew each man thought of his own mother and how each had died in succession. And even though Jack’s mother passed away after a riding accident, Wes’s died of consumption and Adam’s of childbed fever, the ton declared each woman had suffered first and foremost from a broken heart.“He says he loved each one,” Jack reminded them of the phrase their father repeated to them often.Adam shut his eyes. “He declares he loved Clarice’s mother, too!” Their charming half-sister Clarice had been Stanhope’s by-blow, conveniently born between Jack and Wes.“Aye,” Wes acknowledged with a smirk. “In his prime, the man was a walking satyr.”Jack inclined his head toward Wes. “Astonishing, isn’t it, that he managed his estates as well as he did, hopping from bed to bed like a right royal degenerate.” He flourished a hand. “Yet, he cared for each woman he bedded.”Adam growled. “How can you believe him?” He had never known their father to be honest with anyone, least of all his three legitimate sons. “You were four,” Adam reminded Jack, then faced Wes. “And you were two when I was born and my mother took a childbed fever. How can you know that he tells the truth?”Jack rolled a shoulder. “Perhaps on this one issue…”
Adam shook his head, hands fisted on his hips. “I long to see the day each of you faces a woman whom you do not wish to kill with the family curse.” He straightened his cravat and ran two hands through his hair. “Open the damn door, Wesley, I’m ready to claim my bride and ruin both our lives.”

FB Party w Desiree Holt and Cerise DeLand celebrating HEROES Nov. 11 #SWAG #fun 11 a.m. EST

   We're celebrating HEROES November 11 on FB! Join Desiree Holt and me as we talk what makes a hero.
 
   Male and female heroes are on tap for discussion.  Bring yourselves, your criteria for heroism and your laughter gauge as we gear up with lots of SWAG to reward you with, too!
 
   On tap for me are the 4 brothers in my STANHOPE CHALLENGE box set, newly expanded and newly released at a very special introductory price of 99 cents!
 
   Contemporary heroes are on tap too!
 
With Navy SEALs as the stars of Des's and my SEALs GOING HOT series, we're happy to talk about our real life heroes who protect us every day. My BURNING FOR NERO, shown here with the 2 covers he sports (because Amazon thought my heroine was toooooo sexy and banned my novel), is one of the prizes on the party list, too! I've also got a giveaway of LADY VARNEY or RENDEZVOUS on offer to two other winners!
Do join us at 11 EST, 10 CENTRAL, 9 PACIFIC here November 11 and celebrate all our heroes: https://www.facebook.com/events/602104836561316/
http://amzn.to/1tGU26K 
Regency Romp #1
http://amzn.to/1hWjg79 Do join us at 11 EST, 10 CENTRAL, 9 PACIFIC here November 11 and celebrate all our heroes: https://www.facebook.com/events/602104836561316/


http://amzn.to/1leONH

4 Stanhope men find women they adore, but can they marry them? #Regency #romance #boxset by Cerise DeLand 99 Cents!

What's better than one Regency?

Four in one set, that's what! And to top that off, all four novellas star heroes who are brothers!

The heir, the spare who is the dashing Army hero, the politician and finally, the bastard of the family—are the stars.

In the Stanhope family, three young men and their half-brother who is part American all have the same reluctance to marry.

Why?

Because there is a family curse brought on centuries ago when Charles II, roué that he was, tempted a Stanhope bride into his bed. She loved her husband and didn't want to be seduced but politics being what they were, her husband agreed and off she went to Charles's bed. The marriage soured.
And ever since, no Stanhope man who has loved his wife has ever had a happy marriage with her.

Least of all the current earl! He was, you see, a rogue of the first water, seducing whomever he choose. Though he claims to this day to have loved every woman he ever bedded and married, each of them died soon afterward.

So as we begin The Stanhope Challenge, we see that the current crop of male Stanhopes not only have the Curse working against them, but they fear for the lives of the women they adore.

Come celebrate love and life and the persistence of men in love as I re-release the revised and expanded series that sat on 4 best seller lists for many many months!

When will the box set be out?

Monday, November 10! And for an introductory price of 99 cents!

Cerise went to #Paris, ate and came home to cook...new #novels and #Beef #Bourguignon, Part Two

In Paris, my dish came to me in a tall pot,
similar to this one but smaller in circumference.
(No mashed potatoes came on side of mine.)I love to travel and when at home and at my writing, I love to break to decompress and I cook, baby, and remember great dining.

One of my favorite adventures is trying a new version of a tried-and-true recipe.

Today's is a result of the mad craving I experienced for the TO-DIE-FOR Beef Bourguignon I devoured one rainy night two weeks ago at a fabulous cozy restaurant on Rue Mont Cenis in Montmarte section of Paris. While I cannot say I equal that chef's marvelous rendition, I did try.

I'll be honest and say this one took me a while. Count it: Two whole mornings. Approximately 6 hours. But wow, last night's dinner with a wonderful Cotes du Rhone and a baguette was scrumptious.
Want to try my newest version?
Here we go!

What you need:
To marinate the beef: (2 days before serving)
2 lbs of lean chuck
1 bottle of red wine (I used a pinot noir. American, Napa origin. Cost approx. $15.00)
3 medium shallots, sliced thinly
2 long carrots, sliced thinly
3 large cloves garlic, crushed (Use more or less as desired.)
crushed pepper (10 good turns from a mill.)
2 bay leaves
1 t. salt
Cut beef into bit size pieces, removing any large bits of fat.
Mix the marinade ingredients. Add the liquid to the meat in a ceramic bowl, cover and refrigerate for 2 days.

My version looks like this one, dark and rich and oh, wow!
Picture from Travel Channel.com
Serving day:
Ingredients:
2-3 red potatoes
1 lb fresh mushrooms or 2 large cans
2-4 additional garlic cloves
flour
1/2 white onion
1 small can tomato paste

1. Bring meat and marinade to room temperature. (approx. 2 hours in 70 degree atmosphere)
2. Strain meat from marinade and reserve all.
3. From slices of bacon, cut fat and cook in large oven-proof pot to render. When sizzling, brown beef in small batches so that each piece is well browned.
4. With chunks of bacon still in bottom, add shallots and carrots to sauté.
5. Add 1 T. of oil if necessary to pot and sauté 1/2 white onion (sliced) and 2-4 small red potatoes (cut in quarters). Remove vegetables.
6. Deglaze bottom of pot if necessary with small amount of marinade. Add 1 T. flour and whisk until well blended.
7. Add 2-3 more garlic cloves (diced), 1 T. tomato paste, and 1 can of beef broth (14 oz can). Simmer to boiling and add all ingredients back to pot.
8. Place in oven at 300 degrees for 2 1/2 hours.
9. Add sliced mushrooms sautéed in 1-2 T. butter.

Serve with baguette and a good red wine.
Happy dining!!! (And oh, yeah, it makes the house smell like heaven...for more than a day!)
Remember to come to my FB party with Desiree Holt Tuesday, Veterans Day, as she and I celebrate HEROES! I am also celebrating the release of my first boxed set of Regencies, THE STANHOPE CHALLENGE, out Nov. 11! Go here to sign up for this party! https://www.facebook.com/events/602104836561316/

Cerise went to #Paris, ate and came home to cook...new #novels and #Beef #Bourguignon

In Paris, my dish came to me in a tall pot,
similar to this one but smaller in circumference.
(No mashed potatoes came on side of mine.)I love to travel and when at home and at my writing, I love to break to decompress and I cook, baby, and remember great dining.

One of my favorite adventures is trying a new version of a tried-and-true recipe.

Today's is a result of the mad craving I experienced for the TO-DIE-FOR Beef Bourguignon I devoured one rainy night two weeks ago at a fabulous cozy restaurant on Rue Mont Cenis in Montmarte section of Paris. While I cannot say I equal that chef's marvelous rendition, I did try.

I'll be honest and say this one took me a while. Count it: Two whole mornings. Approximately 6 hours. But wow, last night's dinner with a wonderful Cotes du Rhone and a baguette was scrumptious.
Want to try my newest version?
Here we go!

What you need:
To marinate the beef: (2 days before serving)
2 lbs of lean chuck
1 bottle of red wine (I used a pinot noir. American, Napa origin. Cost approx. $15.00)
3 medium shallots, sliced thinly
2 long carrots, sliced thinly
3 large cloves garlic, crushed (Use more or less as desired.)
crushed pepper (10 good turns from a mill.)
2 bay leaves
1 t. salt
Cut beef into bit size pieces, removing any large bits of fat.
Mix the marinade ingredients. Add the liquid to the meat in a ceramic bowl, cover and refrigerate for 2 days.

My version looks like this one, dark and rich and oh, wow!
Picture from Travel Channel.com
Serving day:
Ingredients:
2-3 red potatoes
1 lb fresh mushrooms or 2 large cans
2-4 additional garlic cloves
flour
1/2 white onion
1 small can tomato paste

1. Bring meat and marinade to room temperature. (approx. 2 hours in 70 degree atmosphere)
2. Strain meat from marinade and reserve all.
3. From slices of bacon, cut fat and cook in large oven-proof pot to render. When sizzling, brown beef in small batches so that each piece is well browned.
4. With chunks of bacon still in bottom, add shallots and carrots to sauté.
5. Add 1 T. of oil if necessary to pot and sauté 1/2 white onion (sliced) and 2-4 small red potatoes (cut in quarters). Remove vegetables.
6. Deglaze bottom of pot if necessary with small amount of marinade. Add 1 T. flour and whisk until well blended.
7. Add 2-3 more garlic cloves (diced), 1 T. tomato paste, and 1 can of beef broth (14 oz can). Simmer to boiling and add all ingredients back to pot.
8. Place in oven at 300 degrees for 2 1/2 hours.
9. Add sliced mushrooms sautéed in 1-2 T. butter.

Serve with baguette and a good red wine.
Happy dining!!! (And oh, yeah, it makes the house smell like heaven...for more than a day!)
Remember to come to my FB party with Desiree Holt Tuesday, Veterans Day, as she and I celebrate HEROES! I am also celebrating the release of my first boxed set of Regencies, THE STANHOPE CHALLENGE, out Nov. 11! Go here to sign up for this party! https://www.facebook.com/events/602104836561316/

Cerise loves #Paris! Come #travel with me! Part One!

Saint Chappelle built by
Louis IX
an exquisite elaborate confection
in mid ParisSo many of you know I DIG history. I love, love, heart it and try to give everyone a flavor of the Real Deal in my Regencies and my Medievals.

But I also luv to travel and when I do, I soak up the real deals and find those kernels to put into my novels.  Always when doing that, it is soooo vital to refrain from telling all—or as hubby puts it, NOT hang the draperies. (As in, I don't want to know the color, the texture of the drapes unless, of course, they are the green velvet drapes in Scarlett's drawing room and she has no clothes with which to tempt Rhett...and you get me!)

So. In that effort to entertain you with my travels...and later my stories, I have just returned from 2 glorious weeks in Paris. Two. WEEKS.
Yes, ma cherie e mon cher, I went, I saw, I ate, I walked, I lost 2 inches....

But here for your reading pleasure are a few introductory tidbits, for your eyes and heart and soul's satisfaction.

I will take you with me in the coming days on my travels via my copious pictures. With their historic significance attached. Some of which I will use in intriguing new ways in my forthcoming novels for your pleasure.
Laduree, Restaurant on Champs Elysee
where they also make Macaroons
So do return here!

Basically, what did we do in our two weeks in Paris?

Well! We went out of our rented apartment in Montmarte every day. EVERY day. Rain or shine. Ran between the rain drops, soaked up the Metro and the bullet train experiences and went to a different exciting place. Cathedrals, castles, palaces, chateaux, museums, city places, and yes, restaurants for hot chocolate that coats your tongue with creamy goodness and cafe au lait that does the same.

Escargots. Lamb. Onion tart. (Really? Yes!) Linguine with escargots, shallots and truffles in a divine cream sauce. And yes, and there is more!
Charles de Gaulle
astride the Place de la ConcordePictures?
Here is a wild sample!
Feast!
You know who is buried here!
Napoleon, of course!
Gives me chills every time I see this.
Was I alive then? Did I know him? This stunning church is not in Paris.
And this picture is not from this year's trip but last year's.
I love it for its unique place in history.
This is the church in a little town in the Argonne forest.
Know it?
Called Varennes, this town was also headquarters to General Pershing in the Great War.
This church was the one in which
Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette sought refuge from the Revolutionary rabble in 1790.
The townspeople turned the royal family over to the Parisians who took them back to Paris,
locked Louis up separately from his wife and children whom they put in the
Conciergerie, in the same building as Saint Chappelle (above).
From there, they took her to the guillotine.
A sad little church.