Blackberry Chipotle Chicken Tacos and Other Blackberry Recipes

On March 27, my next book – BAREFOOT SEASON – will be released. BAREFOOT SEASON is the first book of my Blackberry Island series. Blackberry bushes are a good metaphor for the Blackberry Island stories. The Blackberry Island slogan is “Where Life Is Sweet” – and it is – but before you reach that sweetness, you might have to fight your way past a few thorns. That’s certainly true for my characters.

Michelle and Carly grew up on Blackberry Island, as close as sisters, but their friendship was destroyed by betrayal. As young adults, just as the women began to reconnect, they both fell deeply, desperately in love with the same man. He proposed to Carly, then seduced Michelle. As BAREFOOT SEASON

starts, Michelle returns to Blackberry Island for the first time since she betrayed her former friend. She has spent the past ten years serving in the Army, and she’s been battered physically and emotional by her last tour in Afghanistan. The women will have to fight their way past the thorns in their relationship to find the sweetness of friendship again – with the help of two terrific men and a dog who needs a second chance. (I do love a happy ending!)

Blackberries abound in the Seattle area. They’re considered a nuisance by some people because it’s hard to figure out what to do with the overabundance of fruit growing in your own back yard.

So you know I had to come up with some delicious blackberry recipes! You’ll find the actual recipes – including printable versions of them – at www.blackberryisland.com. While you’re there, read the first chapter of BAREFOOT SEASON, and put a note on your calendar for release day, March 27.

The blackberry recipes include:

• Blackberry Chipotle Sauce 
• Oven-Baked Pork Chops with Blackberry Chipotle Sauce 
• Blackberry Chipotle Chicken Tacos 
• Quick & Easy Blackberry Cobbler 
• Make-Ahead Berry French Toast Casserole 
• Blackberry Mousse Parfaits 
• The Bramble Fizz (alcoholic drink) 
• Blackberry Vinaigrette Cabbage Salad with Blackberry Vinaigrette 
• Cinnamon Pita Chips with Walnut-Blackberry Dip 
• Grilled Chicken Sandwich with Blackberry Relish 

Marinated Steak and Mushroom Fajitas

You can print this recipe – and lots of others – from www.susanmallery.com/recipes.php!

You may have heard that I have a new book out this week. In ONLY YOURS, the second of the Hendrix triplets of Fool’s Gold finds love. (ONLY MINE came out a month ago, and ONLY HIS will be out on September 27.) What you may not know about me is that I am always, always very nervous whenever a new book is released.

You’d think that after more than 100 books being published, I’d be more Zen about the whole process, but you’d be wrong. In fact, I’m probably more nervous now than I was in the early days because the expectations are higher. ONLY MINE hit #10 on the New York Times list. Will ONLY YOURS do as well or better? This month, a lot of big name authors released books on the same day as me, which makes me even more nervous. I know that readers have a limited entertainment budget. Will they choose ONLY YOURS as the book to entertain them this week?

Whenever I’m nervous or stressed, I turn to comfort food which, for me, is any food that’s really delicious. (I don’t want to waste calories on something that’s just okay.) These Marinated Steak and Mushroom Fajitas were very delicious and very comforting… but I’m still nervous.

Recipe: Marinated Steak and Mushroom Fajitas

2 lb steak, raw
8 oz mushrooms, sliced thick
½ small onion, sliced thick
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
2 T olive oil
4 oz Pepper Jack cheese, shredded
Flour tortillas

Marinade:
1 ½ C red wine
½ C soy sauce
2 T red wine vinegar
4 cloves garlic, minced
¼ C onion, juiced (or minced very small, if you don’t have an onion press)

Lay the steak flat in a glass or ceramic dish. Combine the marinade ingredients and pour over the steak. Marinate for 2-6 hours, flipping the steaks occasionally.

Grill the steaks whole for four minutes per side, then allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing. If you’re not in the mood for fajitas, you can eat the steaks on their own. This marinade is easy and truly yummy.
While the steaks are grilling, sauté the mushrooms and onions in olive oil. After ten minutes, add the bell peppers.

Warm the tortillas and assemble the fajitas with a generous helping of each ingredient. Eat while reading ONLY YOURS. Comforting, no?

Garlic Butter Salmon with Teriyaki-Glazed Green Beans

You’ll find more free recipes – and excerpts of my books – at SusanMallery.com!

The hero of my latest book, ONLY MINE, Finn Andersson is a sexy, rugged small airplane pilot from Alaska. When ONLY MINE hit #10 on the New York Times bestsellers list, my friend Marilyn of Marilyn’s Romance Reviews suggested I should celebrate with an Alaskan salmon dinner. What a perfect idea!

Marilyn sent me a recipe for barbecue sauce for salmon, but I wasn’t in the mood for a tomato-based sauce. She also sent me a link to this recipe for Taku Glacier Lodge Salmon Baste. That recipe looked delicious, but I didn’t have any brown sugar on hand. Plus, it was a recipe for 8 salmon fillets, which means I would have to do math to cut the recipe down for me and my husband.

I decided to use the two recipes from Marilyn as inspiration for my own salmon basting sauce. This Garlic Butter Salmon is, if I do say so myself, incredibly delicious! I paired it with Teriyaki-Glazed Green Beans. All in all, a terrific way to celebrate the #10 spot on the New York Times list. Life is good!

Recipe: Garlic Butter Salmon

2 salmon fillets, 1 pound total
¼ C butter
4 cloves garlic
1 t soy sauce
1 t granulated sugar

Cut the butter into chunks and put in a small microwave-safe bowl with the garlic, soy sauce, and sugar. Microwave at 50% power for 30 seconds. Stir well until all the butter is melted.

Preheat the grill. (I use an indoor grill.) Create an aluminum foil boat for each salmon fillet. Brush the bottom of the foil with the butter mixture. Place the salmon on the foil boats and baste with butter. Grill for about ten minutes, basting every two minutes, until salmon flakes easily with a fork.

Recipe: Teriyaki-Glazed Green Beans

1 lb fresh green beans
1 T sesame seeds
1 T sesame oil
1/3 C teriyaki sauce

Place the greens in a large sauté pan with about half a cup of water. Cover. Cook over medium heat until the water is mostly gone, about 5 minutes. While the green beans are cooking, toast the sesame seeds in a small, dry sauté pan. Be careful, the seeds will burn easily.

Uncover the beans. Add the sesame oil to the pan and toss to coat. Cook another 2 minutes. Add the teriyaki sauce and toss to coat. Put on a plate and then sprinkle the beans with the sesame seeds.

Susan Mallery's Book-a-Day Giveaway

For the next four weeks, I will give away one book every day to a randomly chosen Member at susanmallery.com. All Members with U.S. zip codes on record are automatically entered into this contest, so be sure to sign up and tell your friends to sign up, too.

To join the Members Only area: http://susanmallery.com/lists/?p=subscribe

If you're already a Member, check to see if your zip code is on record: http://susanmallery.com/lists/?p=preferences

(I ask for Members' zip codes so I can let you know when I'm coming to your area for a book signing.)

THE BEST OF FRIENDS - Available today!

I'm thrilled to announce that my second women's fiction book, THE BEST OF FRIENDS, is available today! This is a fast-paced, emotional look at female friendship. As women, we need friends in our lives, but at times, our girlfriends make us so crazy we have to scream. In THE BEST OF FRIENDS, Jayne has always been the “go along to get along” kind of girl. Now that she’s started to stand up for herself, will her friendship with the glamorous Rebecca survive? Should it survive?

THE BEST OF FRIENDS – Find your sparkle! I’ve included a book club discussion guide in the book. If your book club chooses to read THE BEST OF FRIENDS and you’d like to talk to me about the book on the phone, please send me an email. I will be happy to set up phone calls with book clubs to chat about this book.

I'm making roast chicken tonight, so be on the lookout for a recipe later this week. In the meantime, find your sparkle with THE BEST OF FRIENDS!

Finding Perfect-Available Today!

I'm not cooking today! Today is the release day of my latest book, FINDING PERFECT, and release day means I get to celebrate by letting someone else cook for me! A nice dinner, a glass of wine...

I have been looking forward to this day for a long time. Pia and Raoul are two of my favorite characters. Pia was a mean girl when she was growing up, one of those girls who was too pretty and too rich for her own good. And she knew it. But everything was ripped away from her when her father was arrested for embezzling. She not only lost her status at school, but her family lost their status in the community. They weren't envied anymore, they were scorned. Pia had something inside herself, though, that turned that negative into a positive. She learned humility and kindness and generosity ... but the girl still enjoyed a good party!

Raoul had it tough in childhood, too. And he, too, rose above his circumstances with a good sense of humor and a strong view of right and wrong.

These two are perfect for each other! I hope you'll agree. You can read chapters 1 and 2 for free on the Fool's Gold website. Or just head to your favorite bookstore and pick up a copy of FINDING PERFECT today!