INCARNATE Theater Treasure Hunt

Welcome to the INCARNATE Theater Treasure Hunt!

This week, 48 bloggers are celebrating the release of INCARNATE by Jodi Meadows by participating in a treasure hunt with clues, activities, and lots of prizes including signed books and handknit fingerless mitts. You've reached a CLUE blog, which means somewhere on this page is a clue to finding the hidden page and grand prize entry form on Jodi's website. Follow 26 clues to get there!

For more information on the INCARNATE Theater Treasure Hunt, check out Jodi's post. [http://www.jodimeadows.com/?p=568]

Here's my clue for the treasure hunt:

I was assigned a clue related to Venetian Deserts. So, I picked (with the help of an Italian friend) a panna cotta recipe to share with you. I made it over the weekend, and it is spectacular!

What better way to celebrate INCARNATE's release than with some amazing Panna Cotta. Yum. It's super easy to make (as long as you follow the directions exactly). The following recipe is Giada Laurentis' Panna Cotta recipe, which can be found here. My only suggestion is that I love chocolate, so I'd probably drizzle a little melted chocolate over the berries. 

Ingredients
1 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon unflavored powdered gelatin
3 cups whipping cream
1/3 cup honey
1 tablespoon sugar
Pinch salt
2 cups assorted fresh berries


Directions

Place the milk in a small bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin over. Let stand for 3 to 5 minutes to soften the gelatin. Pour milk mixture into a heavy saucepan and stir over medium heat just until the gelatin dissolves but the milk does not boil, about 5 minutes. Add the cream, honey, sugar, and salt. Stir until the sugar dissolves, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the heat. Pour into 6 wine glasses so that they are 1/2 full. Cool slightly. Refrigerate until set, at least 6 hours.

Spoon the berries atop the panna cotta and serve.

(Recipe is property of Giada Laurentis of the Food Network)

My clue for the password is . . . D
(my clue goes in the 4th word)

For your clicking pleasure, here is the links to the next 3 clue blogs! Good luck!

YA Books Central
Letters Inside Out
B's Book Blog!

A Taste of Tuesday: Carne Asada with Pico De Gallo

One of my annoying Twitter habits is to tweet whatever I'm cooking. No, not whatever I am eating, but whatever I am making if it sounds really good. I usually get a whole bunch of responses asking for the recipes. So, I figured I'd make it a feature on my blog!

For the inaugural run for Taste of Tuesday, here is my recipe for Carne Asada with Pico de Gallo

Carne Asada

3lbs flank steak (or tri-tip, or whatever beef you can find on sale) sliced thin
1/3 c white vinegar
1/2 c soy sauce
1/2 c vegetable oil
5 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
1/4 c lime juice
1 tsp each of the following:
salt
ground black pepper
garlic powder
chili powder
cumin
oregano
paprika

Throw it all in a zip-lock bag. Marinade anywhere from 1 hour to overnight. It doesn't matter. The longer you marinate it, the stronger the flavor will be. But even without marinating it, the flavor is still wonderful.

Preheat oven for 250 degrees F. Pour the contents of the bag into an appropriate size glass baking dish and cover tightly with foil. Bake for 2 hours. Chop/slice the cooked meat into bite-size pieces/slices.

Pico de Gallo

5 Roma tomatoes, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped (usually yields at least a cup of chopped cilantro)
2 tbsp lime juice
salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl combine diced tomatoes, onions and cilantro. Sprinkle lime juice, salt and pepper over the top. Stir until combined. Refrigerate for 1 hour to allow the flavors to blend.

See? Super easy! We usually make California-style burritos with this, adding cheese, oven-baked french fries and sour cream wrapped in a flour tortilla. You could also make quesadillas, tacos, etc. The possibilities are endless!

Entry for Brenda Drake's "Can you hit a perfect pitch" contest

Title: WAIT FOR ME
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance
Word count: 78,000

35 word pitch: When Anna’s invited to work on a dig in Egypt, she meets the boy of her dreams, discovers a buried secret, and must battle Jackals in order to keep them from unleashing Osiris on the world.

First 150 words:

The jagged rocks on the edge of the cliff sliced into my bare feet like razor blades. The roar from the water crashing on the rocks below drowned any other sound. Hot wind whipped my long, dark hair around my face, drying the tears that fell down my cheeks.

“Wait for me, my love,” I whispered. I closed my eyes, and with one breath, stepped off the edge. The wind roared past my ears. I spread my arms and my linen wrap trailed behind me. The sound of the frothing blue-green water crashing against the rocks built until it was the only sound, its beat mimicking the frantic galloping of my heart.

My breath whooshed from my lungs as I hit the churning water. Everything went dark. I expected pain. The water beat my limp body against the rocks, but there was no more pain.


Your comments are welcome, and thank you! :)