Garlic Potato Salad and Book News

Good Morning! (Or good afternoon, evening... whenever you're reading this.)

Today is a very exciting day for me ... and I hope I can make it an exciting one for you, too!

Two things - I'm sharing a recipe for Garlic Potato Salad that I absolutely love and I'm celebrating the release of Grace Under Pressure! Now, what would you like first? The potato salad or the book news?

I'll start with the recipe, how's that?

A few years ago, my husband and I went out to dinner with one of my high school BFFs and her husband. They suggested a tapas restaurant we'd never been to, nor heard of, but it was spectacular! By the way, can you tell how much I enjoy eating out? I think that's my official hobby...

Anyway, the best part of the meal, IMHO, was the garlic potato salad. It was utterly fabulous and the garlicky-est thing I'd ever eaten. I knew I had to make it at home. That put me on a quest to find the perfect garlic potato salad recipe. I thought I'd have a difficult time locating one, but it turned out there were hundreds to choose from. I experimented with several and finally decided which basic recipe I liked best. I've since adjusted it to our family's tastes and I love serving this in the summer with other cookout favorites. Have you noticed how much we've all been talking about cookouts lately? It's been a long, cold winter and I think we're all just itching to get outside and grill!

Garlic Potato Salad

5 lbs red potatoes

1 1/2 cups mayonnaise (+/- as you prefer. I usually add more)

1 entire head garlic, cloves minced

1 bunch fresh parsley, very finely chopped

salt and pepper to taste

optional: finely chopped celery, finely chopped green pepper

Boil potatoes (skins on) until fork tender, but not soft. Drain them and let them cool before peeling. Cut them into bite-size pieces... roughly square shaped. Mix mayo with garlic and parsley (you can use the entire bunch, or less if you prefer) with any optional items you've chosen to add. Once it's all well mixed, stir in the cooled potatoes. Salt and pepper to taste.

I like to let this sit in the fridge for at least a couple of hours before serving. That way it gets nice and cold and the garlic flavor permeates everything.

We serve this as often with burgers as we do with steaks. It's a nice summery alternative to hot potatoes and my family gobbles this stuff up within a day of my making it. Just a little warning... with all the garlic, you may need an antacid after eating this!

Now... BOOK NEWS!!

Grace Under Pressure is released today!

Here's the cover I posted ages ago, and it's the jpg I have on my hard drive. As it turns out the "subtitle" of the series has changed. Yep, and I just found out last Friday. That's okay though, it's a wonderful subtitle and I'm looking forward to sharing the news everywhere.

Take a look at the cover below. See where it says "A Manor of Murder Mystery"? Well, if you take a look at the cover of the actual finished book ... which I got my first look at on Friday ... you'll see that it says "A Manor House Mystery." Not vastly different, but a change nonetheless.

I have another change to report as well... a contest update: For those of you who entered the pre-order contest, it will be just a little bit longer before I announce the winner. I found out, after I started this contest, that readers trying to pre-order digital copies were stymied. Digital versions aren't set up for pre-order. So... in the interest of fairness... I've extended the contest entry date (for all versions, paperback and digital) through June 5th with the announcement coming here on June 8th - a week from today. But... to make up for this last minute change, I'm going to award two (2) $25 gift certificates. Hope that's okay with everybody!

Thanks so much to everyone who picked up a copy of Grace Under Pressure. I'm just so thrilled by all the lovely emails I've received letting me know it's out there. Readers have been spotting it here and there, and I'm always excited to find a new place and to hear where it's displayed. Thank you, all!

Meet Grace. Visit Marshfield Manor.

Come for the tour,

Stay for the murder!

Hugs to all!

Julie

www.juliehyzy.com