Kimberly Kincaid's Bolognese Sauce #giveaway

Please welcome Kimberly Kincaid, who writes a sweet and sexy romantic suspense series featuring firemen and food. Now there's a winning combination! I met her at a book signing earlier this year and couldn't resist asking her to join us at MLK as a guest--just to add a little spice!

I was raised in a big Italian family, and I married into a big Italian family. Our mantra in both is that “food is love.” So what better way to put a little spice in my brand new romantic suspense series (featuring cops and firefighters!) than to feature a little food along with the heroes, heroines, and bad guys?

In my prequel story, DEEP TROUBLE, hero Devon Randolph is helping heroine Kylie Walker out of a very dangerous spot. Naturally, she’s a little ruffled (as one tends to be when her life is on the line) so Devon asks her to look forward to her favorite meal to keep her focused and calm. Kylie happens to be a fan of spaghetti and meatballs, so I thought I’d pass along my family’s recipe for Bolognese sauce. It’s easy, delicious, and the best part is, it makes a bunch!

Here’s what you’ll need:

One Tablespoon olive oil
One medium onion, diced fine
Two stalks celery, halved lengthwise and sliced thin
One large carrot, diced fine
Two cloves garlic, diced
One pound ground beef
One pound ground pork/bulk Italian sausage (can substitute turkey or use all beef)
Two fresh bay leaves
One teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
Two cans (28 ounces each) crushed tomatoes (organic preferred)
One can (14 ounces) diced tomatoes
One cup beef broth or red wine, plus more for thinning
One pinch allspice
Chopped flatleaf parsley (a generous handful) for garnish


Here’s what you’ll need to do:

In a large stockpot, warm olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery and carrot, stirring often, until soft, adding two cloves of garlic in the last two minutes of cooking (7-8 minutes total). Gently push veggies to the sides of the pot and add meat. Using a wooden spoon, break up meat and cook until brown and crumbly (about ten minutes). Add Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste. 

It's an heirloom spoon

If you've got any lovely brown bits on the bottom of the pot from the veggies, de-glaze with a splash of beef broth (red wine works well here too, and the alcohol burns off so this recipe is safe for the under-21 set!). Add all three cans of tomatoes and the pinch of allspice, and heat to a low bubble.

Simmer, uncovered for at least an hour on the lowest heat setting, adding broth or wine to thin the gravy as necessary. When you're ready to serve (the longer you let this simmer, the better it tends to be), put this over a pound of cooked spaghetti, sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve with green salad, garlic bread, and lots of love! You can also use this sauce as a base for a nice hearty lasagna, and it freezes well. 

DEEP TROUBLE

From Liliana Hart’s New York Times bestselling MacKenzie family comes a new story by USA Today best-selling author Kimberly Kincaid...

Bartender Kylie Walker went into the basement of The Corner Tavern for a box of cocktail napkins, but what she got was an eyeful of murder. Now she’s on the run from a killer with connections, and one wrong step could be her last. Desperate to stay safe, Kylie calls the only person she trusts—her ex-Army Ranger brother. The only problem? He’s two thousand miles away, and trouble is right outside her door.

Security specialist Devon Randolph might be rough and gruff, but he’ll never turn down a friend in need, especially when that friend is the fellow Ranger who once saved his life. Devon may have secrets, but he’s nearby, and he’s got the skills to keep his buddy’s sister safe…even if one look at brash, beautiful, Kylie makes him want to break all the rules.

Forced on the run, Kylie and Devon dodge bullets and bad guys, but they cannot fight the attraction burning between them. Yet the closer they grow, the higher the stakes become. Will they be able to outrun a brutal killer? Or will Devon’s secrets tear them apart first?

Find Deep Trouble at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBooks and Kobo

About Kimberly

Kimberly Kincaid writes contemporary romance novels that split the difference between sexy and sweet, taking the traditional idea of boy-meets-girl and infusing it with a sassy magic all her own. She believes in fiery yet flawed characters destined for a crash-course in falling in love—usually the hard way—and injects her trademark humor as well as poignant touches into her writing to create her stories.

Kimberly's writing journey has led down some bumpy roads (that first manuscript is under the bed, where it is very likely to stay), but there has been some fresh pavement too (her second manuscript earned her very first contest final, and landed the fantastic Maureen Walters at the Curtis Brown Literary Agency). One thing is certain—the wild ride of being a writer is a lot richer in both its ups and downs because of friends and readers along the path.

When Kimberly's not sitting cross-legged in an ancient desk chair known as "The Pleather Bomber", she can be found practicing obscene amounts of yoga, whipping up anything from enchiladas to eclairs in her kitchen, or curled up with her nose in a book. She resides in northern Virginia with her wildly patient husband and their three daughters.

Find out more at www.kimberlykincaid.com/

Kimberly will be giving away a Kindle or Nook copy of Deep Trouble. Just leave a comment below (or on Mystery Lovers' Kitchen's Facebook Page) to enter the drawing.