PEG: Please welcome our guest today--Sarah E. Burr! We're so pleased to have you Sarah and we're excited about your latest release #FollowMe for Murder as well as your delicious recipe!
Greetings, everyone! Sarah E. Burr, here. I’m celebrating the release of my book #FollowMe for Murder, first in the Trending Topic Mysteries. Now, when Peg so graciously invited me to share a recipe on Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen, two things happened. One: My mind nearly short circuited over the fact that THE Peg Cochran was emailing me, and two, I panicked because my most-used recipe is how to order takeout.
*Spoiler alert* I don’t get to do a lot of cooking, and neither does my main character Coco Cline. She’s a social media influencer and blogger who has recently begun her own marketing firm, so she’s a busy gal. I write three different book series (and counting), so quick-and-easy is my go-to for dinner. But I really love to cook when I have the time. What’s more, I love creating my own recipes. I get these flavor ideas in my head that I just go with, so today, I’m sharing a super easy, super yummy dish that will trend with your family for all the right reasons. I call it Tomato Alfredo.
What you’ll need:
1 16-ounce box of your favorite pasta
4 ounces smoked gouda cheese, shredded
4 ounces extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 pint of cherry or grape tomatoes
1/3 cup heavy cream
Crushed, dried basil to taste
Black pepper to taste
Let’s get the pasta cooking. Fill a pot with water and a teaspoon of salt and bring to boil. My preferred pasta is capellini, as the sauce really binds well to the thin pasta strands. But any pasta will work!
Slice your tomatoes in half. The sweeter variety the tomato, the better this dish tastes. I don’t recommend using roma, hot house, on-the-vine tomatoes, etc. Cherry or grape tomatoes are best!
Once the tomatoes are sliced, drizzle olive oil into a sauté pan and add the tomatoes. For an extra kick, try an infused olive oil; my favorite is bacon-infused.
Begin sautéing on medium-high, using a spoon or spatula to stir the tomatoes. After about one minute, sprinkle the tomatoes lightly with dried basil and pepper.
Continue to sauté the tomatoes until they are mushy, almost like a puree. While you wait, shred your cheeses. Once the tomatoes are cooked, add your heavy cream to the tomatoes and stir. The mixture won’t be super runny, but feel free to add more heavy cream if you prefer.
Let the tomatoes and cream cook on medium for about 2 to 3 minutes. Before moving onto the next step, wait until your pasta water is boiling and add your pasta. If the timing doesn’t line up, let your tomato-cream sauce simmer on low.
Once the pasta is in the water, turn the heat up on your tomato-cream sauce to medium-high and add your cheeses. Things are going to get gloppy. Stir in the cheese, and it will begin to melt. I prefer a stiffer sauce because it latches onto the capellini pasta nicely. However, feel free to add a little more cream if needed.
Continue to stir the sauce until cheese is fully melted. You’ll still have some nice bits of tomato in the sauce to give you texture. Simmer sauce on low and stir until your pasta is cooked.
Strain pasta and add pasta to your saucepan, tossing until the pasta is thoroughly coated. At this point, you’re ready to dish out and serve!
Some tips:
For those who like spice, sprinkle red pepper flakes on the dish once served.
Swap out or add spinach – if you’re not a tomato fiend like me, spinach makes for a great substitute!
I let my guests season their dishes with salt and pepper to their own taste. There is a lot of salt in the cheeses, so make sure to issue a healthy reminder.
When Coco first began her blog Trending Topic, she did dabble in cooking how-to’s, but her recipe videos always ended with something burning. Making the best of a smelly situation, Coco launched her #FlawlessFails hashtag, encouraging her online followers to share their epic fails in the kitchen.
Have you had a
#FlawlessFail that haunts you to this day? Leave a comment below to be entered to win a signed copy of #FollowMe for Murder. Sorry, US Only. Contest closes at midnight Wednesday, February 16.
Murder is about to go viral for social media influencer Coco Cline.
After
selling a tech startup to Facebook in a multi-million-dollar deal,
blogger Coco Cline has returned to her hometown of Central Shores,
Delaware to launch her own social media consulting firm. Her new
clients, Sean and Olivia Chen, are ten days away from the grand opening
of their specialty consignment shop when Coco stumbles across their
assistant Stacy dead behind the register.
Worried that a cloud of
suspicion will ruin their chances of a successful business launch, the
Chens ask Coco to work alongside the inexperienced Central Shores police
to speed up the investigation. Using her celebrity status and social
media savviness, Coco realizes Stacy’s seemingly ordinary life was all
an act. Following a trail of cryptic online posts, confusing timelines,
and muddied gossip, Coco and her friends discover Stacy’s questionable
relationships just might be the reason for her untimely demise.
Remember: to enter the giveaway of #FollowMe for Murder, please respond in the comments below: Have you had a
#FlawlessFail that haunts you to this day?
Bio: Sarah E. Burr grew up in the small town of Appleton, Maine, but now lives near New York City. Since she was seven, Sarah has wanted to be Nancy Drew, but, unfortunately, she wasn't stumbling across any mysteries in corporate America. So, she left her healthcare IT career and began writing mysteries of her own. Sarah is the author of the Trending Topic Mysteries, the Glenmyre Whim Mysteries, and the Court of Mystery series. In addition, Sarah currently serves as the social media liaison for the NY-TriState Sisters in Crime chapter. When she's not writing, Sarah is either singing Broadway showtunes, video gaming, or enjoying walks with her dog, Eevee.
Purchase Link:
https://bit.ly/followmeformurder
Socials:
Instagram: https://bit.ly/saraheburrinstagram
Facebook: https://bit.ly/saraheburrfacebook
Twitter: https://bit.ly/saraheburrtwitter
Website: www.saraheburr.com
Other Books by Sarah: https://bit.ly/authorsaraheburr
