Comment to Win LIVER LET DIE, Series Debut from Liz Lipperman

Please join me in welcoming author Liz Lipperman to the Kitchen! Leave a comment on her post today and you are entered to win the launch book in her new "Clueless Cook" series, LIVER LET DIE. I thoroughly enjoyed Liz's debut, and I think you will, too, which is why it is my great pleasure to turn over my regular Tuesday blog spot to her today. Take it away, Liz.  

~ Cleo Coyle

Note: The winner of the comment-to-win contest was Denise! (Congrats, Denise! Contact Liz at Liz@LizLipperman(dot)com , and she will get her book to you!) 

Liz Lipperman

Thanks, Cleo, for inviting me back to this great blog. I've probably gained five pounds just looking at the pictures. Cleo will be hanging out today at my Mysteries and Maragritas blog so, go say hey by clicking here. 

Today, I’m sharing a recipe from my debut novel that released last Tuesday (SQUEE.) Here’s a short summary of LIVER LET DIE, the first in the Clueless Cook Mystery Series from Berkley Prime Crime.

Jordan McAllister, a wannabe sports reporter, follows her boyfriend to Dallas, gets dumped, and ends up in a small Texas town where she lands a job writing personals. When an opportunity arises to fill in for the culinary reporter (who's rehabbing a broken hip), she jumps on it, thinking it’s one step closer to writing that sports column she wants so badly. 

The problem is Jordan was raised in West Texas, the only girl with three brothers who needed her outside every day to even up the sides for football games, and although she can throw a razor-sharp touchdown pass from 50 yards, she can’t cook her way out of a box of macaroni and cheese.  


Her first assignment is reviewing the new steakhouse in town where she inadvertently orders foie gras (fatty duck liver) that ends up untouched and shoved into a borrowed purse. Back home she discovers that she has ruined her friend's beautiful handbag, but that's nothing compared to finding her waiter from the steakhouse murdered outside her door along with her name and number in his pockets. Now she’s the prime suspect as well as the main course on the murder menu.

The concept for LIVER LET DIE was hatched when the editor read a straight mystery of mine that she loved but couldn’t use because she was looking for a cozy series – a "foodie" to be exact. Growing up number eight of nine children, I knew I couldn’t pull off a gourmet series, and the idea of a sports nut like me suddenly thrust into a position with her own food column seemed like the way to go. 

Personally, I am a pretty good casserole cook, since that's what I ate growing up. Since my girl doesn’t cook, she uses her friends' recipes for her column after they slap on a made-up, foreign name to make them seem gourmet-ish. So, I headed straight to my own recipe books for the ten offerings in the back of LIVER LET DIE. 


Here’s the awesome recipe from the steak house where Jordan first gets into trouble. I can get hubby to do all kinds of honey-dos if I promise him this one. I actually half made this recipe up when a favorite restaurant took it off the menu...and mine is just as good as theirs. Shameless plug alert!  The best way to eat this is while you’re reading LIVER LET DIE.

Longhorn Prime Rib’s
Rattlesnake Pasta


From Liver Let Die by Liz Lipperman

Yields 4 servings

1 pound bow-tie pasta

5 tablespoons cooking oil

¼ sliced onions

½ medium yellow squash, cut diagonally into ¼-inch slices(about ¾ cup)

½ medium zucchini cut diagonally into ¼-inch thick slices (about ¾ cups)

¾ cup sliced mushrooms (optional)

1 ¼ cups heavy cream

1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced (or 1 tablespoon canned diced jalapeño)

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 Tablespoon Cajun Seasoning

2 ounces freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about ½ cup)

1 can (14.5 ounces) fire-roasted diced tomatoes

Salt and pepper to taste

3 Tablespoons oil

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, rinsed and cut up into bite-sized pieces

All purpose flour and Cajun seasoning for dredging

Directions: Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, yellow squash, zucchini, and mushrooms (if using) and cook for 5 minutes or until the vegetables are heated through but still firm.

Pour in the cream and the cooked pasta and simmer for 4 minutes. Mix in the jalapeño, garlic, mustard, and Cajun seasoning and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the cheese and the tomatoes. Reduce heat to low.

In another large skillet, preheat the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil over high heat. Shake the Cajun seasoning over the chicken pieces and then dredge in the flour. Pan fry for 5 minutes on each side or until brown. Add the chicken to vegetable pasta mixture and stir a few times to incorporate. Serve and enjoy. This casserole has a bite, (that’s why it’s called Rattlesnake Pasta), so if you don’t like spicy food, go easy on the jalapeño.

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To find out more about Liz and her books,
visit her online home by clicking here:

http://www.lizlipperman.com/

Read an excerpt from
Liver Let Die
by clicking here.

CONTEST ALERT!

A final note from Liz...

The release date for Liver Let Die is finally here, and I am giving away a great prize. It’s a Pandigital Kitchen Technology Center that retails for $399. It has an HD TV, a digital recipe file, a digital photo album and wireless internet connection. It’s awesome. 

There are several ways to enter multiple times without buying the book, although I’d love for you to try me. I’ll even give you three extra entries if you do. The awesome Brent Taylor, teenage extraordinaire, helped me with this contest. (He did all the techno stuff!) So, check it out and get as many entries as you can. The random drawing will be on October 31st and the winner will be posted on FaceBook, Twitter, my website, and my blog. So what are you waiting on? Check it out by clicking here.