Please Welcome Guest Toni Lo Tiempo!

The main character in my Nick and Nora mystery series, Nora Charles, is an ex-investigative reporter who returns to her hometown to take over her mother’s sandwich shop after her death. Many people ask me if Nora is patterned after myself. Well, all I can say is when I was younger I did want to be Lois Lane when I grew up, but to be quite honest I was never any great shakes in the kitchen.  Nora Charles is more of a Lois Lane meets Paula Deen type of person.

However, I must admit that in the past year I have started cooking more, and I credit the Rangemate that I bought on QVC with my new love of cooking.  For those of you who have never heard of it, the Rangemate is a device that turns your microwave into an oven. That’s right, an oven! I’ve cooked chops, steaks, even a roast – and they all come out moist and delicious!

That being said, I thought I’d share one of my favorite Rangemate recipes:  Lemon Breaded Chicken

For this you will need:

Sliced chicken Breasts (I prefer the thin sliced)

½ cup Lemon juice

½ clove garlic, finely chopped

1 cup breadcrumbs

Take your Rangemate and cover the bottom with PAM, or EVOO, whichever you prefer.  Take your chopped garlic, and mix it into the lemon juice.  Then take your chicken breasts, dip into the lemon/garlic juice, roll in breadcrumbs until covered, and place in Rangemate.  Cover Rangemate and put in microwave. Micro on High 8-9 minutes.  You will have moist, delicious lemon breaded chicken  that would take you at least an hour in a regular oven in minutes!   And I promise you…it’s EVEN BETTER than Debra Barone’s famous lemon chicken from EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND!

My character Nora, though, doesn’t own a Rangemate…yet.  But she is a fabulous sandwich maker. Here is one of the sandwich recipes from CLAWS FOR ALARM (out now!)  Nora names her sandwiches after famous personalities: today we’re going to take a look at her Antonio Banderas Cuban!

Antonio Banderas Cuban Special

Panini Bread (or long roll, if desired)

2 tablespoons mayo

Oil and Vinegar

Spicy Mustard

6 slices of Jack Turkey

6 slices of Italian Speck

6 slices of Colby Jack Cheese

Sliced Dill pickles

Olive Oil

Mix the mayo and oil and vinegar and spread liberally on panini bread (or roll if preferred)

Place layers of Jack Turkey, Speck, and Colby Cheese, spreading spicy mustard in between each layer.

Place sliced dill pickles on top, spread top of bread or roll liberally with spicy mustard.  Close sandwich, brush top of bread lightly with olive oil. Place under press or grill until cheese is melted. Slice and serve hot.

 

 

CLAWS FOR ALARM, book 2 in the Nick and Nora Mystery Series, out November 3!

“The purrfect sleuthy duo”* is back, and this time murder hits close to home for Nora Charles and her partner Nick, a stealthy little feline gumshoe groomed to solve a shocking crime.

Since inheriting her mother’s sandwich shop, Nora Charles is more about hot grilled paninis than cold-blooded murder—until her sister Lacey is arrested. The victim, an esteemed art collector and Lacey’s bullying professor, was stabbed in the heart. Apparently, all over a lousy grade. 

Off campus, things were just as dicey. The prof had an ex with secrets, a trophy wife set to inherit a fortune in masterworks, and a scorned student mistress. Going undercover, Nora realizes that investigating this crime is the biggest test of her sleuthing career. Because if she fails, even Nick’s animal instinct won’t be enough to rescue Lacey from a perfectly executed framing.

Born in New York City, T. C. LoTempio is the national bestselling author of Meow If It’s Murder, the first in the Nick and Nora Mystery series. She has been a staff reporter at the young adult magazine Susabella Passengers and Friends for more than a decade. When she isn’t reporting or writing novels, she and her cat Rocco fundraise for Nathan Fillion’s charity, Kids Need to Read!

 

Welcome Toni LoTiempo and Rocco!!

Welcome to Toni LoTiempo and her kitty, Rocco, who has his own blog. Toni is the author of the about -to-debut Nick and Nora mystery series. The first book is MEOW, IF IT'S MURDER! How cute is that? It will be out on December 2nd. Don't miss Toni's giveaway today. Leave a comment to enter to win a copy of hr new book!

Cats, Cozies…and Tuna Melts!


Most of the mysteries on my bookshelf, I confess, are cozy mysteries, so I suppose it would naturally follow that my first traditionally published novel would be – a cozy. What’s more, a cozy featuring a stubborn, opinionated tuxedo cat!

My series is the Nick and Nora mystery series. Nora is Nora Charles, ex-crime reporter turned restaurant entrepreneur. She’s returned after a 12 year absence from reporting on crime in Chicago back to her hometown of Cruz, California, to take over her deceased mother’s sandwich shop. Shortly thereafter, Nora finds a surprise waiting outside her door – a stocky, black and white cat. She takes the cat in and names him Nick (after Nick Charles, the Thin Man, of course). She later finds out that the cat did in fact belong to a PI, Nick Atkins, who is currently MIA – she also finds out that Nick has many talents, among them the ability to spell out words with Scrabble tiles – plus, he’s got a nose for scenting out crime and Nora’s special of the day!

And while Nora can’t turn down a good mystery, she’s also a very adept cook – and she loves coming up with unique names for the sandwiches she serves! People do enjoy her Michael Buble Burger, and her Antonio Banderas Cuban!

But really…What story about a cat would be complete without tuna? Below is Nora’s recipe for her Thin Man Tuna Melt – it’s a big hit with the residents of Cruz!

The Thin Man Tuna Melt

1 (6 1/2 oz.) can of tuna, drained
1/2 c. finely chopped celery
1/3 c. mayonnaise, regular or low-fat
2 tbsp. diced onion
2 tbsp. crumbled bacon bits
1/2 tsp. garlic salt or powder
4 slices cheese, Swiss or cheddar

4 thin-cut tomato slices
8 slices of your favorite bread
butter or margarine


Combine tuna, celery, mayonnaise, onion, and garlic salt and blend. Butter one side of bread, place in toaster oven. Cover with tuna mixture and spread out, then top with cheese slice. Sprinkle liberally with bacon bits. Place under broiler for one minute, then put tomato slices on top. Butter one side of remaining bread and place on top of cheese, buttered side up. Grill until golden brown on both sides, or cheese is melted. Remove, cut and serve. Serves two humans and one tubby tuxedo cat.

About the Author…..


While Toni Lotempio does not commit – or solve – murders in real life, she has no trouble doing it on paper. Her lifelong love of mysteries began early on when she was introduced to her first Nancy Drew mystery at age 10 – The Secret in the Old Attic. She lists among her favorite mystery/suspense writers Erle Stanley Gardner, Mary Higgins Clark and James Patterson, as well as EJ Copperman, Steve Hockensmith, Victoria Laurie, Ali Brandon, Rita Mae Brown, Miranda James and Sofie Kelly to name only a few! Toni is also passionate about her love for animals, as demonstrated with her four cats: Trixie, Princess, Maxx and, of course, ROCCO, who not only provided the inspiration for the character of Nick the cat in the Nick and Nora mystery series, but who also writes his own blog and does charity work for Nathan Fillion’s charity, Kids Need to Read! Toni’s also devoted to miniseries like The Thorn Birds, Dancing with the Stars, reruns of Murder She Wrote and Castle (of course!). She (and ROCCO, albeit he’s uncredited) pen the Nick and Nora mystery series from Berkley Prime Crime – the first volume, MEOW IF ITS MURDER, debuts Dec. 2, 2014. She, Rocco and company make their home in Clifton, New Jersey, just twenty minutes from the Big Apple – New York.

Where to find them:

ROCCO’s blog:

www.catsbooksmorecats.blogspot.com

Website:

WWW.tclotempio.com

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Amazon- Meow if its Murder

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