Dining with Angels: Bits & Bites from the Demonica Universe

by Larissa Ione

Mini Chicken Gyros with Easy Tzatziki

  1 cup plain Greek yogurt

  2 tablespoons oil

  1 lemon, juiced

  8 flour tortillas (soft taco size)

  1 teaspoon salt

  4 Roma tomatoes, sliced

  1 teaspoon pepper

  1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

  1 teaspoon dried oregano Tzatziki sauce (Click here for recipe.)

  2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

  In a large bowl, combine the yogurt, lemon juice, salt, pepper and oregano. Add the chicken, cover and refrigerate for 24 hours. In a large non-stick skillet over medium heat, add the oil, remove the chicken from the marinade and place in the skillet. Cook on both sides for 5-7 minutes or until the internal temperature is 165 degrees. Remove from heat and cut into 1/2-inch strips. Place 2-3 strips on a flour tortilla. Top with tomatoes, onion and Easy Tzatziki.

  Easy Tzatziki

  1 cucumber, peeled

  1 tablespoon fresh dill, minced

  1 cup plain Greek yogurt

  1/4 teaspoon salt

  1 tablespoon minced garlic

  1/4 teaspoon pepper

  1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

  Cut from the cucumber in half lengthwise. Scrape out seeds and grate cucumber. Place the grated cucumber in cheese cloth and squeeze out all excess liquid. In a medium bowl, add cucumber and remaining ingredients. Mix well, cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.

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  Pot Stickers

  1 pound ground pork

  2 cups finely chopped cabbage

  1/2 cup chopped green onion

  2 1/2 cups flour

  1 tablespoon minced garlic

  1 teaspoon salt

  1 tablespoon ground ginger

  1 cup boiling water

  3 tablespoons soy sauce

  2 tablespoons oil

  1 teaspoon sesame oil

  In a large bowl, add pork, green onions, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil and cabbage. Mix together, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Place flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Slowly pour in boiling water. Stir with a spoon until mixture forms a dough. Flour your hands and transfer dough to a work surface. Knead dough until it becomes smooth and elastic. Wrap dough ball in plastic, and let it rest about 30 minutes. Divide dough into 4 equal pieces. Cover 3 pieces with a dish cloth while you work the first piece. Roll dough into a small log about 3/4 inches thick, or the size of a thumb.

  Divide each log into 6 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a thin 3 1/2-inch circle on a lightly floured surface to form the pot sticker wrappers. Repeat with the remaining dough pieces. Lightly moisten the edges of a wrapper with a wet finger. Place a small scoop of the ground pork mixture onto the center of the wrapper. Fold up the 2 sides and pinch together in the center. Pinch the remaining edges, forming “pleats” along one side. Tap the pot sticker on the work surface to slightly flatten the bottom; form a slight curve in it so that it stands upright in the pan. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Place about 6 or 7 pot stickers in the hot oil, flat side down. Cook until bottoms are golden brown, about 2 minutes. Pour in ¼ cup water and quickly cover the pan, then steam for 3 minutes. Uncover and reduce heat to medium. Continue cooking until water evaporates and bottoms are browned and crunchy, 1 or 2 minutes. Transfer to a warm serving dish. Repeat with remaining pot stickers.

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  Blueberry Lemon Angel Food Cake Trifle

  1 (6 ounce) can frozen lemonade concentrate

  2 (8 ounce) containers frozen whipped topping, thawed

  1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

  1 prepared angel food cake, cubed

  2 pints fresh blueberries

  In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, combine the lemonade concentrate, 1 container whipped topping, and the sweetened condensed milk. In a trifle bowl, layer 1/3 angel food cake cubes, 1/3 lemon filling and 1/3 blueberries. Repeat twice more and top with 1 container whipped topping and additional blueberries.

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  Caramel Pretzel Bites

  1 box brownie mix

  2 eggs

  1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

  Cream Cheese Icing (Click here for recipe.)

  1/2 cup crushed pretzels

  Pretzels for garnish

  1/4 cup water

  Caramel Sauce (Click here for recipe.)

  2/3 cup oil

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 mini muffin tins with liners. In a large bowl, combine the brownie mix, chocolate chips, crushed pretzels, water, oil and eggs together. Fill the muffin tins with batter and bake for 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a brownie comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool completely. Using a piping bag with a star tip, pipe on Cream Cheese Icing. Add a pretzel and top with Caramel Sauce.

  Caramel Sauce

  1 cup dark brown sugar

  1/8 teaspoon salt

  1/2 cup heavy cream

  1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  4 tablespoons butter

  In a small saucepan over low heat, mix together all ingredients and continue to stir while cooking for 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool before serving.

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  Eidolon and Tayla

  An Interview with Eidolon and Tayla

  It’s freaking freezing in western Wisconsin when Eidolon and Tayla arrive at my house for dinner. My husband and son are at the movies, and the hellhounds, appropriately named Duvel (Dutch/Belgian dialect for “devil”) and Hexe (German for “witch”), are in the backyard for the evening. Only the cat, Vegas (I know, right? Totally doesn’t fit the theme, but she came with the name), is running around the house. She gives the newcomers a bored look before heading to the bedroom to get white fur all over my pillow. What grows on Vegas does not stay on Vegas.

  I invite my guests inside. Tayla looks amazing with her burgundy hair piled high on her head in a messy, but classy twist, and Eidolon is as hot as ever in black slacks and a charcoal sweater that hides the dermoire on his right arm. The only glyphs visible are those on his hand and the mate-circle on his throat. Tayla has matching marks on her arm, transferred there when they bonded, but hers are also covered by her long-sleeved mustard blouse. I tell her I love the knee-high boots she’s wearing over black leggings, and I’m just a little envious that she can walk on ice in three-inch heels.

  The dogs are going insane at the back door, but they’ll just have to stay there for a while.

  “Don’t worry,” I say. “They’ll settle down. Give them a Cerby snack they’ll love you forever.”

  Eidolon cocks a dark eyebrow. “Cerby snack?”

  “They’re like Scooby snacks.” I hang their coats in the closet. The new leather smell of Eidolon’s jacket doesn’t mask his natural, earthy scent Tayla is always going on about. She’s right, though...someone should bottle that shit. “Except with a hellhound twist.”

  “Ah, Cerby, for Cerberus. Clever.”

  Yep, that’s me. So clever that I can’t even think of an appropriate response. But then, it’s not every day that fictional characters come to life and hang with you for dinner, you know? And honestly, I’m a little in awe of them. Eidolon is a doctor who runs an infamous underworld hospital staffed by demons, vampires, and werewolves, and Tayla, despite being half demon, is a respected demon slayer who has saved countless lives.

  I offer them drinks and appetizers, and then we settle down in the living room to chat. What follows is the official transcript from the evening.**

  L: Tayla, I’m curious. How has your life changed since you and Eidolon mated and had a son?

  She takes a sip of her wine. (It’s called Naughty Girl, and it’s fabulous and fitting.)

  T: Sleep! Holy shit, I never get any sleep. It’s a damned good thing my demon half doesn’t need it.
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br />   I’m sure we all know that Soulshredders don’t sleep. They hibernate for a year every two decades or so. As a half-breed, Tayla doesn’t hibernate, but her need for sleep has been drastically reduced since Eidolon fused her demon DNA with her human DNA.

  L: What keeps you busiest? Work? Motherhood? Maybe...Eidolon?

  Tayla gives Eidolon a secret smile, and his mouth twitches in an arrogant smirk. It’s obvious that he keeps her busy, and she doesn’t mind losing sleep over it at all.

  T: All of the above. I’m not complaining, though. I love my life. It’s crazy, because I never even saw myself making it to thirty. Now I could live to be a few centuries old, and I’m a mother.

  L: And how is little Sabre doing?

  E: He’s not so little anymore. He’s in grade school now. *He grins proudly* Top of his class.

  L: I wouldn’t expect anything different.

  T: He says he wants to be a doctor when he grows up. But last month he wanted to be a bus driver, so you never know.

  No kidding. I wanted to be a veterinarian, an astronaut, a paleontologist, and a Battlestar Galactica pilot all by the time I was twelve.

  L: When my son was little he wanted to be a soldier. Or a voice actor. Or a video game tester.

  T: And what did he end up doing?

  L: He got a degree in software engineering, so he may end up doing the video game thing eventually. Right now he’s working for an IT company.

  E: Sounds like he should take Stryke under his wing. My nephew is all about computers and technology.

  The oven timer dings, telling me the garlic bread is ready, so we move to the table and I serve dinner. As we dish up the spaghetti all’angelicina, we get started with the reason they’re here.

  L: Are you ready for some reader questions?

  Tayla’s mouth is full, so she nods.

  L: Okay, first one is for Eidolon. Michelle D. wants to know if you can share Wraith’s phone number.

  Eidolon barks out a laugh.

  E: I’d post his number on Craig’s List if he wasn’t mated. But Serena would kick my ass. And probably hunt down and eat anyone who called him.

  Understandably so. Sorry, Michelle, I tried.

  L: Okay, next question, similar subject. My amazing assistant, Judie, wants to ask Tayla what it’s like having Wraith for a brother-in-law.

  Tayla doesn’t hesitate.

  T: It’s like having an untrained pet. E: That’s a slight exaggeration.

  Eidolon winds pasta around his fork.

  E: He is potty trained.

  T: True. But if you don’t keep him busy with snacks he rips up your house.

  I laugh, but I’m pretty sure she’s serious. I let them eat for a minute and then hit them with another reader query from the sheet of paper next to my plate.

  L: Madalyn S. is getting naughty with her question...she wants to know what dessert Tayla would like Eidolon to lick off her body after dinner.

  Tayla’s cheeks turn pink. It’s sweet how the big, bad, demon slayer blushes.

  T: Desserts he has licked off of me, or desserts we haven’t yet tried?

  I laugh again.

  L: So dessert is popular in your house, I take it.

  Eidolon’s espresso eyes grow even darker as he takes in his mate.

  E: I like a special dessert a couple of times a week. T: Anything saucy is a favorite.

  L: Then I have a fabulous dessert for you tonight. Saucy and spicy.

  Tayla shivers in delight and I start to suspect that we will have an early night. They seem anxious to get home now. I throw out another reader question before they excuse themselves.

  L: Kat D. wants to know if family life is what you thought it would be with each other and if you take vacations with your brothers and sisters.

  T: I didn’t have a family until I found Eidolon, so I didn’t know what to expect. Turns out I love it and I wouldn’t give it up for anything.

  Eidolon graces us with a rare smile, barely noticeable through the wine glass he’s drinking from. When he finishes drinking, he reaches for Tayla’s hand.

  E: I love my life and I can’t imagine anything better. *he gives her hand a little squeeze* And yes, we do vacation with the extended family. Last month we went skiing with Sin and Con. Next month we’re going with our brothers and their families to Disney World. And last week we went to a baby shower for Ares’s mate, Cara.

  L: I understand you delivered the baby.

  E: Cara delivered the baby. I just caught it.

  L: It’s not like you to be modest.

  T: He’s not being modest. In this case, he’s right. He was barely in time.

  E: *curses* It wasn’t my fault. If Shade hadn’t helped things along—

  T: Cara asked him to. *She reaches over and gives Eidolon a comforting pat on the arm.* It all turned out beautifully.

  Eidolon agrees, and as I clear the table to serve dessert, I continue with the interview.

  L: Okay, so Aliya A. has two questions. Eidolon, she wants to know if you worry about Sin having a child, given the complications that can arise due to her genetics. And Tayla, she asks if you secretly wish you could have a girl.

  For those who don’t know, Eidolon is a Seminus demon, a rare breed of incubi that only produces male offspring. His sister, Sin, is an anomaly. You can read about her and her twin brother in Ecstasy Unveiled and Sin Undone (Shameless plug).

  E: *breaking into doctor mode and a smooth, deep voice that oozes professionalism and expertise* I’m not too concerned about Sin having a baby. She’s tougher than Gargantua hide. She and Con aren’t in any hurry to have children, so we’ll deal with it when it happens. No matter what, she and her baby will have the best care on the planet.

  Of that, I have no doubt. Maybe I can get him to look at that strange mole on my foot...

  T: I’ve accepted that all of the children I give birth to will be boys, but I’d be perfectly happy to adopt a little girl of any species who needs a family.

  Their eyes light up as I place dishes of strawberries with black pepper basalmic sauce in front of them.

  L: *sitting with my own dish.* Emma J. asked an interesting question: If your siblings were cocktails, what would they be?

  Eidolon, looking amused, eats a strawberry and appears to think on his answer. Finally, he nods.

  E: Shade’s a damned Moscow Mule, stubborn as shit. Wraith’s a Snakebite. Lore...I’d say he’s cheap rotgut in a dirty shot glass. *looks at Tay* What do think for Sin and Gem?

  T: *looks at me* First of all, these strawberries are the bomb. I need the recipe before we leave.

  Eidolon agrees, reaching over to wipe a bead of the sauce off her lower lip.

  E: Remember that question about a dessert to lick off your body? *His voice goes velvet smooth, so seductive I feel like a voyeur* This is so floofing it.

  L: Ahem. *I take a drink of ice water and fan myself* Yes, well, maybe we could get through a couple more questions before that happens?

  T: *looking sheepish* Sorry. What was the question? Oh, yes, what kind of cocktail would Sin and Gem be if they were drinks. Sin is definitely a Sex on the Beach. Gem...she’s an Ultra Violet.

  I can’t say I disagree with their choices.

  E: Yeah, the Ultra Violet definitely fits. Gem just dyed her hair purple. She looks like a cartoon character.

  T: She is a cartoon character. We all are. *turns to me* You know about the Demonica comic books, right? Someone is writing about our lives like it’s fiction.

  L: *Looking down at my dish of strawberries* Yeah, weird, huh?

  E: *narrows his eyes at me* Do you know who the authors are?

  L: Me? What? No.

  Tayla and Eidolon look skeptical. I decide to change the subject. Quickly.

  L: Hey, I have another question for you. This one’s about Underworld General Hospital. I know it was constructed under the streets of Manhattan and that you’ve got a spell hiding it from human eyes, but Jackie M. wants to know if a human
has ever accidentally stumbled upon it.

  E: Not that I know of. It’s possible, but anyone who has was probably devoured by the bloodwraiths stationed at the entrances.

  I blink, my spoon paused at my mouth.

  L: Are you serious?

  E: *shrugs*

  I don’t remember there being any bloodwraiths in any of the books, but then, I can’t remember what color eyes anyone has without looking it up, either. Except Thanatos and his yellow eyes and Limos with her violet ones. Oh, and Azagoth. Those emerald gems aren’t easily forgotten. And Reaver! Sapphire blue is my favorite color. So, okay, I can remember a few things, but really, bloodwraiths? You’d think I’dremember that. But I’m not going to argue. Eidolon seems to be getting a little restless, so I want to get in a couple more questions before they have to leave.

  L: Okay, we’ll let that go and move on to a query from Frances M. She would like to know what it was like for Tayla to transition to demon cuisine, and Eidolon, how did you make it easier for her to give it a try?

  E: *grimaces* I floofing hate demon food. Demons use the grossest shit. I was lucky my parents were mainly vegetarians.

  L: Mainly?

  Eidolon shoots me a withering stare that says he doesn’t want to talk about it. That’s cool. I know what Judicia demons eat during holidays, and I’d rather not ruin dessert, or my cookbook, with the details. Note for those who don’t know: Seminus demons are parasitic. Remember how I said they’re always male, Sin being the only exception? Well, these males impregnate females of other species, and those females give birth to purebred Seminus demons, so Eidolon grew up in a Judicia demon family with his biological mother.

  T: You know, some demon food isn’t terrible. I mean, a lot of demons who live in the human realm eat human food and cook with human ingredients. Sometimes they just change out the protein or they use special herbs found only in Sheoul, but really, some of it isn’t bad.