by Syd Parker
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 6 ounce filet mignon
1 tablespoon black peppercorns, crushed
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon butter
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat an oven safe skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle steaks with peppercorns and salt. Add steaks to pan and cook sear 3 minutes on each side. Add butter and cover. Cook to desired doneness in oven, 8-10 minutes for medium well. Allow steaks to rest before eating. To make the wine mushroom sauce, combine mushrooms and flour in a bowl and toss well. Combine wine, shallots, and vinegar in a medium skillet. Bring to a boil and cook until thick. Reduce heat to medium. Add broth, Worcestershire, tomato paste, and rosemary and cook 1 minute. Add mushroom mixture and cook 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in mustard. Keep sauce warm, serve over steaks.
Ham and Taleggio Grilled Cheese with Parsley—Leek Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
4 leeks, white part only, finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 stick celery, finely chopped
1/2 onion, finely chopped
2 Potatoes, peeled and chopped
5 tablespoons butter
4 large handfuls parsley leaves
6 cups chicken stock
1/3 cup sour cream
Directions
Place leek, garlic, celery, onion and potatoes in a large saucepan. Add butter and gently sweat over a low heat until vegetables are tender. Add the parsley to the pan and mix well, cook for a further few minutes. Add enough chicken stock to cover the vegetables and season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 20 minutes or until potato is tender. Puree soup in batches and then return the saucepan - thin soup with extra chicken stock as needed. Serve with a dollop of sour cream.
Serve with a dollop of sour cream and grilled cheese.
Ham and Taleggio Grilled Cheese on Ginny’s Homemade Bread (sadly, Ginny won’t share this recipe)
Ingredients
3 tablespoons butter
8 thin slices homemade bread
10 ounces taleggio cheese, rind removed, sliced
8 ounces thinly sliced ham
1 green apple, thinly sliced (optional- I do prefer mine with the apple)
Directions
Lay out 4 slices of bread. Top with half the cheese, then half the ham. Layer the apple slices and the remaining ham and cheese on top, then the remaining bread slices. Melt 1 tablespoon in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add 2 sandwiches and cook, pressing gently with a spatula, until the bottom is golden and the cheese begins to melt, about 4 minutes. Slice and serve with soup.
Lemon Drop Shots
Ingredients
1 ounce lemon-flavored vodka, Citron
1 lemon wedge
1/4 teaspoon sugar
Directions
Pour vodka in shot glass. Rub lemon wedge over wrist and sprinkle with sugar. Lick sugar off and immediately chase with vodka. Stealing kisses is entirely optional and highly recommended.
Other titles by Syd Parker:
Immediate Possession - Regan Sloan has had her share of bad luck in her relationships. She isn’t sure she is even willing to give it another shot. But all bets are off when she “runs into” Darcy Grey. Darcy leaves more than just an impression. She gets inside Regan like no other woman has. That should have been just fine with Regan…except Darcy isn’t exactly single and she isn’t exactly a lesbian. Can the two women get past the hurdles and accept their love is bigger than the hurdles they face?
Secrets of the Heart – When Chase Berkley learns that her best friend was killed, she decides to finally visit the B & B they co-owned. At the funeral she finds out that Avery was carrying a huge secret that she is left to deal with. Avery’s attorney, Jude Stafford, doesn’t plan on making her stay any easier. As a matter of fact, Chase quickly learns, her life is about to get turned upside down…again.
Love’s Abiding Spirit – Soren Lockhart knows heartbreak. Unable to get past her wife leaving and taking their daughter, she runs away so she doesn’t have to face the pain. She buys a rundown house and hires contractor Merritt Tanner to do the renovations, unaware that they are waking up a ghost who is intent on telling her love story and pushing Soren toward the love of her life.
Just Tonight – At forty-five, Adrienne Thomas thought she was done being a mom, but when her son and daughter-in-law die and she inherits her granddaughter, and her partner of fifteen years subsequently leaves, she feels like she is right back at the beginning. Putting the heartache behind, she moves back home to collect herself. Nothing she experienced before could have prepared her for Dylan Montgomery, a loner who makes Adrienne’s blood boil. Can Adrienne figure out a way to be a mother again and win Dylan’s heart?
Twist of Fate – Storm chaser Remy Tate doesn’t mess around when it comes to storms or women. She knows what she wants and goes after it. A chance encounter with fellow chaser, Sarah Phillips, has lingered in her mind for years and when they run into each other again, she puts everything on the line to prove to Sarah that she is interested in more than just a one night stand.
The Killing Ground (A Gray Foxx Thriller) – A serial killer is working his way through Chicago, leaving behind gruesome victims. It’s up to Detective Rebecca Foxx to find him and put him away. Much to her chagrin, the latest victim pulls in the FBI. Special Agent Jordan Gray is up to the task of finding the killer, but can she get past the walls that Rebecca Foxx puts up, both in the case and in their personal life?
Biography
Syd Parker was born in California and lives in Indiana with her partner of seven years. She loves golfing, biking and spoiling her ten nieces and nephews. She loves to travel and anywhere on the water feels like home. She spends her days toiling away at her day job until she figures out a way to drop the fifteen strokes to make it on the LPGA tour, although she's totally mastered Tiger Woods Golf on the Wii.
Most days when she's not writing you will find her on the trails or riding her road bike and praying she doesn't end up in another ditch.
She loves to read a good love story and thoroughly enjoys writing them as well. "It isn't just about writing a story, it's about creating a world and having the reader climb into it, experiencing it in first person. That's my goal...that's why I write."
Check Syd out on Facebook and online at www.sydparkerbooks.com.
