Kelly Jamieson shares a yummy recipe from her hero chef
Kelly Jamieson, author of How Sweet It Is, joins HEA to share a scene from her new release and a recipe that sounds smashingly good.
First, here's the blurb about How Sweet It Is:
A free-spirited woman…
Eccentric interior designer Mirelle Brasseur is tired of relationships with handsome, charming, fickle men—in other words men just like the father who abandoned her. She's fun and funky, but takes her career seriously. She's not about to let a man derail her dreams or wound her heart again.
An ambitious man…
Award winning chef Bradan Hunt is handsome and charming, but he's always honest with women about his one date-one night rule. Between his best-selling cookbooks, his TV appearances, and his restaurant, he's too busy for a relationship. He saw what a lack of ambition did to his parents. Bradan wants more. His newest restaurant is going to be the best, so he hires Mirelle to help him design it.
Turn up the heat…
Soon it isn't just the food sizzling in the kitchen, in spite of Mirelle's misgivings, as the attraction between the chef and the designer heats up. It will take more than one date-one night for them to overcome their pasts and find a way to cook up a sweet future together.
Excerpt: Bradan in action in the kitchen
He stepped back into the kitchen.
"What orders do I have hanging?" he barked, launching into motion, finding his focus again.
"You got one duck and one salmon on order for the deuce on eight."
It was all about the food. It had to be all about the food, about making everything perfect, as perfect as he could. He grabbed a pan, slammed it onto the flattop, checked the orders.
"Fire one salmon!" he yelled. "No, make that two!"
The wait staff squeezed in and out of the kitchen, ducking and dancing around each other to add garnishes, wipe plate edges, pick up orders. The busboys carted dirty dishes and laundry in for washing. Luis the dishwasher was up to his elbows in suds.
Bradan stirred a sauce simmering, then dipped a spoon in to taste it. He closed his eyes briefly to let the flavors of shallots, garlic and cream slide over his tongue. "That is a bitching sauce," he said with satisfaction.
Bradan's Coconut Curry Chicken
1 tbsp coconut oil
3 tbsp red curry paste
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
1 sweet red pepper, sliced into thin strips
1 onion, sliced into thin half rings
Grated rind of 1 lemon
1 can coconut milk
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
¼ cup chiffonnade* of fresh Thai basil
Heat coconut oil in non-stick skillet and stir fry curry paste for about 30 seconds, smushing** it around in the hot oil in the pan. Add chicken and really coat the chicken pieces all over with the curry paste and make them nice and red. Stir-fry until the chicken just starts to brown. Add onion and stir fry 2-3 minutes. Add red pepper and lemon rind and continue stir frying until onion is soft. Add coconut milk, fish sauce and lemon juice. Bring to boil and cook for 2-3 minutes until liquid is slightly reduced and thickened. Add basil just before serving.
Bradan's Chef Notes:
This sauce is creamy and spicy. This is fantastic served over jasmine or basmati rice. You can use vegetable oil in place of coconut oil, and use less curry paste if you don't like things hot and spicy. Heh. Also please DO NOT substitute curry powder — curry paste is so much better. You can use light coconut milk, but I like the full-fat creamy version. As for the basil, Queen of Siam is gorgeous, with purplish leaves and an amazing fragrance. If it's not available, sweet basil will also be good, but its taste doesn't hold up as well when heated so be sure to add it just before serving. Cilantro is also delicious in this.
* A chopping technique where herbs are sliced into long thin strips
** Another culinary term :)
Find out more about Kelly and her books at www.kellyjamieson.com.