Kitchen Hula: Guest Author Lisa Carter (giveaway)

**Weds. Nov. 27th 5:10 PM  Congratulations to our giveaway winner, Jackie! ** 

Our guest today is bringing a taste of the tropics to Authors' Galley. Especially delightful for those of you already pulling on mittens, parkas and wool hats in the season's first snows. I've seen your Facebook pics! Our guest's newest novel, Aloha Rose, a contemporary romance in the Quilts of Love series, releases this month. She and her husband have two daughters and make their home in North Carolina. When she isn't writing, she enjoys traveling to romantic locales, quilting, and researching her next exotic adventure. Please tie on your aprons and join me in a warm welcome for Lisa Carter.

Aloha from the 50^th state and the setting of my novel, Aloha Rose. One of the things I love most about Hawaii is its rainbow of ethnicities. In fact, Hawaii is only state in the United States with no racial majority. Hawaii is composed of an ethnic rainbow of cultures, which add flavor and spice to the local cuisine. I like food and Aloha Rose is chock full of different foodie options available in this tropical paradise.

It’s a culinary adventure starting with breakfast and includes tropical juices such as mango, guava, pineapple and coconut. My favorite coffee is Kona, grown on the Big Island. For lunch, there’s boxed plate lunches with rice and meat, readily available at most roadside stands and food trucks, a result of quick lunches compiled by former Filipino and Japanese pineapple plantation workers. The Native Hawaiians bring poi—a pastelike starch and acquired taste, trust me—to the luau table along with haupia—a coconut pudding—and laulau—pork or chicken rolled in taro leaves.

I should warn visitors, however, of one dish for which Hawaiians of all races and cultures have a particular affection—SPAM. So beloved it’s considered it’s own food group. And Hawaiians will find a way to incorporate SPAM into every meal—I’m talking breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Whether it be SPAM omelets or SPAM burgers or SPAM casseroles. Definitely another acquired taste. But hey, if fit takes hanging out in the islands long enough to develop a fondness for chopped or fried SPAM, I’m willing to suffer for my writing art.

In the interests of everyone’s cholesterol levels, though, I share this fun dessert you can make at home to bring a little Hawaiian into your regularly scheduled winter.

Looking for something different to serve for dessert at Thanksgiving?

How about a shaka cool, Hawaiian way to usher in the holidays?

Hula Pie

Ingredients:
•9-inch chocolate pie crust
•Half-gallon of macadamia ice cream
(substitute with vanilla and chopped macadamia nuts if necessary)
•4 ounces chocolate fudge topping
•1 shot of espresso or Kona coffee
•6 ounces of macadamia nuts
•Whipped cream

Directions:
1. Allow fudge topping to warm to room temperature.
2. Scoop ice cream into prepared shell. Smooth mound into a high bombe dome.
3. If substituting vanilla ice cream—soften slightly and mix in by hand chopped nuts according to taste.
4. Warm espresso or coffee and mix into fudge topping.
5. Warm knife or metal spatula to spread topping evenly over bombe.
6. Freeze until ready to serve.
7. Cover hula pie with a layer of whipped cream and sprinkle chopped macadamia nuts before serving.

Mahalo and I hope you enjoy my favorite dessert from the tropical paradise of the Aloha state.

Excerpt from Aloha Rose

Thanks to a fierce case of jet lag, Laney rose with the sunrise at the sound of a door slamming in the direction of the stable behind the house. The thought of truck doors, a specific burgundy F150 to be exact, drove her from the twisted sheets. Hiding behind a lace-paneled curtain, Laney’s early bird behavior rewarded her with a too brief glimpse of Kai’s broad shoulders that tapered to a narrow waist. She exhaled as Kai disappeared on a sturdy coal black quarter horse to dispense with his morning chores. She’d let the lace panel drift into place.

      Kai Barnes. Obnoxious to a fault. Arrogant.

      But real easy on the eyes.

      Dinner had been a tense affair, everyone afraid to speak lest they say the wrong thing. Mily, unconcerned with strained undercurrents, chirped like a little bird, doing her best to put Laney and “Rose” in the know of the activities available on the ranch and around town. Dinner had also involved spam. And not the junk that cluttered the Internet.

      Spam burgers. The look on Laney’s face, despite her best efforts, betrayed her, for Kai laughed out loud.

      “Tutu’s favorite meal and Teah’s cooking specialty,” Kai informed her. And when Teah returned to the kitchen, he offered to split his burger with her, too, if she wanted more.

      Following Elyse’s lead at the Moana, Laney kicked him under the table.

From the back cover of Aloha Rose: 

Will conflict with one man keep Laney from her dream of a loving family? When Laney Carrigan sets out to find her birth family, her only clue is the Hawaiian quilt—a red rose snowflake applique on a white background—in which she was found wrapped as an infant. Centering her search on the Big Island and battling fears of rejection, Laney begins a painstaking journey toward her true heritage. Kai Barnes, however, is determined to protect the people he loves. He thinks Laney is nothing more than a gold-digger and blocks every move she makes. As their conflict escalates, it puts at risk the one thing that Kai and Laney both want most—a family.

***

What a delight to have you in our cyber kitchen, Lisa--I apologize for the SPAM pat down! And I'm still chuckling over that great scene from Aloha Rose. Thank you for offering us some beach time and a yummy slice of pie.

And now for our Hawaii-themed giveaway. The wonderful Wynn-Wynn Media has put together a fun prize package:

A copy of Aloha Rose, cute tea towel AND some yummy Macadamia nuts! 

For your chance to win,  leave a comment below that includes your e-mail address.  I will draw a winning name (via Random.Org) on Weds. November 27th and notify the lucky person via e-mail. 

Until then happy reading . . . and bon appetit!