Tag Archives: taylor lee

Waldorf Salad with Persimmon and Pear by Taylor Lee

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I hope you had as wonderful a Thanksgiving as I did. All four of my grandsons, my middle glorious daughter and my Special Guy were there! The food was fabulous. And a lot of it. Calories in the thousands. But my salad brought a glorious splash of color. One of the boys asked, “What are those orange things?” They were persimmons! Enjoy this fabulous salad. P.S Rather than the dressing they suggested, I drizzled a splash of Balsamic Glaze. Perfect! Recipe courtesy of The Washington Post.

Waldorf Salad

Modern Waldorf Salad with Persimmon and Asian Pear

Bright, textural, satisfying and beautiful, here’s a colorful, composed salad for your next cold-weather gathering. Let the persimmons ripen until soft but not squishy. Use crisp apples with a bright red peel. If Asian pears are unavailable, substitute a ripe but still firm Bosc pear. Mache, also known as “lamb’s lettuce,” is a winter salad green, vegetal and tender. If you can’t find it, use tender young spinach leaves instead. Compose this salad on a pretty platter or toss with dressing and serve in a wide bowl. If mayonnaise is a no-go in your household, swap in full-fat yogurt for a similar dressing.

The dressing can be shaken together 1 day ahead. The nuts can be toasted up to 2 days ahead. Otherwise, the ingredients should be cut up and served within a couple of hours, or the fruit will brown.

Ingredients:
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise or full-fat yogurt
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 cups (2 ounces) mache or torn baby spinach leaves
  • 2 Pink Lady or Fuji apples, cored, halved and sliced 1/8-inch thick
  • 2 Asian pears, cored, halved and sliced 1/8-inch thick
  • 4 Fuyu persimmons, each cut into 8 wedges
  • 2 ruby red grapefruit, peeled, seeded and sectioned
  • 6 red radishes, thinly sliced
  • 4 stalks celery, diced
  • 1/4 cup (1 ounce) feta cheese, crumbled
  • 1/4 cup (1 1/2 ounces) pomegranate arils
  • 1/2 cup (2 ounces) toasted walnuts, roughly chopped (Instead I used Pistachios and Sweet and Spicey Pecans)
Directions:
  1. In a small jar with a lid, combine the mayonnaise, lemon juice and black pepper. Cover and shake until combined.
  2. Place the mache or spinach on a large, wide platter. Arrange the apple, pear, persimmon, grapefruit, radishes and celery on top of the mache. Crumble the feta over the salad and scatter with the pomegranate arils.
  3. Drizzle the dressing over the salad (or serve it on the side) and top with the toasted walnuts. Serve right away.

Now that Thanksgiving is a done deal, it’s time to turn our attention to Christmas! And what better way to dive into the Christmas season than to grab the collection my ABB friends and I wrote to bring in the season. Irresistible Scrooges acknowledges what a challenge Christmas can be–until it isn’t!

Irresistible Scrooges

 

Irresistible Scrooges

My book in the collection is:

Nothing Good Happens After Midnight

Nothing  Good Happens After Midnight 

Prequel: Bah Humbug 

By Taylor Lee

  • The brazen detective crashes the emergency room determined to her question her dying agent.
  • The new head of the ER stops her at the door.
  • Their antagonism aside, the arrogant physician and the brash detective agree.
  • Christmas is the worst holiday of the year.

 

 

The Case for BODICE-RIPPER SEX-ED by Taylor Lee

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NEWS FLASH!  We romance writers have been vindicated. According to none other than the Gray Lady herself, the New York Times: “Romance Novels Are The Best Sex-Ed.”

Bodice-Ripper

Seriously, this is a “don’t miss” article. The Sunday New York Times published a sensational article by contributing opinion writer Jennifer Weiner titled: “We Need Bodice-Ripping Sex Ed.” *

The Insightful Jennifer Weiner

In a clever, insightful article Weiner claims that she got a smidgen of information about sex from her well-meaning parents. Another sliver came from junior high sex ed classes that named body parts and detailed all the bad things that can happen to you if you have sex.  (Think hideous diseases and of course, the ultimate curse, pregnancy.) Fortunately for Weiner, like a lot of us, she was a reader.  And what did she read? Yep, you guessed it:  Romance novels.

Weiner throws a bone to the likely readers of the NYT when she concedes:  “The literary establishment doesn’t have much love for women’s fiction, whether it’s romance, erotica or popular novels about love and marriage.”  She adds, “Romance novels come in for an extra helping of scorn. Critics sneer that they’re all heaving bosoms and throbbing manhoods, unrealistic, poorly written and politically incorrect.”

Not so, says Weiner.

In the central theme of the article she insists as an information-hungry teenager, the romance novels she read, “for all their soft core covers and happily-ever-after’s, were quietly and not so quietly subversive. They taught readers that sexual pleasure was something women could not just hope for but insist upon.  Also, they shaped my interactions with boys and men. They helped make me a feminist.”

WOW! True vindication for those of us as teenagers who hid in the closet gobbling up everything from Gone With the Wind (You know the scene on the stairs when Rhett apparently has his way with a blushing Scarlet…) to  Judith Krantz, to Erica Jong etc., etc. Without understanding that we were being “brainwashed”, we romance readers came to believe that female pleasure was a must, something that we should insist upon.

Weiner explains, “Because these books were written for and consumed by women, female pleasure was an essential part of every story. Villains were easy to spot: they were the ones who left a woman “burning and unsatisfied.” She cites “Shirley Conran’s “LACE” that features a heroine telling her feckless husband that she used an egg-timer to determine how long it took her to achieve orgasm on her own and that she’d be happy to teach him what to do.” Weiner adds with what I’m sure was a grin, ”At 14, I never looked at hard- boiled eggs the same way again.”

The author gets political

Weiner takes her argument in favor of romance novels into the political issue of the day, the #me Too Movement.  She quotes Bea Koch, the co-owner of the Ripped Bodice bookstore who says, “Romance novels teach readers that all partners are equal participants in a sexual relationship….In some instances it can be a literal roadmap for how to bring up difficult topics with a partner. They give a roadmap to people wanting to experiment with their sexuality, or even get on touch with what they want and need in a sexual relationship.”

Are romance novels “just porn” as so many reviewers sniff?  Given the rampant availability of porn, that is a worthwhile question to ask.  One recent study found that “79 percent of men and 76 percent of women look at a pornographic website at least every month, another that three out of 10 men in that age group were daily viewers.” In contrast, those of us who read and write about a range of intimacy know that while “sex might be easy, relationships are hard.” Comparing romance novels to porn, Weiner says, “The book has the ability to paint a deeper picture. A 400 page novel can teach you more about relationships that any X-rated clip.”

Equal Empowerment

In the current climate where so many people, men and women, are wrestling with crossed wires and mixed signals, Weiner concludes, “If we want men and women equally empowered to form real connection, to talk honestly and openly about who they are and what they want, there are worse places to start than curling up with a good book.”

Amen.

*This is a repeat of a previous blog. I think it is one of my best. And frankly given the “sneers” we get from the mainstream press, Jennifer Weiner’s insightful and laugh aloud message published on January 21 2018 is worthy of reading again … and again!

P.S. If you like your Bodice Ripper books with no holds barred, check out:

FORBIDDEN: Book 1: Sizzling HOT Detective Series (The Criminal Affairs Collection)

Trust me. These guys and gals don’t need egg-timers.

Forbidden Taylor Lee

•She’d almost erased the memory of the outrageous undercover agent who’d captured her heart while betraying her soul.

•To her horror, the devious man she’d relegated to the ash bin of her tortured pride reappeared. As her commanding officer, no less.

•Certain that he could control his reaction to the renegade detective he’d betrayed, the arrogant agent accepted the command of her elite unit.

•It only took a fusillade of challenging skirmishes to prove that far from being over, their fierce affair was stronger than ever with the power to take them both down.

WARNING: Romance so HOT it singes the pages. HOT, tough, explicit. Not for the faint at heart. Definitely bring a fan!

And while you are at it, gobble up my Author Billboard buddies latest box set:

Irresistible Scrooges … Not Any More

Irresistible Scrooges

 

My book in the series is:

“Nothing Good Happens After Midnight”

Prequel: Bah Humbug

  • The brazen detective crashes the emergency room determined to her question her dying agent
  • The new head of the ER stops her at the door
  • Their antagonism aside, the arrogant physician and the brash detective agree
  • Christmas is the worst holiday of the year

 

Time to Tart It Up! By Taylor Lee

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Disclosure: I write sexy murder mysteries and “tart” describes a goodly number of my heroines. Although I prefer to call them feisty.  But I’m on a tart rampage. One that appeals to my other obsessions–cooking and eating.  (I’m convinced that sex and food are, or should be, integrally related.)

On to tarts. My trusty NYT’s April food columns declared in so many words that sheet pan dishes were the “must make” recipes of the month. (All elements of the meal are baked on a single sheet pan). My guy and I made a series of concoctions that you’d never guess would work in one humble pan.

Carrot Tart

Pepperidge Farm

Come May, I was thrilled to see that “tarts” were the recipes of the month. Remember Pepperidge Farm puff pastry from years ago?  Guess what? It’s baaack. And it is now the foundation for every kind of tart you can imagine.

After making dessert tarts and meat and fish oriented tarts, I ended up with my favorite—vegetable tarts.  If you want to impress everyone from the most discriminating gourmand to grandsons who could care less about fine dining, win them over with this recipe I conceived.  Try it.  I promise everyone will be fighting for whatever leftovers exist.

Taylor’s Sumptuous Vegetable Tart

Ingredients:

Crust:  Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry (in frozen food section of your supermarket)

Cheese filling: 8oz ricotta cheese, 6 oz crumbled Feta cheese, salt pepper, fresh herbs (your choice).  Combine in a food processor to a “spreadable consistency”.

Vegetables:  My favorites – (you choose yours)

Multi colored carrots, bright red pepper, asparagus (thin), broccolini, sliced cremini mushrooms, red onion.

Directions:

Slice vegetables in thin strips. Generously drizzle with olive oil, kosher salt and pepper. Spread in a single layer and roast in a 425 degree oven.  Different vegetables will require different roasting times.  Cool and set aside.

Thaw one sheet of puff pastry.  Line a 12 x 16 baking sheet with parchment paper (essential for scooting the finished tart onto a snazzy serving tray.) Generously sprinkle the parchment paper-covered cooking sheet with parmesan cheese.  Roll out the puff pastry and place on the prepared cookie sheet. Using the point of a sharp knife, score a ½ inch line around the edge of the pastry. Spread the cheese mixture over the pastry leaving the ½ inch border uncovered.

Decorate the puff pastry with your roasted vegetables. I used multi-colored carrots as placeholders.  Then I arranged the other vegetables to fill out the canvas. (See photos.  Note in one recipe I used multi colored heirloom tomatoes drizzled with pesto. Yum.)   Bake in a 400 degree oven for 25-30 minutes until pastry is crisp and puffy.

Tomato Tart

Present to your wowed guests.  You and they will never think about “tarts’ the same way again. Promise!

****

If you’re ready for a seriously tarty young woman, grab Tanya: Book 1; The Trouble Sisters Saga.

Tanya by Taylor Lee

She’s a brash deputy. He’s an undercover agent. When sparks start to fly, a murderer might be the death of them.

If you like smart characters, tough-talking cops, and scorching passion, you’ll love this sizzling thrill-ride.

 

NCAA Women’s Final 4 by @TaylorLeeWrites

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For those of you who follow my blogs know that I’m an avid sports fan. AND I’m a huge supporter of women in sports. That said if you missed the NCAA Women’s Final Four you missed the beginning of an era. One that will be remembered as the game that put women’s basketball on the trajectory to greatness. I love the article by Greg Moore of the AZ Republic below. Heck, it’s got all the hot knocks guaranteed to get attention. Supposed racial slights, social media and broadcast television going crazy. Heck even Jill Biden got in the mix (to her regret).

What if this was the moment that the women’s basketball world has been waiting for, and we all missed it?

The NCAA women’s Final Four was the story of spring.

Think about it.  Angel Reese vs. Caitlin Clark was bigger than anyone could have predicted. It was bigger than Opening Day in baseball. Bigger than the NBA playoff race. And bigger than the Masters tournament.

“It’s been coming,” former Arizona State women’s basketball coach Charli Turner Thorne said. “It’s been culminating. Even pre-pandemic. 2019 NCAA Tournament was the most viewed. Biggest fanbase. … It’s been trending great.”

It’s a key point that’s been lost in the debate over whether racism was the reason that Reese has been considered obnoxious while Clark has been viewed as precocious, and why in the world Jill Biden thought it was a good idea to invite a losing team to the White House, and why we credit the wrestler John Cena with Clark’s silly hand gesture when he stole it from the rap star Tony Yayo: We were debating women’s hoops with the intensity typically reserved for Jordan vs. LeBron!

This normally would be the space where we explain in detail what happened in the aftermath of LSU’s win over Iowa in the women’s championship, but it feels unnecessary given all that already has been been written and said, which is the exactly the point.

I missed it at first, too. That was until I called my mother on Easter Sunday. When she gave me an update on the family, she told me about my niece, who’s 9, and said the little one has been talking about making the WNBA, which prompted my mom to watch the final.

It must be said that I don’t think my mom has watched a game in her life — of any sort.

Not a Super Bowl, World Series or Stanley Cup game. Not an All-Star, celebrity or charity game. And let’s just be blunt about it, I played seven years of football, and she maybe — MAYBE — came to see me once. (In her defense, I didn’t play much, and when I did, I was a horrifying combination of scrawny and slow. She probably didn’t want to see her only son trampled. I can’t blame her. I wouldn’t have watched me, either.)

NCAA

LSU’s Angel Reese (right) shows her ring finger toward Iowa’s Caitlin Clark after the Tigers won the women’s national championship.

But this month, my mom was watching a game between two teams with which she had no direct connection and was so invested that she brought it up to me, unprompted.

TV networks and social media have played a huge role in that attention, which is a far cry from Turner-Thorne’s playing days.

“Back in the Stone Age,” the consultant and broadcast analyst said in a phone interview, “we didn’t have media coverage, so it was hard to draw fans.

“When I played, Pablo Morales, the Olympic swimmer, covered our team. … That was our claim to fame. Other than that, it was pretty pathetic.”

Now? Traditional media outlets were all over Dallas. But forget them. “Saturday Night Live” made Reese into character on Weekend Update.

“The Bayou Barbie is in the building!” cast member Punkie Johnson said as Reese, wearing a No. 10 LSU jersey.

Rhonda Bennett, associate commissioner for women’s basketball with the Pac-12, appreciates the attention.

“It was great that we had people talking about the women’s game, two and three days after the national championship and on the weekend after the national championship game,” she said.

As for the “SNL” jokes, Bennett said “that’s showing that women’s basketball is engaging fans that maybe aren’t traditional women’s basketball fans. It’s getting into pop culture. I think that’s great.”

She thinks the growth is sustainable because it’s part of a trend.

“I think this has been building over several years, I don’t think this is a fluke,” she said, citing sold out Final Fours and huge moments, including Morgan William of Mississippi State hitting a buzzer-beater in 2017 to end a 111-game win streak by UConn.

There’s still room for the sport to grow before the Final Four reaches Phoenix in 2026.

We still don’t see early tournament games at neutral sites. We still don’t see big attendance numbers in November and December. And we aren’t seeing the big endorsement deals that put players on national television ads.

But it could be coming up.

After all, my sister says that my niece just had her first basketball practice.

If my mother is watching, that’s a good sign.

Could be that in 50 years, we’ll all look back at this as the moment women’s basketball arrived.

I invite you to check out my book…

Sapphire: Book 1 Ladies of the Night Series.

Kindle Books Sapphire

Gabriella Shaw, Code Name: Sapphire

Sapphire is hired to seduce and capture the leader of a lucrative international human trafficking enterprise. The epitome of the mastermind’s targeted women, Sapphire is the consummate bait. Unfortunately for the evil man, Sapphire is as deadly as she is beautiful. Paired with former Col. Jase Malone, the two agents enter the Caligula Club to trap their prey. The club is the salacious playground for the rich, famous and deviant, and the conduit to the human trafficking horror. The only thing more challenging than the mastermind to the fiercely independent Sapphire is her commanding partner. The sparks fly as Sapphire and Malone fight to capture the criminally insane mastermind while their fierce personal attraction threatens to bring them both—and the mission—crashing down.

And while you are feasting on the two sexy Special Agents, check out this great Box Set by my ABB pals:

Unforgettable Loyalty

Is there anything more important in a relationship than loyalty from the one you love…knowing that person will always be there for you?

My book in the box set is:

Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door

Knockin On Heaven's Door

She’s a go-it-alone detective. He’s a psychiatrist and FBI profiler. A serial killer brings them together. In more ways than one.

Tyra Stone is the lead major crimes detective in the city’s busy police department. Beautiful, brash, and a declared loner, cooperation isn’t part of her vocabulary. Deacon Walsh has more degrees than any one man should. A former Special Ops physician, psychiatrist, and now FBI profiler, the stunning black agent has spent a year tracking the serial killer of four Colorado girls. When the trail goes cold, a brutal murder of an Albuquerque girl with all the marks of his victims convinces Deacon his killer is responsible.