Monday, November 12, 2018

Blog Tour & Review: Dining With Angels: Bits & Bites from the Demonica Universe (Demonica #17.5) by Larissa Ione and Suzanne M. Johnson



Join New York Times bestselling author Larissa Ione, and USA Today bestselling Southern food expert Suzanne M. Johnson as they guide you through their favorite Demonica world inspired food and drink recipes. And don’t forget to spend some time learning a little bit more about the private lives of your favorite characters in all new snippets and short stories!
 

Title: Dining With Angels: Bits & Bites from the Demonica Universe
Series: Demonica #17.5
Author: Larissa Ione & Suzanne M. Johnson
Release Date: November 6th, 2018

Synopsis:
In a world where humans and supernatural beings coexist — not always peacefully — three things can bring everyone to the table: Love, a mutual enemy, and, of course, food.

With seven brand new stories from the Demonica universe, New York Times bestselling author Larissa Ione has the love and enemies covered, while celebrity Southern food expert Suzanne M. Johnson brings delicious food to the party.

And who doesn’t love a party? (Harvester rolls her eyes and raises her hand, but we know she’s lying.)

Join Ares and Cara as they celebrate a new addition to their family. See what Reaver and Harvester are doing to “spice” things up. Find out what trouble Reseph might have gotten himself into with Jillian. You’ll love reading about the further adventures of Wraith and Serena, Declan and Suzanne, and Shade and Runa, and you’re not going to want to miss the sit down with Eidolon and Tayla.

So pour a glass of the Grim Reaper’s finest wine and settle in for slices of life from your favorite characters and the recipes that bring them together. Whether you’re dining with angels, drinking with demons, or hanging with humans, you’ll find the perfect heavenly bits and sinful bites to suit the occasion.

Happy reading and happy eating!

Purchase Links:

 


About the Authors:


Larissa Ione:
Larissa Ione is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. An Air Force veteran, she traded in a career as a meteorologist to pursue her passion of writing. She now spends her days in pajamas with her computer, strong coffee, and supernatural worlds. She believes in celebrating everything, and would never be caught without a bottle of Champagne chilling in the fridge…just in case. She currently lives in Wisconsin with her U.S. Coast Guard husband, her teenage son, a rescue cat named Vegas, and her very own hellhound, a King Shepherd named Hexe.     
    


Suzanne M. Johnson:

USA Today bestselling author Suzanne M. Johnson is family trained, a South Georgia native who's been cooking all of her life, creating not only some really unique food, but precious memories that re-occur every time she smells something simmering in the oven. In all of her books, Suzanne shows that making a delicious meal doesn't have to be complicated--it just has to be made with love. So go ahead, don't be bashful, dive right in. Who knows? You might just make a few memories of your own.      



My Review:
If you are reading this review, you are probably already a fan of Larissa Ione and her incredible writing style. So I am not really going to delve into all the amazing short stories she wrote for this delicious book. What I am going to do is talk about all the finger-licking recipes that contribute to the awesomeness of this book :D

I've tried 4 of the recipes so far and I can honestly say that I was in taste bud heaven. Though my pictures are kind of limited as I kind of forgot to take them while cooking. I was that enthusiastic. The 4 recipes I tried were Spaghetti all'Angeliciana (Sinful Version), Strawberries with Black Pepper Balsamic Sauce, Caprese Chicken with Balsamic Glaze and Dark Chocolate Chipotle Brownies. Even only the names of this meals make my mouth water, so it is not a surprise that the are divine in my opinion.

So let's start with Spaghetti all'Angeliciana. I love pasta so it is not a surprise that this was the first thing that really caught my eye. And honestly, it is so easy to prepare. The sauce itself, is basically tomato sauce with some sinful additions. 

There are two options for the sauce. It could be made with prosciutto or with bacon. I did the prosciutto version and it was heavenly but I am pretty sure the bacon one will be divine as well.

Another interesting addition to the sauce is the spinach, blended with some of the canned tomatoes. In my case, I prefer my sauces smoother so I blended 2/3 of the canned tomatoes instead of 1/3 and I exchanged the last can of tomatoes with cherry tomatoes in tomato sauce. It worked out perfectly as well so I am definitely not regretting the small changes :D I did use whole wheat pasta just to go slightly on the healthier side but my sister-in-law made them with traditional pasta and they were just as delicious :D Of course I sprinkled with a lot of pecorino cheese on top and proceeded with devouring my portion :D


Next on my list was the Strawberries with Black Pepper Balsamic Sauce. Well, this was one of the recipes that I forgot to take pictures of. Never the less, it was delicious :D And it was super easy and fast to prepare. I loved the kick of the black pepper and the slight tang of the sauce. I've never tried anything like it before but it is definitely something I will prepare again and again. For an even more decadent version, I tried it with some ice cream. I used chocolate which just made the whole thing to die for but I am pretty sure it will be just as good with vanilla as well. I also had some of the strawberries for breakfast as a side to my toast and it was so refreshing. So, I put this one into the winning category as well :D

The next recipe I tried was Caprese Chicken with Balsamic Glaze and that's the other recipe I don't have any pictures of. This one is not as easy as the previous two and it does require some more time to prepare. The preparation of the chicken before the cooking was pretty easy with the exception of sealing the breasts with toothpicks. That took a while and I might try a different solution next time or simply try different brand of toothpicks that might be sharper :D Apart from that small snafu, everything else went according to plan and the chicken was simply out of this world. I did add some green salad as a side, though I am thinking it might work really well with some potato and apple salad as well. I will probably do that next time :D But even if I don't, I am definitely preparing the chicken again :)

The last recipe I tried was the Dark Chocolate Chipotle Brownies. I love brownies and I love the combination of spice and chocolate. So it was really a no brainer :D Similarly to most of the recipes I tried, it was pretty easy to prepare and cook and it was just delicious. The brownie has quite a kick as an after taste so if you are not into spicy things, you might want to reduce the amount of chipotle powder but apart from that, I am sure you would love it. I prepared it as well together with my sister-in-law and as she didn't have chipotle, I used chilli powder and decorated it with coconut on top. It was just as good and it was devoured within the hour :D I am thinking, next time I might try it with cayenne pepper as well. Just to see how it will taste :) But even without any changes, I am hotly recommending this recipe :)

So far, that's all I've tried but I am definitely not going to stop here. I have my eye on few more recipes that I am planning on preparing during the next couple of weeks :D With that being said, I think this book is a great addition to every Larissa Ione fan as the short stories are definitely a must read. And if you love cooking, be sure to check the recipes because they are so worth it :D







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