Book Review: Once Upon a Zombie (Book 1)

Oh my gosh how I loved this book. I wanted to jump inside with these fierce fighting fairy tale zombie chicks and kick ass. This book is a delightful blend of contemporary zombie fiction meets traditional childhood fairy tales, plus an awesome dose of girl power thrown in. 

Via social media, all over the world strange sightings of zombies and other supernatural phenomena has been occurring within graveyards. What does it mean?

In Billy Phillips' new series Once Upon a Zombie, something mysterious has happened to the classic characters of our beloved fairytales. An awful curse has been cast into the traditional fantasy worlds, transforming Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and Cinderella into the undead who, despite their urges, valiantly refuse to give in to their zombie instincts.

Caitlin Fletcher, who has some odd tie to this phenomena, along with her younger sister, will search through London and end up falling into the proverbial rabbit hole to a world they never knew existed, plus discovering some truths about their past and the mother that unexplainably disappeared.

Caitlin lets fear and anxiety rule most of her life- she feels that if she makes as little ripple as possible, more awful things won't happen to her,

Disappear into the world of the undead and see how your traditional fairy tales comes alive…with a vengeance.

"This is a zombie book that is also not a zombie book," Billy Phillips, President and CEO of Toon Studio Licensing explains. "The 'zombie' is a metaphor for the incessant impulses associated with fear. If fear, anxiety and selfishness blindly controls our lives, we are mindless, a slave to these rash impulses and negative thoughts."

Phillips has used positive energy to take control again.

Get Once Upon a Zombie here.

* Review copy furnished via Smith Publicity.

Serve Up Fresh Healthy Meals After Thanksgiving plus Leftovers

Thanksgiving weekend is still going- besides turkey, try cooking something unique. How about Cooking with Ronco's Chef Paja Sanchez Rotisserie Chicken or Balsamic Onions as a side dish?
Keep the celebration going and serve up delicious fresh meals to your family and friends. 

And don't forget LEFTOVERS! 

Lemon Herbed Garlic Rotisserie Chicken

Serves: 8-10
Rotisserie Time: 2 ½ to 3 hours

Ingredients

• 2, 5-6 pound roasting chickens
• 6-8 fresh rosemary sprigs
• 6-8 fresh thyme springs
• 6-8 fresh sage sprigs
• 6-8 fresh chives
• 2 heads of garlic
• 10-12 lemon wheels
• 4 tablespoons of salted butter, cut into quarter sized pieces
• Fresh cracked black pepper
• Sea salt

Directions

1. Remove chicken giblets. Rinse both chickens inside and out, then dry completely. Trim off tailbone and any excess fat.

2. With your fingers, carefully pull back the breast skin to loosen. Stuff 2 lemon wheels, 2 sprigs of each herb and a couple of pats of butter between the skin of both chickens.

3. Stuff the cavity of each chicken with a whole garlic clove, 2 lemon wheels and a couple of pats of butter. (This adds flavor while the chicken is cooking, but don’t over-stuff.  It will increase the cooking time.)

4. Truss chickens to secure legs and wings.

5. Generously salt and pepper the skin on the top and bottoms of both chickens.

6. Place on rotisserie rods. I like to separate the two chickens with a couple of lemon wheels to allow the skin between them to have airflow to crisp up.

7. Cook chickens for 15 minutes per pound of meat (approx. 2 ½ to 3 hours). Allow chickens to reach 165º F or test with knife by piercing meat between a leg and thigh to make sure juices run clear.

8. When fully cooked, set rotisserie to NO HEAT ROTATE and let chickens rest for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Herbed Balsamic Rotisserie Onions

 Ingredients

• 2 pounds red boiler onions
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons aged balsamic vinegar
• 1-tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary
• 1-tablespoon fresh chopped thyme
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

Directions

1. Peel onions by hand. Or, to make peeling easier, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Lower heat to low and submerge onions in hot water for one minute. Drain and cool slightly, then peel. If you try this method, you may want to take a few minutes off your cooking time.

2. Place peeled onions in a large bowl and add in all other ingredients. Toss to coat onions.

3. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, remove onions from sauce and place into your rotisserie basket. If you have any smaller onions, place those towards the bottom of the basket and the larger ones towards the basket handle. Close basket securely to prevent onions from rolling around and place onto rotisserie spit.

4. Cook in your rotisserie for 20-25 minutes or until onions start to char to your liking.

5. Carefully remove basket from spit and toss with the remaining sauce in the bowl. Serve warm.

Special thanks to Cooking with Ronco, Chef Sanchez, and Jen Morgan.

The Definition of Elegance is Restraint

In this era of social media, it's astounding how many people hide behind their computers and phones.

Doesn't anyone ever praise or support anyone else? Everyone always takes to social media to bitch but it goes the other way too - why not use social media to spread the love!?

Girls Night In Serves Up Fun with Amazing and Delicious Local Eats

The table is ready! Pretzels, cupcakes, savory sides!

I recently did a feature with my media affiliate Explore-Philly, where we worked with UK company Butlers in the Buff, a new twist on bachelorette parties. For the evening, we had our very own butler in the buff, Daniel, serving us all night.

I mean, it’s research, people. I am a writer, (and actually half the small guest list was writers) and we all work very hard.  We quite enjoyed the eye candy and being served all night long, as well as mixing fabulous drinks and serving excellent food.

We began with cocktails from Hangar vodka- I had bought a cherry juice to try, and Daniel got creative in the kitchen, mixing excellent cocktails. 

We also enjoyed Barefoot and Cupcake wines, and Diet Cokes.

Smoked Bacon Bruschetta from KoP Magganio's

A pretzel tray from the generous Philly Pretzel Factory in Collegeville was sent along with a huge amount of Rivets and delicious honey-mustard dip, cheese sauce, and cinnamon dip, which were just delicious. This was perfect as everyone enjoyed pretzel rivets and a glass of champagne as they arrived. Don’t forget to bring these yummy pretzel trays to any holiday party!

We then enjoyed appetizers-  Smoked Bacon Bruschetta-  from King of Prussia Maggianos- soft warm goat cheese on a round of warm French bread, topped with thick-cut delicious bacon and a sprig of arugula. These were so appealing and tasty! Daniel then served us small plates of Magganio’s famous baked ziti and sausage- warm, savory pasta with a marinara sauce and parmesan cheese was just what we needed for a cold November night.

The Smoked Bacon Bruschetta is part of the new Features Menu, where each month a new chef is highlighted at Magganio’s. All of the dishes are authentic using the highest quality seasonal ingredients. Here are features that will be in Magganio’s restaurant starting December.

After such a savory meal, we needed something sweet to close out our meal, and ICED by Betsy of Royersford delivered- delicious, sweet cupcakes such as Pumpkin Spice, Banana Nut, Cookies n’ Cream, PB & C, Pure Cupcake (my favorite) and Caramel Apple kept us quite happy all evening, and everyone went home with a cupcake as well. Thanks to ICED by Betsy in Royersford!

ICED by Betsy cupcakes are so delightful!

To top off our evening, we chatted and enjoyed the newest Godiva holiday truffles. Milk and dark chocolates in bite-size morsels with delicious flavors such as white chocolate, gingerbread, cranberry, milk, caramel, and dark chocolates were delightful; also check out Godiva’s season’s offerings of a 32-piece Limited Edition Chocolate Gift Box featuring milk and dark chocolate creations, as well as chocolate snowflakes, inside a chic red gift box. 

Other excellent gifts for the holidays include the Hot Cocoa Gift Set, and the Limited Edition Holiday Chocolate Truffles Gift Box.

Daniel, our buff butler, chats with the ladies.

Daniel was an absolute blast, making us giggle and chat all night long- we definitely needed a party night! Butlers in the Buff is a perfect addition to any party- nothing naughty, just good clean cheeky fun and no one felt uncomfortable. 

We loved being served all night and playing Cards Against Humanity and just having a blast. Having a cute guy serve us ladies is something I must do for all my girls’ nights!

Please visit these great sponsors for your holiday needs and gifts!

Special Thanks to King of Prussia Magganio’s and Aisha Fletcher of Brinker International, Inc.

Special Thanks to Marissa Laudati of M Booth and the Godiva Team.

Special Thanks to Mike and his team at the Philly Pretzel Factory in Collegeville.

Special Thanks to Hangar Vodka.

Special thanks to Daniel, our Butler in the Buff, and Director of Butlers in the Buff, Stacey Bramhall. 

Food Quote Friday- Happy Thanksgiving!!

"My most memorable meal is every Thanksgiving."

"I love the food: the turkey and stuffing; the sweet potatoes and rice, which come from my mother's Southern heritage;
the mashed potatoes, which come from my wife's Midwestern roots;
the Campbell's green-bean casserole; and of course, pumpkin pie."

- Douglas Conant

#FoodQuoteFriday by Engchik

The Serious Pantry Challenge Weeks 3 and 4

Pantry Challenge Week 3

So I skipped last week because I was out so much, I did manage to make eggs one morning, and have some oatmeal the next. And Friday night Stephen and I were out covering the tasting menu by Chef Mark at Cantina Laredo. And then we had the Harvest Party and Daylight Savings and yeah. Not much pantry-ing going on here.

But now it is November and I’m fresh in my resolve to get things cleaned, cleaned up, and moving out! Spent most of November 1 purging the closet and consolidating. I recently got married and got a lot of great tea towels and kitchen items, so off they went into the Goodwill bag. The other thing I was ruthless with this year was clothes. 

SO many items I pull out every year, wash, hang up, don’t wear, put back in the storage container to sit out the summer. This year I looked at items I hadn’t worn in 3 years and donated some to Goodwill and gave some away. Many things are in good condition, but my tastes have changed, I’ve gained weight, or otherwise just don’t feel it’s me.

Because you know I have the 10 favorite items I wash and wear every single week. If I would just lose 5 pounds, I’d fit back into many pairs of pants...that’s my aim with all this.

Monday November 2-
Breakfast: Oatmeal and a Perfect bar from home.
Lunch: Chicken quesadillas with mushrooms from the café.
Dinner: Pasta and sauce from the PANTRY!

Tuesday November 3-
Breakfast: Noosa yogurt and an apple
Lunch: Taco Tuesday, some ground beef & chicken and cheese, corn, tomatoes and salsa, plus strawberries
Dinner: I got lazy again, we ordered in sandwiches and I watched Project Runway and Stephen and I caught up on writing our blogs. Passed out early! Yay for sleep! Plus veggies from the CSA.
Also, I prepared chili for the crockpot on Wednesday with sauce from the freezer (and threw out a portion of sticky freezer-burned sauce), chilis and spices, plus a half a bag of soaked black beans and the last half cup of lentils I found in the pantry. I also found 2 jars of lime curd and 4 jars of frosting. Plus pudding mix, scone mix, and more jam. Something tells me I’ll be baking this weekend!

This is also a root of my problem…some people like shopping for clothes, jewelry, or art..I like shopping for foodstuffs. Williams- Sonoma, Crate & Barrel…yes please. But then I have to remember to USE these items. I redid my kitchen in March and got a long deep pantry. Before I had a shallow wide cabinet. I tend to push things in the back and forget there are there, so I need to keep rotating and using items up!

Wednesday November 4-
Breakfast: Belvita breakfast cookies and a small pumpkin yogurt
Lunch: Other half of (dinner) sandwich and half of steamed broccoli from our CSA.
Dinner: Out with the girls! Oyster night at the Pour House!

Thursday November 5-
Breakfast: A Perfect Bar, Almond Butter this time. So good and filling! Plus an apple.
Lunch: A portion of the chili I made- its delicious! Steve took some for his lunch too! Yay!
Dinner: Out again with friends, and I drank coffee before bed. This caused an important repeat of dinner. No more coffee with dinner at night- too acidic.

Friday November 6-
Breakfast: Oye exhausted today. Need a good night’s sleep. Breakfast was a bagel and strawberries from the café, but that’s prob all I’m going to eat til dinner. We have a party tonight and after being up half the night I hope we can swing it.]

Survived the weekend! I don’t even remember what I ate, I was all over the places with parties, seeing a new baby, family time, dinner with friends- oh yes, that was Red Lobster!

Monday November 9-
Breakfast: Perfect Bar with an apple and coffee
Lunch: ounce of Cheese curds and a tomato
Dinner: Williams Sonoma pasta with WS truffled mushroom pesto, and some baked chicken nuggets

Tuesday November 10-
Breakfast: Belvita bar w coffee
Lunch: Left over pasta with mushroom truffle pesto, 2 chicken nuggets, and a banana.

Interesting…this week, shopping and cooking in the pantry was easy. Last week it was a struggle. This week we def went to bed earlier, had less diet coke, and less sugar. I seriously wonder if that made a difference!
Dinner: Stephen’s turn to make dinner! He made pork stir fry in our giant awesome wok which was a wedding present, with organic meat, green beans, water chestnuts, and Thai noodles, with peanut sauce. And a side of a small shot of fine single malt scotch. This dinner was ahhhh-mazing. My honeypie can cook quite well. We each then had a cookie from the farmer’s market, a small maple iced cookie, and that was it. Then bed!

Wednesday November 11- HAPPY VETERANS’ DAY!! THANK YOU FOR SERVING THIS WONDERFUL COUNTRY!

Breakfast- Skinnygirl bar, coffee, tea, and a banana
Lunch- leftover stir fry. YUM!
Dinner- ooh I’m hosting book club! On the menu is:

·         Organic cheeses from the farmer’s market, and wine

·         Pepperoni and cubed cheeses, and wine

·         Roasted squash, eggplant, tomatoes, onion, turnip, and carrots, and wine

·         Crock-pot honey mustard pork loin w garlic and onion, and wine

Dessert:  Cupcakes. And everything was a hit! Plus, leftovers for lunch!

Thursday November 12
Breakfast- Coffee and pumpkin yogurt
Lunch- Leftover roasted veggies and pork
Dinner- Out at Marly’s with my ‘little sister’ Suz!

Friday- Monday: Going off the grid to our log cabin in the mountains!

Less sugar, less buying lunches, less Diet Coke less fat, more sleep!

Food Quote Friday on Friday the 13th- Oysters

Today is Friday the 13^th! Awesome!

And so I debuting my latest project Photographs of Food quotes. I am not the first to coin #FoodQuoteFriday, but I am making it work for my newest venture.

“He was a bold man that first ate an oyster.”

-Jonathan Swift

Do you like oysters? These delicious gems are from the Pour House in North Wales, PA.
And yum! Oyster Night is Wednesday night!

Sizzling Fun and Focused Flavors at Cantina Laredo

Walking into the year-old Cantina Laredo restaurant situated in the King of Prussia mall about 30 miles west of Philadelphia is a pleasant if unremarkable experience. Furnished in rich browns and cool grays, with semi-circular banquettes set into the walls and a large bar situated to one side, the place is appealing without being overwhelming. Nothing particularly screams “Mexican fusion”—any type of cuisine might lie in wait.

All that changes once you sit and have a look at the menu. Arranged traditionally, with appetizers, soups and salads; specialties; entrees; and desserts, the menu is focused and clean—the mark of a restaurant that knows exactly what it is.

The general manager and proprietor, Mark Watson, came out to greet us, and informed us that we were in for a treat—a four-course tasting menu prepared especially for us.

To start, he had the bar send us two specialty drinks: A pineapple margarita, and a mango mojito. Both were excellent, if sweet (especially the mojito), with fresh fruit, and in the case of the mojito, freshly muddled mint and a sugar-cane stick.
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We also enjoyed chips and two varieties of excellent homemade salsa, one fiery-hot and served warm, and one on the milder side.

Our knowledgeable and friendly waiter, Abraham, then prepared our first course tableside—the homemade guacamole. This should be ordered just for the freshness of the ingredients and the spectacle at your table.

Fresh avocados were crushed with the zip of lime and jalapenos, cilantro, salt, and other fresh ingredients. Paired with Laredo’s whisper-thin homemade tortilla chips, this is a must-have.
My dining companion and I both found it a trifle salty, but otherwise excellent.

Next came our appetizers—a trio composed of two tuna tartare tacos, two carnitas tacos al carbon, and two shrimp and chorizo empanadas. My favorite was the carnitas taco; its meaty, sour flavor combined perfectly with the homemade soft corn tortilla.

It reminded me of the authentic Mexican street food I enjoyed in Houston. My wife enjoyed the tuna taco, made with sushi-grade tuna. The empanadas was doughy and delicious, yet the shrimp was a trifle scarce.

Our main course was ready just as we were finishing our appetizer. The house specialty, Camaron Poblana Asada, stopped us both in our tracks. Two thin slices of flank steak, each bearing diamond-shaped grill marks, wrapped themselves around a roasted poblano pepper, which was stuffed with melted Monterey Jack.

Gorgeous—and delicious. Served with excellent jasmine-lime rice and roasted asparagus, the steak was fork tender, perfectly seasoned, and tremendously addictive. It was easily our favorite of the savory courses.

Yet we couldn’t ignore the other two main offerings—a wonderful vegetarian enchilada with tender artichoke hearts, and two bone-in carnitas, or braised pork shanks. The latter, tender and smother with chipotle-wine sauce, were melt-in-your-mouth succulent and worth the price of admission.

But hang on folks—the best was yet to come. Another tableside treat, our dessert was something out of a gastronomic fantasy. Abraham first slid a large wedge of homemade apple pie onto a hot cast-iron plate. To this he added cool cinnamon ice cream.

And then, the piece-de-resistance:

A generous scoop of warm, sweet brandy butter that instantly bubbled to life on the hot metal. Delicious smells of apple, cinnamon, and warm brandy filled the air, and we dug in. Easily the best part of the night, the sweet, hot apple pie combined succulently with the butter and ice cream, and though we were stuffed to the gills, we couldn’t stop eating had our lives depended on it.

The service at Cantina Laredo was nothing short of excellent from the time we were welcomed inside to the time we walked out to our car, and we will certainly be back many times in the future.

Don’t let this laser-focused, authentically inspired restaurant’s suburban look fool you—this place knows exactly what it wants to be, and it achieves that goal with aplomb.

4.5 Stars out of 5.

We ended our night with a stay at the Hyatt House, in a tower suite overlooking the mall, with a fantastic breakfast in the morning.

PLUS: 

• Tequila Dinner- An exclusive four-course dinner with Don Julio Tequila pairings on November 11, beginning at 7 PM. The cost is $49.99/person and space is limited. 
• Veterans Day- All veterans and active military personnel can enjoy a complimentary meal (up to $15) on Veterans Day as a small thank you for their service.

Pictures by christine tarlecki and Stephen trimble. They may not be used, reproduced or reused for any reason. Please contact with any questions. 

By Stephen Trimble, guest blogger

Stephen Trimble is a freelance writer in the Philadelphia area.

Special thanks to:
Mark Watson and his team,
Ariel Vegotsky at Vault, and
Natalie McCrea at the Hyatt!

  

BACARDÍ & Philadelphia Ushered in Halloween with Epic House Party!

The City of Brotherly Love served as the first official stop in the Ultimate House Party Tour on October 31^st, 2015. Partygoers experienced first hand the brand’s interpretation of a house party with musical performances by Chromeo and R. City. 

The “custom-built house with five different rooms – from a spacious living room with couches to a backyard full of party games and activities” was decked out with everything needed to get the party started including the classic red cup filled with specialty BACARDÍ cocktails.

Notable attendees included Canadian electro-funk duo, Chromeo; American hip-hop duo, R. City; DJ Melo-X; MTV VJ host Nessa; celebrity chef, Chef Roble; local Philadelphia street photographer Conrad Benner; and DJ Clark Kent.  The notable attendees were full participants in the event, as they partied with the rest of the attendees.

Prior to the House Party, BACARDÍ hosted the above notable attendees in an intimate VIP cocktail roundtable for media and VIPs. MC’d by Nessa, the group provided insight into their multi-faceted artist’s hustle and their passions beyond their platforms, their artistic and personal background and what fuels their hustle.

Notably, Chef Roble discussed his unorthodox path to the hit TV show, The Chew, and DJ Clark Kent reminisced about the lack of DJ technology when he began his career and how he was forced to branch into different areas to become relevant.

The party was full of surprises such as hash tagging on Instagram to get print photos, a lawn filled with games, and make up station.
Half way through the event, a guest was promoted to push a red button, which brought the curtain down to the duo Chromeo performing. 

The evening’s festivities culminated with an exclusive DJ set from Chromeo, who played their popular song “Jealous” and a live performance from R. City, who sang their hit single and crowd favorite “Locked Away.” Fans were invited on stage to sing and dance with R. City as they performed several songs from their new album “What Dreams Are Made Of.”

Over 250 attendees celebrated the night away with BACARDÍ . One thing is certain; the brand knows how to throw a great party.

The BACARDÍ Untameable House Party tour will continue down the East Coast stopping in Washington, D.C. (November 13); Atlanta, Ga. (November 20); and Miami, Fla. (December 4).

All images by GETTY for Bacardi.

Written by guest blogger Deja Cromartie.

Can’t Fight Fate book review

The main character Nikki went to psychic years ago. Now she lives in LA from Australia and every guy she dates she believes he could be the one the psychic mentioned a two-initialed green-eyed man that she cannot pursue, he must find and follow her.

There is little dialogue; there are a lot of sentences in her head. We are in Nikki’s head for the most part, and it’s very choppy. Not much action, it’s just her jumping-around thoughts that read like a young kid on too much coffee. This kind of prose might sound fun while writing it, but the audience doesn’t need to know every thought. They want action and dialogue. They want how the character feels and acts, not just a huge stream of consciousness. There was much back and forth between then and now, and sometimes confusing to what was present day. The antics in which she ‘gets herself into!” are a bit contrived, and a lot of Nikki makes me want to say, girl, chill out with some wine and relax.

This book feels like a high school girl’s rambling diary- many exclamation points!!! Many ‘sigh, what should I do?! I just want love!!!!’
These laments and much of the grammar and punctuation makes me wonder who edited this.

I like and get the idea of trying to fit your life into something you’d like to think is pre-planned. Horoscopes and psychics-who doesn’t try to fit our lives into nice little boxes that a daily horoscope tells us? Unless you get very specific with a psychic, it’s easy to think every moment in your life is THE ONE that the psychic mentioned during a reading. Nikki and her best friend Sioban navigate life in LA, but not much is spend on what it’s like to be an Aussie transplant living on the Coast. I’d like to see definitive actions and less of what’s in her head, because I’m not connecting with her and not really caring if she falls in love or not. More on fate and psychics would be great in the rest of the trilogy, because the potential to be great is here.

The author is trying to get people to see that fate is out there and you can’t fight it, but trying to navigate through Nikki’s constant babble is distracting and arduous. Who’s to say this green-eyed man that is for HER exists? Does he wear contacts?? (I kid) I feel a bit sorry for her too- waiting, hoping, and praying what someone told her is her solid future. Also, at the end, her best friend announces she just found out she’s pregnant, and that it’s a boy. I’m pretty sure you can’t tell the baby’s gender until at least 16 weeks..not the first month.

And the end just stops. She leaves us to read the next book to see what happens, but there’s no closure. There’s no, is this the one, or yes, is CJ it? Does she decide to be single or go for it? Laying the groundwork for the next two books just seems excessive. What’s next for Nikki? She IS fighting fate pretty hard here, because what she was told is probably not who she will fall in love and ultimately end up with. Do we even care?

* A copy of the book was sent to me for review purposes.

Time for NOVEMBER GOALS! Get accomplished and organized this month!

It’s November!

October I completed most of them and was crazy busy. And now…

Time for NOVEMBER GOALS!!!

• To fully organize my clothes and my closet
• To fully organize my kitchen and items
• To fully organize the office (why is it that the office always gets everything dumped into?!)
• To purge yard sale items- donate, sell, or give away
• To spend more time with family and friends
• To get more sleep
• To get back to the gym 4 days a week
• To cook more and take out less

What are your November goals?