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Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Blog Tour- SWEET UNREST by Lisa Maxwell and a Giveaway!


Hey y'all! Today I have Lisa Maxwell, author of SWEET UNREST here to share some of her favorite foods from New Orleans since that's where the book is set ooh and we also get a recipe! Yum!! And make sure to keep reading there's an awesome giveaway at the end! 

Haven't heard of SWEET UNREST? Check it out!



Title: SWEET UNREST
Author:Lisa Maxwell
Pub. Date: October 8, 2014
Publisher: Flux Books
Pages: 336
Formats: Paperback & eBook 

A world where souls walk free and dreams become portals to the past…

Lucy Aimes has always been practical. But even her rational mind can't explain her dark and familiar dreams of a time long ago, filled with people she shouldn't know, but does. When her family moves to New Orleans, Lucy's dreams suddenly become more intense. Reluctantly drawn into the old city's mystical undercurrent, she searches for answers about the nighttime visions that haunt her.

What Lucy finds is Alex, a mysterious boy who behaves as if they've known each other forever. They've only just met, and she shouldn't be drawn to him, but she is. As she tries to unlock Alex's secrets, a killer strikes close to home and a century-old vendetta unspools, putting Lucy and everyone she loves in mortal danger.




Now on to the food!

Eating Your Way Through New Orleans:

One of the best things about writing a book set in New Orleans is traveling there for research. And the best part of traveling to New Orleans for research is the food.

New Orleans is one of the greatest cities for eating, and the food that’s native to the area is some of the best regional food in the US.

So if you’re going to go to New Orleans (or if you just want to feel like you’re in New Orleans), what should you eat?

Oysters: Oysters of any kind are at about every restaurant you can imagine. I’m still too chicken to try them raw, but I love them fried (I love anything fried) and my absolute favorite, Oysters Bienville, which was invented at Antoine’s Restaurant—chargrilled oysters with white wine, shallots, and some other yummy stuff.

Beignets and Chicory Coffee: If you go to New Orleans and you don’t eat beignets with a large café au lait for every breakfast, you’re doing it wrong. Want to make them at home? It’s actually pretty easy! Café du Monde sells their Beignet mix in some 
supermarkets or online. You don’t get the mournful cornet player wailing out “Amazing Grace” for atmosphere, but dump enough powdered sugar on them, and you won’t care.

Muffuletta: The classic Italian cold cut sandwich slathered in a chopped olive salad is available at some delis now, but you can’t beat the original. If you make a trip to New Orleans, you can bring home some of the famous olive mix and make your own at home.
Bananas Foster: The famous desert that features a flaming pan of caramelized bananas was invented at Brennan’s Restaurant in New Orleans in the 1950s. If you can’t make it to the city, tons of restaurants across the country have it. Or you can try to make your own… just have a fire extinguisher nearby.

Red Beans and Rice, Étouffée, Jambalaya, Dirty Rice, Crawfish, Gumbo, Pralines… I think I just gained five pounds thinking about this post. The food in New Orleans is such an amazing mix of Spanish, French, Italian, and African cuisines that it’s unlike anywhere else in the states. No matter what you order, you can’t go wrong.

One of my favorite desserts that is often traced back to New Orleans is Pecan Pie. There are lots of recipes for this super-sweet dessert, but I’m going to share my favorite with you today. When I make it, I use a homemade butter-based crust, but the filling is so good that you can just buy a frozen pie shell and have an amazing dessert in less than an hour.

PECAN PIE

Preheat oven to 375°
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar, packed
2 Tbsp Flour
4 Tbsp Heavy Whipping Cream
2 Eggs
1 Stick Butter, melted
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 Cup Pecans (optional: Soak in Bourbon for 1 hr before adding)

Directions:
Melt butter in a microwave safe bowl. Let cool a bit so butter doesn’t cook eggs when you add them.
Add the rest of the ingredients and beat until everything is combined.
Bake 20 Minutes at 375°
Reduce oven temperature to 275°
Bake an additional 20 minutes.

Center should be slightly soft, but not liquid.

Let cool a bit and serve with ice cream and/or whipped cream.





Thanks for stopping by Lisa I loved pecan pie!!!!




About Lisa:
Lisa Maxwell is the author of Sweet Unrest   (Flux, Fall 2014) and Heartless Things (Simon Pulse, Spring 2016). She has a PhD in English, and when she's not writing books, she’s a professor at a local college. She lives near DC with her very patient husband and two not-so patient boys.










Giveaway Details: 
Giveaway Information:  

One (1) $25 Gift Card to the bookstore of your choice (US Only)

One (1) Art Print bought in the French Quarter (US Only)

One (1) Vodoo Doll Charm (US Only)

Eight (8) Signed Copies of SWEET UNREST with swag (US Only)





a Rafflecopter giveaway



Thanks to Lisa Maxwell and Elana Johnson for setting up the blog tour!







6 comments:

  1. Mmm yummy. I've only visited New Orleans once but I did try many of the foods on the list. This makes me hungry to go back sometime. Sweet Unrest sounds really good as well and has the perfect setting as that city just oozes mysticism.

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  2. Thanks so much for hosting me!! *gives everyone pie*

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  3. I love your blog. Inspiring. I just started making one btw if you want to check it out and leave some comments please feel free to visit it at http://wackylibrary.blogspot.com/#/page/1

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  4. Okay, now I'm hungry. LOL
    That's a beautiful cover and the plot is intriguing. Thanks for a new author and the giveaway.

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  5. ((Waves hi to Lisa)) I only like two kinds of pie - hot or cold :D

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