4 ounces swiss cheese, such as Gruyere, grated
In a small saucepan, warm the milk over medium heat until almost boiling, being careful not to scorch it or to let it boil over.
While the milk is heating, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. When the butter has stopped frothing, add the flour and stir it around with a wooden spoon for at least two minutes. It shouldn’t get brown at all, but it should stop smelling like raw flour. This is what’s called a white roux.
Pour the hot milk into the roux in a slow, steady stream, whisking like mad the whole time. Keep whisking, scraping any bits of roux off the sides of the pan, until it comes to a boil. Then whisk some more while the sauce boils for a couple of minutes. When it starts to get thick and smooth, take it off the heat and whisk in salt and pepper to taste—at this point, you’ve got a béchamel sauce. Now add about half a cup of the grated swiss cheese a little bit at a time to help it melt into the sauce evenly, and when it’s all mixed in, taste it for seasoning again! Now you’ve got your Mornay sauce.
Pour the Mornay sauce over the vegetables in the gratin dish, then sprinkle the top of the gratin with the rest of the grated cheese. Dot with the extra butter, just a couple tiny pieces here and there over the top of the gratin.
Bake in the 350 degree oven for about thirty minutes, or until the top of the gratin starts to bubble and brown.
Serves six to eight as a side dish, or four as a main course with a lightly dressed salad.
BECK’S PAELLA (SERVES 6–8)
Paella is a generous, informal dish that is perfect for parties and large family gatherings! It’s very forgiving when it comes to proportions and ingredients—basically, it’s all about making it the way you like it. There are a few steps to go through, but I promise, it will be worth it when you wow your guests with the finished dish.
Stock Preparation
½ cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon saffron
5½ cups stock (fish or chicken)
¼ teaspoon ground coriander
1 bay leaf
Mix white wine, lemon juice and crushed saffron in a small bowl and let stand to allow the saffron to bloom.
Bring stock to a simmer in a 3 quart saucepan. Add the saffron mixture, coriander, and the bay leaf to the hot stock. Hold at simmer while preparing vegetables and seafood.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Meat Preparation
1 pound spicy sausage, such as linguiça or Spanish chorizo
¼ to ½ pound diced ham or bacon
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into chunks
Remove the sausage casing and sauté the sausage in olive oil in a skillet until lightly browned. Break into bite-size pieces while cooking. Remove browned sausage to a platter.
Sauté ham or bacon and remove to platter with the sausage.
Add chicken pieces to the skillet, brown on all sides in the pork fat and remove to platter. Reserve the pork fat.
Seafood Preparation
2 to 4 small lobster tails (½ tail per person)
1 pound large shrimp
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Salt and pepper
½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon dried oregano
1 pound squid (tubes)
½ pound mussels
1 pound clams
Cut lobster tails in half lengthwise; you can use kitchen shears to cut through shell.
Peel and devein shrimp.
Toss shrimp and lobster tails in a bowl with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, and the lemon juice and seasonings.
Clean and wash squid. Slice squid tubes into ½ inch rings and add to bowl with shrimp and lobster tails.
Place paella pan or large, oven-proof skillet on stovetop over medium-high heat. Add remaining tablespoon of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of reserved pork fat.
Once the oil and fat are hot but not smoking, add lobster tails and sauté for two minutes. Remove to platter.
Add shrimp and squid and sauté for two minutes. Remove to platter, then discard fat from paella pan and wipe with a clean towel.
Clean and wash mussels and clams.
Vegetable and Garnish Preparation
8 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon sea salt
3 medium tomatoes (in season) or one (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
1 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika, hot or sweet
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, sliced into ½-inch strips from pole to pole
1 red bell pepper, sliced
3 cups Spanish Arborio rice, or other medium-grain rice
1 cup frozen green peas, thawed
1 cup Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped
lemon wedges
Mince garlic and mash to paste with 1 teaspoon sea salt in a small bowl.
Peel tomatoes and remove seeds. Dice and place in a bowl. Stir in smoked paprika.
Heat oil in paella pan over high heat, then add onions and peppers. Stir-fry the vegetables for two minutes, until they begin to soften.
Stir garlic and salt paste into paella pan and stir-fry for one minute, until the mixture becomes fragrant.
Add tomatoes and paprika to paella pan and stir-fry for one minute.
Add uncooked rice to paella pan and stir with tomatoes, onions, and peppers to coat.
Final preparation
Measure hot stock and add stock or water as needed to make 5½ cups. Stir hot stock into rice, tomatoes, onions and pepper mixture and bring to rapid boil on stove. Stir gently and cook about six minutes until liquid thickens and rice appears on surface. You know it’s thickening when your spoon starts to make tracks exposing the bottom of the pan.
Turn off heat and add sautéed meats from the platter, then stir in shrimp, squid and peas.
Add lobster tails and push them partly into the rice. Push mussels and clams partway into rice, hinge end down, then drizzle juices accumulated on the platter over the top. Bake ten to fifteen minutes uncovered on center rack of oven until liquid is absorbed and a crust forms. Rice should be slightly too al dente.
Remove paella pan from oven, cover with aluminum foil or kitchen towel and let stand for ten minutes. Rice will continue cooking and firm up.
Sprinkle paella with parsley and decorate with lemon wedges. Serve with a simple green salad and a nice, crusty bread to soak up the juices!
St. Martin’s Paperbacks Titles by
LOUISA EDWARDS
Can’t Stand the Heat
On the Steamy Side
Just One Taste
Too Hot to Touch
Some Like It Hot
Hot Under Pressure
About the Author
LOUISA EDWARDS grew up in Virginia before moving to Manhattan to work with some of the biggest names in book publishing. She has also worked as a restaurant reviewer for a small-town newspaper, a waitress at a retirement home, and behind the counter at an organic bakery. She decided to bring her love of romance and cooking together by writing the Recipe for Love and Rising Star Chef series. She currently lives in Austin, Texas.
Red-hot raves for the novels of Louisa Edwards
TOO HOT TO TOUCH
“Too Hot to Touch is a satisfying, emotional and touching read.”
—Read, React, Review
“I can see that this series is going to be another keeper on my shelves. A great start to this new foodie series, it makes me want to learn to cook … almost.”
—Smitten with Reading
“Edwards always amazes me with her descriptions in the kitchen and food. Be sure to read this book on a full stomach, or else the hunger pains might get ya!”
—The Book Pushers
“Jules and Max scorch the pages … very well-written characters with flaws, issues and depth.”
—Badass Book Reviews
“I loved this book.
It was funny, sexy, the love story was touching, and the characters were likeable. As a fan of contemporary romance, this is exactly what I’m looking for when I buy a book. I can’t wait to read the next installment. This one is a keeper so don’t waste more time and go get it!”
—Romance Around the Corner
“If you like food, televised food shows (especially the popular Bravo series Top Chef) and books with happy endings, you’re in for a treat.”
—San Angelo Standard Times
“Scorching romance and delicious passions ignite behind the scenes of a high-stakes culinary competition. Today’s hottest chefs vie for fame, fortune … and each other’s hearts.”
—Fresh Fiction
“Yowza! There’s nothing like romance in the kitchen to get juices pumping and hearts pounding, especially when the writing sizzles like it does in Edwards’ latest.”
—All About Romance
“Every woman who’s made the painful discovery that great sex is not enough to make a man realize he’s in love will sympathize. Too Hot to Touch flips the power balance.”
—BN.com Romance Reviews
“I enjoyed the banter between all the characters. We get a little hint as to whom Danny’s heroine will be as his book will pick up where this one leads off. It’s overall an enjoyable read, and I’ll be picking up Danny’s book when it comes out.”
—Happily Ever After Reads
JUST ONE TASTE
“The third addition to Edwards’ contemporary, culinary-based love stories is a rare treat that is certain to satisfy readers with its delectable combination of lusciously sensuous romance and irresistibly clever writing.”
—Booklist
“Laugh-out-loud funny, Just One Taste [is] a surprisingly tasty story of two unlikely people meeting and falling in love … A fun, light read with plenty of humor and passion, Just One Taste makes it to my keeper shelf and has me searching for the book preceding [it].”
—Affaire de Coeur
“Awesome characters, delicious food and even more fabulous sex makes for a super-sexy and fun read! Edwards does it again. Her stories are fun but so meaningful, and I will definitely be reading her next book!”
—The Book Lush
“This is a wonderfully tasty series. Once you take the first bite of this story you’ll be hooked to the very last bite.”
—Once Upon A Romance (5 Stars)
“There are a lot of elements in Just One Taste, and Edwards juggles them like a pro. The addition of mouthwatering recipes at the end of the book enhances the excellent reading experience, and draws you into the world of cooks and cooking. A very enjoyable contemporary romance with plenty of bite and heart.”
—Sacramento Book Review
“I absolutely love Top Chef and Iron Chef America, but have never really picked up a food/chef-related novel before. I’m happy to report that Just One Taste was fun, sweet, and deliciously romantic.”
—PS I Love Books
“This is my first ‘taste’ of a Louisa Edwards book, and I’ll be going out for the others in this series. If you want a story with sweet romance, definite sensuality and enough laughs to make your day, then you need to read Just One Taste.”
—Long and Short Reviews
“Rosemary is probably one of the most intricately sketched heroines I’ve ever seen in a book, and the romance is, in a word … intense, and the blending of the story was richly presented. Make it a point to read this Perfect 10 today!”
—Romance Reviews Today
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
HOT UNDER PRESSURE
Copyright © 2012 by Louisa Edwards.
All rights reserved.
For information address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
www.stmartins.com
eISBN: 9781466801387
St. Martin’s Paperbacks edition / April 2012
St. Martin’s Paperbacks are published by St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
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