Mardi Gras is February 5th--Time to PARTY!!!

February 5th is Mardi Gras. A time to party and let loose your inner part animal. So says the official website at http://www.mardigrasday.com/. I’ve only been to New Orleans once—back in 1988, Labor Day weekend at the World Science Fiction Convention then. Even then, I could see that New Orleans was one of a kind. We did Bourbon Street, I visited a Voodoo Museum in the French Quarter, check out shops and places with floats and costumes inside the buildings and chow down on wonderful New Orleans food and breakfasted on beignets. And of course, did World Con too.
Every year, on Fat Tuesday, just before Lent starts (and being Catholic, I know this means giving up something near and dear to me (like chocolate), we make jambalaya or gumbo, or something appropriate to New Orleans. I know for others, this being two days after the Super Bowl, is just another excuse to keep on partying.
Now if you want to go all the way, here’s some links to places. Floats for Dummies: http://www.mardigrasday.com/mardigras/floats.php . Make an easy float and parade it around your neighborhood. Heck, get the neighborhood into the act!
Make a King Cake. Or buy it. If buying: http://www.mardigrasday.com/mardigras/kc_index.php
A small plastic baby is placed inside the cake, and tradition is that whoever gets the baby must bake the next cake or throw the next party.
And don’t forget the costume, or at least wear a mask. Then make a Hurricane or some super neat beverage, and party.

Now for recipes:

King Cake
Brioche:
1/2 cup warm water, about 105 to 115 degrees
2 envelopes active dry yeast
4 1/2 to 5 1/2 cups sifted flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 cup lukewarm milk
3 eggs
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 tablespoons butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
with 1 tablespoon milk
a tiny doll or coin
.
Icing:
3 cups confectioner's sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice, strained
3 to 5 tablespoons water
2 candied cherries, halved
.
Sugar Topping
Paste food coloring: purple, green, and yellow
3/4 cup sugar
PREPARATION:
Brioche:Combine yeast and the warm water. Combine flour, sugar, nutmeg and salt in a large mixing bowl. Stir in lemon peel. Make a well in center and add yeast and water mixture, along with milk. Lightly beat the 3 eggs and 4 egg yolks; add to liquid mixture. With a large wooden spoon, gradually incorporate dry ingredients into liquids in the center well. Beat in 1/2 cup of the butter and continute beating until dough forms ball. Use a food processor or dough hook for beating, if desired. Place ball on floured board and knead until smooth and elastic, incorporating more flour as necessary, a little at a time. Butter the inside of a large bowl with 1 tablespoon of the butter. Place dough in bowl and turn so the entire surface will be buttered Cover bowl and set aside for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled in bulk. Brush a large baking sheet with remaining butter. Punch dough down on lightly floured surface. Knead, then pat and shape dough into a cylinder about 14 inches long. Place on baking sheet and form into a ring. Press bean or doll well into dough so that it doesn't show. Set aside again to rise for about 45 to 60 minutes. When ready to bake, brush the top and sides of the ring with the egg-milk mixture. Bake the King's Cake in middle of oven at 375° for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Slide cake onto wire rack to cool.
Icing:Combine the confectioners' sugar, lemon juice and 3 tablespoons of water in a deep bowl; stir until the icing smooth. If too stiff to spread, beat in 1 teaspoon water at a time, until desired consistency is reached. It should be thin enough to run slowly down the sides of the cake. Spread the icing over the top of the cake, letting it to run down the sides. Prepare the colored sugars:Squeeze a dab of green paste into the palm of one hand. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of sugar over the paste and rub hands together to color the sugars evenly. Put colored sugar in a cup and repeat process with green, then twice with purple and yellow, putting each color in a separate cup.
Sprinkle the colored sugars over the icing immediately, forming a row of purple, yellow, and green strips, each about 2 inches wide, on both sides of the ring. Arrange cherry halves evenly on top of the cake, pressing them gently into the icing.

Crock-pot Jambalaya

1 pound chicken breasts or tenders, boneless, cut in 1-inch cubes
8 to 12 ounces smoked sausage, sliced
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 large can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 teaspoons dried leaf oregano
2 teaspoons dried parsley
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 pound shrimp, cooked
2 cups raw rice, cooked

Combine chicken, sausage, chopped bell pepper, and chopped onion in slow cooker. Add tomatoes, chicken broth, wine, oregano, parsley, Cajun seasoning, and pepper; stir gently. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours. About 30 to 45 minutes before eating, add cooked shrimp and hot cooked rice; heat thoroughly.Serves 8.


Now get out there and PARTY!!!!!

New Review for Haunted Richmond, Virginia from NightsandWeekends.com

Got a new review of from NightsandWeekends.com. Here's a partial of what the reviewer said about Haunted Richmond, Virginia : Rich in detail and atmosphere, Haunted Richmond draws you back in time to linger among the spirits of past history and sometimes past tragedy. This is an enthralling book that's not to be missed—especially for lovers of the paranormal.

Rest the rest of the review at NightsandWeekends.com/Haunted Richmond, Virginia

Join Me and 7 Other Authors for Book Signing Feb. 9th in Richmond, Virginia

I'll be joining fellow authors from my Virginia Romance Writers of Amercia chapter at a book signing Saturday, February 9, 2008 4:00PM to 6:00PM at the Short Pump Barnes and Noble 11640 W. Broad Street Short Pump, Virginia 23233 804-360-0103.

SCHEDULED TO APPEAR AND BOOKS TO BE SIGNED:

Pamela K. Kinney aka Sapphire Phelan
HAUNTED RICHMOND, VIRGINIA (Pamela K. Kinney)
FORBIDDEN LOVE: BAD BOYS (Sapphire Phelan-Soul Seduction)
FORBIDDEN LOVE: WICKED WOMEN (Sapphire Phelan-Being a Predator is a Bitch)
FORBIDDEN LOVE: SACRED BANDS (Sapphire Phelan-The Dark Man)
COMING TOGETHER UNDER FIRE (Sapphire Phelan-Shadow Lover)

Mary Burton
I'M WATCHING YOU
COLD CASE COP

Donna Dalton
THE CAVALRY WIFE

Jenny Gardiner
SLEEPING WITH WARD CLEAVER

Shara Lanel
ENLIGHTENED LOVE
PRIMITIVE PASSION
THE ZODIAC SERIES AIR

Sherry Morris a.k.a. Sammie Joe Moresca
SMOLDER
COMING TOGETHER FOR THE CURE
HUNDRED DOLLAR BILL

Mary Montague Sikes
EAGLE RISING

Natale Stenzel
PADORA'S BOX

A Nonfiction Article and A Poem of Mine in Top Ten of P&E 2007 Readers Poll

"Haunted Chesterfield" is #7 in Top Ten of Nonfiction Articles of Preditors and Editors 2007 Readers Poll . You can read this article at http://www.chesterfieldobserver.com/news/2007/1031/news/016.html
or at http://www.chesterfieldobserver.com/news/2007/1031/PDF/page_22.pdf.

Though not by me, but by my pseudonym, Sapphire Phelan, "Costumed Scare" is # 8 in Top Ten of Poems of P&E's 2007 Readers Poll. You can read this poem in Phaze in Verse poetry anthology published by Phaze.

Appearing at Marscon in Williamsburg, Virginia Jan. 18-20th

I'll be at Marscon (http://marscon.net ) this upcoming weekend in Williamsburg, Virginia. I'll be doing the speculative fiction erotica panel as my pseudonym, Sapphire Phelan, and will also be joining fellow authors and couple publishers at a table in the dealer's room. I'll be selling and signing my books there, along with other authors' too on Friday, January 18th, 6-10PM, so come on by and say hello. I'll have Haunted Richmond, Virginia, copies of horror anthologies my stories are in, copies of my chapbook of ghostly fiction, Beyond the Four Walls, and anthologies and e-Books on CD of my erotic romance fiction by Sapphire Phelan.

Haunted Richmond, Virginia Nominated for Library of Virginia Literary Awards

Woohoo! I have super news. Got a letter yesterday, telling me that Haunted Richmond, Virginia was nominated for the Library of Virginia Literary awards! How cool is that? To learn more about these awards the link to their website is http://www.lva.lib.va.us/whatwedo/awards/ .

UPCOMING LIVE APEARANCES So Far For 2008

Marscon 2008 -January 18-20, 2008-Holiday Inn Patriot-Williamsburg, Virginia. Will be sharing a table in dealer's room with fellow authors and publishers of EPIC . I'll have print and some CDs of books from both Pamela K. Kinney and Sapphire Phelan.

Shevacon 16 2008 -February 22-24, 2008--Holiday Inn Roanoke Tanglewood-Roanoke, Virginia. Author guest, and signing there, besides doing panels.

Virginia Festival of the Book-March 28, 2008-2:00 PM-Traveling Historic Virginia: Sites and Tales panel-Sun Bow Trading Company110 W. South Street(434)293-8821. Sharing with Jean L. Cooper (A Guide to Historic Charlottesville & Albemarle County, Virginia) and Donna Akers Warmuth (Legends, Stories and Ghostly Takes of Abingdon and Washington County, VA) . I'll also be at the book fair the next day for a stint with Phaze Publishing table as Sapphire Phelan.

Romantic Times Convention 2008-Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (as mainly Sapphire Phelan though also as Pamela K. Kinney)

Ravencon 2008 -April 25-27, 2008- Crowne Plaza Richmond WestI-64 and West Broad Street 6531 West Broad Street Richmond, Virginia 23230 (804) 285-9951.

I've Been Nominated in Preditors and Editors Readers Poll 2007!!!

I have several stories, poems, anthologies my stories and poems were in plus Haunted Richmond, Virginia nominated under All Other Novels even though it's non-fiction. Most are by Sapphire Phelan, but some by Pamela K. Kinney. Please go and vote for them. You can only vote for one book or poem in each area. The Readers Poll ends midnight of 15 January (GMT). Readers Poll Awards will be announced in February.

Haunted Richmond, Virginia: http://www.critters.org/predpoll/novel.shtml

Give Me Something Good To Eat
Prey (in Mining the Muse anthology):
http://www.critters.org/predpoll/shortstoryh.shtml

Anthologies: Mining the Muse, the Collective Works of Chesterfield Writers Club :
http://www.critters.org/predpoll/antho.shtml

Authors Website: http://www.critters.org/predpoll/author.shtml