Get Wicked!

Happy almost Halloweeeeen!

Hope you're all enjoying the fabulousness that is the Entangled Get Wicked Blog Hop. Because I'm all about treats, rather than tricks, I thought I'd share my (world famous in my street) Halloween mallow ghosts. This is about getting wicked as well as trick or treating, and there is nothing more deliciously wicked than the taste of sugar whipped into airy peaky perfection. Personally I would serve the adult version of these with cream too - ideally chocolate cream. Oh. Yes.
 


You will need:  
4 egg whites, at room temperature
Pinch salt
220g (1 cup) caster sugar

1. Remember that moisture is not your friend when you are making these puppies. So don't make meringues on humid or rainy days.  Preheat oven to 120°C/248°F. Measure and prepare all your ingredients.
2. Line 2 large baking trays with non-stick baking paper. Have all the required utensils on hand. An electric stand mixer or electric hand beaters with a whisk attachment or a hand balloon whisk can be used to whisk the egg whites. they will all give good results but the texture of the meringue mixture will be slightly different with each.
3. Place the egg whites and salt in a large, clean, dry mixing bowl. Make sure your egg whites, bowl and whisk attachment/s are free of any water, or fat such as butter, oil or egg yolks, as this will inhibit the egg whites from incorporating air and producing a good volume. It is best to use a stainless steel, glass, ceramic or copper bowl and whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form.
4. Add the sugar, a spoonful at a time, whisking until just combined. The sugar should be added gradually but there is no need to whisk well after each addition. If the sugar is added too slowly, the resulting mixture will be fluffy and not smooth and will give the final meringues an open texture.
5. After the last of the sugar has been, added, continue to whisk for a further 2-3 minutes or until the mixture is very thick and glossy, all the sugar has dissolved and a long trailing peak forms when the whisk is lifted. The best way to test if all the sugar has dissolved is to rub a little of the mixture between your thumb and forefinger.
6. If it is smooth, all the sugar has dissolved. Keep a close eye on the mixture and stop beating as soon as it reaches this stage. If the mixture is overbeaten, the meringues will collapse during cooking and beads of sugar will form on their surface.
7. Use teaspoons to spoon the mixture onto the lined trays to form the meringues. As a guide, each meringue will be about 2 level tablespoon measures of mixture.
8. Place the meringues into the oven and reduce the temperature to 90°C/194°F. When you place the meringues in the oven, the initial slightly higher temperature sets their outsides. The lower temperature then dries the meringues rather than bakes them. Leave the oven on for 1 1/2 hours or until the meringues are crisp and sound hollow when tapped on the base. Turn the oven off and allow the meringues to cool in the oven - this will take 3-4 hours.
9. Paint the "ghost eyes" on with black food coloring or color paste.
10. Store your "ghosts" in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

Thanks for coming to visit. As a special treat to Blog Hoppers, I'm giving away an ARC of my upcoming Christmas title Red Hot Christmas! Just let me know which of my Entangled titles has been translated into greek...you can check on my website

To head back to the Blog Hop, just click on the linky link below. 

Fab Four - Final Guest

And finally - the last (but definately not least, because - cowboys!) of the Fab Four Indulgence Release laaadies. The lovely Marisa Cleveland stops by with her new title Reforming the Cowboy. Take it away Marisa!

 

1. Four words to describe Reforming the Cowboy: Sex, skepticism, sincerity, and strength

2. Four Favorite Indulgences: Cuddling with hubby, sipping champagne, nibbling on strawberries, and reading a romance novel.

3. Four women/characters my hero, BILLY, would never date: Cruella de Vil, Catwoman, Bellatrix Lestrange, and Mystique from the X-Men

4. Four pick up lines my heroine, LACEY, would never go for:

                Do you have a band aid? I scraped my knee falling for you.

                Damn, if being sexy was a crime, you'd be guilty as charged!

                There is something wrong with my cell phone. It doesn't have your number in it.

                You must be a hell of thief, because you stole my heart from across the room.

Country singer Billy Hardy needs to get back on the charts. His manager assures him headlining the opening of a cafe in South Beach is his best chance at getting back to the big time. If he fails, his career is over for good this time.

Lacey Durant can't believe opening night includes the country singer she crushed on through college. And her customers agree he's dreamy. But his playboy reputation threatens her cafe's image and she can't afford that. She insists Billy stay with her so she can keep an eye on him, and thwart overenthusiastic fans.

Billy's charms and Lacey's sexy curves prove more than either can resist, but she refuses to be just another lyric in his well-known songs of heartbreak.

About Marisa:

Marisa loves to laugh, hates to cry, and does both often. She married her best friend, and her adult romance novels focus on sensual relationships developed through friendship. She loves to connect with readers.

Connect with Marisa through her Website, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, Tumblr, Goodreads and YouTube. Wowsers! That's a lot of connecting :-)

 

You can Buy Reforming the Cowboy on Amazon,  Barnes and Noble, and 

iTunes:

Thanks to Sofia Harper and Hayson Manning for coming on over this month. You can grab their Indulgence release titles now - and of course Love Lost and Found is ready and waiting to Pleasure your Shelf! :-)  Happy Reading!

x Michele

 

Brand Shiny New

Oh my excited goodness me! This!

Yep. Book two is out in the world - and you can hear me - and my sad sorry cold filled voice, being excited about it! If for some reason this doesn't work in your viewer - you can pop to youtube instead. More importantly than my iffy in person voice though, Felicity is awaiting your e-readers. Love Love and Found is sitting pretty on Amazon and Barnes and Noble as we speak. Hope you love her voice! 

 But wait, there's more! Two of the September Release titles from Entangled Publishing's Indulgence line have heroes stuck on deserted islands so, because we can, there's a hero smackdown contest running all this week on Facebook, culminating with a Twitter party on Friday! And there are prizes. Of course! Click here for the rafflecopter action. 

Friday the 13th, heroes dressed only in towels, Team Rick vs Team Marshall, the banter's already begun on twitter and it's not even close to Friday. Hope you can come and join in the fun.

And, because I've been waiting to share till the book was officially official - the blurb!

Felicity Williams can't remember the last five years thanks to an accident that wiped out her memory. She fled her old life in hopes of starting fresh and found refuge working on a cruise ship. But her past is coming for her…

Rick McCarthy wakes after a climbing accident to discover that his business partner and fiancée has quit her job and disappeared. He’s trying to accept that she’s run out on him, but now he needs her signature to close a deal that could literally be life or death. He’ll go to any extreme to get what he needs…even if that means becoming someone else to win her back. But a little lie becomes a large mess when they’re stranded on a deserted island together, and old misunderstandings might ruin their chance at new love…

Remember I'm also hosting the other three Indulgence authors this month, so stay tuned for some smexy blurbs, bios and boys. It's a release party baby, and you're invited!
Thanks for stopping by and Happy Reading!
x Michele