Introduction
When I first envisioned the Man of the Month series, the initial spark of inspiration centered on friendship. Specifically, a group of friends who band together to try to save The Fix on Sixth, their favorite bar, by putting on a Man of the Month calendar contest.
As I got into plotting the series, though, the friendship aspect really came to the forefront. It wasn't just about the bar, it was about each other. Friends falling in love. Friends helping each other through tough times. Friends joking and teasing. And the circle of friends continually expanding as new characters came into the mix.
And, of course, there was eating and drinking. Which led to this cookbook. (Because, hey, friends, eating, drinking. It's the perfect trifecta, right? And it only gets better when you throw books into the mix!)
But all of that brings me full-circle back to the concept of friends. This time not fictional ones, but real ones. Because it's my real life friends, starting with the amazing Liz Berry, who truly made this cookbook happen.
I met Liz years ago, and after Release Me came out, she asked me to be part of Evil Eye's 1001 Dark Nights publishing program. Since she's awesome and the idea behind 1001 is brilliant (created by Liz and MJ Rose together), I eagerly said yes.
From there, much like in the stories, the friendship expanded. Through Liz, I met cool folks like her husband, Steve Berry (excuse me while I have a fan girl moment), and her sister, Suzanne M. Johnson (who co-authors this cookbook and is amazing), and a slew of authors who've became friends. In some cases, I became reacquainted with authors I'd known for years, but had previously known mostly as an acquaintance. Liz has a gift for bringing people together and acting as a midwife (she'll probably hate that word-too bad!) for an author's creation of stories!
One of the authors I already knew, but got to know better, was the inimitable Lexi Blake, one of my absolute favorite people. Since meeting again through Liz, we've hung out together on vacations and retreats, worked together on projects such as Rising Storm and the Lexi Blake Crossover Collection (my story is Justify Me). And with this cookbook, I'm doing her the dubious honor of basically saying, "That's awesome! I want to be you and do it, too!"
You see, a few years ago, a group of authors were hanging out at Liz's place in Florida, and she introduced us to her sister, Suzanne. Now, Suzanne is as warm and wonderful as she can be, full of Southern hospitality and all that good stuff. So I would have adored her no matter what. But folks, that woman can cook. Like seriously. Like I gained a pant size on that trip. A-Maz-Ing.
It turns out that Lexi had known Suzanne for a while, and they had been working with Liz on Master Bits & Mercenary Bites (it's great; go one-click. I'll wait).
During that trip, Suzanne used us as guinea pigs for some of those recipes. Did I mention the pant size? Yeah, it was all that good.
Fast forward to me planning the Man of the Month series. I have a calendar that goes along with the series (twelve books, twelve hot guys!) and because the owner of the The Fix, Tyree, is also a chef, I thought a cookbook would be fun. And since I thought that Master Bits & Mercenary Bites was the best thing ever, I made a phone call...
Thankfully, both Liz and Suzanne thought the idea sounded fabulous! And the result is this cookbook, with slices of life from characters in the series, and a whole new short story featuring two characters who've been lusting after each other, but never got a book! Now they do!
So huge hugs to Liz and Suzanne and Lexi... and all the friends in that circle. And also to all the readers of the series who've gotten drawn into the world of The Fix on Sixth. Thanks for making the characters your friends!
XXOO
J. Kenner
January ~ February ~ March
JANUARY
Mashed Martinis
Martinis and mashed potatoes, you ask? Why yes! What better way to jazz up a boring potato than to serve it in a martini glass. The delicious toppings make this a stunning side for a great steak or a showpiece appetizer for any occasion.
MASHED POTATOES
8 large baking potatoes, peel
ed and quartered 1 tablespoon mayonnaise 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted 1 tablespoon salt 1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon pepper
In a large pot of boiling water, add the potatoes and boil for 15-20 minutes or until tender. Drain potatoes and place in a large bowl. Add the butter, milk, mayonnaise, salt and pepper. Mash with a potato masher or fork. Scoop potatoes into your favorite martini glass and top with desired topping below.
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Garlic Parmesan Shrimp
4 tablespoons butter 1 pound jumbo (16-20 count) shrimp, peeled and deveined 2 cloves minced garlic 1 tablespoon flour 1 cup chicken broth 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
In a large saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and add the shrimp and garlic. Saute for 3 minutes or until the shrimp are pink, but not completely cooked through. Sprinkle the shrimp with the flour and stir to make a roux. Slowly add the chicken broth, stirring constantly until thickened. This will take about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat. To serve, place shrimp over mashed potatoes and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
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Filet and Blue Cheese
4 (4-6 ounce) filet mignon steaks 1 cup heavy cream 2 tablespoons Montreal steak seasoning 1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter 1 teaspoon pepper 2 tablespoons olive oil 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese 1 tablespoon flour
Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Rub steaks with steak seasoning. In a medium iron skillet over medium high heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon oil. Sear steaks on each side for 2 minutes. Place steaks in the oven for 8-10 minutes or until a meat thermometer reaches 145 degrees for medium rare. Remove steaks from the oven and place on a cutting board. Tent with foil and allow steak to rest for 10 minutes. Place iron skillet over low heat with steak drippings and melt remaining butter and oil. Add flour and stir to make a roux. Slowly add heavy cream, salt and pepper. Stir until thickened. Add blue cheese and stir until combined. Thinly slice filets and place over mashed potatoes. Top with blue cheese sauce.
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