Let's Dish by Catherine Wade

I met Catherine Wade on the Samhain Author loop last fall. She joined at the same time as me, so we've been swimming the unfamiliar publishing waters together. Let's Dish is her first novel, and I'm thrilled to be hosting her on my blog today...especially since her recipe is one I think even I can manage. And for someone who tells when dinner's ready by when the smoke alarm goes off, that's saying something!

Welcome, Cate!

Holy cannoli, I’m a published author.

And I do mean cannoli.

Let’s Dish is my debut novel, so the day I sold it to Samhain Publishing, my coworkers took me out to celebrate. At a chocolate shop. Only made sense, since they helped me do the research for Maggie’s delicious dishes. There were many, many lunches out at a little local bistro that serves somewhat upscale salads, soups and desserts. It’s a quaint little place with a back terrace and the best turkey grape salad you’ve ever tasted. And yes, turkey and grapes taste fabulous together, when done right.

I didn’t exactly steal their menu verbatim, though. I used my own ideas, spring boarding off their unique dishes. I even tried to make a couple, including Maggie’s famous white chocolate mints (easy and delicious) and lemon cream pound cake (simple and perfectly sweet). It did amaze me, though, how much of her recipes include booze. I’m not much of a drinker, but as Maggie points out, the alcohol cooks out, anyway.

But I’m a much simpler cook than Maggie. She’s a professional chef – I just write about professional chefs. So for everyone else out there who’s just a simple, at-home cook, I have a fool-proof, kid-friendly recipe that is sure to please. You can even customize it to make it Asian, French – whatever! And today I’ll share it with you:

Orange Chicken

Ingredients:
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon chicken seasoning
16 oz jar orange marmalade
¼ cup orange juice
1 small can mandarin oranges

Optional Ingredients:
Slivered Almonds
¼ cup white wine (instead of orange juice) for a more French flair
2 tablespoons soy sauce for a more Asian taste

Sprinkle seasoning over chicken breasts and brown in olive oil until almost cooked through. Add marmalade, mandarin oranges, and orange juice (or wine or soy sauce) and allow sauce to reduce for approximately five to ten minutes. Serve over rice.

Seriously, that simple. And quick! So all that time you save on cooking dinner you can spend holed up with a good book. Like…I don’t know…maybe Let’s Dish.

Bon appetit!


If you want to know more about Cate, or want to read an excerpt from Let's Dish, and Cate's upcoming novel, Another Time Around (to be released in August 2009), be sure to visit her webpage. As of this morning, you can buy Let's Dish here through Samhain Publishing.

Woohoo Ms. Wade! You are indeed now a published author! Now, where's the cannoli?