Guest Author, Liana Laverentz

Hello and thank you for having me here today. I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday and is ready to settle back into the routine of school and work. I know I am, starting today. I had a great time goofing off and just being with friends and family, but 2009 is already well underway, and I'm already beind the curve :)

I noticed Anna Kathryn's blog is full of delicious recipes, so I thought I'd add a couple of my own favorites, one I've been making for over 25 years, Apple Cake, and another one I discovered just a few months ago called Spinach-Broccoli Bake. These are both dishes that Rebecca would definately cook for Jake, the hero in my contemporary romance novel, Jake's Return, which is currently a featured romance at The Wild Rose Press.

The first is a little twist on that yummy green bean casserole people love to make (and eat!) over the holidays and at family dinners. Complete with the crispy fried onions on the top.

Spinach-Broccoli Casserole

1 lb package of chopped spinach
2 cups chopped broccoli
1 can (10 ¾ oz) cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
½ cup mayonnaise
1 egg, well beaten
½ tsp pepper
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp garlic powder
1 can fried onions

Place frozen spinach in container and cover with water. Place on stove top and bring to a boil. Boil for 3 minutes. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 4 minutes. Drain. Place frozen broccoli in container and cover with water. Place on stove top and bring to a boil. Boil for 3 minutes. Drain. In a large mixing bowl, combine soup, mayonnaise, egg, pepper, salt, and garlic powder. Add cooked spinach and cooked broccoli, mixing well. Pour mixture in a greased 2 quart casserole. (I use a rectangular glass pan). Sprinkle can of fried onions on top. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until firm. Enjoy!

The next recipe has special meaning for me. When I was young, we used visit my grandmother, who lived in Germany. Every time I came to see her, she would make this wonderful Apfel Kuchen. We’d have it with real whipped cream on top. Years later, when I was working as a consultant to the military in Washington, DC, a woman brought in a cake that tasted remarkably like my grandmother’s. The flour we use in the United States is a bit different than the kind they use over there, so the texture isn’t quite the same, but it still turned out delicious. This is the recipe.

Apple Cake

Cake Batter

3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
4 eggs
3 tsp baking powder
7 tbsp orange juice
2 ½ tsp vanilla

Apple Mixture Mix (in a separate bowl)

4 large apples (sliced)
2 tsp cinnamon
¼ cup sugar

Combine all ingredients except apples and cinnamon/sugar mix.
Place a layer of batter in greased tube pan or rectangular pan (I use a 2 quart glass casserole dish)
Add ½ apple mixture
Place remaining batter over apples
Top with remaining apples
Bake one hour and 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

You can add nuts or raisins if you like, and be sure to top it off with whipped cream!

Liana Laverentz is the author of two contemporary romances with The Wild Rose Press, Thin Ice and Jake’s Return. Thin Ice is a 2007 New Jersey Romance Writers Golden Leaf Award winner, a 2008 EPPIE winner for best contemporary romance, and was a nominee for Best Romance of 2007 at Long and Short Reviews. Jake’s Return is a 2008 Golden Leaf Award Winner. Her next release, Ashton’s Secret, a murder mystery romance, will be available June 26, 2009. For more information, go to http://www.lianalaverentz.com/