1⁄4 tsp. kosher salt
2 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
Whole candied fruits, such as oranges, apricots, and cherries, halved
Candied citron, cut in strips
Heat oven to 350°.
Grease and flour a 9″ cake pan; set aside.
Combine 2⁄3 cup sugar, zest, and eggs in a large bowl and beat on high speed of a mixer until pale and light, about 5 minutes.
Add flour and fold to combine.
Pour into cake pan and smooth top.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, about 30 minutes.
Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cake cool completely before removing cake from pan.
Using a serrated knife, cut cake crosswise into 1⁄2″-thick strips; set aside.
Line bottom and sides of a 12″ metal pie plate with plastic wrap; set aside.
Process almonds in a food processor until finely chopped. Add 1 cup confectioners’ sugar and process until finely ground.
With processor running, slowly add enough egg white to form a smooth dough.
Transfer dough to a work surface dusted with confectioners’ sugar and knead until smooth.
Using a rolling pin, roll marzipan until 1⁄4″ thick.
Cut into 2″-wide strips and line side of pie plate with strips, flattening where they overlap to form one continuous ring; set aside.
Heat ¼ cup sugar and 1⁄4 cup water in a saucepan over medium-high heat.
Cook until sugar dissolves, then stir in rum; set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together remaining sugar, ricotta, vanilla, and cinnamon until smooth, 2–3 minutes; set aside.
To put it together, line bottom of prepared pie plate with cake strips, cutting to fit, and then sprinkle with 5 tbsp. rum syrup; spoon ricotta mixture on top of cake and spread evenly to fill pie plate.
Top ricotta mixture with remaining cake slices and drizzle with remaining syrup; trim excess marzipan.
Wrap pie plate in plastic wrap and refrigerate 2 hours.
Mix remaining confectioners sugar and lemon juice in a medium bowl to make a thick glaze. Invert pie plate onto a serving dish and peel off plastic wrap. Pour glaze over cake to cover evenly.
Decorate with candied fruits. Refrigerate cake at least 2 hours or overnight.
Chicken Soup
1 large chicken
1 onion, roughly cut
3 carrots, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
2 carrots, finely cut
2 stalks celery, chopped
Escarole (optional)
Bebes (or other small pasta like Acini di pepe)
In a large stock pot, place chicken and cover with water. Add vegetables and garlic, salt and pepper. Heat to boiling, then reduce heat and allow to simmer, stirring occasionally, for four to six hours. Add water as it evaporates.
Remove the chicken and vegetables, straining stock. When chicken is cooled, remove from bones and return to pot. Add finely chopped carrots and celery. Bring to boil and add escarole (if desired).
You can add the bebes to the boiling soup if you like, or you can boil the bebes separately and add to each individual bowl, which will keep the liquid from being absorbed.
Reheat as often as you need. Excellent cure for colds, flu and all manner of crud.
Thunder Road—Bruce Springsteen
Go Now—Moody Blues
Say You Love Me—Fleetwood Mac
Vienna—Billy Joel
Leather and Lace—Stevie Nicks
Jersey Girl—Bruce Springsteen
Beast of Burden—The Rolling Stones
Over My Head—Fleetwood Mac
Born to Run—Bruce Springsteen
For more information on Tawdra’s books and buy links to all vendors, please visit Tawdra’s website at tawdrakandle.com.
The Anti-Cinderella Chronicles
Fifty Frogs
The Anti-Cinderella
Hot Off The Press
The Anti-Cinderella Takes London
The Anti-Cinderella Conquers the World
The Cuffing Season
Love in a Small Town
Love Me Home (A LIAST Prequel)
The Last One
The First One
The Only One
The Perfect One
The Always One
Underneath My Christmas Tree
The Hard One
My One and Always
The Forever One
The Love Song One
The Meant To Be Girl
Love in a Small Town Volume I
Love in a Small Town Volume II
Crystal Cove Romances
The Posse
The Plan
The Path
The Problem
The Keeping Score Series
When We Were Us
Hanging By A Moment
Days of You and Me
Not Broken Anymore
Your Wildest Dreams
The Keeping Score Box Set
The Career Soldier Series
Maximum Force
Temporary Duty
Hitting the Silk
Zone of Action
Damage Assessment
Scheme of Maneuver
Evergreen
Army Blue
The Career Soldier Collection
The Perfect Dish Romances
Best Served Cold
Just Desserts
I Choose You
Just Roll With It
Books Written As Tessa Kent
Good Vibrations
More Than Words
Baby, I’m Yours
Save It For Me
Small Town Swingers
Welcome to Paradise
Night Moves
The Heat Is On
Fading Into You
Third Date Rule Romances
Crush
Crave
Crescendo
Tease
Tempt
Take
Tiny Bit Taboo
The Conference Taboo
The Ex In-Law Taboo
The Business Trip Taboo
Books Written as Tamara Kendall
Save Tomorrow
A Paranormal Romance World
The King Quartet (Young Adult)
Fearless
Breathless
Restless
Endless
The King Series Box Set
Serendipity
Undeniable
Stardust on the Sea
Unquenchable
The Shadow Bells
Moonlight on the Meadow
The Fox’s Wager
Recipe for Death
Death Fricassee
Unforgettable
Death A La Mode
Death Over Easy
The Recipe for Death Box Set
Age Of Aquarius
The Save Tomorrow Collection
I wrote Best Served Cold in the summer and fall of 2013, mostly because I loved the new New Adult genre, I was inspired by a song (Mama’s Broken Heart) and by a high school experience of my own. I didn’t expect it to become a series, but then Ava became a bigger character, and she and Liam had some surprises of their own. That led to Just Desserts, which in turn led to I Choose You.
I thought that was it . . . until Ava’s brother Vincent and Liam’s best friend Amanda decided to indulge in a one-night stand at the engagement party. Apparently, they wanted their own book, too.
However, Amanda and Vincent’s story took a backseat to other books, and although it was always planned, it didn’t get written. Every time BookBub featured Best Served Cold, I had a flood of emails and messages, asking me about Amanda and Vincent.
So this is their story, and honestly, it was a wonderful labor of love to be back with this family
and this group of friends. I had a ball writing it. Will there be more? Probably. There were several other books planned in this series, and we’ll see what happens.
Thank you to Stacey Blake of Champagne Book Design who gave me this hot cover and the lovely interior, too. Love it all!
Thank you to Kara Schilling and Krissy Smith, beta readers extraordinaire. Couldn’t do this without you!
And of course, thank you to my Temptresses for their cheering and their support, and thank you to my sweet family for understanding when I’m buried in the writing cave.
Photo by Heather Batchelder
Tawdra Kandle writes romance, in just about all its forms. She loves unlikely pairings, strong women, sexy guys, hot love scenes and just enough conflict to make it interesting. Her books include new adult and adult contemporary romance; under the pen name Tamara Kendall, she writes paranormal romance, and under the pen name Tessa Kent, she writes erotic romance. Tawdra lives in central Florida with her husband, two sweet pups and too many cats. Assorted grown children and a perfect granddaughter live nearby. And yeah, she rocks purple hair.
You can follow Tawdra on Amazon to receive updates on her releases. You can also visit her website at tawdrakandle.com for more information, and subscribe to her newsletter for sales announcement, special exclusive content and promotions!