Dishwasher Salmon and an Unforgettable Story

My latest short story, Christmas Wishes, which is also included in the bestselling anthology Christmas Romance (The Best Short Romances of 2013), is not only a story about love, moving forward, and wishing, but there is also a side story about a fish.A fish? Yes, a fish. And not just any fish, but a salmon to be exact.I have received many lovely letters about that silly fish. Most ask: "Can you really cook a fish in the dishwasher?" The answer is simple. Yes, you can cook a fish in the dishwasher. Yet, if you are like Lee from Christmas Wishes, I strongly suggest that you do so at your own risk! :)For those of us who can cook, here is the recipe for Dishwasher Salmon. Enjoy! (But remember to never use dish soap when cooking! LOL)

 

Dishwasher Salmon

 Ingredients

4 6-ounce salmon fillets 4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper heavy duty aluminum foilDill Sauce: 2 tablespoons butter 2 leeks, white part only, finely chopped, then thoroughly washed 1 jalapeño chili, seeds and membranes removed, finely diced 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 cup vegetable or chicken stock 1 1/2 cups lightly packed fresh dill, stems removed before measuring 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/4 cup sour cream

Directions

1. Cut two 12-inch square sheets of aluminum foil.
2. Place two fillets side by side on each square and fold up the outer edges.
3. Drizzle 1 tablespoon lemon juice over each fillet. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Fold and pinch the aluminum foil extra tightly to create a watertight seal around each pair of fillets. Make sure the packet is airtight by pressing down on it gently with your hand. If air escapes easily, rewrap.
5. Place foil packets on the top rack of the dishwasher. Run dishwasher for the entire "normal" cycle.
6. When cycle is complete, take out salmon, discard foil, place one fillet on each plate, and spoon a generous serving of dill sauce overtop.

Don’t have a dishwasher? Bake foil-wrapped packets in a preheated 400°F oven for 12 minutes.Sauce

1. Melt the butter over medium heat in a sauté pan.
2. Add the leek, jalapeño, and garlic and sauté for about 5 minutes, or until the leeks are translucent—but not brown.
3. Reduce heat to medium and add the stock. Simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. (Adjust heat as required to maintain simmer.) The liquid should reduce by half.
4. Remove from heat and let cool.
5. Transfer to a blender or food processor and add the dill, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Puree until smooth. Reserve and reheat just before serving. Stir in the sour cream at the last minute.

From Bob Blumer, The Surreal Gourmet

About Danica Winters: Danica Winters is a bestselling author who is known for writing award-winning books that grip readers with their ability to drive emotion through suspense and often a touch of magic. When she’s not working, she can be found in the wilds of Montana testing her patience while she tries to understand the allure of various crafts (quilting, pottery, and painting are not her thing).  She always believes the cup is neither half full nor half empty, but it better be filled with wine.

Website | Blog | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook |

 

Christmas Wishes

Published September 26, 2013

Available in Paperback November 1, 2013

Length: Short Story

Publisher: Books To Go Now

ASIN: B00FHBT8G4

Purchase Links: Amazon | Kobo | Barnes and Noble | Goodreads              

Pages: 30

Blurb: For most, Christmas is a time for family, love, life, dreams, and wishes—but not for Lee Llewellyn, a mother who has recently lost her son to an accident and her husband to the resentment it caused.In a chance encounter, she is given the gift of company on Christmas, but is she ready to move forward and start living again?

Christmas Romance (The Best Christmas Romances of 2013)Short Story Anthology Authors: Danica Winters, Jennifer Conner, Sharon Kleve, Casey DawesBlurbs:Christmas Wishes-Danica Winters: For most, Christmas is a time for family, love, life, dreams, and wishes—but not for Lee Llewellyn, a mother who has recently lost her son to an accident and her husband to the resentment it caused.In a chance encounter, she is given the gift of company on Christmas, but is she ready to move forward and start living again?Central Bark at Christmas-Jennifer Conner: When Tennyson’s boyfriend left her for her best friend from high-school, all Tennyson received in the break up was her dog. She’s sworn off men and now is rebuilding her life. The only thing Par does is work. He barely has time to do anything he wants for himself other than take his dog to the dog park. When Par and Tennyson find an abandoned dog at the park named Duke. Will they find room in their hearts to take him in?And can this Christmas season weave some special magic for the two of them?Halo's Wish-Sharon Kleve: Halo Ann Carlyle wishes for a home, family, and a boat-load of pets. What she gets is a bruised hip, a lump on the head, a broken ankle, and her new yellow Honda Civic is demolished.Rich McFarland, a sexy veterinarian, keeps showing up in the most unexpected places, promising everything she's ever wanted.Halo believes she only has time to pursue her career as a pet detective and must ignore her growing attraction to achieve her dreams.Will Halo trust her heart, and find a way to get both before Christmas?Christmas Hope-Casey Dawes: Clara Misowski is convinced Sam Richards’ cheese making operation would be a perfect stop for her culinary tour group.He’s adamantly opposed to anything to do with a group of women on his farm.Can she convince him to open his heart to company, Christmas, and maybe even her?Check it out on Amazon!

 

Christmas Wishes

Christmas Wishes and French Silk Pie

Christmas is one of my favorite holidays (closely followed by Halloween, but this could be thanks to my love of all things chocolate). I love the icy pine-scented air that reawakens your winter dulled senses the second you step outside. I love the spirit of thankfulness, good tidings, and joy.

But what if we weren't so lucky? What if Christmas only reawakened the wounds of our past?  This is exactly the case for my newest character, Lee Llewellyn.

In Christmas Wishes, Lee has lost her son and is forced to face another holiday season with only her memories for comfort. In Lee, I tried to create a character in which every reader with a child, or who has ever dealt with a divorce, could relate.  Life can be hard when you must go through it alone, but what can help? For Lee, this was her love of French Silk Pie.

Without spoiling anything, I can tell you that sometimes dreams of French Silk Pie can blossom into unexpected Christmas Wishes.

I hope you get the chance to check out my newest short story--I'm sure you will finish this story with your cheeks aching from laughter and your heart filled with the joy of Christmas!!

Wishing you the happiest of reading,

Danica Winters

Christmas Wishes

Publisher: Books To Go Now

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Smashwords

Pages: 30

Blurb: For most, Christmas is a time for family, love, life, dreams, and wishes—but not for Lee Llewellyn, a mother who has recently lost her son to an accident and her husband to the resentment it caused.

In a chance encounter, she is given the gift of company on Christmas, but is she ready to move forward and start living again?

It's New Release Time!

I'm proud to announce that my next novel in the Nymph Series, Winter Swans, has been released!  I couldn't be more excited. I know you are going to love this book!I had so much fun writing this--including a trip to a casino and several nights spent playing poker (just so I could get into character, I swear)! This book is a unique light paranormal romance* that doesn't follow the cliché tropes of romance and instead merges with the world of high-stakes poker and the underbelly of Las Vegas. If you like the Italian Job, or any mob movie, you will enjoy this book. I tried to create a novel that would not only become a favorite to any romance reader, but to anyone who loves quick, witty, and out-of-the-box fiction!*What do I mean by light paranormal romance?That is a great question and will likely get it's own post, but simply I like to novels that delve into the paranormal/magical world while still staying planted in reality. I want you to read the book and believe that even thought nymphs are mythological creatures, they are just like the girl next door, your friend, or your sister. Nymphs are just like the rest of us! And who knows, maybe they ARE real!Here is a quick peek into Winter Swans:                   Excerpt:

 Chapter One

 The chapel of the funeral home was filled with familiar faces, each one drawn into a somber expression as they wandered past Harper Cygnini’s sister’s casket. A blonde nymph laid a single crystal swan inside the box, carefully placing the bird by the hundreds of others. The bird sat with its wings touching those next to it, looking as if they would come alive and fly Jenna to the realm of the gods.Harper stepped to the head of the casket and shook hands as people passed by, never looking her in the eyes. There were no words to express the sadness which filled the room. This didn’t happen. Nymphs rarely died.She dabbed at her stinging eyes. She had cried so much in the last week it came as a shock to her there were any tears left to be shed. Her heart wasn’t merely broken—no, the pain ran much deeper—it was almost as if she had died as well. Maybe she should have—the gods knew she deserved to be struck down. If she had just been more involved with her sister, if she had paid more attention, perhaps this would have never happened. She could have stopped her sister from being kidnapped. She would have noticed that Jenna had been missing. Instead Harper had merely gotten the call that Jenna’s body had been found frozen in a snow bank on some mountain.The only comfort she could find was the men responsible had been incarcerated and awaited trial in Montana. They would pay for their atrocious crimes.The only man in the room, Beau Morris, sat next to his fiancé, Ariadne Papadakis, the leader of the Sisterhood of Epione. Ariadne, noticing Harper’s gaze, dipped her head in a humble tribute to Jenna. Harper recognized a few of the other women within the room as mustang, snake, and swan-shifters. It was easy to tell them from the non-supernatural attendees as, even in mourning, the nymphs were perfectly beautiful—unscathed by time and the ravages of living.The same couldn’t be said of Harper, but she didn’t care. She glanced down at her black dress. She couldn’t remember putting it on or doing her hair, but what did it matter? Even as a demigod life was short and filled with pain. What difference did her appearance really make—it was like so many other unimportant things that both humans and nymphs seemed to deem worthwhile. She couldn’t strike the impious thought that life was only some god’s sick joke—they merely sat up in the heavens playing around with everyone’s lives, striking down those who displeased them and testing to see how much pain those that remained could withstand.A hand touched her shoulder, making her jerk to attention.“Harper?” a redheaded woman asked. She was beautiful and clearly a nymph, but she didn’t have the same youthful, healthy glow of the others that filled the room. Instead her face was thin and her eyes tired.“Yes. Thank you for coming to show your respect,” she answered robotically as she readied herself for the onslaught of well-deserved but undesired condolences.“I’m Carey Jackson, a friend… I mean I was a friend of your sister.”The words pierced Harper’s armor and drove straight to her heart. The tears stung her tired eyes. She could only nod, or any control she had would be lost.Carey dropped her hand from Harper’s shoulder. “I’m sorry to have to do this to you, but your sister was my landlord and, well, she promised she would help me. She owed me a favor. And now I don’t have anyone to turn to, except you.” (Continued)Released October 7, 2013:Winter SwansSeries: The Nymph SeriesBook 3            Book 1: The Nymph’s Labyrinth            Book 2: Montana MustangsPublisher: Crimson RomancePurchase Links: ITunes | Barnes and Noble | Amazon | KoboPages: 300Blurb: A curse that forbids her to love…A child that he must accept… And a battle that could get them killed…After the death of his troubled ex-wife, the professional poker player, Chance Landon, finds out he is the father of a strange girl who carries even stranger secrets.Swan-shifting nymph, Harper Cygnini, is a driven by the need to succeed in her professional life. When she meets Chance and his daughter, it becomes only too clear that there are things missing in her life—feelings and needs laid dormant after the mistakes of her past.When Chance makes a choice that puts them all in danger, Harper must choose between her job and her heart. Chance may be the gambler, but should she risk making the same mistakes and pinning her hopes on a future that may cost Chance his life and his daughter—or is that one bet she is unwilling to take?Please feel free to leave comments/questions below! Happy Reading!