I need some speed today for Tasty Tuesday, along with a delicious way to fix some hot bread for dinner. Contemporary romance author Leslie Scott has a little of both for us! Fasten your seatbelts!
Thank you for having me on Tasty Tuesday, Betty!
My name is Leslie Scott and I write New Adult Contemporary romances about a town full of street racers. The debut novel of my Arkadia Fast series released last month. The follow-up should be out sometime this spring.
The hero of The Finish Line is Cherokee from Texas, and in this modern setting he’s also the reigning King of the Streets. When Betty talked to me about writing this post, I started thinking about a dish that would be important to my heroine. The entire time, though, Jordan was in my ear reminding me that he has the most important dish. That it was something his grandfather made for him when he came to live with him.
Though, fry bread is not a traditional Cherokee recipe, in the Midwest it has become very popular among the Native American population in the past fifty or so years. The puffy, fried dough is something his grandfather served with chili beans or taco fixings. Something hardy and filling for an older man raising a large, hungry teenage boy all on his own.
You see, Jordan was born to an addict mother who eventually left him with her father. The relationship between grandfather and grandson formed Jordan to be the man he is, the hero he is, for Raelynn in The Finish Line.
The first time I ever tried Fry Bread was at the Red Earth Festival in Oklahoma City. If you’ve never been, you should really make that trip. The cultural experience is amazing, as is the artwork and obviously, the food.
I serve mine with taco fixings, though I’ve had it assorted sweet toppings (like with funnel cake) as well.
Here ya go:
Fry Bread
Ingredients
2 Cups Flour
½ Teaspoon Salt
½ Cup Water
½ Teaspoon Baking Powder
½ Cup Powdered Milk
About 2 Cups Oil or Shortening
Instructions
Mix the flour, salt, baking powder, powdered milk, and water until you form a dough ball. Don’t kneed or over work the dough, you don’t want it tough.
Heat oil until bubbles form around the handle of a wooden spoon (or however you check to make sure it’s hot).
Flour your hands. Pinch off chunks of dough (mine are usually the size of a clementine), roll them into a ball, then flatten them with your hands.
Here’s a hint, don’t put more than two (or three if you have a large pan) pieces in the pan. Don’t let them touch and don’t let the oil get too hot. Flip them once when the edges start to burn. I use tongs, it’s easier.
When your pieces of fry bread are a nice, golden brown, take them out and let them drain.
Like I said, there are a variety of ways to serve fry bread both sweet and savory. I say, try them all! And honestly, being the southern girl I am… we’ve had it with white gravy and chocolate gravy. Because, why not?
I hope you enjoy!
Another night at the races is more than burnt rubber with a hit of nitrous. For one young woman, it’s navigating trauma, love, and loss in the stifling Texas heat under the watchful gaze of her brother’s best friend and reigning King of the Streets, Jordan Slater. Home in Arkadia again, Raelynn Casey starts to heal from a terrible incident at college. She finds love in Jordan, a member of her brother’s circle of racing buddies. When another in the racing circle, the guy who took her to her high school prom, exposes his feelings for Raelynn, tragedy erupts like a tank of race fuel. Guilt, remorse, and pain must be overcome before Raelynn and Jordan can race to The Finish Line.
The Finish Line, Paperback http://bit.ly/2isnD4u
The Finish Line, Nook http://bit.ly/2A88mjH
The Finish Line, Kindle http://amzn.to/2A875ZX
About Leslie:
Leslie Scott thrives in the middle of chaos. Not because she homeschools her son and rides herd over the family’s zoo of indoor pets or listens to her soul mate wax poetically about all things car and related. Oh, no. That’s nothing. The real chaos is the characters in her mind, elbowing and tripping each other to get to the front of the line so they can be the next romantic couple in one of her stories. Her family is her passion. Writing romance is her dream.
Readers can find me on my website: lesliescottromance.com, on Twitter @leslieSwrites, and on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/lesliescottwrites. I’m really active on twitter/facebook and would love to hear from readers!
Thanks, Leslie, for sharing that recipe! I’m excited for your budding career and wish you all the best as you go forward!
I’ve enjoyed fry bread when I’ve visited my sister and her family in Oklahoma. What a delightful treat, too! I think it was around a time when the local tribe (am I using that term correctly? Please let me know!) held a powwow with dancing and food and storytelling, I think. It’s been a long time ago now, so the memory is a bit fuzzy. I do recommend trying this bread for its light and delicious texture and taste.
P.S. If you haven’t already, please consider signing up for my newsletter, which I only send out when there is news to share. News like new covers, new releases, and upcoming appearances where I love to meet my readers. Thanks and happy reading!
Visit my Website for more on my books and upcoming events.
Betty Bolte's Musings 