Happy Saturday!

I have had a long tiring day and I'm glad to be home. Nothing to do with cookbooks though. I went to a Romance Novel Writers' Conference here in Las Vegas, put on by the Cactus Rose, the Las Vegas Chapter of Romance Writers of America. Sometime in this lifetime, I will write my romantic adventure. Actually this was a large group and there were wannabe writers and published romance writers, but also a children's writer and male mystery author. Looking for new ideas to write their next book. I was pleased at all the workshops included and I have learned a lot. Now I have to just write the book. I won one of the door prizes and I received a basket full of writers' type prizes: books on writing, chocolate, wine, pens, notebooks, etc. Actually I did get a very good book, Breaking Into Fiction-it gives you a template to show you exactly what publishers want. One of the published authors in the room, said this is how she finally got her first book published by Penguin (one of the big ones)-by using that darned template.

The other night I went with friends to the Boulevard Bar & Grill on Las Vegas Blvd S near the South Point Casino. I had this wonderful dinner-Chicken Francois. Chefs, you should pay attention. They had their regular dinner menu and then they had a 24-hour/7 days a week special menu. Approximately 10 items on this special menu-all for $7.95 each. Mine-Lightly breaded chicken breast (huge chicken breast) sauteed in a wine sauce over linguine. I will be back to this restaurant to try this dinner again and maybe some of the others. My wine bill was bigger than my food tab. Maybe chefs you can't offer 24/7-but in this recession, maybe a few simple dishes offered for less, will bring the customers back to your restaurant. After all, what did my dish cost, maybe $1.37-1.50-maybe.

For those of you wondering, I'm still on my starvation diet, but you only live once. I was with friends and that alone is a reason to enjoy a good dinner, in the company of others. Plus I had only had 150 calories earlier in the day-I was saving up for dinner calories.

A new contest to enter on July 23, 24 & 25, 2010, make it with Garlic. The Gilroy Garlic Festival in Gilroy, CA is in it's 32nd year , with attendance over 108,000 in 2009. I'm sure the area smells heavenly for weeks after the festival. The money prize is not big$1,000 to the top prize winner, but amateurs from all over the U.S. compete for an opportunity to win in this contest. Lots of publicity for those wishing to surpass their amateur standing.

And a plug for my EBay listing-Valerie2901 or under a general heading of cookbooks. I am going to feature a cookbook from my listing that hasn't sold and should have: Great American Menus Cookbook from Pillsbury. This book features Regional American Foods and their menus. In fact, I tried one of their low-calorie recipe and I loved it: Iowa Corn Stuffed Tomatoes.

1 1/2 cups Green Giant Niblets frozen corn, 4 medium tomatoes, Pepper, 4 oz (1cup) shredded cheddar cheese, 2 tbsp dry bread crumbs, 1/4 cup diced green pepper, 1 green onion, thinly sliced, 3 tbsp butter, melted

Heat oven to 350F. Cook corn as directed on package. Cut tomatoes in half crosswise. Spoon out seeds; discard. Sprinkle cut surface of tomatoes with pepper. In small bowl combine cooked corn and remaining ingredients. Fill tomato halves with corn mixture. Place stuffed tomatoes in 15x9 inch baking dish. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until center is hot. 8 servings. 150 calories per tomato half.

This was a special treat for me on my starvation diet of 1250 calories per day. I am not a true lover of baked tomatoes, but I do love anything with cheese in it.

And one of my favorite chefs from the Food Network: Giada De Laurentis. You may or not be aware that her grandfather is the well-know film producer Dino De Laurentis. I enjoy her show, but don't watch too often, because she makes me hungry (for food). I do have her cookbooks-love her cookbooks. www.giadadelaurentis.com Check her out, easy, great Italian recipes.

That's all for now.

Cookbook Val