Blog Tour - A Recipe for Disaster - (6/11/17)

Blog Tour 

A Recipe for Disaster 

By Stephen Phelps

Hi Everyone, so today is my stop on A Recipe for Disaster Blog Tour.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Rachel's Random Resources and Stephen Phelps for my place on this fabulous Tour! 

I am very excited to be able to share with you a Special Guest Post by Stephen, followed by a Scrumptious recipe from his book and a very special Giveaway. 

But firstly I want to start by saying how much rustic Charm the cover has!

 Below is all the information you need followed by my Review.
Don't forget to check out the You Tube trailer!

Happy Reading Everyone!

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Book Blurb

A Recipe for Disaster is a cookbook, a travelogue and the companion to Cookucina, a six-part TV series available on Amazon Video, iTunes and Google Play - see www.cookucina.com .

It's also the entertaining journey of an Englishman struggling with the ups and downs of living in rural Italy. After giving up a successful career in television, Stephen found himself dragged back into a world he had happily given up when his neighbour, Lia, persuaded him to listen to her Big Idea – making a TV cookery series. But Lia speaks no English.

And Stephen’s partner, Tam, can't cook. So, much against Stephen's better judgement, the three of them embarked on a six-part series set among the rolling hills of the little-known, but spectacularly beautiful, Italian region of Le Marche. In the Cookucina TV series Lia teaches Tam to cook alla Marchigiana, while Tam translates. A Recipe for Disaster follows their many encounters with the real Italy – a world away from the picture-book ideal of summer holidays in Tuscany.

As the team try to construct a professional series with no funding they come to rely on the generosity of the Marchigiana people, while attempting to overcome the constant difficulties thrown up by those whose stubborn adherence to their age-old way of life is rooted in their beloved fields and woods. A Recipe for Disaster is a goldmine of simple yet delicious recipes, while peeling back the veneer of television professionalism and opening the door to a world of Italian surprise and delight.

A Recipe for Disaster comes with unique access to Cookucina, the final six-part TV series, so you can see for yourself how the team cracked their problems and (just about) held it all together in a blistering heatwave. Experience this contradictory world of vendettas and kind hearts through the laughter and frustrations of Stephen and the team, as you follow A Recipe for Disaster slowly coming to its surprising fruition.

Purchase Links:

iBooks        http://bit.ly/iRecDis

Kindle        http://bit.ly/KdleRecipe

Paperback    http://bit.ly/RecDis

Goodreads    http://bit.ly/GoodRec

Smashwords    http://bit.ly/SmaRec

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My Review 

5☆ Simply Scrumptious!! A real Gem to read!

A Recipe For disaster was simply a joy to read. If you love Italian food, Italy and are looking for a book with a sprinkling of recipes with a difference then this is definitely one for you!
A story about Stephen, his wife Tam and their decision to create a Cookery TV show from nothing but passion, and determination!

 Plus if you enjoy the book as much as i did don't forget that this is accompanied by the Actual Cooking TV Show! Links can be found on my blog post.

I have never been to Italy, and have always wanted to go.

Stephen took me on a journey and left nothing out.
From the delicious smells, scenery, weather, language differences, the culture, to setting up a Cookery TV show with no funding and no equipment. I was fully absorbed into their adventures and the beautiful Italian atmosphere.

This book is more than just a literature book it's a delicious mix of food, recipes, humour, life, ups and downs, a real journey.

Stephen's wife Tam can't cook which made for a humorous read and Lia wasn't able to speak English which only added to their adventures when setting up their Cookery TV  show from nothing but pure passion and a dream!

A Recipe for Disaster is a feel good read, but be warned it will leave your tummy rumbling.

Example of a few recipes :
*Soft Chocolate Cake and Ice Cream (I can't wait to try)
*Grandma Giudi's Cream Pudding
*Sibillini Pasta
*Baked Trout withVegetables
* Pears In Red Wine
* Vincisgrassi

I also would like to point out how beautifully illustrated the book is.
Not only do we get little photographs of the food, but also the scenery and schedules etc.. Stephen has left nothing out.
Each little detail has been thought of.

This book is honest, funny and written from the heart. The ups and downs.
After reading the book and seeing the trailer I can't wait to watch the TV series as I know I will be in for a treat!

A Recipe for Disaster is the Perfect book for a Foodie who loves food and literature mixed in. With an appetite for Italy!

I really hope you enjoy this Gem of a book as much as i did! 

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Guest Post

BEST MEMORY AND FAVOURITE RECIPE

The extraordinary thing about shooting COOKUCINA was that it was a bit like childbirth. In that although it's hell at the time (or so they tell me!), pretty soon after you just forget all the painful bits and all you can remember is the enjoyable stuff. We shot the series in a hurry and in a heatwave. So we were constantly rushing from one place to another only to find that when we got there the temperature had climbed still further into the stratosphere. I can still see in my mind's eye the moment when, driving down a little lower out of the mountains, the dashboard thermometer in our car clicked over to 40deg C. And then we had to get out and shoot a sequence walking along an avenue of vines in a south-facing vineyard. It was hot!

Behind the camera, the cameraman and I were dripping with sweat, yet somehow we had to keep the on-screen “talent” looking cool as you like. TV programmes, you see, have no temperature, and everyone has to look sparkling and fresh. No. 2 presenter, in particular, was coming to the boil that day, and very nearly refused to do anything at all. She swore she would faint if she had to go out there under the relentless sun. But after gentle persuasion (or was it the threats?) she agreed, and the result (in Episode 2) is pretty good. The thing is, though, there was absolutely nothing left on the cutting room floor. Normally when you're making TV there'll be more material in any one section than you could possibly need. And several takes to choose from. But not this time. This was a one-take wonder. When you see that interview out amongst the vines, that's all there is. And as soon as the interview stopped No.2 presenter dashed inside for a glass of cool white wine. Which only goes to show that all's well that end well.

My favourite recipe? Hard to say. There are at least 18 of them and they are all delicious. But the one I cook myself more often than any of the others is the most delicious way to eat the ubiquitous zucchini which proliferate here.

Try it for yourself below:

Featured Recipe 

Individual Zucchini Cakes

• 8 large zucchini
• a medium onion
• a sprig of parsley
• a few basil leaves
• salt and pepper
• olive oil
• 2 eggs
• 70g. Butter
• ½ liter milk
• 50g. Flour
• nutmeg
• 50g. grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese
• 30g. bread crumbs

Slice the zucchini and onion thinly, sauté them gently in a pan with olive oil and chopped parsley and basil. 

Season with salt and pepper. 

Meanwhile, make a bechamel sauce using: 50g. of the butter, 50g. of flour and 500g. of milk. 

Season to taste with with salt and freshly grated nutmeg. 

Add the eggs and grated cheese to the sautéed zucchini along with the bechamel sauce. 

Coat the ramekins with the remaining butter, sprinkle them with breadcrumbs and fill them generously with the zucchini mixture. Sprinkle with a little more breadcrumbs and bake at 190 degrees for 25mins.

Don't they look Scrumptious. For more exciting sneak peak recipies follow along on the blog tour. Details below⬇

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Author Bio 

Stephen Phelps 

Educated at Oxford University, I began working with BBC Radio, moving to BBC TV where I launched Watchdog and produced the investigative legal series Rough Justice. In Hong Kong for BBC World Service Television I oversaw the start of BBC World. I then spent twelve years running my own TV production company, Just Television, specialising in investigative programmes in the field of law, justice and policing. In particular, Trial and Error for Channel 4 which exposed and investigated major miscarriages of justice, winning the Royal Television Society’s inaugural Specialist Journalism Award in 1999. Recently I have been working as a consultant for Aljazeera English on major documentary projects.

In 2002 I took an MA in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia. Writing credits include many plays for BBC Radio, my most recent being a drama documentary for the 30th anniversary of the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster. Books: The Tizard Mission published by Westholme Publishing in the United States, tells the extraordinary story of how Britain’s top scientists travelled in secret to America in the autumn of 1940 to give away all their wartime secrets to secure US support in WWII. A Recipe for Disaster is a book about living in Italy while trying to make a TV cookery series, Cookucina (now available on Amazon Video, Google Play and iTunes.

I have several other books and three screenplays in development.

Social Media Links –

Twitter        @StephenP_Writer

Faceboook    https://www.facebook.com/stanley.tinker

Instagram    stephenp_writer

Medium    https://medium.com/@stephenphelps

Web        www.cookucina.com

Trailer for Cookucina - You Tube

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Giveaway

GIVEAWAY  (Open Internationally)

Win 

Biscotti artigianale

Local honey

3 x DVD of the Cookucina series

Plus a signed copy of A Recipe For Disaster 

Click here ➡ Giveaway

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If you loved My Blog Post why not Follow Along on the blog tour and lets get everyone reading and talking about 

A Recipe for Disaster!!

Don't forget to check out the You Tube Trailer above and to Enter the Fabulous Giveaway! ⬆ You have to be in it to win it!! 

Happy Reading and Cooking!!

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