In the Kitchen with Wells and Bruzzi #EpicFantasy #InTheKitchen #Spaghetti

There is only one recipe that the two of us can rave about equally, considering it is the only one we have made “together”. Sort of. Jon (Wells) admittedly has some control issues in the kitchen, which he is working on. 

But ever since the summer of 2022, we have been huge fans of The Bear, and with it, the infamous spaghetti dish that they rave about for nearly the entirety of the first season.

Someone was kind enough to break the recipe down on Buzzfeed and it has been a staple in Jon’s house ever since. 

You start out by crushing five garlic cloves and adding them to a pan with half a cup of olive oil, a large handful of fresh basil, and a teaspoon of red pepper flakes. 

Fry that up until the basil leaves have wilted, then give it another minute to let all of the flavors really mix together. 

At this point your house will already begin to smell fantastic. Set aside to cool. 

Next, your sauce. Both the show and the Buzzfeed recipe insist that you use San Marzano tomatoes. This brand can usually be found at Shoprite, Wegmans, or Trader Joe’s. We use the Crushed variety, to save time having to crush the tomatoes ourselves. One 28 ounce can should do the trick for a single serving of 2-3 people. 

We start to double up if we’re expecting more people. 

Add a tablespoon of vegetable oil and half a stick of unsalted butter and cook until the butter begins to brown. 

Once your butter is browned, add a medium yellow onion to the pot, sliced in half, sliced side down into the butter. You won’t be eating the onion with the sauce; it is just to lend the sauce its flavor. But if a small bit ends up breaking apart and getting lost in the mix, it’s a little added bonus. 

Let that fry up until the bottom of the onion is a nice golden brown, then, carefully add your tomatoes to the pot. 

Do yourself a favor and don’t wear white while performing this step. 

Give it a good mix, turn it down to Low, and let sit, covered, for about 25-30 minutes. 

Once your oil mixture has cooled (doesn’t have to be room temp, just as long as it’s not piping hot anymore), you add it all to a blender or food processor or whatever you have, and blend for about 20 seconds until it’s smooth. 

Once your tomato timer has 10 minutes left, add the blended oil mixture and stir well. 

Let it cook the remaining 10 minutes uncovered. 

Once your spaghetti is done boiling, add a half cup of pasta water to the sauce, combine, and enjoy!! 

Feel free to discard the onions in the pot. 

We usually keep a little extra fresh basil as a garnish. 

This sauce is packed with flavor, and the red pepper flakes in the oil give it a nice kick! 

Perfect for a night in on your own or for when friends (or co-authors) stop by. 😉

The Blood of a King 

The Rahmirion Chronicles

Book One

Wells and Bruzzi 

Genre: Epic Fantasy

Publisher: New Upper Books

Date of Publication: 4/25/2023

ISBN: Hardcover- 9798986771212 

ISBN: Paperback- 9798986771205   

Number of pages: 474

Word Count: 179,000

Cover Artist: Mert Genccinar

Book Description:

Victory was only the beginning.

Prince Mayson Karrok of Astymere grew up hearing countless stories from the night of his birth. Whispers of murder and betrayal; of war and destruction, all at the hands of an emperor who wanted him dead before he could take his first breath. A night meant to being a peaceful conclusion to the Endless War would become known across the world as the Night of Knives. The scar he bears on his chest is a reminder of just how lucky he is to be alive. 

But over a decade after his father, King Henry, killed that emperor and destroyed his empire, Mayson finds himself fighting to find his own way, fueled by the desire to both follow in his father’s footsteps, and to break free from his shadow to forge his own path. 

Unbeknownst to Mayson, his father set in motion a chain of events that would come to rule his destiny. When he is forced to choose between love and duty, will Mayson have the will to do what is right? For he’ll need all the strength and support he can muster as enemies begin to surround him, both from outside Astymere, and from within.  

Amazon

Excerpt

Henry reached out to touch the doors, and the more he fought it, the more the voice of the Raelian emperor mocked him. Tell me, Henry. Does the boy look like you? Does the proud blood of the Avaari flow within him, or has your whore given him too much of her mark?

“Silence,” Henry said, turning from the doors to break the illusion. He nearly stumbled upon a line of burnt skeletons strewn across the floor. “One more word and your death will be slow, I swear it. You will curse the day you first drew breath.”

The illusion had been broken, but the voice remained. I wish to know the face of my enemy, Karrok. When we come together at last, I wish to know it well.

“You will never touch him! Do you hear? You will never lay your hands on him!” Henry swung about, striking at the source of the voice, but it came from within, as slippery and foul as pond scum. The Beast will have his day, Karrok. You know it. One by one, those you hold dear will fall under his might. Your wife, your mongrel—even your precious Rahm shall be consumed by the Second Flame. But first, they shall all weep for you. You shall mark the beginning of the end.

The voice dragged Henry back into his false vision, forcing him to once again see the devastation he could not prevent. The windows blew apart around him as fire rained from the sky, drenching the White City in blazing destruction that consumed flesh, stone, and steel. It seemed like minutes before Henry finally took control of himself and stood before the emperor on his balcony, overlooking the growing inferno, listening to the sounds of screams. Tiberian’s hands were outstretched, his arms spread wide. His smile was filled with what Henry could only describe as pure, unhinged madness as he gazed upon the burning city and laughed. Even after Rahmirion took Tiberian’s head from his shoulders, that smile remained—and the emperor’s laugh could not be silenced.

“Nooooo!” Henry bellowed into the empty corridor. The vision was gone, and so was the voice. Those words stayed with him for nearly twenty years, but he had never heard them so clearly. He had tried to forget the look of glee on Tiberian’s face as fire bled from an otherwise clear sky.

About the Authors:

JONATHAN WELLS, lifelong fantasy and sci-fi lover, has been making up stories for as long as he can remember. Some have been scribbled on scraps of printer paper, others were left to just rattle around in his head. And that is exactly how this novel came to be.

The seeds for this epic fantasy were first planted in his 12-year-old brain, a day-dream world where he could wander off when school became too boring. After ten years, the daydream had taken on such a clear shape, with a linear plot and fully fleshed out characters, that he decided it was time to give it a proper “birth.” 

After showing rough sketch of one of his characters to college roommate, DENNIS BRUZZI, his friend “wanted in,” and the rest is history. Dennis, a proven storyteller through his work in journalism and video production, is taking pen to paper for the first time in the fantasy realm. An avid reader and a fantasy enthusiast, he is ecstatic to have worked with his longtime friend to bring this unique and expansive story to life.

“And The Blood of a King is only the tip of the iceberg,” promise Jonathan and Dennis. There are eight more books planned in this epic fantasy series.

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