Showing posts with label Recipe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Recipe. Show all posts

Thursday, December 26, 2013

[Book Tour] Sweetest Mistake by Candis Terry #giveaway #guestpost



Sweetest Mistake
Sweet Texas Series #2
By: Candis Terry
Releasing December 31st, 2013

Blurb

When friends become lovers . . .

Firefighter and former Marine Jackson Wilder has tough guy down to an art, but he’s learned the hard way that promises were made to be broken. Abigail Morgan was once his best friend, his first kiss, his first love, his first everything. He’d just forgotten to mention all that to her and she blew out of his life. Five years later, she’s back and he’s battling a load of mistrust for her disappearing act. But for some reason he just can’t keep his lips—or his hands—to himself.

It can lead to disaster or . . .

When her stint as a trophy wife abruptly ends, Abby returns home to Sweet, Texas, and comes face-to-face with Jackson—her biggest and sexiest mistake. Time and distance did nothing to squash her love for the act-first-think-later stubborn hunk of a man, and when he suggests they renew their old just-friends vow, Abby realizes she wants more. She’d cut and run once. Could she do it again? Or could she tempt him enough to break his promise?

REVIEW:

I love love love the Wilder family! What makes the Sweetest Mistake even better is the whole idea of friends turns lovers theme. I'm a sucker for those types of stories. Abby and Jackson have secretly been in love with each other since their childhood. When they separate and move on with their lives, the still can't stop thinking about each other. Abby marries the wrong man for the wrong reasons. Jackson joins the army, marries Fiona for the right reasons (a baby girl!) but they just weren't for eachother. After divorcing and moving on in his life, Jackson tries to move on, but Abby is still in his heart. I love Jackson! He's a big bad fire fighter, but a softy at heart. When Abby returns back to her home town, the two hook up again, just as friends, but soon they can't hold back the attraction (with lots of help from the Wilder brothers). Abby's tough, agressive behavior with Jackson is a nice change from the regular heroine who just sits back and lets the guy do the work. Abby takes charge and doesn't let Jackson give up. FIVE STARS!!!

Buy Links


Author Info

Candis Terry was born and raised near the sunny beaches of Southern California and now makes her home on an Idaho farm. She’s experienced life in such diverse ways as working in a Hollywood recording studio to chasing down wayward steers. Only one thing has remained the same: her passion for writing stories about relationships, the push and pull in the search for love, and the security one finds in their own happily ever after.

Author Links
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4935263.Candis_Terry


Thank you so much for letting me stop by today! While Christmas Day may be over, there’s still a lot of partying left to do. Out-of-town guests are still hanging around. And there are always mouths to feed. Just ask Jana Wilder, mother of the infamous Wilder Brothers of Sweet, Texas! Raising five strapping sons taught Jana she always had to have plenty snacks in the house or she’d hear lots of complaining. She thought you might like a little reprieve from kitchen snack duty and decided to share her recipe for one of the boys’ favorites. Just be careful you make plenty—a tangle of tough Texas boys fighting for the last handful can get mighty messy!

JANA WILDER’S TEXAS TRASH
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1¼ teaspoons seasoning salt
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce
1 cup Cheerios toasted oat cereal
2 cups Wheat Chex
2 cups Rice Chex
2 cups Corn Chex
1 cup pretzel
1 cup nuts (preferably Texas grown, pecans, walnuts, or almonds)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
2. In a big old bowl (preferably with a spout if you’ve got one) mix butter, celery salt, garlic salt, seasoning salt, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne pepper, and Tabasco.
3. Mix dry ingredients (Cheerios, Wheat Chex, Rice Chex, Corn Chex, pretzels, and nuts) in a baking pan.
4. Pour butter and seasonings mix over the dry mix. Stir until each piece is evenly coated.
5. Bake for 1 hour. For even browning, stir every 15 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and let cool.
7. Store in an airtight container or plastic Ziplock bag.

Do you have a favorite holiday snack? Please share!


Rafflecopter Giveaway (The Ultimate SWEETEST MISTAKE Prize Pack: Including SOMEBODY LIKE YOU, SECOND CHANCE AT THE SUGAR SHACK, ANYTHING BUT LOVE, a Sweet TX Mug, Houstan TX Firefighters 2014 Calendar, and My <3 Belongs to a Firefighter Pendant NecklaceIt's the ultimate Candis Terry/ SWEETEST MISTAKE Prize Pack! It includes: SOMEBODY LIKE YOU, SECOND CHANCE AT THE SUGAR SHACK, ANYTHING BUT SWEET, Sweet TX Mug, Houston Fire Fighters 2014 Calendar, and a “My <3 Belongs To A Fireman” Pendant necklaceIt's the ultimate Candis Terry/ SWEETEST MISTAKE Prize Pack! It includes: SOMEBODY LIKE YOU, SECOND CHANCE AT THE SUGAR SHACK, ANYTHING BUT SWEET, Sweet TX Mug, Houston Fire Fighters 2014 Calendar, and a “My <3 Belongs To A Fireman” Pendant necklaceIt's the ultimate Candis Terry/ SWEETEST MISTAKE Prize Pack! It includes: SOMEBODY LIKE YOU, SECOND CHANCE AT THE SUGAR SHACK, ANYTHING BUT SWEET, Sweet TX Mug, Houston Fire Fighters 2014 Calendar, and a “My <3 Belongs To A Fireman” Pendant necklace ) It's the ultimate Candis Terry/ SWEETEST MISTAKE Prize Pack! It includes: SOMEBODY LIKE YOU, SECOND CHANCE AT THE SUGAR SHACK, ANYTHING BUT SWEET, Sweet TX Mug, Houston Fire Fighters 2014 Calendar, and a “My <3 Belongs To A Fireman” Pendant necklace


Sunday, December 22, 2013

[12 Days of Romance] The Santa Next Door by Stephanie Cage #giveaway #interview




Sue Edmonds swore off men after her feckless husband left her struggling to care for their four-year-old daughter Trudi and maintain their ramshackle Victorian home. But her mysterious neighbor might tempt her to change her mind. 

Bryn Thomas once found peace and happiness in music but that was before his heart was broken. Now it stirs up painful memories and provides little comfort. That is until he finds himself sharing Christmas carols with his young neighbor and her beautiful mother. 

As Sue sees Bryn playing Santa, she is touched to discover his gentler side. Can she hope for a Christmas miracle and the fulfillment of Trudi's Christmas wish for a dad?

AUTHOR BIO:
Having been born and educated in the South of England, including a degree in English Literature at Oxford University and an MA in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University, Stephanie Cage now lives and writes in the beautiful county of Yorkshire. She is a member of the Romantic Novelists' Association with three published e-books to date: The Santa Next Door and Desperate Bid from The Wild Rose Press and Perfect Partners from Crimson Romance.  Perfect Partners is now out in paperback too, so she finally feels like a 'proper' writer!  When she is not writing, she also enjoys dance and musical theatre and is a frequent guest on Book It, a literary show on local radio.


RECIPE
Mulled grape juice
This is a great drink to serve at parties for the people who have to drive home!  It has the flavour of Christmas but without the alcoholic content of mulled wine.  Take a carton of red grape juice and a carton of orange juice (around a liter of each).  Mix them in a saucepan along with a few cinnamon sticks, a sprinkling of grated nutmeg and ginger, and a couple of halved satsumas or clementines.  Simmer gently for around half an hour, until the spices have thoroughly infused.  Strain and serve while still steaming hot. 

1)    What inspired you to write a holiday romance story?
The Santa Next Door was inspired by a very bad drawing I made in the snow.  I had the idea of drawing a snow devil instead of a snow angel, and then I started to imagine a hero who saw Christmas and all its trappings very differently from other people, and to imagine what might have happened to dampen his view of Christmas, and what it might take to make him happy again.  That’s how Bryn, Sue and her adorable four-year-old, Trudi came into being, and then I just wanted to tell their story.  

2)    What has been your favorite holiday-themed romance to read?
I don’t know!  My favourite book is mostly the one I’m reading at the time, and right now that’s Vonnie Davis’ Santa Wore Leathers.  It’s feisty and funny, and I’m enjoying the exotic feel of Christmas in Florida – for a Brit used to the holiday season being damp grey with the occasional flake of snow, sunshine is something of a novelty.

3)    Do you have any special holiday traditions?
Our best tradition when I was growing up was always having steak and chips on Christmas day because my family weren’t huge fans of turkey.  Then, for a while, I always went to the pub and then to the midnight carol service with one of my old school friends, to see in Christmas, but that one seems to have fallen by the wayside too.  Maybe it’s time to start a new holiday tradition... if that’s not a contradiction in terms! 

4)    What was your favorite childhood toy?
My computer. I was such a geek!  

5)    What do you do on a holiday eve?
A Christmas movie and mulled wine.  And a frantic tidy-up before the family come over on Christmas day!
QUICKIES
Snow ball fight or Snow Angels?
Snowball fight – or snow devils!
Sleigh Ride or Skiing?
Sleigh ride – I’d probably break my leg if I tried skiing. 
Hot Apple Cider or Eggnog?
I usually go for mulled wine, but failing that, hot apple cider.
Fave Holiday Song
Santa Baby – it’s cute, funny, great to dance to, and has been recorded by singers from Eartha Kitt and Mae West to Madonna and Kylie. 
Fave Holiday Dish
Christmas pudding with custard.
Fave Holiday Movie
Can I have two? Arthur Christmas and Olive, The Other Reindeer.
Fave Holiday Decoration

A bauble decorated with a picture of Sydney Opera House. 



Friday, December 20, 2013

[12 Days of Romance] Mrs Roth's Merry Christmas by Holley Trent #giveaway #ChristmasCookies


Mrs. Roth’s Merry Christmas

All Gillian wanted was to pick up a third job so she could buy her preschool students Christmas gifts. She didn’t think she’d be the one getting picked up instead.

Her new boss, Nicholas Roth, is the big man in charge at Santa Incorporated—what Gillian thought was a seasonal staffing agency. But the sexy CEO has a holly jolly secret; he’s an equal opportunity employer and most of his staff are elves.

Santa has another secret. When he’s not delivering toys for his charity, he’s contending with political unease in the magic realm. To take his father’s throne as king of the elves, he has to get married…and only magic-proof Gillian will do. Gillian agrees thinking Nick will cut her loose after the busy Christmas rush, but he has other ideas.

Nick wants a permanent Mrs. Roth but Gillian doesn’t think she’s it.


Excerpt

He dropped the smirk and stood with a preternatural speed. I blinked, and the next thing I knew Nick was in front of me with his hands clamped around my arms. His expression was dark—more Krampus than Saint Nicholas. When he spoke again, his voice was completely without mirth. All joking aside, literally.

“Gillian, your mouth is going to get you in trouble.”

I squirmed beneath his strong grip, which only caused him to pull me in tighter. My heart pounded so hard that my pulse thrummed in my ears, blocking out all other sound. With a great deal of apprehension, I looked up into his face expecting to see anger, but instead read something else in the hard set of his jaw and the icy blue gaze: a kind of neediness that seemed untouchable. Or at least Nick thought it was.

I looked away. He may have had magical insight to my desires, but I felt invasive reading the emotions he thought he had so locked down off his face. They were private things I didn’t want to concern myself with.
When I looked up again his face was softer, giving less away. He really was handsome, especially when he wasn’t acting like he knew it. I cleared my throat and averted my gaze to his chest. “If you dislike my mouth so much, fire me.”

“You don’t want that.”

“It’s just a job, Nick.”

“You’re lying. You know and I know there’s something going on here.”

I finally shrugged off his arms and backed up a few paces…or I should say, Nick let me. Nick didn’t let anything happen he didn’t want. “I’m in a North Pole dormitory and being hit on by a six-foot elf.”

He scoffed, that smarmy demeanor of his having returned, and jammed his hands into the pockets of his slacks. “You think this is mere flirting?”

“Isn’t it?” I knew better. My body knew better. His did too, obviously, judging by how happy he was about having me pressed against him moments before.

“No. There’s a lot at play you don’t understand.”

“So explain it to me.”
Nick shook his head and turned his back to me as he walked out of the kitchen and toward the outer door. “Get some sleep. I’m sure the girls won’t bother you on the sofa. There should be some spare blankets around somewhere.”

“I’m—”

“Goodnight, Gilly,” he said without meeting my gaze again. The moment he shut the door, the elves came out.

Purchase Links

Musa Publishing (for Kindle, Nook, Mobi, PDF), Amazon (Kindle), All Romance eBooks, iTunes, Smashwords, and B&N.


Bio


Author Holley Trent is a Carolina girl gone west. Raised in rural Eastern North Carolina, she currently resides with her family on the Colorado Front Range. She studied fine English literature at the University of North Carolina, but prefers reading and writing popular fiction much more.

Holley writes romance because readers are guaranteed optimistic, upbeat endings, and in her books, she strives to blend Southern love with laughter. Her comedic influences include Lucille Ball, George Carlin, and Richard Pryor. She may be a Southern girl, but she’s not too genteel to tell a dirty joke (just ask her mother).

Her contemporary and paranormal romances are published by Crimson Romance, Musa Publishing, and Lyrical Press. Please visit holleytrent.com to see her full list of fiction works.


Recipe – Raspberry-Almond Sandwich Cookies
(Adapted from The Cook’s Encyclopedia of Cookies)

Ingredients (for 32 2” round cookies)
-1 c  blanched almonds + 1/3 c chopped almonds
-1 ½ c all purpose flour
-3/4 c butter, softened
-1/2 c granulated sugar
-Grated rind of 1 lemon + 1 tbsp lemon juice
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-1 egg white
-salt
-1 c raspberry jam


*Grind the 1 c of blanched almonds with 3 tbsp of the flour.
*Cream the butter and sugar.
*Add lemon rind and vanilla extract, stir.
*Add the ground almonds, the rest of the flower, and mix to form a ball.
*Wrap dough in plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator for an hour.
*Preheat over to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
*Separate the dough into four equal parts, and flour a board. Roll each ball into a sheet 1/8” thick.
*Use a pastry round or biscuit cutter (or even an overturned glass) to cut circles from dough. Use a smaller cutter to remove circles from the centers of half the rounds. The ones without the holes will be the bottoms. Be sure you have an equal amount of tops and bottoms.
*Arrange the cookies on wax paper-lined cookie sheets 1/2" apart.
*Beat egg white with a pinch of salt and brush only the top halves of the cookies (the ones with the holes) with the mixture. Sprinkle rings with chopped slivered almonds.
*Bake cookies 12-15 minutes or until tan (you don’t want them too brown). Cool on pan a few minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.
*Simmer jam and lemon juice in a saucepan until well combined, and brush the mixture over the bottom halves of cookies.
*Top jam circles with cookie rings.

*Store cookies between layers of waxed paper in a sealed container.