by Kristie Cook
“Happy New Year, my sweet Tristan,” I said between my giggles.
“Happy New Year, ma lykita.”
“Fighting the Daemoni sucked, but I don’t know if you can top this next year.”
He gave me a sublime grin with a hint of cockiness. “Is that a challenge? Because you know how I love a challenge.”
“As long as we get another year, I can’t wait to see what you do.”
He swung his leg around so he faced me again, each of his feet on the outside of mine. “For a kiss like that, I’ll do whatever it takes.”
I rolled my eyes up to look at him through my lashes. His forehead leaned in to press against mine.
“I think we should practice a lot before then,” I whispered.
“Agreed.” He bent down and his lips met mine and we picked up where our midnight kiss left off as the crowds below cheered and sang and celebrated the New Year and all of the hope it promised.
* * *
Do you know Tristan and Alexis from the main Soul Savers Series? If not, continue on for an excerpt from Promise, Book 1, which is always free on all ebook platforms. If so, be sure to subscribe to my newsletter to receive updates on new books and other news.
NEW YEAR’S RECIPES
Christina’s More Powerful Than You Know Baked Chicken Wings
Submitted by Christina Silcox
Ingredients:
1 pkg. frozen chicken wings (I use a 10-lb package for parties)
Non-stick cooking spray
Buffalo wing sauce (as hot as you can stand it)
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Evenly place chicken wings on foil-lined cookie sheets sprayed lightly with nonstick spray.
3. Bake for 45 minutes from frozen. Remove from oven and pour off excess liquid. Pour Buffalo sauce by spoonful over each wing, taking care not to add too much sauce so the wings aren’t soggy.
4. Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes until the wings look slightly dry to the touch. Serve with blue cheese or ranch dressing, and celery sticks.
Tristan’s New Year’s Good Fortune Pork Tenderloin
Submitted by Char Wilcoxson
This has been a New Year’s tradition for a few years now to make. The Chinese believe that eating pork for the first day of the New Year will bring good fortune, and this is a family favorite for pork tenderloin.
Ingredients:
Pork tenderloin
1 ½ cups honey
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup soy sauce
3 Tbsp. maple syrup
1 Tbsp. mustard
2 Tbsp. dried onions
1 Tbsp. chopped garlic
2 Tbsp. butter
½ tsp. Ginger
1. Place Pork tenderloin in a crockpot/slow cooker.
2. Warm ingredients in a saucepan just enough for them to melt and blend together, then pour over the tenderloin.
3. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours depending on the size of the tenderloin. Occasionally use a ladle to pour some of the sauce on the top of the tenderloin.
Kate’s Unforgettable Chinese New Year’s Dish
Submitted by Kelly Victorine
This is for Kate and her wanting to have an unforgettable New Year’s. This is my dad’s Chinese food that is super good!
Ingredients:
2-6 Tbsp. Sesame Oil (judge accordingly based on desire)
1 ½ tsp. or 3 Cloves Garlic, minced
Walnut sized Ginger
1 tsp. Hot Pepper Seeds (judge accordingly, more = hotter)
4 Chicken Breasts (bone out)
½ Stock Celery
1 Can Bamboo Shoots
1 Can Sliced Water Chestnuts
½ Onion, white
1 Green Pepper
1 Tbsp. Oyster Sauce
1 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
½ cup Wine, White
1 tsp. Cornstarch (for thickening)
1 cup Peanuts
1. Heat 2 Tbsp. sesame oil in pan and stir fry garlic, ginger, and hot pepper seeds in pan.
2. Add chicken and cook until done.
3. Remove chicken and set aside.
4. Stir-fry all vegetables in 4 Tbsp. sesame oil.
5. Add chicken back into mixture.
6. Mix oyster and soy sauce with wine and cornstarch, pour over vegetable/chicken mixture.
7. Simmer 5-10 minutes.
8. Add peanuts.
9. Serve over white rice.
Faerie Dill Pickle Dip
Submitted by Michele Luker
Ingredients:
8 oz. cream cheese
8 oz. sour cream
Pickles diced up, as many as you want
Pkg. of dried beef lunchmeat, diced up small
1. Mix this all together and it is like rolled up pickles.
2. Serve with Ritz crackers.
Magic Shrimp Dip
Submitted by Michele Luker
Ingredients:
2 8-oz pkgs. cream cheese
1 bottle cocktail sauce
2 cans mini shrimps
1. With the cream cheese softened, spread it out on a platter, then pour the cocktail sauce over the top and spread it out evenly over the cream cheese.
2. Drain the mini shrimp in the cans, and sprinkle over the top.
3. Chill. Serve with Crackers.
Bewitching Carrot Cookies
Submitted by Jill Cruz
Ingredients:
2 cups diced carrots
¾ cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cup flour
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1. Cook carrots until soft, mash them.
2.Cream butter and sugar together, add egg and vanilla. Beat until fluffy. Stir in mashed carrots.
3. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Blend into batter.
4. Drop from teaspoon onto ungreased baking sheet.
5. Bake at 375 degrees for about 12 minutes.
Midnight Kiss Bourbon Drops
Submitted by Jill Cruz
Ingredients:
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 ½ cups vanilla wafer cookies, crumbled
½ cup bourbon
½ cup powdered sugar
3 Tbsp. corn syrup (or simple sugar)
1 cup chopped pretzels (or nuts)
Granulated sugar
1. Melt chocolate morsels in microwave or over stove top double boiler until melted.
2. Remove from Heat.
3. In a large bowl, combine powdered sugar, vanilla wafer crumbs, and pretzels (or nuts).
4. Add chocolate and mix until combined.
5. Let stand for about 30 minutes or until cooled.
6. Form into 1-inch balls while chocolate is still pliable.
7. Roll into granulated sugar.
Christina’s Magical Caramel Sauce
Submitted by Wendy Jahnke
Ingredients:
3 ½ sticks margarine
8 cups brown sugar
1 ½ pints half-and-half
1. Boil margarine and half-and-half over medium heat.
2. Once boiling, add brown sugar slowly, stir until consistency is smooth.
3. Serve with baked goods or fruit.
Masquerade Crisp
Submitted by Felicia Semmler
Inspired by Jessie and all her were-panther awesomeness.
Ingredients:
4 apples peeled and cored
1 1/2 cups flour
2 snack size apple sauce containers
1 tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. liquid imitation butter
1 tbs. sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup hot water
4 Tbsp. brown sugar
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Slice apples about 1/8-inch thick and layer in bottom of 9x9 greased baking pan.
3. In a separate bowl, add the rest of the ing
redients except for 2 Tbsp. brown sugar (this is for the topping) and mix until crumbly. Then sprinkle the mixture evenly over the layered apples. Finally, sprinkle the remaining 2 Tbsp. of brown sugar on top and place in oven.
4. Bake until apples are tender - depending on how thick the apples are cut they can take longer than 30 minutes. Just stab them with a fork/toothpick to see if they are at the desired softness.
A Faerie Nutty Chocolate Delight
Submitted by Heather Brandt
Ingredients:
Butter or cooking spray
1 pkg. mini marshmallows
1 12-oz bag regular chocolate chips
1 cup chunky peanut butter
1. To begin, I first coat a 13x9 pan with butter or cooking spray, whichever I have on hand. Then use the mini marshmallows to fill the entire bottom of the pan with one layer.
2. After that, place bag of chocolate chips and chunky peanut butter into mixing bowl. Microwave on high for 3 minutes. I recommend you stir about halfway through. Add an additional 30 seconds or so if needed to make sure chocolate is melted completely. You will have chunks from the peanut butter, but you shouldn’t have any from the chocolate.
3. Once chocolate is melted thoroughly and mixed with chunky peanut butter, pour evenly over marshmallows. Place in fridge until chocolate is hard and then cut to desired sizes.
A Were’s Delight Strawberry & Vodka Fritz
Submitted by Zee Hayat
Ingredients:
Strawberries (mmm)
Kiwis
½ cup sugar
A shot of martini or vodka (optional)
1 cup of water
1. Using a small saucepan, add in the water and sugar and boil for 7-10 minutes.
2. Once it has been boiled, put it in the fridge to cool it down a bit.
3. Clean the strawberries and kiwis (ensure you remove all seeds from the kiwis).
4. Put the clean fruit in a blender and blend until smooth.
5. Add the sugar water and blend to ensure, then add the vodka or margarita.
6. Pour mixture into a large casserole dish or a baking dish.
7. Put the casserole pan into the freezer and freeze for an hour or two.
8. Use a fork to scrape the ice that has been formed after the first hour and put back into the freezer. The idea is to make it look like shaved ice, after it is completely frozen.
9. Repeat the above process over and over until it is completely frozen, or you can leave it in the freezer without breaking it the first couple of hours, but that just makes it harder to break once it is completely.
Alexis And Tristan’s New Year’s Breakfast
Submitted by Sue VanNort and Shelly Fenner
After Tristan and Alexis’ fight to be together at midnight on New Year’s Eve, traveling around the world in their attempts to have an undisturbed kiss at midnight, they may need something to restore their strength a bit! This has all the ingredients!
Ingredients:
2 or 3 large potatoes, peeled
1 medium onion, chopped
1 lb. ground sausage
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
½-dozen large eggs
Sausage gravy
1. Dice potatoes, onion, red and green pepper.
2. Place in warmed frying pan with melted butter.
3. Cover and simmer over low heat.
4. After 10 minutes, mix in sausage and cook over low heat.
5. In a separate frying pan, scramble eggs until done. Mix in sausage gravy and allow to simmer for 5 minutes.
6. Mix both pans together and serve with rye toast and mimosas. Best breakfast ever on Christmas morning!
Around the World Club Sandwich
Submitted by Jessie deSchepper
This is our Dutch version of the Club Sandwich – something Alexis might want after her trip around the world New Year’s Eve.
Ingredients:
olive oil for frying
½ cup sliced bacon
4 eggs
½ loaf of brown/wheat bread
Extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup soft blue cheese
2 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1 bunch radishes
2 beefsteak tomatoes
1 avocado
1 cup watercress
1 head of lettuce trio
4 slices ham
1. Fry the bacon for about 5 minutes in a dry skillet.
2. Beat the eggs in a bowl. Pour the eggs into the pan with the bacon and fry in about 8 minutes on both sides until golden brown.
3. Remove the eggs from the pan and cut into quarters.
4. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
5. Place the bread slices on a lined baking sheet and sprinkle with a dash of olive oil. Bake in the oven for about 6 minutes until crisp.
6. Mash the blue cheese in a bowl, stir through the mayonnaise and season with a little freshly ground pepper.
7. Cut the radishes into slices.
8. Cut the tomatoes into slices.
9. Make the avocado and cut the flesh into slices.
10. Cut the cress loose.
11. Spread 4 slices of bread on the blue cheese dressing, radishes, tomatoes, avocado, cress, lettuce trio, and ham.
12. Divide the fried eggs on 4 slices of bread.
13. Put 2 slices per sandwich bread invested in each other and finish with not invested slices bread.
14. Insert a skewer into all corners and cut the sandwich into 4 triangles.
Hemelse Modder (Heavenly Mud)
Submitted by Jessie deSchepper
Heavenly mud is a solid Chocolate and Dutch dessert. Yummy!
Ingredients:
½ cup dark chocolate
2 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. water
1 ½ Tbsp. sugar
2 eggs, separated
1. Break the chocolate into a saucepan and place in a pan of boiling water.
2. Add a spoonful of water while the chocolate melts.
3. Stir the butter and sugar until cream.
4. Add one by one the egg yolks.
5. Beat the egg whites very stiff, add a pinch of salt.
6. Stir the soft chocolate into the butter mixture and place this mixture on the rigid protein.
7. Stir it all together lightly.
About the Author
Kristie Cook is a lifelong, award-winning writer in various genres, from marketing communications to fantasy fiction. She continues to write the Soul Savers Series, a New Adult paranormal romance / contemporary fantasy, with Promise, Purpose, Devotion, Power, and the latest release, Wrath, book five, available now. She’s also written a companion novella, Genesis: A Soul Savers Novella, which details the compelling history of her Soul Savers mythology. Over 300,000 Soul Savers books have been sold, with Promise peaking at #54 on the Amazon Top 100 Paid list and at #1 in the Amazon Fantasy category.
Kristie’s second series, The Book of Phoenix, is a completed New Adult paranormal trilogy including: The Space Between, The Space Beyond, and The Space Within.
Besides writing, Kristie enjoys reading, cooking, traveling, and riding on the back of a motorcycle. She has lived in ten states, but currently calls Southwest Florida home with her husband, three sons, a beagle, and a puggle.
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