Romancing the Holidays: Twelve Christmas Romances - Benefits Breast Cancer Research
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Jacki Delecki is a Best-Selling, Romantic Suspense writer. Delecki’s Grayce Walters Series, which chronicles the adventures of a Seattle animal acupuncturist, was an editor’s selection by USA Today. Delecki’s Romantic Regency The Code Breaker Series hit number one on Amazon. Both acclaimed series are available for purchase at http://www.JackiDelecki.com.
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Carmine Valentine
Carmine Valentine is an award-winning author who lives in the Seattle area. Her mysteries have elements of romance and are set in the Pacific Northwest and generally always have a dog or a cat playing a role. She has two grown sons and a cat named Sprocket. One of her favorite places to socialize is in the kitchen with family and friends.
www.carminevalentine.com
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https://twitter.com/carmineromance
Reader: If you enjoyed these books, please leave a review, no matter how brief, on the site where you bought this book.
We are attempting to sell thousands of books to benefit CANCER AWARENESS and your review helps more than you can imagine, even if you only read one or two of the books.
Thank you and Happy Holidays!
~The 13 Authors of Romancing the Holidays~
Cheese and Mushroom Puff Squares
Ingredients:
Serves: 2
1/2 sheet puff pastry
3 tablespoons butter
125g mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
50g crumbled soft goat's cheese
handful finely chopped fresh parsley
Method
Prep:20 min Cook:15 min › Ready in:35 min
Preheat an oven to 200 C / Gas 6. Lightly grease a baking tray.
Lay puff pastry out on a lightly floured surface and cut into 8 squares. Prick the squares in several places with a fork. Place the puff pastry squares on prepared baking tray.
Bake the puff pastry squares for 7 minutes. Remove tray from the oven, flatten the squares using the backside of a spatula. Return puff pastry to the oven to bake until golden brown, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from oven.
Meanwhile, melt butter in a frying pan over high heat. Cook and stir the mushrooms and garlic in the butter until mushrooms are tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat.
Top the baked puff pastry squares evenly with the mushroom mixture. Crumble goat cheese over mushrooms and sprinkle with parsley.
Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Chicken Poppers
Ingredients:
8 fresh jalapenos
8 oz. cream cheese
½ avocado, sliced in 8 wedges
chicken breast, 6 thin slices
8 pieces of bacon, uncooked
salt and pepper
4 oz. grated cheese, your choice
Preheat oven 375°. Slit jalapenos on one side and remove seeds and membranes with a spoon. Mix grated cheese with cream cheese. Stuff peppers with cheese mixture and place a thin slice of avocado onto the mixture. Season thinly sliced chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Wrap chicken breasts around the stuffed pepper. Wrap one slice of bacon around each chicken breast and skewer with a wooden toothpick. Place on lined baking dish. Bake for 40 minutes, or until bacon is crispy. Serves 8. Easy and delicious!
Greek Beef Kabobs with Tzatziki Dip
Ingredients:
1.5 lbs. beef cubes (choose a cut of meat with some fat for flavor/moisture and cut into 1”x1” squares)
Marinade:
3 cloves minced garlic
1 tbsp. minced fresh rosemary sprigs
1 tbsp. crushed dried oregano
3 tbsp. olive oil
4 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. fresh-ground pepper
Salt the beef first, then mix with the marinade ingredients in a tray, making sure the meat cubes are covered well. Let set for 1-2 hours (or overnight if possible).
Use metal skewers to thread 4-5 cubes of meat at a time. Metal skewers help distribute heat inside the beef to help bring it to a safe temperature. You can use wood skewers instead, but be sure to soak them for at least 20 minutes before placing them over heat, so they won’t burn.
Place skewers over high heat on your barbeque or grill. I use an indoor grill on my stove year-round for easy cleanup. Cook to preference.
Remove from grill and drizzle with virgin olive oil and add a few dollops of the Tzatziki dip. Enjoy!
The Tzatziki Dip
Sam stopped me and drew his finger inside the container, cutting a line through the remaining Tzatziki sauce. Smile lines stole the tension from his brow as he sucked the sauce from his finger and hummed, "Mmm."
Ingredients:
1 cup Greek yogurt
1 cup shredded cucumber, strained of water
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp. chopped fresh dill
1 tsp. chopped mint
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. lemon juice (or white wine vinegar)
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. white pepper (optional)
Combine the minced garlic with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a bowl. This infuses the liquid ingredients with garlic flavor. Let this stand a few minutes.
Chop fresh dill and mint.
Slice the cucumber in half and scoop out the seeds and mushy insides. You can peel the cucumber completely before grating it, but I leave on strips of cucumber skin for vitamins. Grate your cucumber using a large-holed box grater. Once you have a cup of cucumber gratings, squeeze a fistful at a time over a bowl to extract the water. Set aside.
Blend the yogurt and the vinaigrette.
Add the cucumber, dill, and mint.
Keeps for 3-5 days and tastes great with crackers, pitas, on chicken sandwiches, and on chopped veggie salads.
Spicy Crab Dip
Ingredients:
1 – 8 oz container soft herb and garlic cream cheese
1 can crab meat, or fresh crab meat to equal approx 6 oz.
¾ cup mayonaise
1 small onion finely chopped
1-2 teaspoons Cayenne pepper to taste
Mix softened cream cheese and mayonnaise together in bowl. Add onion, drained crab meat and cayenne pepper. Stir well to combine. Cover tightly and let sit in the refrigerator for at least 4 hrs or overnight. Stir well just before serving. Best served with scoop type chips, toasted pita chips or crackers. Can also be dressed up on toasted baguettes with other garnish (e.g., sliced veggies or additional herbs).
Blue Cheese Cocktail Biscuits
Ingredients:
1 pack of Pillsbury biscuits, each round, quartered
½ cup of butter
½ cup of blue cheese
Melt butter and cheese then pour over bite-sized pieces on a baking sheet. Bake at 325 until brown, Serve with apple slices!
Four Hour Perfect Christmas Turkey
Preheat oven to 475
Stuff your thawed (20 pound) turkey in both ends and secure cavities
Put turkey in a roaster with 2 inches of water and 5 cloves of garlic
Rub turkey with margarine
Put in uncovered pan in oven for 40 minutes, basting with melted margarine every ten minutes
Turn oven to 325, cover turkey with foil and bake for 3 hours
Works every time!
Super-Easy Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients:
2 – 8 oz packs of cranberries
1 orange - zest
½ cup of sugar, 1 cinnamon stick
Combine all ingredients in a pot and boil about 15 minutes, until sauce thickens. Let cool on counter then refrigerate. Take out the cinnamon stick when serving.
Nilla Wafers Christmas Cookies
These are simply Nilla Wafers covered in frosting and decorations. These cookies ma
kes a gorgeous Christmas Cookie plate!
Chocolate Caramel Sea Salt Thumbprints
Ingredients:
Makes about 2 dozen
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature + 2 tablespoons (for chocolate filling)
¼ cup granulated sugar
finely grated zest from 1 small lemon
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 oz bittersweet chocolate, broken into small pieces
2 teaspoons golden syrup or light corn syrup
Melted caramels and Sea Salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two small baking sheets (or one large one) with parchment paper.
In another small bowl, combine lemon zest with sugar. With the tips of your fingers, rub the zest and sugar together until they’re well integrated.
Combine the butter and sugar-zest mixture in the bowl of a stand or hand mixer. Beat them together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, stopping once or twice to scrape down the sides of your bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the vanilla extract and beat for a few more seconds. Reduce the mixer speed to low, then add the flour a little at a time. Beat just until just incorporated into the dough -- don’t over mix.
Scoop teaspoon-sized balls of dough (a melon scoop works well) and roll them to form small balls. Place the balls about 2” apart on the parchment-lined baking sheets. Using your thumb, make an indentation in the center of each cookie. Make sure you don't press through the dough, but make sure the centers are plenty deep and wide to hold the chocolate filling.
Bake about 15 minutes, or until the cookies are only slightly colored around the edges; be careful to not over bake. (About 10 minutes in, I often check the thumbprint indentations -- if they seem too shallow, remove the cookie sheet and depress the centers while the dough is still soft. When done, remove the baking sheets from oven and transfer the cookies to cooling racks. I like to do this by keeping the cookies on the parchment, and sliding the parchment onto the cooling rack.
To make chocolate filling: Using a double boiler or a small heat-proof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, combine chocolate, 2 tablespoons butter, and golden syrup. Stir until melted and smooth. Cool slightly. When cookies are cool, fill the thumbprints with the chocolate, and then melted caramel, then sprinkle with sea salt. Allow about an hour for the chocolate centers to set.
Coconut Chocolate Macaroons
Ingredients:
2 2/3 cup flaked coconut
2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp. vanilla
chocolate melts, or almond bark
Sliced almond or pecan halves for garnish
(If doubling recipe, use one 5 1/3 oz. bag of coconut and entire can of sweetened condensed milk)
Preheat oven to 350°. Mix coconut, condensed milk and vanilla. I like to refrigerate the mixture for an hour or two to make it easier to handle. Drop by spoonsful onto cookie sheet coated with cooking spray or lined with parchment paper. Bake 10-12 minutes until tops are lightly browned. Remove from pan immediately to prevent sticking. Cool on rack or separate parchment paper. When completely cool, dip the bottom in melted chocolate and place back onto parchment paper. Drizzle chocolate onto tops of each macaroon and top with an almond slice or pecan half. Makes great gifts!
Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Crackers
Ingredients:
1 box buttery crackers (Ritz or similar)
1 package almond bark (chocolate or white)
Creamy peanut butter
Spread peanut butter on one cracker. Cover with second cracker to form sandwich. Melt almond bark in microwave safe bowl until nearly melted. Stir until creamy. Dip sandwiched crackers into melted bark using tongs. Place on waxed or parchment paper to dry. Decorate with candy sprinkles before chocolate hardens. (Optional) The colored sprinkles really pop with the white almond bark. Makes a beautiful gift plate and so easy!
Chocolate Chip/Toffee Cookies
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour (sifted)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) softened unsalted butter
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup brown sugar (packed)
2 tsp. vanilla extract, 1 tsp. almond extract
2 large eggs
2 cups (12 oz. pkg.) of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup FINELY CHOPPED chocolate covered toffee pieces. You can find these in the baking section in bags (make sure you get the chocolate covered ones) OR buy the individual candy bars and process them.
1 cup chopped nuts,
PREHEAT oven to 375° F.
Combine sifted flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels, nuts, and toffee pieces. Drop by heaping spoon full onto ungreased baking sheets. I like to roll and flatten mine for uniform shape.
BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.
PAN COOKIE VARIATION: Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan or large round pizza pan. Prepare dough as above. Spread into prepared pans. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack. Can decorate these just like giant chocolate chip cookie cakes before cutting.
Easy ‘Light as Angel Wings’ Sugar Cookies
Preheat oven to 375
Bake 10mns
Ingredients:
3 cups unsifted flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup butter (2 cubes) - chilled
2 eggs plus 1 egg white (whisk until just blended in a small bowl)
1/2 tsp vanilla
*Powdered Sugar - not as an ingredient, but to use, along with flour, to roll sugar cookies in.
Measure flour, sugar, and baking powder into large mixing bowl. Cut in chilled butter with butter knife or pastry cutter until like cornmeal. Note: easier to do this when chilled rather than soft (as it will cling to the cutting tool rather than mix with the dry ingredients). Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour into the well the lightly whisked eggs. Add vanilla. Work all ingredients together until blended. You will see small bits of butter but that's okay. It will melt and blend in the baking.
Hints to keep the cookie light as angel wings:
To keep the cookie light, it's okay at this point for dough to be sticking to your hands. More flour will be added in the rolling out process. Use an equal mix of flour and powdered sugar to sprinkle onto a clean surface for rolling out cookie dough.
*The use of powdered sugar with flour lessons the quantity of flour needed (too much flour would make the cookie heavier). Plus the powdered sugar makes the cookie sweet enough that frosting isn't necessary.
Classic Divinity
Ingredients:
2 ½ cups granulated sugar
½ cup light corn syrup
2 egg whites
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
¼ tsp. salt
In 2 quart saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, salt and ½ cup water. Cook on medium heat, stirring just until sugar dissolves. Cook until it reaches the hardball stage (260°). Meanwhile, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gradually pour the syrup over the egg whites, beating on high speed with an electric mixer. Add vanilla and chopped nuts at this point (pecans or other nuts of your preference) and beat another 4 or 5 minutes, until candy starts to hold its shape. Use two teaspoons to drop onto waxed or parchment paper. Makes about 40 pieces.
Tip: I only attempt to cook divinity on a clear, cool day, with low humidity. After beating the divinity a final time, I go stand outside with the bowl and stir the mixture for a few minutes while facing into the wind. This puts air into it and makes it light and fluffy. (
Thanks to big sister, Andrea, for the tip!) You’ll have to hurry and drop onto waxed or parchment paper after this. It helps to have two people doing this at the same time.
Peppermint Meringue Treats
Makes 24 meringue cookies.
It's easiest to separate the eggs when they are cold. Since you'll want the egg whites to be at room temperature before whipping them (they will get more lift that way), for best results, separate your eggs at least a half hour before starting this recipe, and leave egg whites out to come to room temp.
Ingredients:
3-4 Tbsp crushed peppermint candies*
3 egg whites
Pinch salt
1 cup sugar (use superfine if you have it)
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)
Preheat oven to 300°F
Put egg whites into a stand mixer, add a pinch of salt. Start the mixer on low, gradually increasing the speed to medium until quite foamy and soft peaks can just begin to form, about 2-3 minutes. Egg white bubbles should be small and uniform.