First up: the Sizzling Book Club Chat for Season for Surrender by Theresa Romain will be Tuesday 27 November at 9:00pm ET. Theresa will join us at 10pm for Q&A – so mark your calendars!
Need a Google button? Have a Google button:
But wait, there's more! Kensington is so excited that this book is the November book club selection, they've agreed to host a giveaway for y'all. I have five print copies from Kensington plus five digital copies to give away. Yay! The 50% rebate is still on at AllRomance through 15 November, too.
Standard disclaimers apply. This contest is open to anyone internationally. Must be over 18 and wearing a bustle. Void where prohibited. Slippery when wet. Objects in mirror may be closer than they appear. Close cover before striking. Beware the invisible dog.
Would you like to win a copy? Well, since Season for Surrender is all about a holiday house party – one that's two weeks long, holy smokes – let's talk holiday party! It's nearly time for all the end-of-year get togethers.
What's your best holiday party tip? What recipe do you always bring, if it's a potluck?
Share share – and I'll pick 10 winners at random. (Please let me know in your comment if you have a format preference.) Contest ends Friday, 16 November at 12:00 pm ET. I'll announce the winners Friday afternoon.
I hope you have a chance to read this book. I really enjoyed the holiday historical house party setting, and the heroine particularly, and I hope you can join us for the chat on the 27th!
My holiday tip is that if you are making dinner, NEVER EVER cook something that you haven’t made before.
My new favourite potluck dish is Hasty Pudding – the recipe is in Edna Staebler’s Schmecks Appeal. It is divine (and simple to make).
My holiday tip would be always bring your own booze and a designated driver!
I sound like Mrs. Elton, but my friends say I make the best scalloped potatoes so I make a ton on New Years. We always have a sit down dinner at midnight, last year forty people came it was a blast!
I like Romain’s books, I found her first book at my local library and have been buying them ever since.
My favorite potluck dishes are sweet and sour meatballs or carrot cake w/cream cheese frosting. Family favs.
Kindle or print – no real preference. Here’s hoping for an early holiday surprise!
I always take my mother-in-law’s dried beef dip and a fresh loaf of homemade bread. Yum!
Best holiday tip: go to someone else’s house!! As far as recipes, I like to bring a nice bottle of wine.
Nook format would be awesome (even though I’m running out of space)
CMTOK party tip: Always have an escape plan. (“Oh, I just have to go to the bathroom and touch up my make-up…” *Busts out e-reader for a quick 5 minute read*) If you’re hosting, don’t let anyone drive home drunk (have extra an extra pillow and blanket in case someone crashes on your couch, and maybe coffee for the next morning.) 😉 My favorite dish to bring to potlucks is Buffalo Chicken Dip w/ Triscuits – OR – THESE amazing Oreo Truffle Balls: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/e…
I’m over 18, but . . .but . . . wearing a bustle? Does having a butt big enough to look like I’m wearing a bustle count?
Holiday go-to dish: beef bourguignon over egg noodles.
I am always responsible for the pies. All the damn pies. I get pumpkins in October, freeze the puree I make, and then? PIES. I make pumpkin, apple, and strawberry rhubarb from scratch. The only way I get through it(because I don’t eat pie, myself) is my grandma’s eggnog recipe. It calls for alcohol in gallon quantities. So now you’ve depressed me, because I’m knocked up and can’t drink this year. Dangit.
I like digital format, for my nook, but I’d be happy with anything.
Holiday tip: Do NOT travel international home to see everyone unless they actually understand the meaning of “don’t buy us anything heavy and/or that can’t go in luggage”.
To the family Christmas eve dinner I used to always bring Trifle – sponge doused in sherry with custard, jelly (wobbly stuff not jam) and cream layered on top.
And if I fluke a copy – I’d love one in e-format.
I’m lazy, so I either seed a bunch of pomegranates or chop up a bunch of those little mozzarella balls and grape tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, mix, and let sit for at least a few hours in the fridge.
Paper please. I don’t have any way to read ebooks. 🙁
I have a fondness for making chocolate envelope cookies, which are essentially little pie dough squares filled with dark chocolate/mocha fudge, folded up and baked. Also, the best holiday tip I’ve ever come across is to never mix housepets and live holiday plants like holly and mistletoe. It may be pretty, but it’s lethal to smaller critters, and both dogs and cats will chew on it.
For holidays, my default is chocolate-kahlua-pecan pie. It’s so rich, you have to cut it into tiny tiny pieces so the people who eat it don’t die.
Especially during the holidays I bake thinly sliced sweet potatoes tossed in olive oil. I live in Arizona, so it’s enough to warm my small apartment all night without turning on the heater and it smells wonderfully fall-ish … plus crispy caramelized sweet potato, YUM! It’s my favorite way to get the house smelling festive.
I have a huge family and we all pitch in on the holidays with dishes. I’m always the queen of deserts. I do mini spiced pumpkin cheesecakes the size of cupcakes, a regular pumpkin pie, and a caramel pecan pie. For toppings I always whip fresh brandied/spiced whip cream and bake cinnamon covered toasted pecans.
My bestest favoritest tip is to go out and let someone else do the cooking, serving, and cleanup. Barring that, and if I have a gun to my head, I’ll make (drum roll here) that all time fav standard Green Bean Casserole (haaaa, the crowd goes wild). Yes, yes YES!!! Can you here the cheering from there? WAAAA HOOOOO…
My favorite holiday tip is to have a driver who tolerates your family less than you do, so you can always have an excuse to leave early. In my case, my hubby can drive and I can’t, so he knows when to leave before the cranberry sauce starts flying. lol. Also, I always bring an appetizer or snack that can be eaten before dinner because dinner is always late, and my children (and I) get hungry very quickly. Plus, I’m a diabetic so I always like to have something that is not going to throw my sugar levels out of whack.
(p.s.: i prefer paperback.)
I make “The Bomb” veggie dip and always bring it. (Have the makings in the fridge & pantry now!
Here is the old family recipe (You said share!)
Veggie Dip
2/3 Cup Mayo
2/3 Cup Sour Cream
1 teaspoon Beaumond (It’s a Spice-Island spice)
1 teaspoon Dillweed
1 teaspoon Onion Salt
1 teaspoon Accent
1 Tablespoon Parsley Flakes
2 drops Tabasco
Mix all above ingredients well. Make night/hours before.
OK to double.
(e for me)
I always bring Games. For general party games, APPLES TO APPLES, TELESTRATIONS, and FLUXX work well. If I know some people’s particular bent, there’s usually a version of MUNCHKIN to meet it. After that, it’s whatever else I can fit in my Bag O’ Swag!
Gonna try this one! Thanks!
Congrats!
Ice cream coffee punch is my go-to for holiday parties. It’s simple—all you need is french vanilla coffee, vanilla ice cream, sugar, and milk—and it appeals to pretty much everyone. It’s sweet and milkshake-y enough for kids, but the french vanilla makes it sophisticated enough for adults too.
i just take wine and cheese!!!!
Mock-tails! My particular favorite is Lime Surprise:
1 part lime cordial to 3 parts ginger ale with heaps of fresh mint chopped up for good measure !
I’m the pie queen: thus, I bring pie!
Best holiday tip? Don’t forget to clean the toilets (unless the party’s not at your house, which would make that super strange)—also, don’t forget to put out that weird thing the in-laws bought you last year as a decoration. Best not to make waves—that will happen soon enough when the conversation rolls around to politics and/or religion.
Best holiday recipe? An awesome mid-century down-homey tradition our family got from one of those town fundraiser cookbooks—a la “Women of the Moose.” Nut Goody Bars: Melt 1 C peanut butter, 1 bag semi-sweet chips, and 1 bag butterscotch chips until smooth. Cool and add 1 bag of mini-marshmallows and 1 can of Spanish peanuts, chill. Best ever holiday cookie-type thing, trust me. Can you deny the Women of the Moose?
Such awesome responses here—I heart the bitchery, and e-books!
Y’all have made me hungry!! I’m a terrible cook but I can bake. For the past few years I’ve specialized in chocolate sambuca cookies because everyone loves them. They are so melt in your mouth decadent that there are never leftovers. I believe I found the recipe on Best Recipes but if you just google chocolate sambuca cookies you’ll find it.
When I was a kid my mom used to make a chocolate buttermilk pie but she lost the recipe and I’ve never found one that was quite the same. Mom and I suffer from the same type of sieve-brain that requires we have a recipe or we’ll goof something up (and often even WITH a recipe – the last time I made the cookies mentioned above I did something backwards like 2C sugar and 1C flour or similar and they were awful – and I was workin directly from the recipe.
Oh, easy chip dip – sour cream, minced garlic, Franks red hot, finely ground white pepper and salt. Let sit in the fridge for as long as you can hold off eating it…;-)
As for stress – refuse to allow others to ruin your mood: don’t talk politics with the mule-headed whatever party follower who is dying to change your mind with a blunt instrument if necessary. Greet rude and mean and snide comments with a gracious smile while imagining them dusted with itch powder. Hug your loved ones, the furry ones too.
I bring sugar cookies. They are easier to make a lot of other cookies. I cheat and buy the mix anyways. 🙂
I would live to win a paperback copy. I usually bring fruit pizza b/c everyone has had my fruit pizza before and complains if I don’t bring it. Sweetened cream cheese on a sugar cookie crust rolled out on a pizza tin, with sliced fresh fruit on top. I can sort of pretend it’s a little healthy, b/c it’s got fruit!
I don’t like letting food sit out, so I’m not a huge fan of pot locks or bringing food for potlucks – I’ll usually bring cheese, or something shelf stable. (so does it sound like I used to work at a food company . . .?)
One if mine that’s always a hit- and duper easy- chili cheese dip. Layer one brick of cream cheese in the bottom of a round baking dish, topped with one can of Hormel chili. Then top with shredded cheese and bake until the cheese it melted and its warm throughout. Serve with tortilla chips. 🙂
Yikes- typos! Sorry I cannot type!! Lol.
Well, i’m the prep bitch during the holidays. True Mexican food involves lots of prep-work and slicing and dicing and stuff and preparing sauces and stuffing meat with ham and bacon. But since my grandma died ten years ago, we are all more relaxed about it.
We eat whatever we want even if it’s not traditional holiday food, and we watch whatever we want on TV regardless of seasonal programs (last Christmas we watched The food truck race show for, like, five hours straight plus US’s Masterchef.) and basically just chill.
When my gran was alive it was such a production, and we had to wait around forever to eat because one of my aunts thought it was “the right way”. So now we just relax and eat a lot. no pressure to make it a perfect, postcard dinner.
Well, i’m the prep bitch during the holidays. True Mexican food involves lots of prep-work and slicing and dicing and stuff and preparing sauces and stuffing meat with ham and bacon. But since my grandma died ten years ago, we are all more relaxed about it.
We eat whatever we want even if it’s not traditional holiday food, and we watch whatever we want on TV regardless of seasonal programs (last Christmas we watched The food truck race show for, like, five hours straight plus US’s Masterchef.) and basically just chill.
When my gran was alive it was such a production, and we had to wait around forever to eat because one of my aunts thought it was “the right way”. So now we just relax and eat a lot. no pressure to make it a perfect, postcard dinner.
This is completely not holiday centric, but I usually bring those little smokies wrapped in bacon when I have to do the pot luck thing. Now that I think about it, most of my potlucks are during football season or cookout season. Huh.
I was looking for a place to bring caramel apple jello shots complete with apple to though…
I’ve been making sriracha wings a whole lot recently. I found a recipe online and made them for my husband, who quickly became obsessed. Now all our friends are making their own recipes for potluck gatherings.
Best part tip? Hmm…make sure everyone had a drink in their hands and then just relax! Too often I get focused on the food and making sure all the napkins are out, and I wind up missing out on all the fun.
My favorite easy finger food recipe is from a good friend of mine. You start with dates, stuff each one with a with quartered almond slice, wrap in bacon, then put in the oven until the bacon is just crisp. They are amazingly good, and I’m always surprised at how many people have never tried a date before and are shocked at how good they are (of course, the bacon helps also LOL).
Cranberry and orange cream cheese hedgehog (almonds for the quills!).
Hummus is always a good bet. Seems like all my friends (including me) have a voluntary or involuntary dietary restriction but everyone loves hummus.
My favorite recipe to make is Danish apple bars, a thin layer of crust on a cookie sheet with cinnamon sugared apple with another layer of crust on top and drizzled all over with a powdered sugar glaze while still warm…such a crowd pleaser.
I don’t so much do holiday parties very often, but whenever I go anywhere I generally bring dessert. Most recently it was chocolate chip cookies 🙂
paper or e is fine (with a slight preference toward paper).
Thanks.
It’s not Christmas lunch (or any family function for that matter) without my mum’s curried noodle salad. Always make it the night before, tastes way better!