Bookin' with Bingo

 WELCOME TO "BRUNCH WITH BINGO"!

I AM EXCITED TO REPEAT A FAVORITE

GIVEAWAY OF MINE FOR THE HOLIDAYS!

   BINGO'S BRUNCH BOOK CHOICE IS....

DEBBIE MACOMBER'S 

CHRISTMAS COOKBOOK

Favorite Recipes and Holiday Traditions 

from My Home to Yours

BY DEBBIE MACOMBER

ABOUT THE BOOK:

We call her the "Official Storyteller of Christmas"—but Debbie Macomber is more than that. She's someone who loves the holiday and all its traditions. Now she shares more than one hundred of her favorite recipes to help you enjoy this most joyous of seasons. You'll also find easy-to-follow instructions for crafts, decorations and gift wrapping—everything you need to create a beautiful and festive holiday.

What makes this cookbook unique is Debbie's personal memories and observations. Join her as she reminisces about traditions past and present, and discover the craft ideas she herself uses. As she says, "The holidays are about being with others. They're about celebrating and sustaining our personal community of family and friends."

In this beautifully illustrated book, she shows you how to serve a memorable meal, whether it's a sit-down Christmas dinner for a crowd, entertaining a group of friends at an open house or tea, or spending time with your children or grandchildren baking cookies and making gifts.

AN EXCERPT FROM DEBBIE MACOMBER'S CHRISTMAS COOKBOOK:

Oh, how I love Christmas. Give me an excuse to prepare a spread for my family or invite friends to the house, and I immediately head for the kitchen and reach for my cookbooks. (I've lost count of the number I've collected through the years. Cookbooks dating back to my years as a young wife and mother, even a recipe file from my teen years. I have notes from my grandmother, as well as my mother's recipes.)

What the holidays are really about is being with others. They're about celebrating and sustaining our personal community of family and friends, giving and receiving affection, reciprocating good times—and that so often takes the form of a shared meal.

Every year, for almost as long as I've been published, I've written a book that features some aspect of Christmas. It was my love of Christmas that brought those wacky and irrepressible angels, Shirley, Goodness and Mercy, to life. That goes for Mrs. Miracle, too, along with dozens of holiday-themed stories. My goal was—and is—to give you, my readers, something to take you away from the frantic activity of the Christmas season and yet ultimately reflect what it really means. To give you the gift of laughter and a few moments of respite and relaxation.

What I love most about the Christmas holidays is the traditions with family and friends. When Wayne and I were first married, we lived in western Washington State and our families lived on the other side of the Cascade Mountains. Traversing the mountain passes in the dead of winter wasn't always possible, so we had to start our own traditions.

I'll be passing on several of those Macomber family traditions in this cookbook. Take what you like and add your own unique twist. I offer them to you with a grateful heart for all you've done to support me through my publishing career.

I can say without hesitation that you're going to enjoy this cookbook. The recipes will leave you eager to get into the kitchen; the pictures are a feast for the eyes and will inspire you.

Please join me now and flip through the pages. As you read these recipes and Christmas craft suggestions, remember you'll be creating memories in your own kitchen, sharing a heritage of good eating with your family and friends.

Merry Christmas from my family to yours!...Debbie Macomber

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Through both words and deeds, #1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber inspires women from all walks of life to realize their dreams.

Debbie Macomber overcame the obstacles in her own life to become one of the world’s most popular writers. She encourages women to achieve the goals that burn in their hearts as fiercely as the desire to become a bestselling novelist did in her own 15 years ago.

When Debbie first decided to write a novel, people called her a hopeless dreamer. She had only a high school degree and was dyslexic. She was also the very young mother of four active children. No one believed she had what it took to write a book—except Debbie. She eventually saved enough money to rent an old typewriter, and every night when the children were asleep, she would sit down to write.
TO READ THE REST OF DEBBIE'S FASCINATING BIOGRAPHY, VISIT THE HARLEQUIN WEBSITE HERE. 

SAMPLE RECIPES FROM DEBBIE MACOMBER'S CHRISTMAS COOKBOOK:

CHRISTMAS EVE EGGNOG

 INGREDIENTS:

• 6 large eggs, separated
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 cups whole milk
• 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
• Salt
• 1/2 cup brandy
• 1 cup heavy cream
• Garnishes: Ground nutmeg, chocolate shavings, cinnamon sticks

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place a large bowl in a larger bowl of ice water; set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks and 1/2 cup of the sugar until thick, for about 2 minutes.

3. In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, bring milk, vanilla bean, and a pinch of salt to a simmer. Remove from heat; whisk 1 cup of this hot milk mixture into the yolks. Slowly pour yolk-milk mixture into milk remaining in saucepan. Place pan over medium heat; cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until mixture reaches 160F and is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon.

4. Strain eggnog base through a fine-mesh sieve into bowl in ice bath. Let cool for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, for about 1 hour.

5. Whisk brandy and cream into chilled eggnog. In large bowl using an electric mixer on high speed, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Add remaining 1/2 cup sugar; beat on high until stiff peaks form. Gently fold whites into eggnog until blended. Cover, refrigerate for several hours or overnight, or until cold. Pour into a pitcher to serve. Garnish servings as desired.

LINZER COOKIES 

(ONE OF MY FAVORITE!)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup blanched or sliced almonds
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 tsp grated lemon zest
• Confectioners’ sugar, for garnish
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet (or bittersweet) chocolate, chips or chopped
• ½ cup seedless raspberry jam

 DIRECTIONS:

To make cookies:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Place almonds on a baking sheet and toast for about 8 minutes, or until lightly browned, stirring often. Transfer to a food processor; add ¼ cup of the sugar and pulse until finely ground.

2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, cloves and salt. In a large bowl with electric mixer on high speed, beat butter and remaining 1/2 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla, yolks and zest. Beat in the ground almonds and flour mixture, beating until just blended. Form the dough into 2 disks; wrap tightly in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, for at least 1 hour or up to 3 days.

3. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll out 1 disk of dough to about ¼-inch thick. Using a 2-inch-round cookie cutter, cut out as many cookies as possible. Place cookies about 1 inch apart on prepared sheet. Use a smaller (about 1 inch) cookie cutter to cut out the centers of half of the cookies on the baking sheet. Reroll any scraps; cut out cookies in the same manner. You should have about 26 cookies with cutouts in the middle and 26 uncut cookies. Repeat with remaining disk of dough.

4. Bake cookies for 12 minutes, until lightly browned. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

To make filling:
1. Melt chocolate chips in microwave. Spread a small amount of chocolate on top of the cooled uncut cookies (the bottom half of the cookie sandwich). Place in refrigerator for 30 minutes for chocolate to set. Meanwhile, sprinkle cutout cookies with confectioners’ sugar. Remove chocolate-coated cookies from refrigerator. Spread a thin layer of jam on top of the chocolate layer. Top with cutout cookie.

 

GIVEAWAY 

I AM THRILLED TO BE ABLE TO ONCE AGAIN OFFER

DEBBIE MACOMBER'S CHRISTMAS COOKBOOK

TO GIVE AWAY TO ONE LUCKY FOLLOWER

 
--U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P. O. BOXES
---INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
IN CASE YOU WIN!
--ALL COMMENTS MUST BE SEPARATE TO 
COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE!

HOW TO ENTER:

+1 ENTRY: COMMENT ON WHY YOU WOULD WANT TO WIN DEBBIE MACOMBER'S CHRISTMAS COOKBOOK FROM WHAT YOU LEARNED ABOVE,  AND DON'T FORGET YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON SOMETHING INTERESTING YOU FIND AT DEBBIE MACOMBER'S WEBSITE HERE

+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG AND/OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND COME BACK HERE AND LEAVE ME YOUR LINK

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON ONE CURRENT GIVEAWAY YOU HAVE ENTERED ON MY BLOG. IF YOU ENTERED MORE THAN ONE, YOU MAY COMMENT SEPARATELY ON EACH IN ORDER TO RECEIVE EXTRA ENTRIES 

GIVEAWAY ENDS AT

6 PM, EST, JANUARY 10

 

GOOD LUCK!