One delicious thing at a time!

Julia Turshen, author of Small Victories, feels like becoming a confident cook is mastering one delicious thing at a time, and taking pleasure in each small victory. In the cookbook pages she shares more than 95 recipes and hundreds of recipe variations. Julia shares basic lessons of cooking and the insparation that flows from mastering one recipe. The book is divided into simple and traditional categories, breakfast, soup and salad, vegetables, ect. Some of the delicious sounding recipes are, Sour Cream Pancakes with Roasted Blueberries, Snow-Day Udon Soup, and All Day Pork Shoulder with Cider. Most recipes have a picture which is helpful. Give it a try! ML

A Wedding For Christmas

A Wedding for Christmas by Lori Wilde is a delightful read. It is one of the best Christmas stories out there and it reads like a Hallmark movie but with some passionate and sultry scenes. You will fall in love with Katie and Ryder and root for their love all along. This story is filled with some deep family values and struggles that we can all relate to, to some degree. Also, the town of Twilight, Texas just draws you into their charm and Christmas festivities, the scenery in this book is so vivid you will feel as if you're walking right down the streets.

It's a great love story, a perfect setting and lots of holiday action keep this story moving, An enjoyable holiday treat! *JK*

Italian Preserving...who knew?

 Domenica Marchetti addresses the art of preserving food in her book Preserving Italy:Canning, Curing, Infusing and Bottling Italian Flavors and Traditions.
Traditionally we don't think of Italian food in this way, at least not in this country. The book explores many ways to accomplish preserving including food preserved in oil, or vinegar. There are chapters on tomatoes and sauce as well as fruit preserved in syrups or liqueurs. There are also recipes using these foods. Doesn't crostini with sweet-and-sour peppers with fresh mozzarella sound good?
How about almond cake with strawberry-apricot preserves? If dinner is needed you could make zuppa di pasta e fagioli. Lots of lovely pictures and detailed recipes complete the picture. mmmm!
ML

Mistletoe Games

Mistletoe Games is an anthology of the three novellas in the Play by Play series by Jaci Burton. Each takes place during the Christmas holiday and are short for a great evening read. The three holiday novellas: Holiday Games, Holiday on Ice, and Hot Holiday Nights are sexy, passionate and a little bit naughty!

As always, the writing is well done. The characters are independent, strong, sporty, and deliciously handsome. And the plot builds and flows nicely with a good dose of drama, chemistry, sexual tension, and sizzling sex scenes.

Overall, this is a fun, entertaining, easy read that would be a great "naughty" stocking stuffer. *JK*

Getting their Wings

When Abby, a beloved book club leader, dies suddenly after Thanksgiving—it leave the others grasping for answers. Why her, why now? Before her passing, Abby made each of her friends a little angel ornament to show them how much they meant to her. To come to terms with their grief and to help get themselves through the holidays without her, Louisa, Belinda, Cassidy and Grace decide to concentrate on a good deed for Christmas. While using their special talents to help others, the ladies find out some very interesting things about themselves. For a quick enlightening read for the Christmas season try The Christmas Angel Project by Melody Carlson.DB

Helpful Hints

Are you looking for shortcuts and advice on how to simplify your household chores? We have just the book. Good Housekeeping Simple Household Wisdom: 425 Easy Ways to Clean & Organize Your Home by Sara Lyle Bow is terrific! It has eight chapters of hints for cleaning, managing clutter, storage, decorating, entertaining and fix-its. You are bound to learn something to help your household run smoother. DB

A Date at the Altar: Marrying the Duke

A Date at the Altar is the third book in the Marrying the Duke series by Cathy Maxwell. This can easily be read as a stand alone book. This is a story that will touch you down to your soul. Sarah and Gavin are amazing characters that will tug at your heartstrings and you will cheer for them as they get near their happy ending. The author writes a story that you will not be able to put down. There are lots of witty dialogue between Sarah and Gavin and you may even cry when they passionately open up and share each other their secrets. This is an extraordinary love story that you will want to read over and over again. *JK*

plans can go wrong!

In the movie, Maggie's Plan, plans do go wrong! Maggie finds out, to her chagrin, sometimes when you get everything you want, you don't want it! Her plan to have a baby on her own derails when she falls in love with a married man. Funny, quirky, and gently ironic, this is an entertaining film. good acting by Ethan Hawke and Greta Gerwig. ML

A Cook's Travels

Naomi Duguid, author of  Taste of Persia, is a well traveled woman. This cookbook, in photos and recipes celebrates the countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran and Kurdistan. The author traveled through these countries, and took many of the wonderful photos in the book. These are cultures that many of us will never visit, much less eat the food. There is much information on these countries, as well as many photographs. Wouldn't it be lovely to have some mint tea and eggplant or leek pate with crackers? If you are very hungry some Pomegranate-Marinated Kebabs with Herbed Persian Rice, yoghurt and pickles would satisfy! Just a lovely exploration of food and culture. ML

The Trouble with Mistletoe

The Trouble with Mistletoe by Jill Shalvis is a contemporary romance that has you smiling all throughout and in the end, leaves you with warm, light and fuzzy feelings.

Pet shop owner Willa Davis and house renovator Keane Winters become a factor in each other's lives when he's entrusted to care for his aunt's crazy, much loved cat and chooses to enlist the help of a cat sitter. What he doesn't realize is that Willa and he have met before, he has no recollection whilst Willa still owns the scars. The reader soon discovers that Keane was not so gentlemanly at high school and left a hurtful mark on our heroine. *JK*

Fabulous Fashion

There is nothing better than a little black dress! That’s what Morris Siegel says and he should know—he’s been a designer for 75 years. This year, on the eve of his retirement, he reaps his just reward---the IT dress of the season on the cover of Women’s Wear Daily—a much coveted fashion coup! Nine Women, One Dress by Jane L. Rosen takes an inside look at the lives of several women. The story follows the adventures of a model, an actress, a salesgirl, a private investigator and a few others who find themselves in possession of the little black dress. This is a short, sweet, feel-good story about fashion and life! DB