![\"champ\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.emlynley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/champ.jpg?resize=250%2C202\")
Ahhhh, Champagne<\/h2>\n
One of my favorite things to drink (and there are many) is Champagne. I actually love almost any sparkling wine, whether it’s the real stuff from France, Spain’s cava, Italy’s prosecco or just sparkling wine from California. So it should come as no surprise that New Year’s Eve is one of my favorite holidays. When I was traveling in Europe, I made sure to visit both Moet et Chandon in Epernay, France, where Dom Perignon is made, and Mumm in Rheims, not far away. It was fascinating to learn about the extra steps in the process to make sparkling wine. The first part of the process is just like still wine, then there is a second fermentation in the bottle. Until the French Champagne producers perfected the shape of the bottle, they lost up to 70 percent of every vintage to broken bottles. Maybe that’s why Champagne is so expensive: they’re still trying to recoup those early losses. But it does account for the higher prices: extra labor and time to produce great quality Champagne. Cava from Spain and prosecco from Italy have their second fermentation in the barrel, not the bottle, and the cuts down the cost considerably.<\/p>\n
![\"champ](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.emlynley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/champ-ris2.jpg?resize=213%2C236\")
For a really special treat I love to make this Champagne risotto, though you can use any sparkling wine. It’s best when it’s not too sweet since it will get concentrated as it cooks. And one of the fun things is that because you have to open the bottle before midnight, you get the chance to sample the bubbly way before anyone else. Just make sure most of the dinner is cooked before you start this or you might forget something important.<\/p>\n
Some recipes include peas or asparagus, but I prefer it just plain so the flavor the Champagne is more intense. Enjoy!<\/p>\n
Champagne Risotto<\/h2>\n
(recipe from Bon Appetit<\/a><\/i>)<\/p>\n Melt butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onions; saut\u00e9 1 minute. Add rice; saut\u00e9 2 minutes. Add Champagne; simmer until almost all liquid evaporates, stirring often, about 2 minutes. Add 1 can broth; simmer until rice is almost tender, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Simmer until rice is tender but still firm to bite and mixture is creamy, adding more broth if too thick and stirring often, about 5 minutes. Stir in Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper.<\/p>\n Here’s more about Crush<\/em>.<\/p>\n Simon Ford’s success is hard-won. He grew up in Napa and resents the rich people who have moved into the valley, changing the culture by opening boutique wineries and pricing the locals out of the market.<\/p>\n Austin Kelvin runs an award-winning winery his father started after making a fortune on Wall Street. He lives the posh lifestyle Simon resents but secretly longs to attain. However, Austin’s world isn’t as luxurious and privileged as it seems: he didn’t inherit his father’s business savvy, and his winery is going under.<\/p>\n When Simon’s boss sends him to covertly scope out Kelvin Cellars for a possible takeover bid, Simon sees it as a step toward attaining his financial dreams. Until he falls hard for Austin. The feeling is mutual, but when Austin learns the real reason for Simon’s initial interest, he suspects Simon’s seduction is merely a means to procure the winery at a bargain price. If there’s any hope of winning Austin’s heart, Simon will have to risk it all to prove Austin is more than just an intoxicating crush.<\/p>\n Here’s more about the story.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Special equipment: assorted 2- to 3-inch cookie cutters (fireman<\/span>-shaped or your choice); a metal offset spatula. Ice with commercial cooking icing or prepare your own and pipe onto completely cooled cookies using a pastry bag fitted with 1\/8- to 1\/4-inch plain tip.<\/p>\n Bring molasses, brown sugar, and spices to a boil in a 4- to 5-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, and remove from heat. Stir in baking soda (mixture will foam up), then stir in butter a couple of pieces at a time, letting each addition melt before adding next, until all butter is melted. Add egg and stir until combined, then stir in 3 3\/4 cups flour and the salt. Fold in the crystallized ginger pieces if using. Leave a comment with either your favorite way to spend New Year\u2019s Eve or one of your New Year\u2019s resolutions for a chance to win a copy of one e-book from my backlist <\/a>(excluding the upcoming Dirty Dining<\/em><\/a>). I\u2019ll draw a name on January 7. And have a safe and Happy New Year!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For a really special treat I love to make this Champagne risotto, though you can use any sparkling wine. It’s best when it’s not too sweet since it will get concentrated as it cooks. And one of the fun things is that because you have to open the bottle before midnight, you get the chance to sample the bubbly way before anyone else. Just make sure most of the dinner is cooked before you start this or you might forget something important.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":63,"featured_media":2295,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[706,52,587,107],"tags":[551,368,452,450,367,937,408,380,744,708,922,27,451,178,878,877],"class_list":["post-4035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-delectable-series-2","category-event","category-feature-article","category-giveaway","tag-an-intoxicating-crush","tag-brand-new-flavor","tag-celebration","tag-champagne","tag-delectable","tag-delectable-december","tag-delectable-series","tag-food","tag-gingerbread","tag-gingerbread-palace","tag-giveaway","tag-holidays","tag-new-years-eve","tag-recipe","tag-za-maxfield","tag-zam"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.emlynley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/champ.jpg?fit=250%2C202","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pzLgx-135","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.emlynley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4035","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.emlynley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.emlynley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.emlynley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/63"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.emlynley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4035"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/www.emlynley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4035\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4039,"href":"http:\/\/www.emlynley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4035\/revisions\/4039"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.emlynley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.emlynley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.emlynley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.emlynley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
An Intoxicating Crush<\/em><\/h2>\n
![\"Intoxicating](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.emlynley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/IntoxicatingCrushAn.jpg?resize=200%2C300\")
<\/a>Since I love wine and even worked in the wine business for seven years, it was natural I would write a book feature a winemaker. It was sheer pleasure to work on An Intoxicationg Crush. I learned many things about growing grapes I didn’t know, and a lot about the business aspects of running a winery. And since this book is in the Delectable Series, there is plenty of delicious food in the story and about a dozen recipes for you to enjoy.<\/p>\nRead full text of chapter 1<\/a><\/h3>\n
Buy e-book or in print from:<\/h3>\n
Dreamspinner<\/a>, Amazon<\/a>, All Romance<\/a>, B&N<\/a>, and other book distributors.<\/h3>\n
<\/h2>\n
And for dessert:<\/h2>\n
Spicy, hot Gingerbread<\/span> Firemen<\/span><\/em><\/h2>\n
![\"GingerbreadPalace\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.emlynley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/GingerbreadPalace.jpg?resize=200%2C300\")
<\/a>This recipe comes from last year’s Christmas novella Gingerbread Palace<\/em><\/a> about a hot firefighter and a sexy chef.\u00a0 It’s one sizzling story. And there are a lot of wonderful gingerbread recipes, including one that’s gluten-free!<\/p>\nSparks fly when a sexy chef meets a firefighter with a secret<\/em><\/span><\/h4>\n
Who wouldn\u2019t fall for Alex Bancroft, a chef who creates an amazing gingerbread house each year to auction off for an organization that helps LGBT foster kids? When Alex\u2019s bakery burns down right before Christmas, the firefighters of Station 7 offer to help. For firefighter Kevin Flint, Alex sets off all his sensors and the result is combustible.<\/h4>\n
A week before Christmas, Alex Bancroft\u2019s bakery goes up in flames. When he runs back inside after a dog, firefighter Kevin Flint has to rescue Alex\u2014and Quincy\u2014from the smoldering building, endangering them and inflaming Kevin\u2019s resentment.<\/h4>\n
Now Alex can\u2019t create the elaborate gingerbread house he donates to a foster-kids charity each year. Fire Station 7 again comes to his rescue, offering their kitchen and their manpower.<\/h4>\n
Everyone but Kevin Flint, that is. A third-generation firefighter, he\u2019s fearful of stepping too far out of the closet. So when his powerful physical attraction for Alex ends in a sizzling secret encounter in the firehouse, Kevin can\u2019t push Alex far enough away, and Alex returns the cold shoulder.<\/h4>\n
After a change of heart, Kevin risks his life to prove he\u2019s worthy of Alex\u2019s affection, but without a Christmas miracle, their chances at sweet romance might go up in smoke.<\/h4>\n
Amazon<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 All Romance<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 B&N<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Dreamspinner Press<\/a><\/h3>\n
Ingredients<\/h2>\n
\n
Instructions<\/h2>\n
\nPreheat oven to 325\u00b0F while you roll and shape the cookies.
\nTransfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead, dusting with as much of remaining 1\/4 cup flour as needed to prevent sticking, until soft and easy to handle, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Halve dough, then wrap 1 half in plastic wrap and keep at room temperature.
\nRoll out remaining dough into a 12-inch round (1\/8 inch thick) on a lightly floured surface. Cut out as many cookies as possible with cutters and carefully transfer with offset spatula to two buttered large baking sheets, arranging them about 1 inch apart. (Use parchment paper or Silpat if you prefer).
\nBake cookies in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until edges are slightly darker, 10 to 12 minutes total (watch carefully the last few minutes; cookies can burn easily, especially with the crystallized ginger). Transfer to racks to cool completely. Make more cookies with remaining dough and scraps (reroll once).
\nPut icing in pastry bag (if using) and pipe or spread decoratively onto cookies.
\nKeep cookies in an airtight container at room temperature if you have any left.<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n
Giveaway:<\/h2>\n