Home for the holidays hop

 

 

Second Place Grand Prize: (1) E-Book from every

 participating Author

To enter, comment on the homepage of the blog hop here. Comment on this blog with your email address for an additional entry.

As a huge cheesecake fan, I make one for every holiday. This is my favorite recipe

New York Cheesecake

Crust

1. 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus room-temperature butter for pan
2. 12 graham crackers 
3. 1/4 cup sugar
4. 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

Filling

1. 2 1/2 pounds bar cream cheese, room temperature (I always use Philadelphia) 
2. 1 1/2 cups sugar
3. 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest, plus 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice. (I cheat on this and skip the lemon zest. You can also use vanilla instead of lemon.)
4. 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
5. 4 large eggs, room temperature
6. 1 cup sour cream, room temperature

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Make crust: Butter a 9-by-3-inch springform pan. In a food processor, pulse graham crackers until fine crumbs form; add melted butter, sugar, and salt, and pulse to combine. Press crumb mixture into bottom and about 1 inch up side of pan. Bake until set, 12 to 15 minutes; let cool on a wire rack. Reduce oven to 325 degrees.

Set a kettle of water to boil. Make filling: Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese on medium until fluffy, scraping down side of bowl. Gradually add sugar, beating until fluffy. Beat in lemon zest and juice, and salt. Beat in eggs, one at a time, scraping down side of bowl after each addition. Beat in sour cream.

Wrap bottom half of pan in foil. Pour in filling; place in a roasting pan. Pour in boiling water to come halfway up side of springform. Bake until just set in center, about 1 3/4 hours. Remove pan from water; let cool 20 minutes. Run a paring knife around edge; let cool completely. Cover; chill overnight before serving.

This is a recipe from Martha Stewart. I’d like to add that I think the most important part of making a cheesecake is not overcooking it. If it starts to crack, it’s over cooking. The surface should remain level. I typically check to whether my cheesecake is cooked by tapping on the pan. You want the inner 2-3″ in diameter to still jiggle when you stop cooking.

My ebook contribution is an ecopy of the keepers.

Two days ago, Jo Davids was a waitress by night and a college kid by day, with the unnerving problem of objects floating around her.

 

One Day ago, Jo’s sexy boss, Cormac, noticed her for all the wrong reasons when she witnessed a man transform into a monster in the basement of his casino.

 

Today, Cormac ordered her shot.

 

If he’s real lucky, she won’t die. Because if she does, all hope is lost.

Check out the rest of the participating sites and gain extra entries.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I started watching Vikings on the History Channel because…well, come on now, it was about Vikings! How could you not watch? I thought I’d be immersed into a time with a mystical flair. I had no idea I’d be swept into lust!

This show came as such a surprise to me. Ragnar, played by Travis Fimmel, isn’t just
fantastically hot, he’s talented as well. Every week, I became more engrossed
into the drama and the charisma of his character. Another benefit of the show is his
wife, played by Katheryn Winnick, reminds me of a urban fantasy heroine right
from the pages of some of my favorite series. By halfway through the first season, this show had replaced Game of Thrones for my top TV spot.

If you get the chance, I highly recommend checking out this series!

On to the goodies!

I’m giving away a $10 Amazon Gift Card and an ebook copy of The Keepers in either epub or mobi format.

Two days ago, Jo Davids was a waitress by night and a college kid by day, with the unnerving problem of objects floating around her.

One Day ago, Jo’s sexy boss, Cormac, noticed her for all the wrong reasons when she witnessed a man transform into a monster in the basement of his casino.

Today, Cormac ordered her shot.

If he’s real lucky, she won’t die. Because if she does, all hope is lost.

Don’t feel like waiting? Buy The Keepers on Amazon now for $.99

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Grand Prize

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Don’t stop now! There are oodles of more wonderful giveaways to be had by clicking the links below!

 

 

I didn’t used to like ebooks. I couldn’t hold them in my hand, and there was no where to get them signed. I missed the atmosphere of an old book shop or quiet peaceful library, but now I’ve seen the light.
I still love a bookstore, but now there is no closing time. When I peruse the shelves, I have an almost endless choice of books instead of whatever shelf space is available. When I discover a new author I love, it has become so much easier to find their past works.

There is also the indie author. The works that I might not have gotten to enjoy before the ebook revolution started, because the gate keepers of traditional publishing thought they weren’t marketable. Books like Wool come to mind. Would I have ever gotten to enjoy them without ebooks?

Some say the market is becoming flooded. I say the more the merrier. Can there ever really be too many books?