Be Jolly Holiday Blogfest



The family Christmas tree



Hello everyone,

For those who don't know,  Through the Looking Glass   is holding a Be Jolly by Golly holiday blogfest.  Entrants must submit a favorite holiday recipe and drink.  For those who are interested mine are posted at the bottom.

Things have been quite busy here in my neck of the woods. Two of the last three weekends were spent at Christmas parties. During the week we entertained family and friends from out of town. Last weekend we stayed at the Greenbrier Resort. My husband happened across a winter special where the rates were substantially reduced and he surprised with a getaway there.

For those of you who are not familiar with this hotel, it's considered one of West Virginia's premier vacation spots. After staying at the facility I can see why. We had a wonderful time. The place was festively decorated, and the food...Man-oh-man!!! was it good. We participated in a wine tasting that left us feeling very, very, happy.

Sommelier (left) Me (middle) Hubby (right)
The goofy look on my face is due to the wine
tasting.

We'd have been fine if the imbibing stopped at the tasting, but nooooo, we went on to the bar and continued to try other wines from Chile and Argentina. By the end of the night we had promised to write letters commending the bar tender for his wonderful service. We met people from all over the state and laughed a lot. I couldn't tell you about what, but at the time the subject at hand seemed very funny. Anywho, if any of you ever get an opportunity to visit the Greenbrier, I'd highly recommend you take advantage of it.



After the above synopsis of my month, I’m sure it comes as no surprise that this is the first chance I had to sit down and compose a thought. I'm soooo behind on my writing. I have two critiques to conduct on Scribophile and I need to comment on all the blogs I follow ( I've really missed that). I also have to edit chapters two and three of my work-in-progress before I can move onto four. Now that things have slowed down, I hope to get back into my routine.  Don't forget to stop in at the blogfest and take a look at all the yummy recipes the participants have entered.   I wish you all a blessed holiday. Until next year my friends...



Creme De Menthe Truffles (can't get the picture to upload)
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1/4 cup creme de menthe
4 cups confectioner's sugar
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
2 teaspoons shortening
1.  In large bowl, combine butter, pecans and creme de menthe.  Gradually beat in confectioners sugar.  Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle.
2.  lightly dust hands with confectioner's sugar, shape mixture into 1-inch balls.  Place onto waxed paper lined baking sheet.  Chill for thirty minutes or until firm.
3.  In a microwave safe bowl, melt chocolate chips and shortening: stir until smooth.  Dip balls in chocolate mixture: let excess drip off.  Return to waxed paper; chill until set.  Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Favorite drink.

Red Sangria (Go figure...)

1 Bottle of red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Rioja, Zinfandel, Shiraz)
1 Lemon cut into wedges
1 Orange cut into wedges1 Lime cut into wedges
2 Tbsp sugar
Splash of orange juice or lemonade
2 Shots of gin or triple sec (optional)
1 Cup of raspberries or strawberries (may use thawed or frozen)
1 Small can of diced pineapples (with juice)
4 Cups ginger ale
Preparation:


Pour wine into a large pitcher and squeeze the juice wedges from the lemon, orange and lime into the wine. Toss in the fruit wedges (leaving out seeds if possible) and pineapple then add sugar, orange juice and gin. Chill overnight. Add ginger ale, berries and ice just before serving. If you'd like to serve right away, use chilled red wine and serve over lots of ice. However, remember that the best Sangrias are chilled around 24 hours in the frig. - allowing the flavors to really marinate into each other.