Happy Holidays to Everyone! My your season be merry and filled with light. (A good reading lamp.) Mine sure is. I just today received word my latest release, Literary Titan Gold Book award winner, Backlash, has been shortlisted for the Chanticleer Clue Award for suspense/thrillers. What a gift!

Celebrate the season with my latest award winning books, Backlash, a JadeAnne Stone Mexico Adventure #5 and my memoir of living in Mexico, Saints and Skeletons, available for a promotional price at @Smashwords as part of their 2023 End of Year Sale! Find my books, and many more, at https://www.smashwords.com/shelves/promos/ through January 1! #SmashwordsEoYSale #Smashwords. You can easily find the books through the search function under my name.

Okay, now that you have your book, let's get down to celebrating the season. Tonight I'm going to trim my tree to a good eggnog (with spiced rum), homemade cookies, and a sappy holiday romcom. Then I'll start my round of entertaining. Here's what I'm serving. JadeAnne's grandmother served one at table every Christmas Eve, but it's dramatic with any holiday feast!

Gaga's Persimmon Pudding

Ingredients

• 1 c. persimmon pulp
• ½ c. whole milk
• 1 Tbl. melted butter
• ½ tsp. vanilla
• ¼ tsp. cinnamon
• ½ c. chopped nuts (pecans go well with persimmon)
• ½ c. raisins ( I prefer golden)
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 c. all purpose flour
• 1 c. sugar 

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Mix pulp, milk, butter, vanilla, cinnamon, nuts,  and raisins in a large bowl
3. In a smaller bowl, stir baking soda into flour  and blend into persimmon mixture
4. Stir in sugar
5. Pour into a pudding (flan) mold or Bundt mold, or 2 qt stainless bowl
6. Place mold into a pan filled 1/2 “  deep with water and place in oven
7. Bake  1 hour 
8. Decorate with holly. Flame at table
9. Serve with hard sauce (Joy of Cooking) or Rum Butter and mounds of whipped cream

To flame: fill a small pitcher with brandy or rum , pour a good  amount over the pudding and into the. plate. Light a match and watch the blue flames! With a spoon, keep the flames going  by dipping alcohol from the  plate over the pudding. Don’t worry if the spoonfuls are flaming. It burns at a low temp and burns out fast, but while it lasts, it makes an impressive display. Be sure to dim the dining room lights and flame with fanfare!

Rum Butter

Cream together  ½ c. brown sugar, ½ stick butter, 1 tsp nutmeg.  Slowly add 2 Tbls. dark rum, 1 tsp cream sherry and whip until fluffy.

 

Happy Holidays and Prosperous New Year too!

@anamanwaring

linktr.ee/anamanwaring

Okay, I don't usually toot my own horn, but I'm thrilled to share my

for Saints and Skeletons A Memoir of Living in Mexico.

Not convinced? Read the review! Five stars from Literary Titan

"Saints and Skeletons by Ann Manwaring offers a poignant and introspective narrative that delves into a life shaped by personal triumphs, struggles, and the unwavering quest for self-discovery. With eloquent prose and candid storytelling, Manwaring invites readers to immerse themselves in the depths of her experiences, bearing witness to the transformative power of vulnerability and resilience. "

Pages: 298 | ASIN: B0C4QLYLC8 Available on Amazon, B&N, Smashwords

Please join me and memoirist, Aletheia Morden, author of The Last Indentured Servant A Hollywood Memoir at Sonoma's Vintage House on Friday, July 21st at one o'clock for a reading from our recent books and discuss the lure of  travel, relocation and the personal growth that accompanies living abroad. Moderated by Susan Savage.

HALF PRICE!

The JadeAnne Stone Mexico Adventures

Monday, July 24th at 9:40 a.m. Marcia Macomber will interview me for her program, Mondays on the Morning Show at KSVY 91.3 FM and streaming at www.KSVY.org.

I Look forward to seeing you!

Find me at: www.anamanwaring.com and https://linktr.ee/anamanwaring