Cranberry Hazelnut Turkey Wellington

Cranberry Hazelnut Turkey Wellington

Here's a terrific festive entertaining idea for any day during the Holidays. I've heard from several readers who don't want or need to have all those turkey leftovers and are looking for an alternative to a traditional stuffed turkey. This is an ideal solution, especially for couples, small families or for dinner party entertaining. It's like Christmas baked into a beautiful puff pastry crust, which makes a stunningly gorgeous presentation when you bring it to the table to carve. I do serve this with gravy made from previously prepared turkey stock but if you like, it's also delicious with my recipe for Perfect Onion Gravy.

As a bonus recipe with this delicious dish, I came up with a delicious festive twist on a classic turkey accompaniment with this Citrus Fig Cranberry Sauce. You'll love the difference the addition of these traditional festive flavors makes to this easy to make sauce.

This turkey recipe is also the latest in our web video cooking series with CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. During December we have been featuring turkey recipes in the series to help promote the annual turkey drive to benefit local food banks during the holiday season. Please visit the CBC website for more information on how you too can help in this worthwhile charitable effort.

The video below shows how to prepare and put together this delicious dish. The complete recipe is on this page, below the video.

For some mobile users, if the video does not load below, please click this alternate link.

Cranberry Hazelnut Turkey Wellington

Cranberry Hazelnut Turkey Wellington

Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 45-60 minutes
Total time: about 1 hour 30 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients

• 2 sheets, (12 x 12 inches) frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 1 1/2 to 2 pounds uncooked turkey breast
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts
• 2 cups dry bread crumbs
• few tbsp turkey or chicken stock
• 1 1/2 tbsp dry chopped fresh thyme
• salt and pepper to season
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1 egg + 2 tbsp water (beaten together for an egg wash)

 Directions

1. Begin by sautéing the garlic and onions  in the olive oil and butter for a minute or two.
2. Add the bread crumbs and toss until they begin to brown slightly. Add the hazelnuts, thyme cranberries salt and pepper. Add only enough turkey stock to make the stuffing hold together.
3. Place the first pastry sheet on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Place the turkey breast along the center line of the pastry sheet. Brush the edges of the pastry with the egg wash.
4. Place the stuffing on top of the turkey. Place the second pastry sheet over the turkey and stuffing, Trim the edges to form an oval shape. Save the trimmings in the fridge.
5. Bring the edges of the dough together by pinching them together to seal. Roll the dough from the bottom layer over the top layer and press down all the way around the perimeter of the pastry. This creates a tighter seal.
6. Brush the egg wash over the entire surface of the pastry. Decorate with additional pastry leaf shapes if desired. Just cut leaf shapes out of the trimmed pastry and score leaf veining into them with the tip of a sharp knife. Cut four 1/2 inch slots in the top of the pastry to let steam escape. Chill for 20 minutes or longer in the fridge before baking. This helps the pastry to puff.
7. Bake at 400 degrees F for about 15-20 minutes then reduce the heat to 350 degrees F.  Use a meat thermometer to make sure that the center has reached at least 170 degrees F to be sure the turkey is completely cooked, about 35-45 minutes longer. Let rest for 10 minutes before cutting into individual servings.

Cranberry Hazelnut Turkey Wellington

Here's a terrific festive entertaining idea for any day during the Holidays. I've heard from several readers who don't want or need to have all those turkey leftovers and are looking for an alternative to a traditional stuffed turkey. This is an ideal solution, especially for couples, small families or for dinner party entertaining. It's like Christmas baked into a beautiful puff pastry crust, which makes a stunningly gorgeous presentation when you bring it to the table to carve. I do serve this with gravy made from previously prepared turkey stock but if you like, it's also delicious with my recipe for Perfect Onion Gravy.

As a bonus recipe with this delicious dish, I came up with a delicious festive twist on a classic turkey accompaniment with this Citrus Fig Cranberry Sauce. You'll love the difference the addition of these traditional festive flavors makes to this easy to make sauce.

This turkey recipe is also the latest in our web video cooking series with CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. During December we have been featuring turkey recipes in the series to help promote the annual turkey drive to benefit local food banks during the holiday season. Please visit the CBC website for more information on how you too can help in this worthwhile charitable effort.

The video below shows how to prepare and put together this delicious dish. The complete recipe is on this page, below the video.

For some mobile users, if the video does not load below, please click this alternate link.

Cranberry Hazelnut Turkey Wellington

Cranberry Hazelnut Turkey Wellington

Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 45-60 minutes
Total time: about 1 hour 30 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients

• 2 sheets, (12 x 12 inches) frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 1 1/2 to 2 pounds uncooked turkey breast
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts
• 2 cups dry bread crumbs
• few tbsp turkey or chicken stock
• 1 1/2 tbsp dry chopped fresh thyme
• salt and pepper to season
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1 egg + 2 tbsp water (beaten together for an egg wash)

 Directions

1. Begin by sautéing the garlic and onions  in the olive oil and butter for a minute or two.
2. Add the bread crumbs and toss until they begin to brown slightly. Add the hazelnuts, thyme cranberries salt and pepper. Add only enough turkey stock to make the stuffing hold together.
3. Place the first pastry sheet on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Place the turkey breast along the center line of the pastry sheet. Brush the edges of the pastry with the egg wash.
4. Place the stuffing on top of the turkey. Place the second pastry sheet over the turkey and stuffing, Trim the edges to form an oval shape. Save the trimmings in the fridge.
5. Bring the edges of the dough together by pinching them together to seal. Roll the dough from the bottom layer over the top layer and press down all the way around the perimeter of the pastry. This creates a tighter seal.
6. Brush the egg wash over the entire surface of the pastry. Decorate with additional pastry leaf shapes if desired. Just cut leaf shapes out of the trimmed pastry and score leaf veining into them with the tip of a sharp knife. Cut four 1/2 inch slots in the top of the pastry to let steam escape. Chill for 20 minutes or longer in the fridge before baking. This helps the pastry to puff.
7. Bake at 400 degrees F for about 15-20 minutes then reduce the heat to 350 degrees F.  Use a meat thermometer to make sure that the center has reached at least 170 degrees F to be sure the turkey is completely cooked, about 35-45 minutes longer. Let rest for 10 minutes before cutting into individual servings.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Vegan Chocolate Avocado Cake with Chocolate Avocado Icing

Vegan Chocolate Avocado Cake with Avocado Chocolate Icing

So yes, I know Christmas is only four days away. I have to admit I've not been very organised this year - I totally forgot about Nikolaus, I haven't baked a Christmas cake or mince pies (yet), we haven't decorated the flat, and we didn't even host a Christmas party. In fact, the extent of my Christmas spirit this year has been watching a lot of Christmas specials on Lifestyle Food (Nigella, Jamie, Nigel, Donna, Lorraine), and really really looking forward to the week off! I haven't done much planning, but fret not - we are having a proper Christmas Eve supper and Christmas lunch, as well as a couple of low-key foodie Christmastime catch ups with friends. The turkey and ham have been ordered, and today was spent at the market picking up supplies. Fun! Watch this space.

Recently I've been busier with non-Christmas baking. As you will have seen in my last post, "How to Slice an Avocado", I've had a glut of gigantic avocados on hand, and wanted to try making something sweet with them. I remembered seeing this delicious-looking "Almost Vegan Chocolate Avocado Cake" a while ago on The Chronicles of Ms I-Hua and The Boy, and thought it would be a good one to try! Reading I-Hua's post, I saw that she adapted the recipe from the Vegan Chocolate Avocado Cake on Joy the Baker, and I really wanted to see what the pure vegan version would taste like, so I ended up making Joy's recipe. (This also meant I got to share it with the children of a colleague of mine, who happen to have dairy and nut allergies - yay - they get to eat cake too!)

In my "avocado dessert" Googling, I came across this avocado-chocolate frosting on Paleo Spirit, and couldn't believe how rich, luscious and how chocolaty it looked, despite being 100% vegan - no cream, milk, butter or chocolate. I had to try it! I skipped Joy the Baker's bright green avocado buttercream and made the choccy avocado one. (Of course I completely un-Paleo'd it by using super refined icing sugar instead of the suggested maple syrup, haha).

Let's look at the icing - it's just a mixture of ripe avocados, cocoa powder and icing sugar, blended until smooth and creamy.

Barham Avocado

Icing ingredients

I couldn't believe it - twenty seconds in the mixer and bang - it turned into this amazing glossy icing.

Chocolate avocado icing

Of course I had to taste test, and you couldn't taste the avocado at all - it just tasted like dark chocolate, thanks to the cocoa powder. The quantities in the recipe I've given below make a very dark-tasting icing, definitely a grown-up taste. If you want something sweeter, I'd suggest starting with half the amount of cocoa and then adjusting to your liking.

The icing was a dream to work with - so smooth and creamy! It was way easier than a normal ganache or a standard chocolate buttercream as it doesn't seize up or set - it stays velvety smooth for ages.

Iced cake

Joy's recipe makes two 20cm cakes, which she makes into a sandwich cake, but I wanted something smaller that was easier to share around, so I did a small 18cm round cake, as well as a 20cm square slab cake.

Slab cake

I was so impressed with the cake too! Again, despite the inclusion of avocado and the lack of eggs, it didn't taste odd or have an unusual texture - it was just a moist chocolate cake.

Slice of cake - love that texture

I shared the cake with friends and colleagues - and none of them twigged that there was anything unusual about it until I mentioned that it included avocado. An easy-to-make crowd-pleasing chocolate cake that also satisfies a bunch of dietary requirements? Win win win!

Cake the next day

Slice of cake

Vegan Chocolate Cake with Avocado Chocolate Icing
Cake recipe from Joy the Baker
Avocado Chocolate Icing adapted from Paleo Spirit

Ingredients
For the Cake
3 cups plain flour
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup well mashed avocado
2 cups water
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups caster sugar
For the Icing
1 very ripe avocado
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cups icing sugar

Method
For the Cake
Preheat the oven to 175C. Line two 20cm round cake tins with baking paper. (I used a 20cm square tin and a 18cm round cake tin).
Sift together the flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder and baking soda into a mixing bowl and set aside.
Whisk together the oil, mashed avocado, water, vinegar and vanilla extract, followed by the caster sugar.
Mix the wet ingredients and dry ingredients together, whisking until smooth.
Pour the batter into the prepared tins. Bake for 40 minutes to an hour, or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Allow to cool in the tins for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a cake rack to cool completely.
For the Icing
Place the avocado flesh, cocoa powder and icing sugar in a food processor and whizz to combine. Add a tablespoon of water if necessary to achieve a spreadable consistency. Spread the icing over the top and sides of the cold cakes in a swirly fashion.
Makes 2 x 20cm cakes

Enjoy!

Vegan Chocolate Avocado Cake with Avocado Chocolate Icing

So yes, I know Christmas is only four days away. I have to admit I've not been very organised this year - I totally forgot about Nikolaus, I haven't baked a Christmas cake or mince pies (yet), we haven't decorated the flat, and we didn't even host a Christmas party. In fact, the extent of my Christmas spirit this year has been watching a lot of Christmas specials on Lifestyle Food (Nigella, Jamie, Nigel, Donna, Lorraine), and really really looking forward to the week off! I haven't done much planning, but fret not - we are having a proper Christmas Eve supper and Christmas lunch, as well as a couple of low-key foodie Christmastime catch ups with friends. The turkey and ham have been ordered, and today was spent at the market picking up supplies. Fun! Watch this space.

Recently I've been busier with non-Christmas baking. As you will have seen in my last post, "How to Slice an Avocado", I've had a glut of gigantic avocados on hand, and wanted to try making something sweet with them. I remembered seeing this delicious-looking "Almost Vegan Chocolate Avocado Cake" a while ago on The Chronicles of Ms I-Hua and The Boy, and thought it would be a good one to try! Reading I-Hua's post, I saw that she adapted the recipe from the Vegan Chocolate Avocado Cake on Joy the Baker, and I really wanted to see what the pure vegan version would taste like, so I ended up making Joy's recipe. (This also meant I got to share it with the children of a colleague of mine, who happen to have dairy and nut allergies - yay - they get to eat cake too!)

In my "avocado dessert" Googling, I came across this avocado-chocolate frosting on Paleo Spirit, and couldn't believe how rich, luscious and how chocolaty it looked, despite being 100% vegan - no cream, milk, butter or chocolate. I had to try it! I skipped Joy the Baker's bright green avocado buttercream and made the choccy avocado one. (Of course I completely un-Paleo'd it by using super refined icing sugar instead of the suggested maple syrup, haha).

Let's look at the icing - it's just a mixture of ripe avocados, cocoa powder and icing sugar, blended until smooth and creamy.

Barham Avocado

Icing ingredients

I couldn't believe it - twenty seconds in the mixer and bang - it turned into this amazing glossy icing.

Chocolate avocado icing

Of course I had to taste test, and you couldn't taste the avocado at all - it just tasted like dark chocolate, thanks to the cocoa powder. The quantities in the recipe I've given below make a very dark-tasting icing, definitely a grown-up taste. If you want something sweeter, I'd suggest starting with half the amount of cocoa and then adjusting to your liking.

The icing was a dream to work with - so smooth and creamy! It was way easier than a normal ganache or a standard chocolate buttercream as it doesn't seize up or set - it stays velvety smooth for ages.

Iced cake

Joy's recipe makes two 20cm cakes, which she makes into a sandwich cake, but I wanted something smaller that was easier to share around, so I did a small 18cm round cake, as well as a 20cm square slab cake.

Slab cake

I was so impressed with the cake too! Again, despite the inclusion of avocado and the lack of eggs, it didn't taste odd or have an unusual texture - it was just a moist chocolate cake.

Slice of cake - love that texture

I shared the cake with friends and colleagues - and none of them twigged that there was anything unusual about it until I mentioned that it included avocado. An easy-to-make crowd-pleasing chocolate cake that also satisfies a bunch of dietary requirements? Win win win!

Cake the next day

Slice of cake

Vegan Chocolate Cake with Avocado Chocolate Icing
Cake recipe from Joy the Baker
Avocado Chocolate Icing adapted from Paleo Spirit

Ingredients
For the Cake
3 cups plain flour
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup well mashed avocado
2 cups water
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups caster sugar
For the Icing
1 very ripe avocado
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cups icing sugar

Method
For the Cake
Preheat the oven to 175C. Line two 20cm round cake tins with baking paper. (I used a 20cm square tin and a 18cm round cake tin).
Sift together the flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder and baking soda into a mixing bowl and set aside.
Whisk together the oil, mashed avocado, water, vinegar and vanilla extract, followed by the caster sugar.
Mix the wet ingredients and dry ingredients together, whisking until smooth.
Pour the batter into the prepared tins. Bake for 40 minutes to an hour, or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Allow to cool in the tins for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a cake rack to cool completely.
For the Icing
Place the avocado flesh, cocoa powder and icing sugar in a food processor and whizz to combine. Add a tablespoon of water if necessary to achieve a spreadable consistency. Spread the icing over the top and sides of the cold cakes in a swirly fashion.
Makes 2 x 20cm cakes

Enjoy!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Skating Fridays

Inside Axels

I'm still having trouble landing my axel without the 1/4 turn cheat. I've had some people watch me in person and others watch my videos. Most of them have said that the jump isn't actually cheated that badly, but my ice tracings clearly show that I land with a "flag."  It appears that I land not fully backwards and then exit out of my jump to cover up the cheat.

I've tried just about every on- and off-ice exercise to fix this, but nothing is working. My body just wants to open up and does not want to land backwards on my toe pick. It's really frustrating.

Coach B had me try a new jump, which she just introduced to me. It's called an inside axel, which I had heard of before but had never seen before she demonstrated it to me. You do an inside forward 3-turn but you take off as you're going forward (and before you do the 3-turn; otherwise, it's just a loop jump). You rotate 1 and a half revolutions and land backwards. So, it's an axel, but starting on an inside edge, and on the "other" foot.

Confused yet?

Here is a video of my inside axels.

These are supposed to help train my body to pull in tight for a full rotation and land going backwards. You'll see that my landings are slightly cheated, but this exercise is forcing me to have to pull in tight. My free leg is out to the side on purpose - Coach B tells me that is correct.

The inside axel looks scary, but it is actually quite fun. Have you tried this jump before? Or, have you seen anybody attempt this in a competition before?

Inside Axels

I'm still having trouble landing my axel without the 1/4 turn cheat. I've had some people watch me in person and others watch my videos. Most of them have said that the jump isn't actually cheated that badly, but my ice tracings clearly show that I land with a "flag."  It appears that I land not fully backwards and then exit out of my jump to cover up the cheat.

I've tried just about every on- and off-ice exercise to fix this, but nothing is working. My body just wants to open up and does not want to land backwards on my toe pick. It's really frustrating.

Coach B had me try a new jump, which she just introduced to me. It's called an inside axel, which I had heard of before but had never seen before she demonstrated it to me. You do an inside forward 3-turn but you take off as you're going forward (and before you do the 3-turn; otherwise, it's just a loop jump). You rotate 1 and a half revolutions and land backwards. So, it's an axel, but starting on an inside edge, and on the "other" foot.

Confused yet?

Here is a video of my inside axels.

These are supposed to help train my body to pull in tight for a full rotation and land going backwards. You'll see that my landings are slightly cheated, but this exercise is forcing me to have to pull in tight. My free leg is out to the side on purpose - Coach B tells me that is correct.

The inside axel looks scary, but it is actually quite fun. Have you tried this jump before? Or, have you seen anybody attempt this in a competition before?

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Citrus Fig Cranberry Sauce

Citrus Fig Cranberry Sauce

What's turkey without cranberry sauce? It would be like not serving gravy with the meal. There's no need to serve it out of a can though because homemade cranberry sauce is one of the easiest things to prepare with your roast turkey dinner. This recipe adds some sweet figs and balancing citrus and spice flavors to the sauce for special occasions like the Holidays. These traditional festive flavors give very complimentary yet not overwhelming notes to the sauce.

Give it a try with roast chicken and pork as well. If you make a large batch and properly bottle it in mason jars, you can enjoy it for months to come and it makes a nice homemade gift too.

Citrus Fig Cranberry Sauce

Recipe by Barry C. Parsons

A delicious, lightly spiced accompaniment to roast turkey, chicken or even pork.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes
Yield: 3 cups sauce

Ingredients

• 3 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1 cup chopped dried figs
• juice of one orange
• juice of one lemon
• 1/2 tsp finely minced orange zest
• 1/2 tsp finely minced lemon juice
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 star anise (optional)

Cooking Directions

1. Simmer all of the ingredients together slowly for 30-40 minutes or until the cranberries are fully cooked and the mixture reduces and thickens to a jam-like consistency. Stir the sauce often as it simmers.
2. Remove the star anise if you used one and store in mason jars or in plastic containers in the fridge until served.

Citrus Fig Cranberry Sauce

What's turkey without cranberry sauce? It would be like not serving gravy with the meal. There's no need to serve it out of a can though because homemade cranberry sauce is one of the easiest things to prepare with your roast turkey dinner. This recipe adds some sweet figs and balancing citrus and spice flavors to the sauce for special occasions like the Holidays. These traditional festive flavors give very complimentary yet not overwhelming notes to the sauce.

Give it a try with roast chicken and pork as well. If you make a large batch and properly bottle it in mason jars, you can enjoy it for months to come and it makes a nice homemade gift too.

Citrus Fig Cranberry Sauce

Recipe by Barry C. Parsons

A delicious, lightly spiced accompaniment to roast turkey, chicken or even pork.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes
Yield: 3 cups sauce

Ingredients

• 3 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1 cup chopped dried figs
• juice of one orange
• juice of one lemon
• 1/2 tsp finely minced orange zest
• 1/2 tsp finely minced lemon juice
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 star anise (optional)

Cooking Directions

1. Simmer all of the ingredients together slowly for 30-40 minutes or until the cranberries are fully cooked and the mixture reduces and thickens to a jam-like consistency. Stir the sauce often as it simmers.
2. Remove the star anise if you used one and store in mason jars or in plastic containers in the fridge until served.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Book Spotlight: Sparks The Matchmaker by Russell Elkins

 

Tour Schedule

 

Sparks the Matchmaker by Russell Elkins 

Ollie just wants one thing. The girl. 

Things haven’t been going so well with Anne lately, though; their relationship has become a perpetual study date, and Ollie’s roommates are starting to worry about him. How to fix things? Why, with a marriage proposal, of course. 

Unfortunately for Ollie, his relationship with Anne has run out of gas. Life feels like it’s counting down to one. And that one is the only person in Ollie’s life he really cares about: Ollie. Perhaps, then, he should get over himself. But first he has to deal with Sparks, the irritating little Yankees fan who invades his life in order to “help” him. And while Keith, his best friend, is doing all he can to help, Ollie’s other friend Richie never fails to show up and threaten to ruin everything just by being himself. Never mind all the drama Sparks brings to the party by forcing Ollie to take a job actually helping people in need. 

 Will Ollie meet the girl? Will it be in history class? On a road trip to Colorado? Can he get over Anne, or should he try to mend the relationship? Should he pursue the new girl Sparks is trying to set him up with? As the strings of the puppeteer tangle with the strings of the heart, only one person can sort out the mess Ollie has made. It seems that the harder he tries, the more Ollie messes things up. Is Sparks a cruel manipulator, or is he really going to help Ollie find his match? 

Amazon * Barnes & Noble

 Praise for Sparks the Matchmaker: I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. How many "romance" novels do you read where the protagonist is male, or even where the author is male? At first, I thought that was going to be the unique focus of this story. I was pleasantly surprised, though. The "Sparks" character was a completely unique take on things. Also, I tend to be one of those people who frequently predicts the endings of books and t.v. shows, etc., but I hadn't seen the ending of this story coming. It was a quick and easy read (which was just what I needed right now) but with plenty of intelligence and creativity woven into the story. I think I can say with confidence that even my teenage son would enjoy it, as well as my Mom. Looking forward to the next installment in the series. Definitely not what I expected from a romantic comedy novel, but in a good way! Can't wait for the next one.

  
 Author Russell Elkins
Russell Elkins has become a leading expert on open adoption through first-hand experience that he now shares in Open Adoption, Open Heart. Russell regularly contributes to Adoption.com. He also writes his own blog at russellelkins.com to educate others in the struggles and beauties of open adoption.

Russell has always been a family man at heart, looking forward to the day when he could be a husband and a father. It took him a little while, but eventually his eyes locked onto a beautiful blonde, and he has never looked away. Russell and Jammie were married in 2004. They had the same goals for their home and didn't want to wait too long before starting their family. However, filling their home quickly with children wasn't in the cards, and they found themselves weighing their options to overcome problems with infertility. Their lives changed dramatically the day they decided to adopt.

 Russell and Jammie have adopted two beautiful children, Ira and Hazel, and have embraced their role as parents through open adoption. Both are actively engaged in the adoption community by communicating through social media, taking part in discussion panels, and writing songs about adoption.

 Russell was born on Andrews Air Force Base near Washington, D.C., in the fall of 1977. Along with his five siblings, he and his military family moved around a lot, living in eight different houses by the time he left for college at age 17. Although his family moved away from Fallon, Nevada, just a few months after he moved out, he still considers that little oasis in the desert to be his childhood hometown.

 Even after leaving home, Russell always stayed close to his family. He shared an apartment with each of his three brothers at different times during his college career. They formed a band together back in the 1990s and still perform on a regular basis under the name of the Invisible Swordsmen.

After nearly a decade of college and changing his major a few times, Russell received his bachelor's degree in sociology from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He later graduated from Ameritech College where he learned the trade of being a dental lab technician. Russell now owns and operates Elkins Dental Lab located in Meridian, Idaho.

Website * Twitter

  Tour Giveaway $25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Ends 1/12/14
 a Rafflecopter giveaway

 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

 

Tour Schedule

 

Sparks the Matchmaker by Russell Elkins 

Ollie just wants one thing. The girl. 

Things haven’t been going so well with Anne lately, though; their relationship has become a perpetual study date, and Ollie’s roommates are starting to worry about him. How to fix things? Why, with a marriage proposal, of course. 

Unfortunately for Ollie, his relationship with Anne has run out of gas. Life feels like it’s counting down to one. And that one is the only person in Ollie’s life he really cares about: Ollie. Perhaps, then, he should get over himself. But first he has to deal with Sparks, the irritating little Yankees fan who invades his life in order to “help” him. And while Keith, his best friend, is doing all he can to help, Ollie’s other friend Richie never fails to show up and threaten to ruin everything just by being himself. Never mind all the drama Sparks brings to the party by forcing Ollie to take a job actually helping people in need. 

 Will Ollie meet the girl? Will it be in history class? On a road trip to Colorado? Can he get over Anne, or should he try to mend the relationship? Should he pursue the new girl Sparks is trying to set him up with? As the strings of the puppeteer tangle with the strings of the heart, only one person can sort out the mess Ollie has made. It seems that the harder he tries, the more Ollie messes things up. Is Sparks a cruel manipulator, or is he really going to help Ollie find his match? 

Amazon * Barnes & Noble

 Praise for Sparks the Matchmaker: I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. How many "romance" novels do you read where the protagonist is male, or even where the author is male? At first, I thought that was going to be the unique focus of this story. I was pleasantly surprised, though. The "Sparks" character was a completely unique take on things. Also, I tend to be one of those people who frequently predicts the endings of books and t.v. shows, etc., but I hadn't seen the ending of this story coming. It was a quick and easy read (which was just what I needed right now) but with plenty of intelligence and creativity woven into the story. I think I can say with confidence that even my teenage son would enjoy it, as well as my Mom. Looking forward to the next installment in the series. Definitely not what I expected from a romantic comedy novel, but in a good way! Can't wait for the next one.

  
 Author Russell Elkins
Russell Elkins has become a leading expert on open adoption through first-hand experience that he now shares in Open Adoption, Open Heart. Russell regularly contributes to Adoption.com. He also writes his own blog at russellelkins.com to educate others in the struggles and beauties of open adoption.

Russell has always been a family man at heart, looking forward to the day when he could be a husband and a father. It took him a little while, but eventually his eyes locked onto a beautiful blonde, and he has never looked away. Russell and Jammie were married in 2004. They had the same goals for their home and didn't want to wait too long before starting their family. However, filling their home quickly with children wasn't in the cards, and they found themselves weighing their options to overcome problems with infertility. Their lives changed dramatically the day they decided to adopt.

 Russell and Jammie have adopted two beautiful children, Ira and Hazel, and have embraced their role as parents through open adoption. Both are actively engaged in the adoption community by communicating through social media, taking part in discussion panels, and writing songs about adoption.

 Russell was born on Andrews Air Force Base near Washington, D.C., in the fall of 1977. Along with his five siblings, he and his military family moved around a lot, living in eight different houses by the time he left for college at age 17. Although his family moved away from Fallon, Nevada, just a few months after he moved out, he still considers that little oasis in the desert to be his childhood hometown.

 Even after leaving home, Russell always stayed close to his family. He shared an apartment with each of his three brothers at different times during his college career. They formed a band together back in the 1990s and still perform on a regular basis under the name of the Invisible Swordsmen.

After nearly a decade of college and changing his major a few times, Russell received his bachelor's degree in sociology from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He later graduated from Ameritech College where he learned the trade of being a dental lab technician. Russell now owns and operates Elkins Dental Lab located in Meridian, Idaho.

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Painted Christmas Tree Cookies...inspired by Sur La Table dishes!

It would make more sense to get cookie decorating inspiration from the COOKIE DECORATING section of the Sur La Table catalog.  As soon as I saw these dishes, though, I ripped the page right out, knowing those trees needed to be cookies.

Painting on cookies is really fun...and this simple design is perfect for someone like me who is not artistically inclined.  Another bonus is, you'll only need one color of royal icing: white!

I'll always be grateful to Renee from Kudos Kitchen from whom I learned the proper technique for painting on cookies.  She's a master.  

To make these painted Christmas Tree cookies, you'll need:

• tree cookies, using this recipe
• royal icing tinted with AmeriColor Bright White (the food coloring is optional here, but using white ensures a white-white cookie)
• disposable icing bag
• squeeze bottle
• decorating tips (#2 & #1) and coupler
• AmeriColor Leaf Green, Electric Green, Chocolate brown
• water
• artist palette
• paper towels
• small paintbrushes
• red sprinkles 
• tweezers

Use a #2 tip to outline the trees in white icing. Reserve some of this piping icing for the next day.

Thin the remaining icing with water, a bit at a time, stirring with a silicone spatula, until it is the consistency of a thick syrup.  You'll want to drop a "ribbon" of icing back into the bowl and have it disappear in a count of "one thousand one, one thousand two." Four is too thick, one is too thin.  Count of 2-3 is good.  Cover with a damp dishcloth and let sit for several minutes.

Stir gently with a rubber spatula to pop any large air bubbles that have formed. Transfer to squeeze bottles.

Fill in the trees with the thinned icing.  Use a toothpick to guide into corners and pop large air bubbles.

Let the cookies dry uncovered, 6-8 hours, or overnight.


Once the cookies are totally dry, mix up your painting medium.   Mix equal parts food coloring with water. (Start with 1 drop of each.)

Dip a paintbrush into the mixture, then blot very well on a paper towel, almost to the point where you feel like you've blotted all of the food coloring off.  Brush onto the cookie, alternating between leaf green and electric green branches.  You should be able to paint several branches with each dip into the "paint."

Repeat this technique adding a trunk with brown icing.


Remember, perfection is overrated here.  Art is not perfect!  Have you looked at Picasso's work lately?!? ;)

OK.  Now, place a #1 tip on the bag of reserved icing.  Dot icing where you'd like to place the red sprinkles.

{I used red sprinkles from a Christmas sprinkle assortment...now, what to do with all of that extra green and white?!?  Remind me of this when St. Patrick's Day rolls around.}

Use (preferably only-for-the-kitchen) tweezers to place the sprinkles onto the icing.


Ta-da!  Painted cookies!!!  So easy, right?

Where do you find YOUR cookie inspiration?

It would make more sense to get cookie decorating inspiration from the COOKIE DECORATING section of the Sur La Table catalog.  As soon as I saw these dishes, though, I ripped the page right out, knowing those trees needed to be cookies.

Painting on cookies is really fun...and this simple design is perfect for someone like me who is not artistically inclined.  Another bonus is, you'll only need one color of royal icing: white!

I'll always be grateful to Renee from Kudos Kitchen from whom I learned the proper technique for painting on cookies.  She's a master.  

To make these painted Christmas Tree cookies, you'll need:

• tree cookies, using this recipe
• royal icing tinted with AmeriColor Bright White (the food coloring is optional here, but using white ensures a white-white cookie)
• disposable icing bag
• squeeze bottle
• decorating tips (#2 & #1) and coupler
• AmeriColor Leaf Green, Electric Green, Chocolate brown
• water
• artist palette
• paper towels
• small paintbrushes
• red sprinkles 
• tweezers

Use a #2 tip to outline the trees in white icing. Reserve some of this piping icing for the next day.

Thin the remaining icing with water, a bit at a time, stirring with a silicone spatula, until it is the consistency of a thick syrup.  You'll want to drop a "ribbon" of icing back into the bowl and have it disappear in a count of "one thousand one, one thousand two." Four is too thick, one is too thin.  Count of 2-3 is good.  Cover with a damp dishcloth and let sit for several minutes.

Stir gently with a rubber spatula to pop any large air bubbles that have formed. Transfer to squeeze bottles.

Fill in the trees with the thinned icing.  Use a toothpick to guide into corners and pop large air bubbles.

Let the cookies dry uncovered, 6-8 hours, or overnight.


Once the cookies are totally dry, mix up your painting medium.   Mix equal parts food coloring with water. (Start with 1 drop of each.)

Dip a paintbrush into the mixture, then blot very well on a paper towel, almost to the point where you feel like you've blotted all of the food coloring off.  Brush onto the cookie, alternating between leaf green and electric green branches.  You should be able to paint several branches with each dip into the "paint."

Repeat this technique adding a trunk with brown icing.


Remember, perfection is overrated here.  Art is not perfect!  Have you looked at Picasso's work lately?!? ;)

OK.  Now, place a #1 tip on the bag of reserved icing.  Dot icing where you'd like to place the red sprinkles.

{I used red sprinkles from a Christmas sprinkle assortment...now, what to do with all of that extra green and white?!?  Remind me of this when St. Patrick's Day rolls around.}

Use (preferably only-for-the-kitchen) tweezers to place the sprinkles onto the icing.


Ta-da!  Painted cookies!!!  So easy, right?

Where do you find YOUR cookie inspiration?

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The Black Song Inside by Carlyle Clark

     Atticus Wynn and Rosemary Sanchez, newly engaged private investigators, have seen the dark and violent side of life, but nothing has prepared them for an explosive murder investigation that threatens to tear their relationship apart. They struggle to solve a case that as a best result could leave them in prison or dead. 

     Atticus's manipulative ex-girlfriend bursts back into their lives wielding a secret about Rosemary's family. She exploits the fact to force the couple into investigating the execution-style slaying of her lover. The case thrusts Atticus and Rosemary headlong into the world of human trafficking and drug smuggling, while rendering them pawns in Tijuana Cartel captain Armando Villanueva's bloody bid to take over the Cartel. The Black Song Inside is a vivid crime thriller rife with murder and madness, melded with gallows humor and the heroism of two flawed and compelling protagonists. If they can save themselves, they may learn the nature of redemption and the ability to forgive. (-synopsis)

     I thought that this was a fast paced an interesting book.  It opens with a woman being forced to watch a girl die without a way to help her.  She calls the police and tells them about it and they bring her into the station.  

     Atticus is brought to the station because the woman is his ex, Charlotte.  Atticus Wynn is a PI whose partner and fiance is Rosemary Sanchez.  The two are quite a pair and are good at their jobs.  Charlotte calls Atticus to the station in hopes that he will back up her story because she knows a secret about Rosemary.

     Then there is the "Priest".  A man who has created his own religion and wants to begin finding acolytes.  He leaves murder in his wake and forms an alliance with a Mexican drug lord.

     The story is a fast paced thrilled that revolves a lot around the drug war at the border which can be violent and crazy.   We see the inside world of the drug trade and wars between the traffickers.  I did find there to be a lot of characters in the story which made it confusing to follow in some parts.  There is also a lot of violence in the book.  

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

     Atticus Wynn and Rosemary Sanchez, newly engaged private investigators, have seen the dark and violent side of life, but nothing has prepared them for an explosive murder investigation that threatens to tear their relationship apart. They struggle to solve a case that as a best result could leave them in prison or dead. 

     Atticus's manipulative ex-girlfriend bursts back into their lives wielding a secret about Rosemary's family. She exploits the fact to force the couple into investigating the execution-style slaying of her lover. The case thrusts Atticus and Rosemary headlong into the world of human trafficking and drug smuggling, while rendering them pawns in Tijuana Cartel captain Armando Villanueva's bloody bid to take over the Cartel. The Black Song Inside is a vivid crime thriller rife with murder and madness, melded with gallows humor and the heroism of two flawed and compelling protagonists. If they can save themselves, they may learn the nature of redemption and the ability to forgive. (-synopsis)

     I thought that this was a fast paced an interesting book.  It opens with a woman being forced to watch a girl die without a way to help her.  She calls the police and tells them about it and they bring her into the station.  

     Atticus is brought to the station because the woman is his ex, Charlotte.  Atticus Wynn is a PI whose partner and fiance is Rosemary Sanchez.  The two are quite a pair and are good at their jobs.  Charlotte calls Atticus to the station in hopes that he will back up her story because she knows a secret about Rosemary.

     Then there is the "Priest".  A man who has created his own religion and wants to begin finding acolytes.  He leaves murder in his wake and forms an alliance with a Mexican drug lord.

     The story is a fast paced thrilled that revolves a lot around the drug war at the border which can be violent and crazy.   We see the inside world of the drug trade and wars between the traffickers.  I did find there to be a lot of characters in the story which made it confusing to follow in some parts.  There is also a lot of violence in the book.  

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

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