Please welcome Josie Riviera, a USA Today bestselling author. Remember to comment to be entered in the Kindle Fire 7 giveaway on Christmas Eve. Also, Josie has an additional giveaway.
What
is your favorite childhood Christmas memory?
I loved baking Christmas cookies and
drinking hot chocolate. (still do!)
What is your favorite adult
Christmas memory?
(see above) J
Is there a Christmas song that’s
your favorite?
I’m a professional musician, a pianist, so it’s hard to choose.
A.
Secular: "Baby It’s Cold Outside"
B.
Religious: Handel’s "Messiah"
Tell us about your
family’s Christmas traditions.
My family is 100% Italian, which means the
feast of the 7 fishes is a must on Christmas Eve.
 |
| Example of Feast of the Seven Fishes |
What about Christmas do you most
enjoy?
Spending time with family and good friends.
Is there something about this
holiday that drives you crazy?
The commercialism.
What do you hope for this Christmas?
I hope my Christmas will bubble over with
laughter and that our holiday traditions will remain, and we will all
experience joy in the moment, not looking back to yesterday or ahead to tomorrow.
Do you have a treasured Christmas
food? If so, would you care to share the recipe?
Because there are so many cookie recipes
available, I’ll share one of our favorite holiday cakes. The pistachio cake is
easy to bake, and the red and green is festive and fun.
 |
| Pistachio Pudding Cake |
Pistachio Cake Recipe
Easy, fast, and festive, this recipe is always a treat! You will need:
One package of white cake mix-
any brand
1 package of Pistachio instant
pudding- sugar free may be used instead of regular
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup water
½ cup milk
5 eggs
Blend cake mix with 1 package of
pudding. Add oil, milk, and water. Add
eggs- 1 at a time, beating well with electric mixer after each addition.
Pour into a greased (or spray
with cooking spray) tube or bundt pan.
Bake 1 hour-at 350 degrees. May be done beforehand- as ovens vary.
Cool for 30 minutes, and invert
onto favorite cake platter.
For a lighter and festive
topping, sprinkle with sifted confectioners sugar and sliced maraschino
cherries.
Optional frosting recipe:
(Spread on cooled cake)
½ pint heavy cream
1 package instant pistachio
pudding (sugar free may be used)
1 container thawed Cool Whip
(fat-free may be used)
Beat heavy cream until thick.
Blend in rest of ingredients. Frost as desired.
Enjoy!
Do you have a
Christmas book you’d like to share?
Title: HOLIDAY HEARTS: A Sweet and Wholesome Romance Bundle
Author: Josie Riviera
Genre: Sweet Contemporary Holiday Romance
Publisher: Macmillan
HOLIDAY HEARTS Blurb:
Savor the magic of Josie Riviera's holiday romances--exclusively in one boxed set!
HOLIDAY HEARTS Excerpt:
A sweet heartwarming story is the hallmark of a romantic holiday season. With this exciting offer exclusively from USA Today Bestselling author, Josie Riviera, you enjoy three emotionally satisfying sweet holiday romances, a trio all wrapped up and delivered directly to your inbox--just in time for Christmas! Bundle up and save!
A SNOWY WHITE CHRISTMAS
Margaret Snow no longer believes in fairy tales, but she's determined her young daughter will experience a real, upstate New York Christmas, not LA's face...everything. Giving up glitz and glamour to return to the trailer park is easy, but facing her high school sweetheart, Fernando Brandt, is another story. Especially when the sparks flying between them illuminate the insecurities that could prevent her from accepting the true gift of Christmas--unconditional love.
CANDLEGLOW AND MISTLETOE
When Noelle Wentworth's bus crashes, one deep, rumbling voice calms her racing heart--then a handsome face kicks it back into allegro. But love is a concerto she never learned to play. Noelle once saved Gabriel Waters from a high school bully. There's no recognition in her eyes, but there's something else that tugs at his heart--pain and distrust. Unexpected attraction burns warm and sweet, but their pasts could turn the promise of love to ashes.
A PORTUGUESE CHRISTMAS
Injured during a Portuguese surfing competition, Krystal is determined to defy doctor's orders to make it home to Rhode Island by Christmas. First, though, she has to get past handsome, arrogant Adolfo Silva.
Keeping Krystal safe is Adolfo's first priority, but this bold, courageous woman's wings won't be clipped. Somehow, he must convince her that spending Christmas with him isn't the end of her world. Because she's become the center of his.
If you love to binge-watch a certain wholesome holiday movie channel, Josie Riviera's holiday romance bundle is the perfect gift to yourself. Cozy up under a quilt with a cup of hot cocoa and enjoy!
Buy Links:
Paperback:
GIVEAWAY
As a thank you from me to you for commenting today, I'm offering a free digital download of SEEKING CATHERINE, a sweet/spicy historical romance novella, when you subscribe to my newsletter. By subscribing, you'll receive sneak peeks, exclusive giveaways and stay updated on my new releases.
Here's the blurb: Bargained away to a brothel, she is beyond hope, beyond rescue...but not beyond the reach of the one man who can save her.
Here's the link:
21 comments:
Welcome, Josie, and thank you for sharing today.
Thank YOU, Caroline. I'm thrilled to be here.
I too love the Messiah. I have since I was a sophomore in High School. We sang the Christmas portion in Concert. It was my most favorite concert I ever performed in. I still have the book of music and I also several versions of it on CD. I love listening to the peaceful beautiful music. Your cake sounds very good! It is funny but my posting name is misspelled and I don't know how to fix it! It should be Sandy Soldner!
Waving "hi," Sandy. Let us know if you decide to bake the cake. It's easy and delicious.
That cake sounds delicious! I'm definitely going to try it.
My favorite song and movie is White Christmas.Favorite memory is watching my dad make up ways to tease the grandkids about Santa not being able to come because the dogs chased him out of the yard. He had a piece of red flannel stuck on fence and reindeer hoof prints sliding across the years. That's just one he made up a different one every year.
Thanks for chance to win. Love your books and your writing style.
My favorite song and movie is White Christmas.My favorite tradition is lighting the yule candle on Christmas Eve to remember those who aren't with us,those less fortunate than us,those that are ill, our military personnel, and anyone else someone brings up and the main reason for the season Jesus.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
I've never heard of the Feast of Seven Fishes, but I would love to try it. I love trying new, and different foods.
It's an easy and delicious recipe, Carol. Enjoy!
Aww, thanks so much, Wesley. So fun about your Dad. Such great stories!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you, too, Magick nana. I love the movie White Christmas, also, and I love the music. Lighting the Yule candle is a beautiful holiday tradition.
The feast of the seven fishes is a Christmas Eve tradition for many Italian families (including mine), Kathy.
Remember to subscribe to my newsletter at http://josieriviera.com/
You'll receive a FREE sweet/spicy romance--Seeking Catherine, delivered directly to your inbox.
Thanks for all your comments, and especially to Caroline for hosting me today.
Enjoy the recipe and Happy Holidays, everyone!
Hello Josie, that pistachio cake looks delicious. I also enjoy hot chocolate although living in Miami it's for enjoyment not warmth most of the time. I've heard of the feast of the seven fishes but I'm not sure of its origin.
Hi, Josie & Caroline. I love hearing about your Christmas traditions. We have a lot of German, English, Northern and Southern tradtions...we are a melting pot family! All our favorite traditions include food!!!! Merry Christmas!!!
I am not subscribing because I get too many newsletters and am cutting back, but I am following you on fb and twitter. Thank you. That cake looks delicious. I would like to know what frosting you used. We are Italian too, and on Christmas eve, we fry up some Italian sausages with peppers and onions. catwoman-1(at)comcast(dot)net.
Camola,
Waving "hi" to you in Miami! Wikipedia explains it a lot better than I do, but it's an Italian-American tradition, also known as The Vigil. It's a huge meal with an abundance of fish, reflecting the abstinence of red meat, and waiting for the Christmas Day feast. Hope that helps!
Jennifer Hibdon,
All of our celebrations include food, also. :)
Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Sharon,
Thanks for the follow on FB and Twitter. As Italians, we fry up sausage and peppers with onions all the time. Usually I don't use frosting on this cake, although that's the one pictures. I love it with sprinkled with confectioners sugar and maraschino cherries. It's so pretty and festive for Christmas.
Being German American, we celebrate Advent with an Advent Wreath and Calendar. Saint Nicholas comes to our house on December 6 and leaves candy, fruit, and small gifts in our shoes. We enjoy Stollen, marzipan, and traditionally duck or goose for dinner (bit pricey for this retiree) so we have beef Rouladen.
Oh Holly Night gives me chills when I hear it sung the right way. I also love a good comedy so National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation puts a smile on my face no matter how bad the shopping crowd was.
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