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Showing posts with label Merrillee Whren. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Merrillee Whren. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 15, 2020
Wednesday, September 27, 2017
Meet the Authors of Sweet Christmas Kisses 4 - Milou Koenings and Merrillee Whren
The Gift of Yesterday
Milou Koenings
The Gift of Yesterday is my new holiday
novella included in the Sweet Christmas Kisses 4 box set.
The heroine of my tale is Bailey, a pastry chef who moves to
Green Pines to open up her dream pastry shop. Of course, she's got a signature
confection and it is the stuff of dreams: the merveilleux.The word is French for marvelous, which describes the thing just right.
It's made of three layers of meringue held together by
whipped cream, covered over by more cream, and rolled in dark chocolate
shavings.
The merveilleux is a Belgian treat that only made its way
south to France in the last 20 years or so. I found out while I was writing
this book that there are now merveilleux shops in London and New York City. So
I guess the secret is out. Or at least some of it...
My uncle was a baker and pastry chef in Belgium. Merveilleux
were my absolute favorite thing he made. His secret—which I have yet to see
anyone else copy—was that he hid pieces of fruit at the center of each
merveilleux. My favorite was the pineapple one, but the red currant version he
made only in December were pretty special, too.
I'd like to share with you a taste of Bailey's magic in The
Gift of Yesterday, so here is Bailey's recipe (courtesy of my uncle!):
Makes about 6
150 grams egg whites (that's about 3 medium egg whites) 300 grams of sugar
600 ml whipped double cream* or heavy whipping cream
3-4 Tbsp icing sugar
2 tsp vanilla
Dark-chocolate shavings
Whisk the egg whites in a stand mixer set on low speed. Once
bubbles form, increase the speed to high and beat until stiff peaks form.
Remove the sugar from the oven. With the mixer set on high,
add the sugar to the egg whites one tablespoon at a time. Keep beating the eggs
for at least 5 more minutes after all the sugar has been added. The mixture
should be smooth and glossy.
Lower the oven temperature to 200 degrees Fahrenheit (100
degrees Celsius). Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Draw 18 2-inch (5-cm)
circles on the paper (9 on each cookie sheet).
Fill the circles with a layer of egg whites about 1 inch
(2.5 cm) high. (Use a piping bag or a spoon.) Bake in the oven for about 1 hour
and 15 minutes. The meringues should be crisp to the touch. Turn off the oven
and let the meringues stay there for another 2 hours.
Cream
Beat the cream with the icing sugar and vanilla until soft
peaks form.
*It's almost impossible to find double cream in the
U.S. Use heavy cream and a stabilizer instead, such as cornstarch, gelatin or a
whipping cream stabilizer. If you follow the link to the recipe for lavender
and honey merveilleux below, you'll see that recipe uses mascarpone as a
stabilizer.
Assembly
Spread a layer of cream on a meringue disk, then layer
another meringue on it to form a sandwich. Cover that meringue with cream as
well. If you want to use fruit, place one or two small berries or pieces of canned
pineapple on top of this meringue. Cover with more cream and top with a third
meringue. Spread whipped cream all over the sides. Refrigerate a few minutes.
Gently hold each merveilleux sideways, holding it by the top
and bottom, which have no cream, and roll it in chocolate shavings until the
sides are covered. Top each merveilleux with cream and sprinkle chocolate
shavings over the top. (You could also just mound whipped cream all over the
top, then sprinkle the shavings all around.)
There are a lot of possible variations on this. You could
flavor the cream and/or the meringues with coffee, or pumpkin spice, and use
chopped nuts instead of chocolate shavings. Be creative, like in this wonderful
recipe for a
dark chocolate, honey and lavender merveilleux from the butterandbrioche.com
blog.
Enjoy — with a good cup of coffee and a delicious, brand new
box set of 14 marvelous holiday stories!
*~*~*~*
Puppy Love and Mistletoe
Merrillee Whren
Interview with Scott Graham, hero
of
Puppy Love and Mistletoe.
What is the most interesting thing about you?
I’m the guardian of a
six-year-old girl, Lily, and she keeps me on my toes all the time. She’s the
daughter of my best friends who died in a tragic car accident.
What do you do for fun?
I love to spend my free time
with Lily. We play games. I read to her, and we walk her dog, Jet. With Lily
and that dog, there are no dull moments.
What is your current state of mind?
Concerned. I’ve started a new
consulting job with the town of Hallburg, Maryland. The mayor ran on a promise not
to raise taxes, and that means he has to cut the town budget. That’s my job,
and it often makes me very unpopular with the people whose budgets I cut. It
isn’t fun being the bad guy.
What are you afraid of most in life?
I’m most afraid of making the
wrong decisions where Lily is concerned. She’s the most important thing in my
life. I want to keep my promise to her dad and take care of her. I often consider
adopting Lily, but I’m never sure that’s the right choice for her. She needs a
mom and a dad. Lily is always on the lookout for a prospective mom. That does
get embarrassing. I call Lily my personal matchmaker.
What do you want out of life?
I want to have a peaceful life
here in Hallburg, where Lily can grow up without the stresses of the city.
Tell me about your family.
I have one sister. She is
married with two boys. They live in Baltimore City, so I don’t get to see her
as often, since I moved to Hallburg. Our parents have recently retired to
Florida.
What do you most value in your friends?
Friends keep their promises. I
made a promise to my best friend Danny to take care of his little girl if
anything happened to him. That’s why I guard Lily with my life.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I would worry less and enjoy
life more. It’s a big responsibility to care for a child, so that worry thing
is constantly with me.
*~*~*~*
Monday, March 28, 2016
Home Sweet Home - by Magdalena Scott
 |
| Tohono Chul Park - Tucson |
Besides being chauffeured to a variety of beautiful and interesting sites around town, and having a picnic on Mt. Lemmon, I spent two days at the fabulous Tucson Festival of Books. (Books! Authors! Readers!)
I also had coffee with author Patricia Forsythe, and lunch with author Merrillee Whren. What a treat to have unscripted time with each of these two ladies, whom I met a couple of years ago through Sweet Romance Reads.
My "host family" adores the area they live in, and regularly get out and seek new places and experiences. They treated me to walks in the desert, delicious home-cooked and restaurant meals, and generally spoiled me rotten.
It was one of the most beautiful, interesting, restful trips I've ever taken, and when I was back home in my little studio apartment, the experience seemed almost like a dream.
Three days later I had company for a few hours--people who wanted to see where I live and work. I gave them the full tour of my apartment: Stand in center of apartment, turn 360 degrees. We also strolled around the town square and stopped in at all the shops. We ate a delicious meal at a restaurant just a few hundred yards from my front door. Our waitress, and all the shop owners, were gracious to my friends. I'm certain they enjoyed the visit as much as I enjoyed having them with me.I love traveling--seeing new things, trying new foods, making and strengthening friendships. Yet it's always wonderful to be home. And it's a treat to see people enjoy my little town. Helps me appreciate it more.
Do you ever try to imagine how visitors see your city? Do you treat yourself to "touristy" things at home, and not just when you're in a new location?
***
Magdalena Scott is a USA Today Bestselling Author of small town sweet romance and women's fiction. Learn about her books, read her blog, subscribe to her newsletter, and connect on social media by visiting her website: magdalenascott.com
Her newest release is Book Four in the Serendipity, Indiana series: THE BLANK BOOK. Paperback is coming soon. The ebook version is available here:Friday, January 31, 2014
A Proposal on Bent Knee by Merrillee Whren
The proposal on bent knee may be symbolic of a religious ceremony, knights receiving an award, or surrender. No matter what the origin, the gesture implies that one is offering himself or herself to the loved one. In my story, I wanted the heroine to be the one to propose. What do you think about having the heroine propose?
~ * ~
Merrillee Whren is an award-winning author who writes inspirational romance. She is the winner of the 2003 Golden Heart Award for best inspirational romance manuscript presented by Romance Writers of America. She has also been the recipient of the RT Reviewers’ Choice Award and the Maggie Award for Excellence. Please visit her website or connect with her on Facebook.Her latest release is A Place to Call Home.
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