Excerpt:
Patrice propped her feet on a chaise lounge on the patio where dinner had been served buffet style with all the southern traditional foods, starting with baked ham and candied yams. Tulip centerpieces blooming in pastel-colored pots were on the center of the tables covered with pink, yellow, and blue plaid cloths. It was all very much in tune with the Easter holiday and now the guys, including Yancy, had all followed Uncle
Jamie out to the horse stables to look at a new colt born just that morning.
“Got to admit when that motorcycle pulled up in my driveway last night, I figured it was Alma Grace. I ran to the window and peeked out but be damned if it wasn’t Carlene. Y’all want to know what happened?” Agnes asked.
Gigi set her bottle of beer on the table. “I’m listening.”
“Mama!” Carlene exclaimed.
Beulah blushed.
Agnes patted her hand. “Don’t go havin’ a heart attack. They didn’t make grandbabies even though after the way Violet tried to un-man him, it might have been a good idea.”
“Jack walked her to the door. I had to hustle to get to the living room window to see what happened next,” Patrice said.
“And?” Tansy asked.
“He slowly brought her hand to his lips, kissed her fingertips, and left. It was the most romantic thing ever.” Patrice sighed.
Beulah changed the subject. “Is Violet invited out here today?”
“The whole town is invited,” Sugar said. “It’s a glorious Easter and we will put away our differences so the little ones can all hunt their eggs.”
“Speak for yourself,” Agnes said.
“Can I grow up and be just like you?” Patrice asked.
“You sure can, honey.”
“Agnes Flynn, I’m mad at you,” Beulah said.
“What the hell for?” Agnes asked. “I got you the right to hit Violet. Why should you be mad at me?”
“It’s not fair that you get a grandbaby and I don’t,” Beulah said.
“It’s not really my grandbaby since Cathy is my niece not my daughter. And if you’d gotten started when you were twenty instead of waiting until you were almost forty to have Jack, you might have a dozen by now,” Agnes told her.
Beulah worried about everything and everyone so Patrice was surprised when she drew her eyes down at Agnes.
“I wish I had and I wish I’d had five or six kids instead of one. You girls pay attention to me. You’re all looking thirty in the eye. Believe me, it’ll be here before you know it. It’s time for you to settle down and have babies. You’ll regret it when you are my age and don’t even have grandchildren,” Beulah said.
“You listenin’ to her?” Yancy bent over and kissed Patrice upside down.
“Yes, I am. Are you?” she answered.
Yancy kissed her again. “The guys have arrived and they’re getting ready to hide eggs. You sweet ladies just sit right here and we’ll do this job. Jamie says to tell Sugar that the caterers have the refreshment tables all ready. Y’all look like a picture from a southern magazine all sitting around drinkin’ lemonade.”
Gigi held up her beer bottle. “Darlin’, this is not lemonade.”
“And it’s not five o’clock but my lemonade has a little kick to it. If you’d like some, it’s in the green pitcher,” Tansy said.
I promised the sweet potato casserole recipe but I’m wondering if any of y’all have a special Easter recipe you’d like to share with us.
SOUTHERN STYLE SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
1 cup milk
2 teaspoon vanilla
6 cups cooked mashed sweet potatoes
Topping
1 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup flour
4 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup chopped pecans
Beat eggs, granulated sugar, and butter. Add milk and vanilla. Combine with the mashed sweet potatoes; spoon into a 2 greased two quart casserole pans or one 4 quart deep pan. Combine brown sugar, flour, softened butter, and pecans, mixing until crumbly; sprinkle over sweet potatoes. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes.
Be sure to follow along on The Red-Hot Chili Cook-Off Recipe Sharing Tour!
April 1: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Carolyn-Brown/198727816879253 Carolyn Brown’s Facebook Page
April 2: http://dewonthekudzu.com/ Dew on the Kudzu
April 3: http://freshfiction.com/pages.php?id=blog Fresh Fiction
April 4: http://bookdout.wordpress.com/ Book’d Out
April 7: http://www.bookreviewsandmorebykathy.com/ Book Reviews & More by Kathy
April 8: http://www.chicklitcentral.com/ Chick Lit Central
April 9: http://insatiablereaders.blogspot.com Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers
April 10: http://www.bittenbylovereviews.com Bitten By Love Reviews
April 11: http://fromthetbrpile.blogspot.com/ From the TBR Pile
Learn more about The Red-Hot Chili Cook-Off and find out some delicious recipes from Carolyn and other readers along the way. Chances to win at each stop!
To Purchase The Red-Hot Chili Cook-Off:
http://www.amazon.com/Red-Hot-Chili-Cook-Off-Carolyn-Brown-ebook/dp/B00HFDVOFA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396021905&sr=8-1&keywords=red-hot+chili+cook-off+carolyn+brown
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/red-hot-chili-cook-off-carolyn-brown/1114780682?ean=9781402287039 Barnes and Noble
http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Red-Hot-Chili-Cook-Off/Carolyn-Brown/9781402287039?id=5960175244062 Books-a-Million
http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/the-red-hot-chili-cook/9781402287039-item.html?ikwid=red-hot+chili+cook-off+carolyn+brown&ikwsec=Books Chapters/Indigo
http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781402287039 IndieBound
https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/carolyn-brown/id274787652?mt=11&albumPage=1
http://www.sourcebooks.com/store/red-hot-chili-cook-off.html
Sourcebooks
Carlene Lovelle, co-owner of Bless My Bloomers lingerie shop, found a pair of fancy red-silk panties in her husband's briefcase, and all hell is breaking loose. She custom-made those fancy bloomers herself—and she remembers the bimbo who bought them. If her husband had a lick of sense, he'd known there are no secrets in a town like Cadillac.
Carlene's cohorts—and their mamas—plan to exact revenge on Lenny Joe where it'll hurt the most: break his ten-year winning streak at the prestigious Red-Hot Chili Cook-Off. Never before has a woman dared to compete. But the ladies of Bless My Bloomers are cooking up a storm...and it seems the whole town is taking sides in the showdown.
Welcome to Cadillac, Texas, where the chili is hot, the gossip is hotter, and friends stick by each other, no matter what the challenge.
Praise for The Red-Hot Chili Cook-Off:
"With a cast of characters that will leave readers grinning, Brown’s latest is delightful, humorous “chick lit”... Fun, fun and more fun is on hand in a story that wins a blue ribbon in both originality and wit.” —RT Book Reviews, 4 Stars
“Fun, fresh and hilarious... The author showed that laughter is the best medicine and a sure fire cure for the toughest of challenges in life.” —Chick Lit Reviews
“The characters are vibrant and engaging, the story is endearingly off beat and full of down home folksy charm. A wonderfully heartwarming and highly entertaining novel.” —Book Reviews and More by Kathy
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Giveaway US & CANADA ONLY:
Prize #1: a print copy of The Red-Hot Chili Cook-Off
Prize #2: A Carolyn Brown Prize Pack:
Print copy of The Blue-Ribbon Jalapeno Society Jubilee
Print copy of The Red-Hot Chili Cook-Off
Cute recipe card set—so the winner can save the recipes shared along the tour!
Good morning, folks! What's going on today in your part of the world? Getting ready for Easter? Easter and Thanksgiving are our holidays...that's when all the kids come home for a big day of feasting and visiting. On Easter we have a huge Easter egg hunt in the back yard and age doesn't matter. Our twenty five year old granddaughter has as much fun hunting eggs as our two year old great granddaughter.
ReplyDeleteMorning Carolyn it's a beautiful day here in Georgia. I guess we will finish the hotrod today and finally get it out of the shop. Thank The Lord! My boys are grown now and not grandbabies yet. I still color Easter eggs, but instead of hiding them, we eat them. I usually cook dinner. I've had a great time following you on the hop. See at the next stop
ReplyDeleteHey, Kim this might pop of three times. I'm not drunk, I promise. I wouldn't do that without inviting you! But I keep forgetting to hit something right. LOL! Thanks for keeping me company on this blog tour and hope your Easter is wonderful, eggs and all!
ReplyDeleteDon't have any recipes to share
ReplyDeletebn100, thank you for stopping by!
DeleteHere is a great recipe for Rice Pudding
ReplyDeleteMOM'S OLD FASHIONED RICE PUDDING 2/3 c. Minute Rice 2 3/4 c. milk 1/3 c. sugar 1 tbsp. butter 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. vanilla 1/4 tsp. nutmeg Cinnamon 1/2 c. raisins Combine Minute Rice, milk and raisins, sugar, butter, salt, vanilla and nutmeg in a buttered 1 quart baking dish. Bake in 350 degree oven for 1 hour, stirring after 15 minutes and again when pudding is done. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Serve warm or chilled. Pudding thickens as it stands.
I make this quite a lot.. It's easy to make and not standing over a double boiler.
I am not much of a cook, but I am most definitely looking forward to reading everyone's recipes!
ReplyDelete