Holiday Event: Ask Her At Christmas by Christi Barth (Guest Post)

Thank you so much to all you wonderful readers who have joined us this week during our Holiday Event and to the fabulous authors who have taken the time to participate! Please give a warm welcome to our last guest, Christi Barth, who is joining us with her new story perfect for the holidays, Ask Her At Christmas!

One of my favorite things about the holidays is the special food. I can’t tell you how many eggnog and gingerbread lattes I drink in two months. Another particular weakness of mine is all things cranberry. So today I’m sharing Southern Living’s White Chocolate Cranberry Crème Brulee with you for several reasons.  1) It is utterly yummy. 2) It truly captures the flavor of the holidays. 3) You can-in fact, you must-make it ahead of time. We had friends over for just drinks/dessert on Friday night. Preparing this the day before made the whole evening painless. 4) It is super easy and will amaze and astound people. 

• 2 cups whipping cream 
• 4 ounces white chocolate 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 5 egg yolks 
• 1/2 cup sugar, divided 
• 1/2 (14-oz.) can whole-berry cranberry sauce 
• Ice cubes 

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 300°. Combine 1/2 cup cream and chocolate in a heavy saucepan; cook over low heat, stirring constantly, 2 to 3 minutes or until chocolate is melted. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla and remaining 1 1/2 cups cream.
2. Whisk together egg yolks and 1/4 cup sugar until sugar is dissolved and mixture is thick and pale yellow. Add cream mixture, whisking until well blended. Pour mixture through a fine wire-mesh strainer into a large bowl.
3. Spoon 1 1/2 Tbsp. cranberry sauce into each of 6 (4-oz.) ramekins. Pour cream mixture into ramekins; place ramekins in a large roasting pan. Add water to pan to depth of 1/2 inch.
4. Bake at 300° for 45 to 55 minutes or until edges are set. Cool custards in pan on a wire rack 25 minutes. Remove ramekins from water; cover and chill 8 hours.
5. Preheat broiler with oven rack 5 inches from heat. Sprinkle remaining sugar over ramekins. Fill a large roasting pan or 15- x 10-inch jelly-roll pan with ice; arrange ramekins in pan.
6. Broil 3 to 5 minutes or until sugar is melted and caramelized. Let stand 5 minutes. Garnish, if desired. (Note – if you have a crème brulee torch, you can use that instead of the broiler)
7. Test Kitchen Tip: Filling the roasting pan with ice before broiling keeps the custards cool while caramelizing the tops.

Ask Her at Christmas

by Christi Barth

ebook

Published December 3rd 2012 by Carina Press

ISBN13: 9781426894725

Caitlin McIntyre’s heart stops when her best friend drops to one knee and proposes. Kyle Lockhart never once hinted over the years that he has any idea she’s in love with him. Not wanting to jeopardize their friendship, she’s never let it slip. Good thing, too, since it turns out he’s only practicing—he’s about to propose to someone else.A business merger might not be the most romantic reason to propose to a woman he barely knows, but Kyle’s determined to win the respect of the dying father who’s never seen him as quite good enough. Kyle’s always depended on Caitlin’s friendship, while trying to ignore the physical response she arouses. So he turns to her when it comes time to craft his proposal, not realizing his decision will affect their relationship, forever.This Christmas, Kyle and Caitlin get one last chance to admit their feelings for each other, and find a mutual happily ever after, before he commits his life to another woman and Caitlin leaves town and him…for good.

Available for purchase at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

 Christi Barth earned a Masters degree in vocal performance and embarked upon a career on the stage.  
A love of romance then drew her to wedding planning.  Ultimately she succumbed to her lifelong love of books and now writes contemporary romance.  
Christi lives in Maryland with her husband.

http://www.christibarth.com/