Home for the Holidays with Author Katie O’Boyle

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Catherine Castle Holiday Blog, Finger Lakes book settings, Gluten-free recipe, Home for the Holidays, Katie O'Boyle, Mushroom-Garden Stuffing, Waking Up to Love

Can you say, YUMM? This delicious recipe, from author Katie O’Boyle, has me ready to run to the store, get the ingredients, and make it tonight. Who cares about the turkey!

 

Family-favorite Stuffing for Christmas Dinner

 

For author Katie O’Boyle, the family Christmas dinner is a simple and joyful celebration. Four people gather in Seneca Falls—Katie’s sister, her brother-in-law (the cook!), their ninety-three-year-old friend John, and Katie. John brings wine, Katie brings Mushroom Garden Stuffing, and the cook does the rest: golden-roasted turkey breast, two kinds of potatoes, green beans, peas, butternut squash, cranberry sauce, and gravy. Healthy and delicious! Dessert features a pie and may include a few help-yourself treats like cashews, chocolates, and cookies from a holiday Cookie Walk.

Mushroom Garden Stuffing is a long-time favorite. The two main ingredients, apples and celery, please every palate. This recipe works just as well with margarine instead of butter and with any kind of bread.

Katie bakes it at home in a 3-quart oval baking dish, then warms it 15-20 minutes before serving.

 

Mushroom Garden Stuffing

(gluten-free)

4-6 Tbsp. butter

1 cup sweet onion, chopped

3 cups celery, chopped

1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced

2 cups crisp apple (such as McIntosh), chopped

4 cups gluten-free cornbread, cubed in 1-inch pieces

1/4 tsp. sage

1/4 tsp. thyme

1/4 tsp. black pepper

 

Bake the cornbread ahead and allow to cool completely (may be baked a day ahead).

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Heat 4 Tbsp. butter in a large skillet. Clean and chop the onion and celery. Add to skillet. Cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is transparent and mixture begins to brown. Then transfer to a large bowl.

Clean and slice the mushrooms and remove moisture with paper towels. Add more butter to the skillet as needed. Add the mushrooms and sprinkle with the sage, thyme, and pepper. Stir occasionally to incorporate the seasonings and insure the mushrooms brown evenly.

Meanwhile, peel and chop the apple. Add to bowl with celery and onion. When the mushrooms have browned, transfer to bowl with onion, celery, and apple. Mix to combine.

“Toast” the bread cubes in the skillet, in batches, scraping the pan with a wooden spoon so the bread picks up any leftover butter and herbs. Add to bowl. Toss gently to combine.

Butter or grease the casserole dish. Add contents of bowl. Bake covered 30 minutes; uncover and bake 30 minutes more or until top begins to brown.

Tips from Katie: to accommodate my arthritis, I sometimes buy pre-chopped onion and celery and pre-sliced mushrooms, or I prepare the vegetables the night before. If I’m not up to baking cornbread from scratch, I use Glutino Gluten-free Pantry Yankee Cornbread mix and follows package directions.

 

About the Author

Katie O’Boyle is the author of the Lakeside Porches series of contemporary romances from Soul Mate Publishing. She grew up in Seneca Falls in the heart of the Finger Lakes of Upstate New York. Her books are set in the fictitious Finger Lakes town of Tompkins Falls.

Katie’s latest release, Waking Up To Love, features a Christmas wedding in Cornwall. Traditional chestnut stuffing is on the buffet, along with a golden-roasted bird, carvery roasts, gravy, fruit sauces, abundant vegetables, and figgy pudding.

For more information about Katie and her books: http://www.katieoboyle.com

To read more about Katie on this blog check out her latest posts Planning A Cornish Wedding

 

 

 

 

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Wednesday Writers–Planning a Cornish Wedding with Author Katie O’Boyle

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A Cornish Wedding, Author Katie O'Boyle, book excerpt from Waking Up to Love, Catherine Castle Wednesday Writers series, Lakeside Porch romance series, Sweet romance, Waking Up to Love

Today Wednesday Writers welcomes back the author of the Lakeside Porch romance series. Katie’s fourth book in the series, Waking up to Love is now available. She’ll be talking about the wedding that takes place in this book and how she found the setting when she traveled to England. Lucky you, Katie!

Planning a Cornish Holiday Wedding

by Katie O’Boyle

Toward the end of Waking Up To Love, the heroine explodes with frustration when she discovers the hero has, on his own initiative, planned their wedding down to the last detail. He’s even booked the hall, ordered the flowers, and given the menu to the caterers. He and she wisely lock themselves in the library to review every detail together, and make changes as needed, until the heroine feels her wishes have been accommodated. Crisis averted, but not without tears (hers) and gnashing of teeth (his).

As the author, I had a different dilemma. What did I know about a holiday wedding in the south west of England? I’d wanted all my life to travel there, and it seemed the time had come to do just that. I booked a “Photographing the South West of England” trip with a lifelong friend. In London, we joined our merry band of photographers. By the end of the trip, I had outstanding photographs of a gorgeous area of the world, new friends, wonderful memories, and a deep appreciation for those who make their livelihood in Cornwall. And some insight into a Cornish holiday wedding.

It was our group’s good fortune to spend the first few days at Dillington House, a country estate complete with sheep, ancient oaks, and gardens that took our breath away. The moment I saw its Orangerie, I knew I was seeing the model for the reception in Waking Up To Love.

As we traveled to coastal towns and villages, I saw the hard-working practicality of the Cornish people, their dependence on one another, their humor, and their hospitality. One day our Welsh driver took his mandatory break, and a Cornish driver manned the bus. My friend and I sat up front and enjoyed a lively conversation with him and our guide about holiday traditions. Menus, gift-giving practices, gatherings, family traditions, religious observances, decorating the home, seasonal flowers. I heard about dishes like “figgy pudding” and “five-bird roast,” but mostly I heard laughter as we all shared our favorite food items and traditions.

That front-of-the-bus conversation was one of the highlights of the trip for me. Taken together, the joyful spirit, delicious details, moments spent in the holiness of old stone churches, wanderings in abundant gardens, and aromas of buffets laden with succulent goodness, I had what I needed to create a once-in-a-lifetime wedding for my hero and heroine. I hope you enjoy reading about the wedding as much as I enjoyed planning it.

–katie O’Boyle

 

Thanks for that great post about the book’s wedding setting. Now Katie has a treat for us–an excerpt of her latest book in the series-

Waking Up to Love.

Kyle Pennington broke Lyssa’s heart when he let her go, rather than interfere with her budding career. An ocean away now, Lyssa has fallen under the spell of golden-tongued Rand Cunningham who’s in a hurry to marry her. But Kyle is miserable without her and is willing to risk everything to get her back. Will Lyssa wake up in time to ask who she really loves?

 

Excerpt:

Lyssa fixed a mug of chamomile tea and carried it into the bedroom. Moonlight streamed through the French door. Hunkered nearby was the last packing box, the one marked ‘Miscellaneous.’

She folded back the flaps. Justin had said Kyle wanted to send some things she’d left behind at Pennington House. There, on top, were her hiking shoes, the ones she’d ruined on the cliff path when the squall interrupted her last cliff walk with him.

She lifted one shoe out of the box. Padraig had cleaned and conditioned the leather. Sweet of him. She touched it all over, loving how soft and firm the leather was. The scrapes where she’d slid down the stone steps were just faint patches. The sole had not a trace of dirt or gravel or grass or salt spray.

She inhaled the smell of leather and shoe oil. And maybe a trace of rain off the Atlantic. And the scent left by Kyle’s strong square hands as he’d nestled the shoe in the box. She hugged the boot to her chest and let a few tears fall before reaching back into the box.

Just visible under its mate was a letter.

 

 

About the Author: Born in the upstate-New York village known as the Birthplace of Women’s Rights, Katie O’Boyle loves the Finger Lakes in every season. She enjoys lunch with friends at quaint inns, and she cherishes the lakeside porch as a place for intimate sharing, laughter, and inspiration. To the outside world, she’s a tech-savvy college professor. In her soul, she’s a passionate author of warm-hearted romance.

Find Katie O’Boyle on:

Facebook:  Twitter: @TompkinsFall :  Website