The Mackenzies gather for a clan Christmas and Hogmanay in Scotland. In the chaos of preparations for the celebration–the first of Hart and Eleanor’s married life–one of Ian’s Ming bowls gets broken, and the family scrambles to save the day. Daniel busily runs a betting ring for everything from the hour Eleanor’s baby will arrive, to whether Mac’s former-pugilist valet can win a boxing match. Ian begins a new obsession, and Beth fears that the loss of one of his precious bowls has made him withdraw once more into his private world.
Revisit the Mackenzies in this heartwarming Christmas tale. Book 4.5 of the New York Times bestselling Mackenzies / Highland Pleasures Series.
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Happy New Year, and Happy Hogmanay to all my friends in Scotland!
I’ve had a twice-joyous New Year with the Mackenzie family: The Seduction of Elliot McBride came out on New Year’s Eve, and A Mackenzie Family Christmas was out on Dec 15. (Both books are in my Mackenzies / Highland Pleasures series).
Mackenzie Family Christmas was fun to write, especially during the holiday season. I got to describe Christmas traditions, both English and Scottish, and part of that research is, of course, about food.
Christmas in Scotland at the time I set the saga (1880s), took a backseat to Hogmanay—many families barely gave Christmas a nod. But because two of the Mackenzie brothers (Ian and Mac) married Englishwomen (Beth and Isabella), and because Hart likes to invite the world over for Christmas, the Mackenzie family also celebrates Christmas as hard as they can.
Plum Pudding
Christmas involves the traditional plum pudding, brandy-flamed, with coins or baked inside for luck, served with a luscious sauce. You can find many recipes (with exact measurements) in cookbooks and on the net, but the typical plum pudding includes:
eggs
sugar
breadcrumbs soaked in milk
brandy
molasses
raisins
currants
orange peel (can be candied)
apples
(more fruit and sweet vegetables of choice; eg., carrots, dates)
almonds and / or other nuts
cinnamon
nutmeg
allspice
cloves
black pepper
suet
brandy or whiskey
All this gets mixed in a bowl on “Stir-up Sunday,” which is the Sunday before the first Sunday of Advent. The pudding is put into a pudding basin, covered, and steamed for about ten hours. After that, the pudding can keep for weeks to months, maturing, until eaten.
To serve, ladle with brandy, light the brandy, and carry to the table.
Plum pudding can be served with any number of sweet sauces, including hard sauce, which is made of beaten butter, confectioner’s sugar (also known as icing or powdered sugar), and brandy or whiskey (yum!)
Hogmanay
Hogmanay is a time of revelry. Bonfires, processions, feasting, visiting friends and family, and the First Footing are traditional ways of celebrating. The First Footer is the first person who visits the house on New Year’s day—tradition says that it is the best luck when that person is a dark-haired man. The First Footer should bring a gift such as whiskey, shortbread, or Black Bun.
The ingredients for Black Bun are similar to plum pudding, which makes sense, because dried fruits like raisins and currents, and fresh citrus would be available at that time.
Black Bun is baked inside a pastry (like a thick pie crust), and then, as is the plum pudding, allowed to mature.
Black Bun
Crust:
Flour
Butter
Baking powder
(I throw about 1/4 cup of shortening into all my pastry crusts, which helps them hold together and be flaky)
Make pastry crust much as you would for a pie, except line a loaf pan with it, saving some for the lid
Filling:
Raisins
Currants
Almonds
Flour
Brown sugar
Orange peel
Spices: Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger
Brandy or whiskey
Allspice
Any other dried or cut up fresh fruit of choice
The filling goes into the pastry-lined loaf pan. Top with a pastry lid, sealing edges. Brush with beaten egg mixed with milk, and bake 2-3 hours in a 325 F oven.
Make a few weeks ahead of time and keep cool, allowing flavors to meld, before serving.
Indian Cuisine
When I set out to write The Seduction of Elliot McBride, I knew that Elliot had spent a considerable amount of time in India, first in the army and then as a civilian, mostly in northern India.
As I researched, I read many accounts of British families in India who never ate Indian food, preferring to teach their Indian servants to cook English food. However, Elliot McBride, being Elliot, was perfectly happy to eat the food of the Punjabi region and learned to enjoy it.
I had fun with the fact that when he finally returns to northern Scotland, he’s so used to food of the Punjab, that he continues to eat it, much to the heroine’s surprise.
Part of the joy of research for this story was learning more about Indian food of several regions, seeking out recipes and trying them out, and eating at Indian restaurants that serve Punjabi cuisine. Naan bread (teardrop shaped bread baked in a tandoor) has become a staple in our house.
I thought about including a recipe here, but for the best experience, I recommend you search your area or nearby city for a very good Indian restaurant, dine there, ask questions about the dishes you’re eating, and enjoy the delicious flavors.
I’ll give away a book. Let me know your favorite holiday food—or your favorite Indian dish—for a chance to win a copy of any book from my backlist, including Seduction of Elliot McBride!
Happy Hogmanay!
Jennifer Ashley
Honorary Mention of Book Sluts 'R' Us Blogger Awards by 
Thanks for the giveaway. Please enter me.
Great blog today! Thanks for being here Jennifer I love your books.
I emjoyed reading the recipes above. your new book sounds very good I’m looking forward to reading it.
Happy New Years day!
Penney
I loved your MacKenzie Family Christmas! It was a joy to read as always =)
I start Elliott’s book today — thank you.
Happy New Year to you Jennifer and all your family. I hope it’s as joyous as your book. And to all of you at this blog, Happy New Year to you as well!!!
My favorite holiday food is Pecan Pie. It’s so not good for you but I splurge on it during the holidays
Love your books. I have most of them. Thanks for the giveaway.
Happy New Years,
Lori
lorih824@yahoo.com
Holiday foodwise I love pumpkin pie and turkey with cranberry sauce! Indian foodwise I love chicken tikka masala! thanks for your recipe and Mackenzie Family Christmas sounds like another wonderful read! Love all your books…pls don’t stop writing anytime soon
Have a fabulous 2013!
I have not had much Indian food, so could not choose anything. My favorite holiday food is ham or green bean casserole. Thanks for the giveaway.
One of my favorite Indian food is eggplant curry. I enjoy their foods that are so aromatic and delicious. Thanks for the giveaway, I can’t resist a Highland romance.
Favorite holiday food would happen to be tamales. we only make them at Christmas and it is so much fun to make with my sister and daughter. Then there are the stay-up-all-night cookies that my MIL makes every season. YUM. Can’t wait to read the new books in the series.
favorite holiday food is “La Bûche de Noel” i love the one in ice cream too
Happy New year ( and thank you for the recipe)
My favorite holiday food is Christmas cookies.
I love your Mackenzie books, Ian is my favorite, he is such a neat character
My favorite holiday food is my mama’s fudge. She makes double decker peanut butter and chocolate fudge and only makes it at Christmas.
I love your Mackenzies, Jennifer! My fave holiday food is baked, glazed ham.
My favorite is making the Snickerdoodle cookies! I don’t what is better – the rough dough or the completed cookies. UMMMM!
My favorite holiday food is fudge. Your new book sounds great.
One of my favorites is an old family favorite… ShooFly Pie!!
My favorite Christmas food has to be the desert! Brownies! I devored them like crazy!
Happy Holidays! My favorite cookies are Mexican wedding cake cookies or pecan balls delish!!!
Hi Jennifer!
I hope you and your family had a Merry Christmas! Christmas to my family means having cherry covered cheesecake for dessert to bring Santa red to the holiday table! A friend from work many years ago secretly wrote down her family “secret” recipe for me many years ago and it has been a Christmas tradition every since!
Of course since my husband is Italian there are also wine biscuits to be made and enjoyed from Christmas to New Years Eve. I changed the recipe so that as soon as they come out of the oven they are placed immediately into an airtight container so instead of being the traditional “hard” biscuit they are soft and moist and they have been a family favorite every since.
Many years ago when my sons were teething my husband forgot one time to cover the container and found that they were also perfect to use to relieve the pain and to have happy little ones (yes he did check with their physician and the alcohol “bakes” off and they are safe to use for that purpose – plus you know there aren’t any preservatives in them!
So whether it’s Christmas or New Years the joy of the holidays can be shared by all!
Best wishes for a Happy New Year and many more books to come!
Congrats on the new release, Jennifer. My favorite Indian inspired dish is roti canai.
My favourite holiday food is Sticky Toffee Pudding with a generous “splash” of Scotch in both the pudding and sauce
Thanks for the giveaway.
Thanks everyone for your replies so far! Now I’m hungry. Thanks, guys.
I have two favorite holiday foods. Mince pies from when I lived in Scotland and dark choc Lebkuchen from Germany where I grew up.
I love all cookies especially chocolate cookies
Thanks for the giveaway
Happy New Year
My favorite holiday food is turkey with my mother’s homemade stuffing…so great!!! I used to love her peanut butter fudge, my birthday is 5 days before Christmas and she used to make it for me instead of a cake, but she has not made it in years.
I really don’t know much about Indian food. The first time I had it was in London – I think it was Tandoori Chicken. It was a lot spicier than I expected and went thru a lot of things trying to cool off. We’ve been meaning to try an Indian restaurant again – that will have to be a 2013 resolution.
my favorite holiday food is Turkey with all the fixings: mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, etc. thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.
I’ve never eaten Indian food so I don’t know much about it. My favorite holiday food however, is pumpkin pie. I love anything pumpkin flavored, but there’s nothing like pumpkin pie to thrill my taste buds. Maybe because I was born in the fall (Nov 1) and it’s such a fall dessert, but I always have it instead of birthday cake, I love it so much.
since it’s new year’s had one of my fave holiday meals — pork & mashed potatoes w/ pork gravy (yummy), also sauerkraut (which I don’t care for) but do love that pork roast & gravy, don’t get it too often (particularly the home made gravy). Happy new year & thanks for the giveaway
We have this beverage made with brown sugar, actual sugar cane, guava, hibiscus flower, apple, other fruits and more ingredients native of Latin American countries. We call it “ponche” and we drink it hot to warm you up during the cold nights. You can also add a bit of rum to help warm you up LOL. I’d love to win because if I do I’m asking for Elliot. Forget the bow, just give me him or any Mackenzie
I loved the MacKenzie Family Christmas, it was the perfect holiday read for a quick break from the cooking and cleaning!
I adore Indian food and it is hard to pick a favorite. I would have to say chana sag (spinach with chickpeas).
My favorite holiday food is a rice porridge lightened with mildly sweetened whipped cream, and chopped almonds mixed through. It is served with a cherry sauce spiked with Cherry Heering liqueur. This Christmas dessert has a whole almond hidden within it and the person who receives the serving it is hidden in gets an additional Christmas gift. It is a Danish dessert tradition introduced to me by my husband’s family.
One of my favorite holiday foods is candied yams with lots of
marshmallow and pecan topping. Thanks for the giveaway!
I love a good Standing Rib Roast. We only do it once a year so it’s a special treat.
Loved Elliott’s story, another winner; and the Christmas book was fun, with Ian, of course, stealing all his scenes. I’ve got my eye on Daniel even more after the Christmas book, looking forward to that one, soon I hope.
I love Christmas Eve and all the seafood (Italian tradition in my family), but my favorite is all the Christmas cookies, I have such a sweet tooth, especially Spritz butter cookies.
I loved A Mackenzie Family Christmas. It was so much fun to catch up on the family and I’m looking forward to reading Elliot’s story. My favorite Indian food is garlic naan with dipping sauces and lamb tikka masala.I also love mango lassi which is a mango flavored yogurt drink.
I haven’t eaten Indian food yet, but it’s something I would like to taste.
My favorite holiday food is anything fishy.
Oh. I’d love to try those recipes. This books sound interesting. I’ve never read any of your books but I’d love this chance. With this novel.
My hubs makes the best Indian food – singhara, lamb kofta, butter chicken – but my absolute favourite is his lamb biryani. I love it.
When I went to London for a study abroad program there was an Indian restaurant right around the corner. I lived off of naan and chicken curry.
My favorite Christmas holiday food is Ham baked in milk and brown sugar (my grandmother’s recipe).
Favorite holiday treat is definitely marble cake and brownies.
Congratulations on the twin releases. I’m reading the Christmas novella.
Thanks for the great recipes. My favorite holiday food id eggnog. I just can’t get enough of it. Thanks for the giveaway.
My favorite Holiday food is my grandma’s enchiladas. Growing up, my grandma made her enchiladas every year for Christmas complete with handmade tortillas. We all loved them and they became a staple of Christmas and my childhood. My grandma isn’t well now and no longer cooks but my sister and I have picked up this tradition recently and we both hope to continue it in our own families
My fav holiday food is a gingercake. My grandmother used to make them and I remember helping her as a child. When she passed I took over the tradition of making a gingercake every year, but somehow it never turned out just like hers. It’s still my fav food for the holidays though
My favorite holiday food would have to be my Mother’s Christmas fruit cake.
It could be the brandy soaked fruit.
Well I have never had Indian food but since I love spicy food I would probably love it and I love all holiday food so I will name my favorite holiday desert…warm Pumpkin Crumb Cake with fresh whipped cream or ice cream . Around the holidays is the only time I get it so I indulge! Oh and anything dark chocolate but that is any time of year I just get more around the holidays!
The holidays are nothing without my grandmother’s recipe for pumpkin pie… yum!
I like ti make up a Quiche and put it in the fridge overnight, just pop in the oven the next morning for a late breakfast or brunch. Really good to have witha mimosa for New Year’s Day.
I like curry.
We really enjoy Indian food–the kids especially love the naan and butter chicken. We’ve made an acceptable fascimile at home, but aren’t very good at making naan! Thanks for the delicious post, Jennifer!
Love Indian food and always get the Naan bread. Also butter chicken and chicken marsala.
Thanks for this post Jennifer, I really love your books. My favourite holiday food is “kerstbrood”, you can google that for a picture if you want, I have no idea how to translate it all.
I love pumpkin cheesecake for Thanksgiving!
My favorite holiday food is the basics: turkey, dressing and gravy!
Thanks for an interesting blog. This book by Jennifer is on my BTB list! I really enjoyed reading her other MacKenzie family books. My favorite holiday food is homemade Green Bean Casserole…the kind where you make your own cream sauce and add fresh sliced mushrooms. The only thing from a can is the fried onion topping!
My favorite holiday food is my Fresh Cream English Sherry Trifle that I make.
Thank you for this great opportunity. I’d love to win, and read “The Seduction of Elliot McBride”, as I’ve read all the other books in the series.
I love our traditional food: sarmale and cozonac
And I haven’t tried indian food besides home-made naan and loved it!
My favorite holiday food is any food i not cooking. LOL!!
I always love to tried new food i found on my holiday, but i think i still loving tradisional food.