Christmas giveaway! 8 authors, 8 books, 8 winners!

Christmas 2015 Giveaway from Australian Rural Romance authors.

8 favourite authors, 8 signed paperbacks, 8 winners.
All you have to do is tell us
what your favourite sweet or savoury Christmas dish is!

What could be easier?
8 chances to win a signed paperback rural romance.
Good luck!

(Giveaway open to Australian Postal Addressees only.
Giveaway ends midnight, AEST, Monday 7 December.)

GIVEAWAY NOW ENDED

The giveaway books are:

READ MORE ABOUT THESE BOOKS ON
Meet Therese Creed
Meet Rachael Johns
Meet Fleur McDonald
Meet Kerry McGinnis
Meet Jenn J McLeod
Meet Margareta Osborn
Meet Bronwyn Parry
Meet Jennifer Scoullar

For a chance to win one of these books, leave a comment answering this deliciously simple question:
What is your favourite sweet or savoury Christmas dish?

GIVEAWAY NOW ENDED
and the winners are:

pengfree – Redstone Station by Therese Creed

Deeanne Wenham –Outback Ghost by Rachael Johns

Marie Miller – Emerald Springs by Fluer McDonald

Kathleen Beckmann – Tracking North by Kerry McGinnis

Karen Castle – Season of Shadow and Light by Jenn J McLeod

Nicole Lindsay - Mountain Ash by Margareta Osborn

Sue Wilson – Storm Clouds by Bronwyn Parry

Jaye – Turtle Reef by Jennifer Scoullar

Congratulations!
And a big thank you to everyone who left us a mouthwatering comment.

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148 thoughts on “Christmas giveaway! 8 authors, 8 books, 8 winners!

  1. I’m going to go sweet. My mother makes a Port Wine Trifle that is to die for. Just don’t eat & drive. It is rather potent. Most people find they need a nap soon after eating this.

    An amazing giveaway thank you.

  2. Sweet for me - it would have to be the apricot balls that my Mum makes for me. These are an especially sweet treat, as no one else eats them, so they are all mine!

  3. My Nana’s plum pudding that is made at the end of October, and hung and boiled for 5 hours on Christmas day and served with brandy custard or ice-cream and when our currency changed she would hide a 20cent piece in it before serving….. it is even yummy cold the next day

  4. Baked Ham! Only had it for the first time a few years ago but it has quickly become a family must have for Christmas. Even better done on the Webber…mmmmmm

  5. Definitely Ice Cream Plum Pudding, you still get the flavour without the heaviness, and it’s perfect with brandied fruit on the side.

  6. Oh it has to be Christmas Pudding and custard or cream or ice cream closely followed by Christmas Cake 🙂

    Have Fun
    Helen

  7. Nothing says Christmas like the traditional Christmas trifle with layers of sherried cake, jelly, fruit, custard and cream or any variation but having said that, I do a mean baked ham with lime and ginger macadamia crust. Looks amazing and is so yummy. Love the whole Christmas baking thing.

  8. Do I have to answer sweet or savory? As my favourite which is a family tradition handed down by my Grandmother is a dish called Beetroot Mold. It’s delicious consists of beetroot and Aeroplane Port Wine Jelly I guess since it has jelly in it you could class it as a sweet????

    This is a must have for Christmas in our family, it’s not Christmas without Beetroot Mold and Shortbread is also another must have which is homemade.

  9. I must say port wine trifle has been my favourite since I was a kid, still is today but cannot make it as good as my mum thou.

  10. My favourite sweet dish is plum pudding and home made custard. No matter how hot it got, it was delicious, as my nan always added money to it.

  11. Easy - My aunty’s Home Made apple pie with the big granny smith apples cooked to perfection that aren’t mushed or mashed to nothing or aren’t hard they are perfectly cooked chunky just right with the right amount of sugar and cloves for flavour and the pastry that is twisted and criss crossed across the top of the apples, served with home made vanilla bean custard, it’s simple but so good served hot/warm or even cold the next day. We would have it every year with all the family gathered at my grandparents place.

  12. Everything: shortbread, fruit mince pies, Christmas cake, christmas pudding, cherries, nuts, licorice all sorts, pretzels etc etc. My favourite time of year!!!

  13. I’m for a sweet treat too. My sister recreates our grandma’s Christmas pudding recipe perfectly. So delicious and brings back very fond memories with every spoonful.

  14. I have to choose savoury! Pickled pork thinly sliced on buttered toast -but it has to be made by my mum and cut into squares or Christmas Day breakfast is not the same!

  15. Oh it would have to be sweet! Somewhere along the years I started making a toblerone chocolate cheesecake and it is now a Christmas tradition to make (multiples!) every year. Also my mother-in-laws homemade baileys is delicious!

  16. Summer fruits, spicy gingerbread stars decorated with icing and silver balls, and the progressively strong punch bowl, that gets added to as Christmas and Boxing Days meld into one,

  17. Ohh it would have to be roast turkey with homemade stuffing, apple sauce and mint sauce. Sitting around the dinner table with my family.room filled with laughter and merriment. Love Christmas!! Trifle is delicious too.mmm love it all how could you choose haha

  18. Now my kids are adult I make naked pavlova for Christmas. I serve it with sides of Tia Maria, Mozart chocolate liqueur, whipped cream, fresh strawberries, cherries and/or raspberries and we all assemble our own. Bliss!

  19. My nana’s traditional pudding with the penny’s included cooked on the old combustion wood stove shared with family & friends just perfect

  20. Family roots run deep and so a tradition is my Nanna’s sponge cake. Filled with thick whipped cream, decorated in the colour of Christmas and lovingly re-created by the next generation - my mum. We enjoy it and fondly remember ‘the good ole days’, now that’s my favourite sweet thing - every Christmas.

  21. Every Christmas my eldest sister always makes me shortbread (which i just love and only the way she makes it) and her xmas cake which she sends to me as she lives in north qld and i live near brisbane. I also love White christmas

  22. No doubt about it - my ultimate Christmas dish is a sweet one - trifle, my Nan’s special recipe comes from Yorkshire, England, she is still with us luckily at 90 years of age. I’m looking forward to sharing her trifle again this Christmas.

  23. My favourite Christmas dish is a sweet dish - because it’s so warm at Christmas, my mum makes a delicious frozen Christmas pudding….. it’s like an ice cream with all the spices and fruits that are in a Christmas pudding. It is so delicious…..

  24. Tough choice but I would have to go with my home made seafood dip (from my mum’s recipe). Made with philli cream, fresh cream, fresh (Australian) prawns, seafood extender, and topped with Masterfoods seafood cocktail sauce. So yummm. And when we have it I know it is Christmas, because it is the only time I make it (otherwise my girth would extend way too much!).

  25. I’m torn between what I have had and what I would like, so answering on both counts: Had - sweet - nothing like a bread and butter pudding or a home made Christmas pudding - both with the added bonus of homemade custard. Would like - savoury - to experience a roast lamb/beef Christmas dinner made from locally home grown off the land - what an Aussie Christmas experience!

  26. WOW - amazing dishes. Looks like plum pudding is the favourite so far, with trifle next and apple pie and pavlova coming in a close third and fourth - and custard on everything. You sweet-toothed things, you 🙂 But we’re loving all these comments. Beetroot, turkey, summer fruits, Italian pandora, cheesecake and pickled pork. Keep ’em coming - our mouths are watering already!

  27. It’s a hard one but my favourite is hot, sticky Malva Pudding 🙂 the sticky and sweet butterscotch sauce soaks into the delicious pudding and results in heaven… love it!!

  28. My favourite christmas dish is my mum’s christmas cake. Every year she makes one for me and one for herself and its her old high school recipe that she uses. All I have to do is ice it and decorate it each year, then because no one else in my family eats christmas cake, it usually lasts me until the end of January by the time I finish it! By far it is the yummiest christmas cake I have ever tasted!.

  29. Potato bake is a staple on the table every year in our household and I LOVE IT. All that potato-y goodness.

    Thank you so much for the chance. I would love to win any one of this books (well except Season of Shadow and Light because I already own it.) I love Australian rural romance!

    Merry Christmas to you all.

  30. Brown sugar glazed ham for me. You get the sweet and salty in every bite…so satisfying and with the yeast rolls we always have, it makes for great snacking later and breakfast the next day (if you’re lucky enough to have leftovers, lol).

  31. Childhood memories of plum pudding and custard with a coin in it. These days it’s chocolate ripple cake decorated with Santa and Christmas things.
    Merry Christmas to all our wonderful rural writers love your work.

  32. I’m a sweet tooth through and through, so it wouldn’t be christmas without my nans steamed plum pudding, served hot with a huge dollop of King island double cream. Decadent and nostalgic!

  33. my fav christmas sweets are traditional austrian cookies my uncles mum used to make before she passed. shortbready type things with a dollop of jam in the middle. hearts , stars and xmas tree shapes . they were delicious
    and of course a fresh fruit salad……

  34. I can’t go past my mother in laws old fashioned plum pudding and homemade custard with a side glass of homemade baileys

  35. My favourite sweet dish at Christmas time would have to be the good old triffle, especially when dad falls in with the sherry leaving you pondering if you’re over 0.05 after one mouthful.

  36. I ❤️ A sweet! Chocolate ripple cake in the shape of a Wreath covered in cream and cherries! At Easter I made a bunny choc ripple cake! A big hit with the kiddies! I ❤️ Australian rural romance! Keep the great work up everyone!!

  37. Hi, Sweet for me. It has to be Nans Trifle. Lots of sherry, super sweet peaches and heaps of custard and cream. One helping is never enough.

  38. Bit of a tradition at my place to make custard shortbread, with the kids using Christmas shaped cutters to give it seasonal fun. So many batches made for school and work morning teas, family and friends - that is if hubby doesn’t eat them all first! Second best would be Nanna’s Christmas pudding, and the boasting over who managed to find more thrupence and sixpence!

  39. I would have to say glazed ham. I have been doing this for a few years now and it goes like hot cakes in my house. I just did my first one for the season on the weekend.

  40. Sweet- Death By Chocolate- aka gluten free chocolate puddings with decadent sauce. Not for the faint hearted- this desert uses 500g of chocolate to make desert for 8 people! And a handfull of fresh raspberries straight from the bush thrown in on top finishes it off nicely.

  41. For many years since my niece and nephew were young - they are now 40ish - and now the next generation of young ones - I have made ginger bread and rather than spend hours decorating and ending up with the cook’s back ache - my whole family are given a batch of ginger bread people and other Christmas related shapes - a set of ready made icing kit - with different colours - and so - after Christmas lunch - everyone decorates their own gingerbreads. Over the years as the young ones have become adults - there is a fierce competition for the best looking decorated pieces. This simple pleasure brings us all together after lunch having a lot of fun, a lot of laughter, some devious hijacking of gingerbread, but that wonderful opportunity in spending time together and enjoying what has become our Christmas tradition.

  42. My favourite would have to be the classic white Christmas, so sweet, crunchy and moist all at the same time! Brings back memories of nana making it when we were young, and us kids stealing it from the fridge, delish!

  43. My all time favorite Christmas dish is the classic Christmas pudding made from my grandmothers recipe, my father and I always made it early Christmas morning as we were both huge lovers of it, now that he has passed away my mother and I still make the pudding and make sure to enjoy a plate just for dad. 🎄

  44. My father-in-law does an amazing smoked ham for Christmas. Usually all the siblings fight over who gets to take home leftovers! (let’s just say we all become little piggies!) It’s really only the one time of year I enjoy ham.

  45. Sweet! I totally love sweet things and love run balls at Christmas! Last year I also made peppermint balls as I’m an absolute peppermint freak!

  46. I would have to go with Watermelon salad. Watermelon, mint and a little white onion. It is so refreshing on a hot Christmas Day.

  47. My favourite would have to be plum pudding, made with lots of fruit, brandy and Love, topped with custard and cream. Yum!

  48. I always remember my grandma’s fruit salad. It was delicious. Every year I think I should make it but it would never be as good as hers.

  49. I am going to have to say sweet too. But still hard pressed to choose.
    Growing up it was my aunt’s christmas fruit cake - absolutely delicious and I don’t like fruit cake.
    More recently it has been Uncle Johns Christmas Puddings, unfortunately there will be no more of them as he passed away last year. 🙁
    And you can never go past a Christmas Pavlova (or an anytime pav really)

  50. I always have to have my Wombok Salad. Love the bitterness of the cabbage, the sweetness in the dressing and the crunch of the noodles. Oh and if you add chicken OMG!!!! Just give me a plate full of that and I’ll be happy 🙂

  51. Plum pudding with custard. My nan used to hide boiled coins in bottom of our bowls when we where kids and we would see who had the most money

  52. Loads of great Christmas reads here! I’m not all that enthusiastic with Christmas cooking, but there is one sweetie I can’t resist. Shortbread biscuits with vanilla sugar. The vanilla smell permeates the whole house while they’re cooking and makes my mouth water. Divine!

  53. My favourite Christmas dish would have to be a Summer Berry Trifle that is my ‘Christmas special’… Served in a beautiful crystal bowl that belonged to my grandmother, it is a bit of a showstopper to look at, and it tastes delicious! I have a bit of a joke in the family that if I’m going to make a really great farm wife, I’ve got to be a better cook than the MIL right? She sets a pretty high standard, but my partner did agree that the one I made last year was indeed the best trifle he’d ever tasted… High praise indeed 😉

  54. Mmm, Savoury for sure!
    A nice Christmas ham, hot or cold with a nice crisp green salad sitting by the lake watching the water skiers.

  55. Xmas lolly wreath - a wreath decorated with loads of wrapped lollies. Once a year I make one and tie it to the front door. Friends and family now expect I’ll do it and I’m sure visit just for a lolly. I love that it looks fantastic even after the lollies have been eaten.

  56. Love a good chicken roast with gravy and crispy roasted potatoes .Christmas wouldn’t be complete without the Aussie lamingtons and fruit cake

  57. Potato cubed and baked in cream and French onion soup mix and Lemon coconut slice are my family’s Christmas must haves.

  58. My mum and I make the Christmas cakes and puddings together early in November. I love our Christmas cake with a cup of tea 🙂

  59. My mother-in-law’s Christmas pudding with brandy custard, her jelly slice or perhaps her nibbles of chocolate spiders, dried apricots with almond and chocolate, apricot balls or rum balls. Christmas Day is always special at Judy’s, she is a real treasure xx

  60. This year my favourite dish would be sweet - my sweet baby daughter who will be 15 weeks old & having her first Christmas! Her toes are in serious danger of being nibbled…

  61. It’s both for me - my mum’s famous lamb roast at Christmas dinner, followed by a bite (or 4) of pav - what could be more Aussie?

  62. Depending on where Christmas is held depends on what we eat. My favourite lunch though has got to be just a cold meat salad (Christmas tends to get around 40+ degree temps) - ham, chicken, lamb, pork, turkey - with every type of salad available, followed by a nice big helping of my grandmothers bread and butter pudding and pavlova. Then to top of the day, a nice bbq for dinner with leftover salad.

  63. I am going to go Sweet
    I love sweets, My mums use to make wonderful Fruit cakes and Mince Tarts every one loved them and after she pasted away my sister tried very hard to perfect them and it took her a very long time but she did it and now I love going to my sister for her fruit cake and mince tarts.

  64. I always loved dessert at Christmas growing up. My favourite sweet at Christmas time is pavlova, especially with cream and strawberries and NO kiwi fruit! Pavlova always makes me think of my Nana, and trying to get a slice before all my cousins and aunts and uncles got it all first!

  65. Oh either or??? that’s tough! I love Christmas in Australia for the prawn and citrus salad we have as a starter. Big succulent Aussie prawns and fresh orange and ruby Grapefruit with mesclun salad greens… for sweets… just some plump dark red cherries dipped in chocolate; some dark some white…

  66. Chicken and Pine nut croissants, our family Christmas special. The joy of everyone pitching in on boxing day to make them fresh ready for Christmas breakfast.

  67. My mums syrup dumplings with ice cream they are always a specialty and i cant wait till she comes and visits and makes them nothing like mums cooking

  68. I haven’t had traditional Christmas foods before my parents are extremely fussy but I do love having fresh prawns on the table with that sauce which I can’t remember the name. Now I’m adult I’m looking at hosting my own Christmas soon and trying out some classics

  69. Definitely my nanna’s trifle. Unfortunately she passed away this year so I will never have her trifle again but she did teach my mum pretty well and she is close to getting it exactly the same.

  70. Oh, so many tempting dishes mentioned! I’m getting hungry reading all your favourites 🙂 I love Christmas pudding, and make at least one every year (more, if we’re having Christmas with my family.) Trifle wasn’t a big part of my family’s traditions, but so many of you have mentioned it that I might have to have a go at making one this year - hmmm, trifle for main course followed by pudding for dessert? Oh, and fruit mince tarts have to be in there somewhere! My darling Mum, who passed away recently, was famous for her fruit mince tarts, but she did share her recipe with me, and I’ve been practising for a few years. So I might have to make some this weekend in her honour!

  71. Baked ham with orange & seed mustard glaze. Glaze must be retained after cooking so that it can be used to pour over ham after slicing.

  72. I always loved my mum butterscotch pudding. Now that she is no longer with us it doesn’t seem to taste the same when I make it so I usually opt for a banana caramel trifle or a toblerone cheesecake.

  73. Sweets. This is like a trifle. Line bowl with jam sponge. Sprinkle with Rum. Make a custard and let stand to cool. Now add a tin of dark plums with seeds removed and drained. Put on top of sponge. Add cooled custard. Now whip cream for the top and add. Finally top with slithered almonds. Better than a trifle

  74. My grandmother made the most delicious plum pudding in the cloth and steamed it for ages. It had the real thripences and pennies in them. By the next year there used to be less and less coins… where could they have disappeared?

  75. Eton Mess for sure - a twist on the ever popular pav! Loads of crushed fresh berries, red blue, black, purple - whatever you love - and smashed meringues, all swirled through whipped cream. Get messy!

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