Is it too early for Mince Pies? #Christmas #traditions #book #romance

If I eat one mince pie at Christmas, I’m doing well.

As you can see, I’m not their biggest fan. They’re far too sweet for me. Perhaps I’d have liked the original version back in the twelfth century.

Crusaders brought the recipe back to England with them. It was loaded with roast lamb, fruit, and middle eastern spices.

By Elizabethan times, mince pies had become oblong shaped to reflect the crib that baby Jesus lay in.

A 1615 recipe recommends taking "a leg of mutton", and cutting "the best of the flesh from the bone", before adding mutton suet, pepper, salt, cloves, mace, currants, raisins, prunes, dates and orange peel.

He also suggested that beef or veal might be used in place of mutton

In the north of England, goose was used in the pie's filling,^[8] but more generally neat’s tongue was used. (That’s beef or ox tongue to you or me.)

A North American filling recipe published in 1854 includes chopped neat's tongue, beef suet, blood raisins, currants, mace, cloves, nutmeg, brown sugar, apples, lemons, brandy and orange peel.

Tradition states that the recipe used thirteen ingredients since that was thought to represent Christ and the twelve apostles. English puritans considered that, a Catholic conceit, and banned mince pies. Since puritans don’t celebrate  Christmas, the early American settlers made their pies for Thanksgiving.

So How did they get their name?

Early names for them was mutton or minched pies. Gradually the minched became corrupted to mince.

Since I’m talking about Christmas, let me tell you about my Christmas themed book – Marriage, Mobsters, and the Marine.

Abigail Montgomery, a small-town schoolteacher with zero self-confidence, longs for the loving family she never had. 
Each month she attends a masked BDSM club, but her next visit will be her last. If she doesn’t marry within the next year, her military brother won’t inherit Montgomery Hall. Desperate, she advertises for a husband.

Jared Armstrong, a former Marine sharpshooter and occasional Dom, needs $125,000 to get his family out of a hole. His solution - to marry Abigail Montgomery for her money. His only regret is his wife won’t accept his spanking lifestyle.

Soon, Abigail dreams of making their marriage real, but she promised Jared a divorce two-years after their wedding. Can they share some Christmas magic as their relationship faces extortion threats, a kidnapping, and an attempted murder? Or will Jared walk away and break her heart?

Buy links

Amazon USA          https://amzn.to/2tNvYVd

Amazon UK            https://amzn.to/2KeBT0o

Amazon Canada     https://amzn.to/2tD2sC4

Amazon Australia   https://amzn.to/2yXYSYG