The Christmas Table (Christmas Hope #10) - Donna VanLiere Page 0,54

one hour, stirring every fifteen minutes, or until there is a crispy coating on the popcorn. Spread out the popcorn on parchment paper and cool. Microwave the bittersweet chocolate chips, stirring every thirty seconds until they have melted. Drizzle over the cooled popcorn. If desired, sprinkle with coarse-grain sea salt. Let stand until drizzle is firm. Store leftovers in an airtight container. Makes two gallons of toffee corn.

Special Thanks

Special thanks to Troy, Gracie, Kate, and David, who are always up for me trying new recipes, and to Jen Enderlin and everyone at St. Martin’s who continue to believe in the power of story, especially at Christmas. And many thanks to my mom, Alice Payne, who passed on the love for a good recipe and taught me how to cook.

Dear Sam’s Club Friend,

Merry Christmas! I am so honored that you are taking time out of your busy holiday season to enjoy The Christmas Table. The story is a labor of love for me because I love what Christmas means, and I love to cook! I wanted to write a story that would encourage us to think about our own family table and the people around it. I hoped to encourage us to remember the ones whose places are empty at the table and to cherish the memories that have been forged through years of family meals together.

Around that table food is shared, dreams are planned, wounds are mended, arguments are fought, and laughs take our breath away, and no matter our age, that’s what we want going forward—what happens around that table. For many, home is four-letter word—an unthinkable place filled with inescapable memories. But even then, we are homesick for a place where we are loved and accepted, warts and all, and there is a waiting chair for us at the kitchen table. Especially at Christmas.

Food reminds us of home. Especially at Christmas. Many times, the smell can take us hundreds of miles and several decades back to home. It’s amazing how a simple whiff can take us back to Grandma’s house at a Christmas that smelled like hummingbird cake, or to Mom’s house that was still saturated with the scent of roasted turkey. Food always takes us back. When my kids are grown, I hope some of their best memories involve our kitchen table; the one that their dad made with his own hands from the black walnut tree in our front yard. I hope when one of my daughters walks into a restaurant she will say, “That smells like the chicken and rice soup that my mom used to make,” or when my son walks into a bakery or another home he’ll say, “That smell reminds me of my mom’s biscotti that she always made at Christmas.”

Food brings us together. Especially at Christmas. We spend hours shopping for ingredients, preparing the food, and setting the table so everyone feels welcome. While TV movies and commercials are filled with picture-perfect, happy people enjoying Christmas and toasting around a beautifully decorated table, the holiday was never intended only for them. Christmas began in a manger; the first meal was from a simple peasant girl’s breast to her newborn, Jesus. Linus declared, “That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.” Christmas is for the brokenhearted, the lonely, the widowed, and the homeless. It is for the single mom who works two jobs to take care of her kids. It is for the young woman who walks the streets or works in a strip club and for the mother at home who worries about her. It is for the fractured home and the broken marriage. It is for the celebrity or millionaire who has everything he wants but nothing at all. Christmas is for everyone who longs for home and their place at the table.

In The Christmas Table, Lauren longs to create a home that she never knew while growing up. With the newfound recipes she discovers, she is determined to build memories around her and Travis’s new kitchen table. I am delighted to share with my Sam’s Club friends a few more recipes that are mentioned within the pages of the book. I hope your family enjoys them as much as we do and that some of your greatest laughs and dreams are shared around your table because each meal is like a new beginning. Especially at Christmas.

CHICKEN AND SPINACH QUICHE

This quiche is delicious at breakfast or at dinner served with home fries and fresh fruit. You can easily add diced