Nigella Christmas: Food, Family, Friends, Festivities [Hardcover]

I can't help really, really liking Nigella Lawson; she forces me, in spite of myself. I try to remember she's married to a millionaire and that she's probably written this whole Christmassy book in the middle of August but ... there's something genuine about her passion for parties, drinks, canapes, turkey... that by the end, is making me wish I was her. Or at least her friend.

This is a great christmas book, (although I am NOT going to agree with the person who says it's loads better than Delia! Don't be stupid! You cannot swap this book for Delia at christmas, not least for the simple practical reason that Nigella is WAY too big to go to Waitrose in the trolley. And I'm not putting chocolate in the Christmas cake, whatever NL says).

What is unique about Nigella's book? The little details you don't expect. Black bean soup hangover cures. Chicken soup flu remedies. A sharp fruit salad to wake you up on Christmas morning. Her naughty selection of Yuletide drinks (martinis made with earl grey tea, and um, honeyed vodka....).

There's a great selection of twists on the conventional Christmas book stuff: preserves to make as gifts include chilli jam, pomegranate vodka and gorgeous little sweets in the shape of xmas puddings.

Long-time Nigella users will not be surprised that cupcakes make it in there: Christmas fairy cakes have silver sprinkles on, apparently. And I will definitely concede that Nigella's yule log actually looks better than Delia's, though I haven't done a back-to-back taste test. And can't actually promise to.

For me one of the big tests of a Christmas cookbook is the vegetarian option, because it's SO HARD to find nice ones to make things as special for the non-meat eaters. Hers is a ginormous pumpkin stuffed with rice. It looks gorgeous, but I'm not sure whether all those extra carbs are what you need on National Roast Potato Day.

The leftovers recipes, another test, are great. Cassoulet for leftover goose, oriental beef salad for beef, and her agent Ed Victor's turkey hash for the dreaded bird.

The only problem with changing ANY of the reliable recipes at Christmas is that it ruins the whole day if they are rubbish, and then you have to wait a whole year to fix the mistakes. One thing I'm absolutely sold on is her FOUR PAGE Christmas pudding which even she describes as "the ultimate". You even get instructions for how to stir it, for which I once more love her.

So look I think this book is probably a must-have. So few pictures of her in her ringlets simpering this time around that I almost miss them, and loads of her very funny, motivating, seductive prose about food. I won't be swapping from Delia's red cabbage, but I will definitely be trying quite a lot of stuff out of this book, on the basis that for me, her recipes are utterly reliable and always turn out a treat. And I haven't even mentioned the prosecco jelly...

Update 23/10/08
I hadn't quite realised until other reviewers pointed it out that this book is absolutely CHOCKA with repeat recipes. Spurred by their criticisms I sat in the kitchen last night flicking through my other NIgella books and realised that almost half the recipes in Nigella Christmas have already appeared in other titles - even though she has, I admit, slightly modified most of them. (Eg chestnut and lentil soup is now just chestnut, rocky road has glacé cherries in it, etc etc.) But still! I am a bit shocked. The good thing of course is that all the recipes are in one place, so you don't have to go hunting through her other books to find the Christmas ones. However it does make me think a bit less of the book.

I've got quite a few of the Nigella books and borrowed this book in the run up to Christmas to see if it's worth buying. For me, it's definitely not. Most of the recipes have appeared in earlier Nigella books, and it's not worth shelling out for something I've already got.

The book is beautifully presented and I'm sure it would be useful if you needed one cookbook for Christmas. However, I'd think twice about buying this and get a copy of Feast instead, as it's much better value. Most of the recipes here appear in Feast, and Feast also includes chapters on Easter, weddings and various other festive occasions. Feast is a lot more useful and costs about the same.

Nigella Lawson writes a good recipe. And here she has also created a gorgeous christmas cookbook. The whole book is evocative of the season - I can almost smell the aromas..... Of course the book contains the basics - Christmas dinner, christmas cake and christmas puddding. But then Nigella plunges off in a number of different directions; chapters include: The More the Merrier (Cocktails, Canapes and Manageable Mass Catering), Seasonal Support (Soups, Salad, Sauces and Serve-later Sides), Come On Over.... (Stress-Free Suppers), The Main Event (this section is red edged so easy to find in the centre of the book), Joy to the World (Christmas Baking and Sweet Treats), All Wrapped Up (Edible Presents and Party Preserves), A Christmas Brunch for 6-8, A Bevy of Hot Drinks, Dr Lawson Prescribes (Let Food be your medicine....). Punctuated throughout with gorgeous photos - it's a delight just to flick through. I'm certainly thinking on moving away from traditional turkey for christmas dinner after reading the Main Event chapter! Basically Nigella has the whole Christmas covered - this will certainly be one of the front runners in my arsenal for dealing with the Christmas season. There is a comprehensive list of suppliers, and, as another reviewer stated, many of the recipes are applicable for other (mainly wintery!) times of the year.

Recipes include:

Poinsettia (A cocktail containing Proscecco, Cointreau/Grand Marnier or triple Sec and Cranberry juice)
Chilli Cheese Crostini
Eggnog Syllabub
Pumpkin and Goat's Cheese Lasagne
Prodigious Pavlova (passion fruit, raspberries and lychees)
Boston Baked Beans
Lamb and Date Tagine
Spinach and Bacon Salad
Festive Couscous
Spruced-up Vanilla Cake with Rhubarb and Strawberry Compote
Spiced and Superjuicy Roast Turkey with Allspice Gravy
My Mother's Bread Sauce
Panettone and Italian Sausage Stuffing
Beetroot/Butternut Orzotto (risotto basically)
Turkey Pilaff
Roast Rib of Beef with Port and Stilton and Gravy
Rolled Stuffed Loin of Pork with Rubied Gravy
Yule Log
Panforte
Pecan-Plus Pie
Gold-Dust Cookies
Pomegranate Vodka
Christmas Chutney
Triple Cheese and Onion Strata
Espresso Martini
Hot Honeyed Vodka
Cuban Cure Black Bean Soup