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147 of 179 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The build up to Christmas has begun!, 4 Oct 2008
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
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87 of 112 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Festively produced, in predominantly red and green, this larger than average width hardback, 3 Nov 2008
From the 5-page intro:-
'I'LL BE HONEST: I NEVER THOUGHT I'D WRITE A CHRISTMAS BOOK.
But then, not so long ago: I never actually thought I'd become a food editor. I hadn't rejected either idea, it just never occurred to me. That's how life works, and so much the better for it. I accept - with gratitude - that what makes one happiest cannot be planned.
This is not to say that I have anything against Christmas. Far from it : almost every book I have written has a chapter on Christmas. I wallow in it. I relish it......'
And this statement goes on to hint that there are indeed a number of recipes that appear in other 'Nigella' productions, albeit with the occasional 'tweak', e.g.:-
'CHRISTMAS ROCKY ROAD:-
It is not that I felt my usual 'Rocky Road Crunch Bars' needed any improvement (though fiddling with recipes is one of life's pleasures) but I thought they would benefit from some seasonal adjustment.'
So, out go the 'Rich Tea' biscuits and in comes some festive ingredients and embellishment..........'
BU.....having said that... in fairness....Nigella does openly admit to any alleged duplication, e.g.:-
'ED'S VICTORIOUS TURKEY HASH'
'This turkey hash recipe, given to me by my friend and agent, 'Ed Victor', and in charmingly bossy letter form, has been a recurring feature in my books. Why drop it now of all times? Not least, of course, because it is a real winner.........'
'NIGELLA CHRISTMAS: Food, Family, Friends, Festivities', to give it its full title, has 277 high quality shiny pages, split over 9 chapters:-
(1) THE MORE THE MERRIER: COCKTAILS, CANAPÉS AND MANAGEABLE MASS CATERING
(2) SEASONAL SUPPORT:SOUPS, SALADS, SAUCES AND SERVE-LATER SIDES
(3) COME ON OVER......STRESS-FREE SUPPERS
(4) THE MAIN EVENT
(5) JOY TO THE WORLD: CHRISTMAS BAKING AND SWEET TREATS
(6) ALL WRAPPED UP: EDIBLE PRESENTS AND PARTY PRESERVES
(7) A CHRISTMAS BRUNCH FOR 6-8
(8) A BEVY OF HOT DRINKS
(9) DR. LAWSON PRESCRIBES
sandwiched between an introduction and a full index .....oh.....and is complete with a festive green ribbon, to keep your place in this chunky tome!
A useful page of stockists with website addresses, is also included.
Apart from her menu for the 'Main Event', Nigella shares a number of her menus including:-
'An 'Easy Elegant Dinner for 8', consisting of:-
Effortless Home-Cured Pork
Apple and Onion Gravy
Tiramisu Layer Cake
'A Seductively Simple Supper for 6', consisting of:-
Party Poussins
Festive Couscous (nick-named 'pous-pous with couscous', in the Lawson household!)
Chestnut Chocolate Pots
'My Christmas Eve Supper for 10-12', consisting of:-
Ginger-glazed Ham
Macaroni Cheese Deluxe
Spruced-up Vanilla Cake
Rhubarb and Strawberry Compote
Getting back to 'THE MAIN EVENT' - Nigella's 'Traditional Christmas Lunch Menu', for 10-16, is easily identified by the red-bordered pages from page 105-169 and is certainly a comprehensive menu, which includes an 'At-a-Glance Christmas Lunch Countdown', an itemised 'Christmas Day' agenda, a guide for how long to cook the turkey, plus some alternative roast dinner options.
Also, you can find a VEGETARIAN selection under the section title:-
'You Shall Go To The Ball: The Vegetarian Option Takes Centre Stage', which includes a step-by-step photographic shoot for:-
'Roast Stuffed Pumpkin with Gingery Tomato Sauce'.
For after the 'Big Day', there are some different ideas for 'Turkey Leftovers'.
'THE MAIN EVENT' section precedes the excellent 'JOY TO THE WORLD', which includes recipes for a Traditional Christmas Cake and ideas for icing/topping it, along with alternative cake recipes.
Each chapter opens with the famous Nigella banter, as does each recipe, e.g. :-
'Santa's Little Helper'
an interesting combination of:-
'1 part Brandy
½ part Amaretto
and
½ part Cointreau, Grand Marnier or Triple sec.....'
oh .....and some optional ice cubes!
Followed by Nigella's notes:-
'I'm not even going to broach the possibility of a pitcher of this; it would be irresponsible in the extreme. But it's probably just what you need on Christmas Eve, when you've got to fill the stockings, wrap the presents, get out the Christmas china and do everything else on your overburdened plate.
Bottoms up!'
The recipes are clearly laid out with an upper case title, the list of ingredients, an easy-to-follow method, the number of servings and.... if applicable - general notes including advice on accompaniments, and/or a 'Make Ahead Tip'/'Freeze Ahead Tip'.
A good balance of vibrant colour photography throughout, including a fair number of Nigella - which seems to be the norm with current 'celebrity' cookbooks.
A very small taste of the other recipes contained within:-
AMARETTO SOUR
CRAB CROSTINI
SMOKED SALMON SODA BREADS
PARTY PARMA HAM BUNDLES
DRUNKEN DEVILS ON HORSEBACK
AROMATIC CHRISTMAS HAM
PUMPKIN AND GOAT'S CHEESE LASAGNE
CHRISTMAS COLESLAW
CHESTNUT SOUP WITH BACON CRUMBLES
CHRISTMAS SALAD
LAMB AND DATE TAGINE
BOURBON-GLAZED RIBS
GLEAMING MAPLE CHEESECAKE
PARSLEYED FISH GRATIN
SPINACH AND BACON SALAD
GIRDLEBUSTER PIE
YULE LOG
EDIBLE CHRISTMAS TREE DECORATIONS
CHRISTMAS CUPCAKES
WINTER-SPICED VODKA
MULLED CIDER
CHRISTMAS PUDDINI BONBONS
and ........not forgetting:-
'CHOCOLATE PUDDING FOR CHRISTMAS PUDDING HATERS WITH HOT CHOCOLATE SAUCE'
A great recipe for any time of the year, not just for Christmas!
I was also happy to find the super recipe, 'GINGERBREAD STUFFING', on page 124...and an opportunity to make it it in my good old
'Le Creuset Pâté Terrine'!
'Sometimes, it makes sense to use one's obsessions to advantage. I know that most people don't have trivial light-bulb moments when the notion pops into an already food-filled head to make a stuffing in which crumbled gingerbread cake replaces breadcrumbs, but that's unfathomably, how my mind works............'
And a 'tweak' for a favourite vegetable.......'Pancetta Sprouts', found on page 133, under the recipe title of 'Christmas Sprouts'......
Speaking of which, I stopped cutting the 'X' in the bottom on advice from Mr Ramsay, but Nigella suggests still doing that with the largest sprouts, so they cook at the same time as the little ones.
What a gem!
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73 of 96 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
disappointing, 5 Oct 2008
Nigella's latest offering is beautifully presented and I fancied a few of the recipes. Quite a few of the ingredients are unusual, that is to say not straightforward to obtain, and expensive (eg: chocolate covered candied clementines). Nigella continues to push her idea that at Christmas, we want our homes constantly full of 'people' and to have our tables groaning under the weight of food - massive bowls of lychees are advised. This, coming from a multi-millionairess at the beginning of a recession, is something I find annoying. However, some of her 'gift' ideas are inexpensive and would make a change from packages of themed toiletries - although I'm not sure how my relatives would react if they were given a jar of salt with some chillis in it. If you haven't got it, Nigella's Domestic Goddess is a far, far better buy, and if you want a specifically Christmas book, Delia's is superior.
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