Sarah Raven's Complete Christmas [Hardcover]

A shiny silver and pink cover, with amazing photography of frosted seedheads: this is a gorgeous Christmas book with the unusual feature of always having one eye on the garden. Raven's timetable for Christmas means she tells us how to force hyacinths as well as make sloe gin, whilst thinking ahead to the Christmas cake and narcissi Paperwhite.

Beginning with the cake and the pudding (Constance Spry's recipe), mincemeat and fruit chutneys, the book takes an old-fashioned, very English approach to the Christmas mainstays. Making your own turkish delight, florentines and gingerbread house, seems so tempting. There's loads of advice about table bulbs including vital suggestions as to varieties; and brilliant ideas for front door wreaths including one laden with chillis and limes.

There are timetables for parties of fewer than, and more than 30 people, and amazing flower arrangements to do for those parties too (including an over-the-top hanging globe with eucalyptus, hdrangea, silver birch and huge bright chrysanthemums. This sounds weird, but it looks great.)

Pages of tasty canapes and unusual cocktails follow, and then finally the big event itself. A great sounding kedgeree recipe for Christmas Eve; or cook cheese fondue, beef carpaccio, or risotto.

And on Christmas Day? Raven is an evangelist for goose, offering a choice of five stuffings, plus a couple of deliciously healthy winter salads that will be making their way onto my table on the 25th. The big veggie option is Fennel and Gorgonzola soufflé tart... it looks as good as it sounds.

Her leftovers dishes have an oriental flavour - Nasi Goreng from Thailand and noodle soup. For Boxing day, terrines, an old-fashioned baked ham, a classic Cumberland sauce, a Mary Berry fish pie,... And then New Year's Eve, with salmon in puff pastry versus beef Carbonnade and Moroccan lamb with couscous. It's not as glitzy as Nigella's Christmas book, but has a much more "real-life" feel whilst still being incredibly special, and I can already see it being used more. A total success.

Buy this book and you'll be doing as I am, dragging the festive season right out through and well into the New Year. This is solid gold. A really fabulous book that isnt (as some other books are), just another excuse for a christmas hit - this is a complete and rounded companion to the festive season - cooking, celebrating, flowers, whatever. It's easy on the eye and the mind - which is one of Sarah Raven's gifts - communicating. She makes the complex understandable, isn't afraid of keeping the simple as it should be, and manages to inspire and enable in equal measure. Top pics, as ever, from jonathan buckley too

Despite my 5 star rating I have to say that I was looking forward to a fatter book - more the size of Sarah's Garden coobook! I guess I was over hopeful; notwithstanding my greed, this is a gorgeous book. In common with the Garden cookbook it is crammed with beautiful photos - all part of the experience of a stunning cookbook for me.

The book is broken into the following chapters:

PLANNING AHEAD
The Christmas Larder: Puddings and cakes/Fruit chutneys, compotes and cheeses/Homemade sweets/Homemade biscuits/Drinks for the larder.
Forced bulbs for Christmas: Bulbs to flower at Christmas/Bulbs to give as presents.

DECORATIONS
The Christmas Tree: Tree decorations.
Flowers and Foliage: Wreaths and swags/Table decorations/Houseplants for Christmas.

A CHRISTMAS PARTY
A Party timetable/Party planning
Christmas Party Floweres: Instant party flowers/Showy Party Flowers
Christmas Party Food: Small party food (less than 30)/Substantial party food (more than 30)/Drinks for a Christmas party.

CHRISTMAS EVE
A festive breakfast/A light lunch for Christmas Eve/First courses/Main courses/Festive puddings

CHRISTMAS DAY
The bird, stuffing and gravy/Alternatives for vegetarians/Christmas Day vegetables/Christmas Day Puddings

BOXING DAY
Soups, risottos and other easy lunches/Some hearty winter salads/Pates, terrines and other meat dishes/Pies and tarts/Post Christmas Puddings/Post Christmas drinks.

NEW YEAR'S EVE
First courses/Main courses/Puddings for a New Year
success.

Sarah provides a comprehensive Christmas Timetable at the front of the book. This is useful - it gets you thinking ahead about what you can do in the months leading up to Christmas. In these days of the credit crunch, plenty of the ideas she provides in the 'Planning Ahead' section can be turned into gifts - only for special recipients though! In amongst the obvious recipes for Christmas cakes, puddings etc, Sarah also gives some different recipes - mincemeat with damsons and cobnuts, Banbury cakes (which appear to be a mincepie made using puff pastry, without a bun tin, and glazing the pastry), strawberry white chocolate truffles and florentines. None of the recipes are overfussy - and, where applicable, they also contain guidance for packaging for gifts. The ideas for gifts continue through potted crocus bulbs and miniature iris.

This review really could run and run! There are numerous ideas throughout the book for floral arrangments; they look utterly stunning and I would love to be able to recreate them - I suspect though that they may be beyond my novice skills. The pictures really do inspire you though.

Sarah's menus for a party are lovely - not your normal selection of canapes (fennel chunks with parma ham, turkish borek with fillings). She also includes advice for cocktails to serve - and how much to provide!

It is rewarding that Sarah does not simply provide one idea in a section - a festive breakfast includes granola, buns, muffins etc, - numerous stuffings are provided for Christmas Day, numerous different ways of doing the vegetables. Sarah isn't an overcomplicated cook, and I like that. I like the simplicity that her recipes espouse. This may very well become my Christmas Bible.