Nigella Christmas
December 15th 2008 00:35
mmm… roast potatoes…
The easy-to-follow recipes in Nigella Christmas are clear, detailed and are accompanied by a wealth of beautiful, festive photos and handy Make Ahead and Freeze Ahead Tips that are easily found in the outer margins. Best of all, this is a collection of recipes aimed at getting “maximum pleasure with minimum stress” from the Christmas pig outs and it is a book intended to save our “seasonal sanity”.
The recipes begin with a chapter titled, The More The Merrier: Cocktails, Canapes and Manageable Mass Catering which include a particularly enticing lychee martini, mocktails, instructions to make finger-licking Cranberry and Soy Glazed Cocktail Sausages and does not forget the vegetarians with a Pumpkin and Goat’s Cheese Lasagne.
A couple of chapters of soups, salads, sauces, serve-later sides and stress-free suppers later, we have The Main Event. In this chapter, Nigella shares her Traditional Christmas Lunch menu for 10 – 16 and a tight, well thought-out At-A-Glance Christmas Lunch Countdown schedule. In the menu are a Spiced and Superjuicy Roast Turkey with Allspice Gravy, Maple-Roast Parsnips, a Chocolate Pudding for Christmas Pudding Haters with Chocolate Sauce and other yummy things.
Also in this chapter are some appetizing Thoughts for Turkey Leftovers and Four Alternatives to Christmas Turkey in the form of goose, beef, pork and a vegetarian option – Roast Stuffed Pumpkin with Gingery Tomato Sauce.
The remaining chapters are dedicated to Christmas Baking and Sweet Treats (drool), lip-smacking Edible Presents and Party Preserves, A Christmas Brunch and a few Hot Drinks. The recipes end with a wittily named Dr Lawson Prescribes… section consisting of two recipes, one for a Black Bean Soup to help with hangovers and one for chicken soup under the tongue-in-cheek heading, A Panacea For Seasonal And Self-Inflicted Ills.
A Stockists page of websites to find that elusive ingredient, equipment or decoration follows the recipes.
Nigella Lawson’s infectious enthusiasm for good food has left me looking forward to trying out her recipes and ideas this Christmas… but which ones to choose… I’m so spoiled for choice!
Nigella Christmas: Food, Family, Friends, Festivities
by Nigella Lawson
Photographs by Lis Parsons
Chatto & Windus, 2008
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