Let the Festive Season Begin! (Nigella Christmas: Food, Family, Friends, Festivities - Nigella Lawson)

Member Name: rachelwestall

Product:	Nigella Christmas: Food, Family, Friends, Festivities - Nigella Lawson
Date:	22/11/08 (507 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Loads of great 'foodie' ideas for the Chritmas seson.

Disadvantages: Packed with far too many calories!!

It was my birthday in October and I was given 'Nigella Christmas' by a friend. I have several other books by Ms Lawson, but my particular favourite is 'How to be a Domestic Goddess'. I have learned over the years that to cook like Nigella is not something you do whilst trying to watch your waistline! Almost all of her recipes are incredibly rich or full of sugar and this book is no exception with a sumptuous array of Yuletide goodies.

My first look through this glossy looking cookery book, was not in the kitchen, but tucked up in bed with a cup of hot chocolate! The cover of the book is as the picture shows above. I must comment on the Domestic Goddess herself though. How does she look so young? I am sure she's in her 40's, but she doesn't have one wrinkle! So back to the book - I tend to flick through new books like this looking at the pictures to see what takes my fancy. The pictures are fabulous and will have you salivating in minutes. All the dishes look delicious. My eyes were immediately drawn to page 87 and the Girdlebuster Pie! Sounds like my kind of pud!

If you're stuck for inspiration this Christmas, this book is everything you could want. Nigella's no nonsense approach, easy to follow recipes and planning ahead ideas will hopefully take the stress and strain out of this festive season. The contents page of the book gives you a great feel of what is between the pages...
*The More the Merrier - Cocktails, Canapés and manageable mass catering.
*Seasonal Support - Soups, salads, sauces and serve later sides.
*Come on Over - Stress-free suppers.
*The Main Event
*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 - A panacea for seasonal and self inflicted ills.

THE MAIN EVENT (Chapter 4) gives a handy countdown to your traditional dinner on Christmas day which would be very useful even if you choose not to follow all of the recipes in this book. However, I love the sound of the Panettone and Italian sausage stuffing and the Butternut Orzotto (like risotto, but made with barley not rice), and I think these dished will be gracing my Christmas table.

Now I have a sweet tooth and my eagle eye spotted an amazing looking dish - Tiramisu Layer cake. The photo of this desert made me drool! Nigella says that this recipe 'reads harder than it cooks' and that 'it doesn't take very long or require much in the way of skill or patience.' I have decided that this will make an excellent alternative to Christmas pudding. The page (as do the other recipes) has a really useful little section with make ahead tips, and for when appropriate, freeze ahead tips.

The RRP of this book is £25 but is on sale in various places for less. The Book People were selling it for £10 and Amazon for £9.99 - a great price.

I will most definitely be using the practical and inspiring recipe book over the next few weeks. In fact I might head off into the kitchen now and have a go at making the Christmas Rock Road. Who cares that it's still November? I need to practise before the guests arrive!!

Summary: A superb range of recipes for the whole of Christmas.