ebook img

Christmas 101: Celebrate the Holiday Season from Christmas to New Year's PDF

202 Pages·2007·1.99 MB·English
Save to my drive
Quick download
Download
Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.

Preview Christmas 101: Celebrate the Holiday Season from Christmas to New Year's

j Christmas 101 Celebrate the Holiday Season from Christmas to New Year’s Rick Rodgers Photographs by Ben Fink o Contents Acknowledgments vii Introduction 1 Appetizers, Snacks, and Beverages ’Tis the Season to Party 9 Salads, Soups, and Other First Courses It Came Upon a First Course Clear 30 Roasts, Birds, and Other Main Courses The Groaning Board 47 iii Side Dishes and Stuffings From Cranberries to Black-Eyed Peas 70 Festive Breads Comfort and Joy 84 Candies Visions of Sugarplums 98 Cookies The Christmas Cookie Jar 107 Photographic Insert Desserts Oh, Bring Me a Figgy Pudding . . . 139 Holiday Menu Planner 159 Gifts from the Kitchen 170 Index 173 About the Author Credits Cover Copyright About the Publisher iv Contents o Acknowledgments The holidays bring especially wonderful students, and traveling all over the country, I memories of my family. My parents, Dick and get a firsthand look at how people really like to Eleanor Rodgers, play a big part in all of my cook and shop for groceries. I will always be books, because they taught my brothers and me grateful to the schools that gave me this how to cook in the first place. And in a holiday invaluable opportunity: Sur La Table book where generosity and warmth of spirit are (headquartered in Seattle, WA), Adventures in celebrated, this terrific couple deserves to be up Cooking (Wayne, NJ), Draeger’s (Menlo Park front and center. and San Mateo, CA), The Silo (New Milford, Diane Kniss, as always, stuck by me through CT), Classic Thyme (Westfield, NJ), Cook ’N’ countless dozens of cookies, mountains of Tell (Colts Neck, NJ), Central Market (schools candy, and yet another batch of turkey recipes. throughout Texas), Kroger’s (Tampa and Celebrating Christmas outside of its season was Sarasota, FL), In Good Taste (Portland, OR), and fun, but even more so with Diane around. Let’s Get Cookin’ (Westlake Village, CA). Thanks to the friends who supplied recipes, First, an extra serving of dessert to my old Vicki Caparulo, Marie Intaschi, Ron Marten, friend Harriet Bell, who originally saw the Mary-Lynn Mondich, Grigg K. Murdoch, and value in holiday cookbooks that taught the Howard Shepherdson. A special note of basics. Thanks to Gail Winston who took gratitude is due to Kelly Polan for testing over the reins with grace, and was ably recipes. assisted by Sarah Whitman-Salkin. I am also When people ask me what I like most about happy for the support of Michael Morrison my job, my answer is easy—teaching cooking and David Sweeney at William Morrow/ classes. Nothing beats the interaction with my HarperCollins. Production editor Ann Cahn v kept the book on schedule, and I kept copy Finally, my deepest appreciation and editor Leda Scheintaub busy. The original admiration to Patrick Fisher, who has come version of this book was improved by the home to goose dinners in the middle of July work of Sonia Greenbaum. I lift a toast of and kept his sense of humor throughout. And Grand Marnier to Susan Ginsburg, my to his coworkers at Newsweek magazine, who longtime agent and friend, and her assistant, gleefully helped eat all of those holiday cookies Emily Scardino. and candies. vi Acknowledgments j Introduction I t’s no secret. I love the holidays. Now, regret. (They just might find the recipe in this Thanksgiving is great, but I have to admit collection.) that there is one thing wrong with that As in Thanksgiving 101, where I concentrated holiday—it’s only one day long. On the other on how to deal with that holiday’s demands hand, it makes up for this deficiency by being and pleasure, I want to share my tips on how to the start of the long Christmas and New Year’s have a hassle-free, fun, and delicious Christmas holiday season. The day after Thanksgiving, as season. You can do it! It boils down to one soon as I set the turkey soup on to simmer, I word: organization. inaugurate the next six weeks of partying. It’s When I was catering, we often had two or quite a whirlwind, but I revel in every second. three parties on the same day. But as busy as I In my cooking classes, where many of my was, I never allowed business to get in the way students are young people who want to start of my own personal Christmas festivities. I their own holiday traditions, I hear the same always found the time to bake my own cookies, questions over and over again. How can I have make food gifts, send out cards, and put up the a cocktail party that I will enjoy as much as my tree. How? I baked cookies before the holiday guests? How do I get my kitchen together to rush and froze them. I made food gifts like bake a big batch of cookies? What’s a great flavored vinegars that improved with aging. Christmas dinner menu and how can it be I bought Christmas cards the first week they organized to get all of the food on the table at appeared in stores, and addressed them on lazy once? But most of all, I hear a sad story: They October afternoons or while trapped on long never got that recipe for their favorite cookies airplane flights between coast-to-coast cooking from Grandma, and now they live a life of classes. And how did I put up the tree? I threw a 1 tree-trimming party. I would much rather make Making a List and a buffet meal of easy, never-fail recipes (that are Checking It Twice included in this book) for friends than fret over hanging the ornaments. Organization is a skill I developed as a caterer. Too many people think of these recipes as The holiday season was our business time. We strictly holiday fare. OK—maybe you don’t catered every kind of party, from corporate want to serve fruitcake at a Fourth of July bash, cocktail bashes to celebrity-studded open but there are plenty of other dishes here to use houses, to tree trimmings (once a hostess for year-round entertaining. Everyone should insisted that the children decorate cookies to have a recipe for a great baked ham or roast hang on the tree—nice idea, but what a mess!), tenderloin for buffets. The appetizers in this to elegant sit-down dinners. We often had two book would be welcome at any party. And the or three parties on the same day, so each one tips on how to turn out dozens of cookies had to be organized to the last frilled toothpick. without stress will come in handy whenever Lists saved the day. you have a cookie craving. No matter what kind of party you are giving, It is not the goal of this book to be a a series of lists will help you breeze through the complete holiday cookbook—to include all of process. Every time you mark a chore off the the traditional Christmas and New Year’s foods list, you will get a rewarding sense of cooked around the world would take volumes. accomplishment. And if you look at a list and These recipes are for my favorite holiday foods feel overwhelmed, pick up the phone and get a in time-tested versions that I have served to friend to give you a hand. Here are the lists that catering clients, cooking class students, and I use again and again: friends for years. Some recipes are labeled • Guest List: If you are having a large “101.” These are basic recipes that I explain in holiday party, send out invitations as early depth, just as if you were taking one of my as possible, no later than three weeks cooking classes. Also, I am fascinated with how beforehand. Very often guests will receive our culinary traditions developed. In the multiple invitations for the same evening, sections entitled “It Wouldn’t Be the Holidays so get your claim in first. The most popular Without . . .” you’ll find out why we eat the dates seem to fall on the second and third things we do during the holidays. weekends of December. (On the weekend This is a somewhat personal book, as I have before Christmas, many prospective guests been influenced by the recipes and traditions of are already traveling to visit families.) We my family and friends. If you have a family usually give our holiday party the week favorite that isn’t included here, I hope it between Christmas and New Year’s, or motivates you to get the recipe from your elders sometimes even up to Epiphany, on January and start your own holiday collection. Don’t be 6. This avoids the usual holiday snafu, and one of those people who regret not getting we get a lot more acceptances. If necessary, Aunt Zelda’s cookie recipe. Ask her! That is the send a map to the party along with the only way these wonderful traditions are passed invitation so you don’t have to spend time along. on the phone giving directions on the day of the event. Plan on making follow-up calls to get an 2 Christmas 101

See more

The list of books you might like

Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.