Is it possible to have TOO many cookbooks? Many of my fellow cookbook obsessed friends will say no but my partner would probably disagree. Especially seeing the towering stack of books on my desk, threatening to fall over on me. But this fall was an amazing time for cookbooks with some brilliant ones being released and that just meant the stack got higher and higher as I tried in vain to figure out a place for them in our tiny apartment. So many books stacked up since my last cookbook roundup from the summertime in fact, that I’ve broken up my end-of-year cookbook roundup into THREE days (be sure to bounce back here this week for the other two roundups). Here’s today’s first stack of awesome cookbooks that I can’t live without. And to make it even MORE special, I’m giving away THREE cookbooks to one lucky reader! Stick around or scroll to the end of the post to find out how to win Hand Made Baking by Kamran Siddiqi; A Boat, a Whale & a Walrus by Renee Erickson; and Mrs. Wheelbarrow’s Practical Pantry by Cathy Barrow! [This giveaway is closed!]
Kamran Siddiq’s blog The Sophisticated Gourmet is one of my all time favorite blogs out there. So it’s not surprise that his cookbook Hand Made Baking was one of my most anticipated. Turns out it did NOT disappoint. With elegant and gorgeous photography as well as personal anecdotes sprinkled throughout the book, this book feels like having an old friend over for coffee. Or, as Kamran would have it, his easy-peasy brioche, take it and go cookies and curiously chewy oatmeal-raisin cookies along with the coffee. Warm and inviting like a fresh baked chocolate snickerdoodle, these recipes beg to be made immediately and served to a friend or love done.
I am madly in love with the book A Boat, a Whale & a Walrus. Written by a James Beard nominated restaurateur, Renee Erickson, I was fully expecting this book to be one of those gorgeous but inaccessible cookbooks full of expensive ingredients and time consuming preparations. I was right about the gorgeous part but totally wrong about the rest. With stories and menus that are warm and approachable, this is the sort of book I can crawl into bed with and fall asleep to, dreaming of manila clams and roasted rhubarb. Sure occasionally there is a left field idea (rose petal harissa? How cool is that!) that pushes beyond the everyday but each balanced dish seems pretty easy to make without being ordinary. I love the stories, the headnotes and generous side bars that explain some of the ingredients (like what vermouth is or how to pick a crab). For all those people who love to read cookbooks as novels, this is the book for you.
Mrs. Wheelbarrow’s Practical Pantry by Cathy Barrow is practically a bible for food preservation. Though there are plenty of books out there that teach you how to pickle, how to make jams and how to cure bacon, this book is so much more than that. With clearly and easy instructions on everything from pressuring canning chicken stock to making and processing tomato puree, the basics are all accounted for. Beyond that there are recipes for how to make homemade condensed split pea soup, to shelf stable duck confit (apparently it’s good for up to two years on the shelf!) to smoking salmon this book has it all. Thrown in are recipes for how to use the shelf stable preserved food like pappardelle with smoked salmon and spinach, fish sticks with tartar sauce, and hulu skirt steak. If the zombie apocalypse ever comes, this is the book you want on your shelf!
I ran across the book Bitter by Jennifer McLagan when I shopping at a small little store in Portland. The hauntingly beautiful cover photo as well as the concept of a whole cookbook focusing on the flavor of bitter immediately intrigued me. Bitter is one of those flavors that we as humans are wired to reject because it often signifies poison or food that has gone bad. But as our tastes mature, bitter notes in coffee, chocolate and alcohol cocktails have definitely become sought out. With recipes focusing on greens (like the bitter greens ravioli), citrus (grapefruit tart) and beer (mussels in beer) bitter no longer sounds scary. In fact, I’m ready to dive right into some of the stunning recipes (white asparagus with blood orange sauce looks like a showstopper) and try them out.
Smoke & Spice by Cheryl and Bill Jamison is both a new and old book, having been initially released 20 years ago. Selling over 1 million copies, the James Beard award-winning book has been reworked with 50 new recipes. Though wintertime isn’t traditionally the time for outdoor cooking, leafing through the pages of the book makes me long for better weather so I can start slow smoking some meat and vegetables. Recipes like the Martini Leg of Lamb (a gin scented lamb), Honey of a Lobster Tail and White Pizza with Vegetable Confetti are all calling my name! Thankfully I just inherited a giant kettle grill from my downstairs neighbor who is moving which means I can start truly barbecuing when we get a break from the cold and wet weather.
True confession. I’ve never been to France. For someone who has travelled a whole heck of a lot in his life (including a year in Europe in a high school) I never made there. It’s my secret shame as a food writer. Nothing makes me realize this giant éclair shaped hole in my food experience like flipping through a book like My Little French Kitchen by Rachel Khoo. With beautiful photos of France as well as accessible recipes like praline brioche, chocolate basque beret, and carrot tarte tatin that don’t require culinary school training I feel like I can live vicariously through this cookbook. Well, until I get my passport renewed that is.
Food bloggers are a funny bunch. We obsess about food, we photograph food, we talk about food, we live for food. And if we’re lucky, we get to write a cookbook using all those skills. Jessica Merchant of the blog How Sweet It Is has an absolute love of food that shines through with her first book Seriously Delish. BBQ chicken and sweet corn pizza, roasted pork and pineapple baked taquitos, obsessed with cheese mac & cheese, these are the comfort food recipes that makes me wish she lived closer to invite me over for dinner. I mean come on, she has a recipe for chorizo and balsamic brussel sprout nachos! But since Jessica lives across the country, this cookbook is going to have to do (but Jessica if I ever find myself in Pittsburgh, I’m totally inviting myself over for dinner – you have been warned).
I live four blocks away from Tacolicious and it’s an internal struggle everyday not to run down there and grab some tacos for lunch. Thankfully their book Tacolicious means I can actually save the trip (and a little cash) by making their updated contemporary versions of tacos at home. Potato and homemade chorizo tacos, lamb adobo tacos and achiote pulled pork tacos recipes are all winners but the secret to their addictive salsa that you get when you sit down (fresh mint and rice vinegar!) is worth the price of the book alone. The bright photography and festive recipes for drinks, snacks and (of course) the tacos makes this a great addition to anyone’s cookbook bookshelf.
A friend of mine once stated in his Facebook update that the ratio between person and cake is always skewed toward too many people and not enough cake. The book Let Us All Eat Cake is here to fix that problem with 60 cakes adapted and designed for the gluten free community. I’m a huge fan of baking for my gluten free friends and each cake in the book, like her Hummingbird cake, the pink princess cake and her white Christmas Bûche de Noël look as good or even better than the gluten full kinda. I love the idea that these cakes are completely familiar but built from the ground up to be gluten free. Even those people who can eat wheat (that would be me) can benefit from her tips and tricks on decorating the sweet treats.
Mediterranean Vegetarian Feasts by Aglaia Kremezi lives up to its name with 150 recipes for those seeking plant-based dishes. As a lot of people I know are moving away from meat-centric dishes, this is the sort of approachable cookbook that I love to recommend to them. A cookbook that celebrates food and that also happens to be vegetarian focused, without he weird meat substitutes, is how to win people over to a plant-based diet. Creative easy-to-make dishes like linguine with spicy lentils and caramelized onions or fresh fava beans with coriander seeds, garlic and cilantro are the sort of meals that burst with flavor without apologizes. Dishes like orange, olive and baby leek salad with verjus-tarragon dressing and nettle soup with mushrooms and yogurt are the sort of meals that I could make for my partner, an avowed meat eater, and he wouldn’t even notice that they were vegetarian. If everyone made fabulous food like this, who cares if there’s meat in it or not?
The minute I saw the cover of Huckleberry cookbook by Zoe Nathan with the gorgeous loaf of brioche with fresh blueberries spilling out, I knew I was sold on the book. Not that I need to be sold on a book with recipes form the café in Santa Monica that I visit every single time I go to LA. And I go to LA an awful lot mind you. But there’s something about Huckleberry that calls me every time. Though they have fabulous lunchtime meals (I’m partial to their monte cristo sandwich – which there is a recipe included in the book) it’s the baked goods that get me every time. They were the inspiration my caramel bars with salted cashews here on the blog. Their chocolate chocolate teacake is a must whenever I’m down there. And the blueberry cornmeal cake is one of my favorites. And yes all those recipes (and more) are in the book. I can’t wait to work my way through every single recipe!
I kind of love the idea of the Monday Morning Cooking Club. A gathering of six women on a Monday morning to talk recipes, cook together and create a community around food. Their second book The Feast Goes On, has a warmth and heart to the recipes that I adore. With comfortable recipes like slow-roasted tomato sauce for spaghetti, glazed Asian duck, and potato latkes, this is food from the heart of the Jewish kitchen. With six different chapters created by six different people, ranging from topics like lunchtime, comfort, tradition and everyday, these recipes are the ones that nearly everyone who loves to cook will grow to love, the sort of go-to recipes that I can see being passed on to friends and loved ones.
Brooks Headley’s Fancy Desserts is not your typical dessert cookbook. In fact, it’s not your typical cookbook at all. There are no ridiculously full page food porn photos to entice you into making a recipe that has 72 different ingredients that can only be mailed ordered from a culinary store with a incomprehensible French name. The forward of the book isn’t written by a famous chef who’s tasting menu costs hundreds of dollars, that is if you can even score a reservation at all. There are no whimsically twee stories about plucking farm fresh fruit from the tree with a slightly overcast gray sky casting cool shadows on the hand in the accompanying photo. Instead you have a book with straightforward ideas from a stellar pastry chef that used to be in a number of hardcore punk rock and indie bands. The introduction is written by Steve Albini (the producer of Nirvana, the Pixies and other seminal 90s punk bands). The recipes range from simple straightforward candied nuts with lots of salt, saffron wedding cookies, and tiramisu to fancier fine dining plated desserts like toasted fennel cake and pickled green strawberries; sweet pea cake with macerated strawberries; strawberry gelato and candied split peas; and lemon ginger curd with rhubarb and polenta chips. In between the recipes are stories and photos from life in a punk rock band, excerpts from zines made on the fly and lots of hilariously colorful language. It’s not for everyone, but those who grew up listening to their punk rock 7” singles will devour this book.
Sequels are always a tough thing, especially when the original is so highly acclaimed. Plenty More by Yotam Ottolenghi is the perfect example. How do you follow up a book that everyone pretty much claims to be the best ever? Those who are fans of his first book Plenty won’t have much to complain about with the second. Zucchini “baba ghanoush”, candy beets with lentils and yuzu, peas with sorrel and mustard, fava bean spread with roasted garlic ricotta nothing in this book is going to surprise people who have love his first one. But for those who can’t get enough of the first book, or for the odd duck out there that doesn’t have his first one, this book doesn’t disappoint.
My partner AJ and I have often talked about if we were to ever retire from San Francisco where would go. Honestly the only place we can think to go would be Sonoma or Napa up in wine country. A New Napa Cuisine by Christopher Kostow certainly helps with that argument. The chef behind The Restaurants at Meadwood does a masterful job of telling the stories of the food and the people behind the food in Napa. With luscious photography, the recipes are definitely aspirational with detailed instructions on dishes that most people won’t attempt unless they have a weekend set aside and access to a specialty food source. But never mind that, as just looking at sparsely beautiful photos and reading descriptive titles of dishes like daylily wild onion spot prawn caviar, lamb in clay black lime pistachio or pork seaweed tomatillo oyster is enough to imagine what it tastes like. Retirement may not be in my future anytime soon but this weighty coffee table will do for now.
I still have glorious memories of my 10 day trip to Argentina years ago. I can go on and on about the breathtaking scenery of Iguazu Falls or the stunning architecture of Buenos Aires. But if there is one thing I can pinpoint that would draw me back is the beef, or to be specific the grilled beef. So it comes as no surprise that South American chef Francis Mallmann’s new book Mallmann On Fire is a book dedicated to cooking food on an open fire. From beef to fish to chicken to vegetables, the lush photos and enticing recipes make me want to dive in immediately. Recipes like grilled short ribs with vinegar glazed charred endive, duck breast with balsamic vinegar and asparagus, and octopus in an iron box with chard, green beans, tomatoes and eggs sound like the sort of food that everyone needs in their life. Coupled with the stunning photographs, this is the sort of book for everyone who is looking to kick their grilling and outdoor cooking up a notch.
Donna Hay’s The New Classics came out last year overseas but was finally released here in the US a couple of months ago. And it’s exactly what you expect. Each page is a stunningly photograph of ridiculously delicious food that looks impossibly beautiful. But then you read the recipes accompanying the dishes and you realize that actually the food can be made, well some of them anyway. With recipes range from fairly easy to more moderate (with a few dipping into difficult but definitely not impossible for mere mortals) this is the sort of book that belongs both on your coffee table AND in your kitchen (if you can stand to get it dirty that is). Simple straightforward instructions on how to poach a chicken is followed by recipes for orange and juniper roast duck, while cheesecake swirl brownies go head to head with raspberry and ginger cheesecake slices. The New Classics lives up to it’s name delivering updated classic recipes along with new contemporary recipes that will soon be classics.
[This giveaway is closed!]
I’m giving away a copy of Hand Made Baking by Kamran Siddiqi; A Boat, a Whale & a Walrus by Renee Erickson; and Mrs. Wheelbarrow’s Practical Pantry by Cathy Barrow to one lucky reader! All you need to do is leave a comment below telling me what your favorite holiday dish. Do you immediately gorge on chocolate crackle cookies when the holidays comes? Do you adore roasted turkey? Or do you dream about cranberry sauce all year long? Tell me what you love and you could win a copy of these three awesome books!
The Fine Print
By leaving a comment below to enter, you are agreeing to the Official Rules.
▪ NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.
▪ VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.
▪ You must be over the age of 18..
▪ This contest is only open to U.S. Citizens. Sorry non-US people!.
▪ The contest starts as of today, and will run until Monday, December 15th, 2014, 9am PST..
▪ The combined retail value of everything is about $104.95..
▪ The winner will be chosen by a randomly selected comment. All comments will be numbered and I will use Random.org to pick a random number..
▪ The number of eligible comments below determines the odds of winning..
▪ If there’s a problem with contacting the winner, I reserve the right to award everything to someone else randomly chosen. So in other words, make sure you type in your correct email address if you want the membership and respond within a week to me when I contact you or I’ll give everything to someone else..
▪ The prize is being delivered directly from the publishers. If they have not delivered the prize to you within three weeks of me notifying you of winning, please reach out to me again and I will do follow up to make sure everything is OK. Please keep in mind we are all human and things happen. I will do everything within my power to make sure the prize is delivered in a timely manner.
Special thanks to Artisan, Chronicle Books, Fourth Estate, Harper Collins, Harvard Common Press, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Sasquatch Books, Stewart Tabori & Chang, Ten Speed Press, W.W. Norton & Company for providing review copies of the books featured above. I was not compensated for this post and all opinions above are completely my own. And extra special thanks to Chronicle Books, Sasquatch Books and W. W. Norton for providing an copy to giveaway to one reader. You guys are the best!
[This blog post has affiliate links, which means if you click through to purchase a book, I get a small percentage of the sales, at no cost to you. If you are uncomfortable with this, feel free to go directly to Amazon.com and search for the book or item of your choice.]
Maggi Liberty says
Honestly? The fruitcake; we plan for it, candy fruit for it, and wait impatiently for it to finish aging.
Stefanie E. says
My favorite holiday dish is lasagna! Not the typical thing you think about when you think of holidays, but it’s what we eat every Christmas. Yum!
Thomas says
Making, decorating, and eating the sugar cookies with the kids is one of the best parts of Christmas for me.
Anna Barri says
My favorite holiday dish are Gingerbread cookies!
Thanks for the giveaway
Anna
Scott_D says
My great grandmother’s sugar cookies are a yearly tradition I look forward to. They’re made with lard. She made them year round.
The Suzzzz says
When I think of holiday foods I think of rotkohl. My maternal grandmother was from Silesia Prussia and at Thanksgiving and Christmas we always had a revoloving mix of American, German, and Polish food but the one thing that was always there was the rotkohl.
Nicole says
I love trying new things, I am always experimenting and adding new items to my list of things to make and try. Though if I have to pick a favorite it is probably the nostalgic items we had as kids. Wedding cookies, dipples, and a fruit pie.
Nic says
The first food that comes to mind is Chex Mix, not gourmet by any standards but always a go to favorite.
Frankie N. says
I love sugar and gingerbread cookies for the holidays.
Nicole B says
Wassail! Need I say more?
Francis Njie says
All the books would be good. And I see cake yum!
Sarah Randall says
My very favorite holiday treats to make are buckeyes– but I give those all away. Then, I make crab cakes and shrimp cocktail for myself!; a Christmas Eve tradition.
Julia Quintero says
My son who is 9 loves to cook and collect cookbooks. Would love to give him one for Christmas 🙂
bren says
Definitely cranberry sauce.
L Jones says
Good luck to all participants. I NEED that Mrs Wheelbarrow’s book. NEED. 😛
Kerrey De Paoli says
I love well spiked eggnog.
kat says
My family tradition involves making lots and lots of iced molasses cookies for Christmas. It wouldn’t be the holidays without them.
Renee says
I love molasses spice cookies this time of year. Their warmth just makes winter more bearable! (P.S. All three books are on my wishlist! Fingers crossed. Also, Aglaia’s book is truly wonderful!) Thanks for the giveaway!
Aaron Rishell says
My gmas scalloped potatoes!
Ryan F. says
Stuffing! I have no idea why I don’t make it year-round, but I definitely make up for it this time of year.
Mary Ann says
Homemade Manicotti.
Lei says
Ham with homemade cranberry sauce.
Bea says
My Mom’s incredibly rich and flaky shortbread fingers. And they must be dunked in rum laced eggnog! Great selection of books!
Tina says
I just love the pasta with seafood on Christmas Eve!
Feast of the Seven Fishes!
Nicole D. says
Stollen! The real stuff; from Germany; when my aunt sends a package to her sis!
Vicki Gensini says
My Mom’s cutout cookies are a holiday tradition in our family.
Jenny Hartin says
Cheesecake!
Katherine Fines says
I devour gingerbread during the holidays. I could eat it all year round, but I never make it, except at the holidays! I love it though.
Robin says
Buche de Noel- my homemade version…vanilla sponge, almond pastry cream, covered in dark chocolate ganache!
Linda says
My mother used to make a cranberry apple sauce at Thanksgiving. She has since passed away and since I wasn’t able to find this recipe, I’m going to try and recreate this recipe.
deneen says
my mom’s nut rolls – they’re sort of a rugelach type cookie. I absolutely gorge myself on them. On Christmas morning, I pile a plate high, grab a cup of coffee & watch kids tear through presents.
Sarah says
Call me old fashioned, but I really love steamed pudding (my family makes a chocolate one and a date one every year) with “foamy” hard sauce.
Tamara says
Stuffing. Good old fashioned sage stuffing. Which I discovered also make darn tasty waffles the next day.
Dawn Michelle says
I love stuffing! There’s a recipe from columnist Gene Amole that I like to prepare.
Lynda Herman says
i look forward to potato latkes, and my homemade poppyseed cookies, yum!
Nancy says
I love gingerbread.
Linda Mire says
Amazing review Irvin and I have added a few to my wishlist based on it. My favorite Holiday dish, well is a cake! I want to share it because it is so good and so special, made only at Christmas. My grandmother’s version of Lady Baltimore Cake is a beautiful white cake, filled with maraschino cherries, pineapple and pecans. It is topped with a delicous divinity icing! My Mother has had problems on and off with the icing, but even when it doesn’t look beautiful, it is delicious. We even have an antique blue cobalt cake plate it goes on. The fight is already on for the cake plate. The honor will go to the person who takes over making the cake. Sorry for the long response, but you know how Christmas memories are, especially those involving food!
Karen Wirima says
A great review Irvin and I will put sone on my wish list. Thank you for doing the giveaway for the books. At all the Jewish Hoildays we always have noodle pudding wich my brother mother-in law perfected the recipe. I hope to win the books to add to my collection. Thanks again.
Marcia Raffer says
Im glad to have found your site! Love the Cookbook Junkies!
Rona says
Latkes. And Polish vegetable salad that my aunt makes. I look forward to that every Christmas.
Caryn Schajer says
I look forward to Chinese good every year on Christmas!!
Joan says
I do dream about my Mom’s stuffing recipe all year. Mom is no longer with us and I’m thankful she let us write down the recipe as we helped her make it several years ago. Now my daughter, sister and I can make it in her rememberence. Thanks for the chance to win some cookbooks. I love trying new recipes.
Cindy Owens says
Pannetone always reminds me of the holidays, can’t get enough. I even made it myself 2 years ago.
mei says
we always have french toast casserole at my house on christmas morning. it’s essentially bread pudding, and we like to use cinnamon raisin bread. the top comes out crisp and golden, and the insides are so silky and custardy. yum!
Sara Walker says
French onion soup reminds me of the holidays. Wouldn’t be the same without it.
Nik@ABrownTable says
I’d have to say a complete Goan meal on Christmas. I haven’t had one in years with my family and I’m excited to do that this holiday. I’m looking forward to all the cookies and rum drenched christmas cakes.
mclare says
I make a mean mince pie, and since most americans don’t have much of a taste for it I’m really just making it for myself every year…
Jema Lung-Gat says
During the holidays my mom makes all different kinds of soup! A few of them is her black-eyed pea soup with ham hocks and Portuguese sausage with malunggay leaves and her chicken papaya soup with long rice and instead of your traditional malunggay leaves, she adds kale! So good!
Leslie Goldenberg says
I make & eat gads of my special holiday granola….made sweet & salty with the addition of jewel-tone fruits….yum.
Marisa Franca @ All Our Way says
It looks like you appreciate cookbooks like I do — I read them like fiction and study each and every photograph. What I wait for every year is aging our prime rib and then roasting it to perfection! The meat is so tender it is worth the extra effort of aging.
Stacy says
I agree that one cannot have too many cookbooks or pajamas! ; )
My last cookbook, that I bought just for me, was Food to Live by. It’s fabulous & falling apart !
cherie says
Thanks so much for the thoughtful reviews 🙂
My favorite sweet at Christmas is definitely the chocolate crinkles – just perfection
Savory is lasagna – not that we wait for the holidays – but it’s a favorite anytime and it bakes while we’re at church on Christmas Eve!!!
Peggy says
Spicy cranberry sauce is an old favorite.
New favorite is malt chocolate pecan pie from Four & Twenty Blackbirds. Made this for Thanksgiving & will be made again.
Holly Siminski says
I always look forward to stuffing!
Eugenie says
Definitely the sweets! My favorite is Sugarplums….dried fruits and spiced rolled in sparkling sugar. Pretty healthy too.
Nadia Murray says
Lora Brody’s Rugelah is my favorite Christmas cookie ever
Holly says
I just love turkey and all the trimmings. The best part is leftovers for days and a great soup following that.
Debbie D says
Have to be traditional Italian Christmas Eve dinner! MMMMMMM! The bacala, the pasta with anchovies, vegetables, cannoli, YUM!
Dorothy Ammons says
Wow! You’ve chosen some great-looking cookbooks. One can’t have too many cookbooks! Love them all as I can feast with my eyes and not gain weight!
Simone says
Every Christmas Eve my grandma would make her cinnamon swirl bread with frosting and sprinkles on top. It became something my brother and I look forward to each year. Now living states a part, I am making her cinnamon swirl bread to celebrate still!
Melissa @ The Fresh 20 says
Oh, Irvin. Your contributing to the delinquency of a cookbook hoarder. My Amazon cart runneth over…
Jenn says
Pumpkin…starting early fall all the way through winter, I dig into anything and everything pumpkin. I adore it.
YN says
My favorite holiday dish might just be pumpkin bread. It is rich, warm, and delicious.
Yas says
I am a fan of cranberry pie that I remember making a few years back duting the holidays. It was wonderful.
Chelsea says
It might sound a bit cliche, but chocolate chip cookies are my true holiday favorite. Each year, my mom and I bake a triple batch of the NYT chocolate chip cookie recipe. We don’t alter the recipe at all–using the recipe’s unique measurements, and being sure to allow the dough to sit as long as indicated. We then make ~10 and freeze the rest so that my father can have homemade cookies all year round–even when I’m not able to make them for him myself!
Terry says
Gingerbread cookies, with decorations are my favorite holiday treat.
Imane says
Shortbread Cookies and Sables without forgetting the Buche de Noel
Jennifer Farley says
I wait all year for snowdrop cookies!
Mia says
If I’m gonna be honest, one of my all-time favorite holiday treats are those Pillsbury sugar cookies with the pictures on them. I’ve had them since I was a child, so they are very nostalgic. Besides those, something a little more “sophisticated” that I enjoy eating during the holidays are homemade linzer cookies.
Janice says
Its a tie between sweet potato souffle with marshmallow and spicy pecans and my mother’s cranberry orange relish which is good on everything
Phyllis says
My favorite is always sweets…and the favorite changes from year to year and holiday to holiday since the Internet provides such tempting choices…always trying something new..and usually loving it , at least until the next temptation comes along.
edward ang says
Xmas dinner with salt crusted prime rib, asparagus with a tub of butter, and something from Schubert’s Bakery. Now, I’m full…
Mika says
I always bake and love to eat my Cranberry and Pistachio Biscotti. Great with a cup of tea.
Skip M says
Thanksgiving is our favorite holiday for food! Our family loves Nana’s homemade stuffing!!! Simple but delicious! 2nd best is of course, the turkey.
Allison Day says
Mmmm… yam pie. My grandma’s yam pie is my biggest must for the holidays… that, and hot chocolate as soon as the temperature cools down!
Christine McCabe says
Grandmother’s cookies!!! Happy Holidays!
TonyB says
When I focus on the single one holiday dessert that I loved as a child and truly said Christmas, it would have to be my mothers vanilla white coconut layered cake with whipped cream coconut icing. It had to be served ice cold, ultra thinly sliced with a glass of iced milk. I haven’t thought about ice milk in decades! Thank you for helping me conjour up my delight in childhood Christmas memories!
Brad G says
Persimmon Pudding. My sister-in-law loves it, so I make it every Christmas, and I can’t wait to dive in. It’s SO good!!!
Matt says
Stuffing!
brandi g says
I love making fresh cranberry sauce during the holiday season. It’s simple, beautiful, and delicious. But even more than devouring the sauce, I enjoy picking out the menu. It’s probably the best time of year, since I imagine tasting everything within my books and magazines.
Madeleine says
Love reading all the favorites of holiday meals. My holiday favorite is an aji panca and garlic roasted turkey, loaded with lots of butter. If it’s not served at Thanksgiving, it has to be served at Christmas!
Cami says
Reese’s peanut butter cup cookies!! So good!
sam @ the second lunch says
My 90 year old grandmother makes a killer cheesecake. Best part of every holiday season – and she uses her mother’s vintage mixer.
Carrie says
I love dressing with mashed potatoes and gravy!!!
Nancy says
My favorite recipe is the new one I’m itching to try! There’s always a something new. (I also love fudge at Christmastime.)
Caroline says
I adore the braided Armenian bread I make with my daughter. It’s an eggy, brioche-like bread that’s really amazing. It’s flavored with mahleb, the ground center of the cherry pit and has this nutty quality to it. I’m actually making myself really hungry right now. 🙂
Stephanie says
Fougasse – an Italian fruit loaf filled with candied fruit and sprinkled with sugar. My grandmother always made it for the holidays. Unfortunately, she never shared the recipe but I was able to find the same recipe in a French cookbook. A very special holiday dessert for me! Thank you for the cookbook giveaway – a fantastic idea.
Allison (Spontaneous Tomato) says
My favorite holiday dish is probably plain old pumpkin pie. I also like making baked brie (spread with fig jam and wrapped in phyllo dough) for holiday parties.
Sharon Miro says
Chocolate Crackle cookies and Russian tea cakes are Christmas to me…along with fresh, homemade cucchidatis…
Paul Post says
Gingerbread cookies, chocolate covered pretzels, and our now traditional Christmas Eve Lasagna
Julie says
I love peanut butter blossom cookies – I dream of them all year long!
Kathy Roels says
My family loves dessert. I make great peanut brittle!
Sharyl Wolter says
Truth be told, for me it is Nuts & Bolts – Texas Trash. Make it only between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Totally addictive!
MaVen says
I wait all year long to bake cookies and candy and little cakes, to giveaway for the holidays. Pecan shorts and boozy cake are my favorite.
Thanks for the giveaway.
Mrs. L says
My favorite holiday dish is pancit. My mother used to make this incredible version and since neither of us liked turkey very much, it was a perfect holiday dish. I would laugh when people saw me bring it to work and their eyes would get big wanting to know what smelled so good in the break room and then do a double take when I told them what it was (I do not look Filipino at all lol).
Sindy says
Pie, pie, pie!
Erika says
Toss up between beef Wellington and Dutch almond pastry (banquet). My grandmothers speciality!
Anne says
My favorite holiday dish is dressing-formerly-known-as-stuffing. The dressing I make is based on the way I remember my mother’s stuffing to be. She never really enjoyed cooking, but she made fabulous stuffing, and it’s one of the few things I remember helping her with in the kitchen.
Sadia says
My favorite holiday dish is a cornbread dressing that I have made every holiday since my first holiday as a married person. My husband loves it and my sisters and mom ask for it every year. It’s so simple to make and is gone in seconds after it is served. I love seeing my family enjoy it as much as they do!
Kristin says
love making and decorating sugar and gingerbread cookies every year. The kids talk about it all year long!
Beth says
I love to eat anything with cranberries during the holidays: cranberry relish, cranberry salsa, cranberry cake…
Isfandiyar (A.J) Khan says
For me the holiday meal is official when there’s stuffing/dressing on the table;
Even though i secretly yearn for sweet potato casserole with everything!
A.J 🙂
Sue Beetham says
Appetizers, many, many appetizers!
Judy says
Ham and biscuits
Kristie says
Sweet potato pie….I can’t get enough sweet potatoes, all year long!
Jazmin Lui says
My favourite holiday dish is just…cookies. I love the cookie exchanges, potlucks, Christmas parties, there’s always a huge delicious variety. And all the pie!!! Pecan pie with dark chocolate or pumpkin or apple caramel pie. Can’t get enough dessert.
Sue Anderson says
Johannson’s Delight! Swedish Anchovy Potatoes.
Kim Porter says
I am a diehard green bean casserole fan!