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

by Rick Rodgers

Book Overview

Featuring menu ideas, timetables, hints and shortcuts, Christmas 101 is your go-to guide to make holiday planning simple, fun and festive. Now revised, updated, and featuring all new recipes including Christmas holiday classics

Rick Rodgers once again takes cooks by the hand to help them entertain (and still be entertaining) during the hectic season. Christmas 101 features 100 of his never-fail recipes, from holiday classics...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 006122734X
• ISBN13: 9780061227349
• Release Date: September 2007
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 7.2" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

First rate first Christmas book

This book was purchased for my daughter who is setting up her first household. She was thrilled with it. It is has information on decorating, ideas for entertaining and lots of recipes.

The ultimate planning guide.

Author Rick Rodgers, already the master of all things associated with Thanksgiving has now given us a terrific Christmas/New Year's guide. His practical suggestions include everything from setting up the perfect holiday cocktail party to getting the cards written (you don't really need to do them ALL at one sitting!), to planning for Christmas & New Year's--both Eve & Day celebrations. The recipes are uncomplicated, and generally use ingredients that are already on-hand. There's lots of nostalgia here & some great suggestions for music (the Ella Fitzgerald CD is the best!). Christmas set-up in our house has already been smoother & more relaxing because of this book.

It converted a grinch like me!

Like many people, I often dread the holidays because of the time demands. Not only is this a great cookbook (we've already tried some of the soups on some pretty chilly nights here on the East Coast), but it also gives solid ideas on how to manage your time during this season. I especially liked some of Rodgers' "time-out" suggestions for adults--little hints to make us stop and savor a moment or two. I know that this will get us through Christmas as well as a busy New Year's Eve & Day!

Wonderful!

This is a wonderful book! The Thanksgiving book was so great that I did not think it could get any better but it did. The recipes are simple yet elegant and fun to serve. There are ideas for all kinds of breads, cakes, and main dishes for all the holidays. Everyone should get this book. Also, if you have any questions about anything in the book, Rick Rogers has a superb web site. Check it out! You can e-mail and ask questions, and they will be answered!

This is holiday survival!

CHRISTMAS 101, a parallel volume to last year's THANSKGIVING 101, covers all aspects of the holidays, in addition to actual food preparation. There are many tips on how to get all of it--cleaning, decorating, card-writing, grocery shopping, cookie baking, pre-holiday entertaining, the Big Days themselves--all done, while remaining a sane inhabitant of this planet.This is a book dedicated to good food and good times. Rogers recalls many nostalgic moments from his own lifetime of holidays which will likely evoke the same feelings in most readers. He provides authentic recipes from the past, and also addresses present-day concerns. Offerings include: classic egg nog, as well as a no-raw-egg version; traditional Jell-O salad, plus a more contemporary Roasted Beet & Apple Salad; some popular turkey and ham entrees, plus a fantastic tri-color lasagna. The baking recipes--particularly those involving cookies--are thorough, detailed, and guaranteed to produce spectacular results (and "Cinnamon Stars" is one of the very best I have come across in a long time). Above all, the recipes emphasize do-ahead steps, and rely on readily available ingredients, so that you won't find yourself in the grocery store at 11:30 p.m. on the biggest New Year's Eve of our lifetimes, in search of some exotic item for an hors d'oeuvre recipe.Rogers is no Martha Stewart, with hot glue gun in hand. Although he provides many successful strategies for decorating, they are straight-forward and easily accomplished. Just as in his last book, he examines the history of certain customs (Christmas punch, holiday cookies, champagne & caviar), and gives some insight into some of today's most popular traditions. His recommendations for Christmas CDs and classic must-see holiday videos are right on target.It's only October, so take a deep breath, do some reading now, and then sit back to thoroughly enjoy the final holiday season of the 1900s!