Elizabeth David's Christmas Review

Posted by Juanita Avenue on Thursday, March 31, 2011 · Leave a Comment

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I like Elizabeth David; she is not fussy, she is friendly and funny; most importantly, Ms. David is really trying to help me find an easier way to entertain during holidays, by offering recipes that I can make ahead of time, so I can spend more time with family, not in the kitchen. She even talks about how long specific food in her recipes can wait around before going bad.I actually read this book like a novel and I may have only skipped over one or two recipes; it is a fun read.

Ms. David ads in wonderful history of many recipes, either personal history or historical.My favorite description was a 1708 description on how to prepare a goose and it included the quote "Take the fairest and fattest goose you can get ... then tye him up in paper and hang him up in chimney where they burn woode or coale, let him hang a fortnight or three weekes in that time he will be readye to boyle ..." - how wonderful!Ms. David has also included a wonderful history on Plum Pudding (Plumm Pottage) from a book published 1751 "The Art of Cooking Made Plain and Easy, 4th Edition" as well as other historical information, the recipe and tips as well as a description from a diary, of a New Year's Day meal, given by a squire in 1707 - how cool is that?

I have tried several recipes and they were interesting and delicious - although they sounded a bit strange when I first read them such as Leeks with Red Wine (page 104), Rice and Cucumber Salad (page 118), Marinated Carrots (page 103).

The most interesting chapters to me are:

Cold Meats: how great! A chapter on cooking meat specifically to enjoy at room temperature!

Sauces, Pickles and Chutneys: Cumberland sauce, Sweet-Sour Cherry Sauce for Cold Tongue, Sweet Sour Pears, Pumpkin and Tomato chutney = to put on your cold meats and bread! And have around to make snacks more interesting.

Winter Salads: Celery and Beetroot Salad, Orange Salad, Fennel Salad = super!

This fall I will try the Apple and Almond cake on page 166, when I have so many apples I won't know what to do with them ...

In the back of the book, before the index, on page 198 is "Notes for American Cooks" where there are translations like Gammon is cured but uncooked ham and Pig's trotters are obviously pig's feet - the language is lovely!

Buy this book and enjoy reading it as a novel and then try eating some of her recipes; you will be satisfied!

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Product Description:
Throughout her distinguished career, Elizabeth David wrote and collected many articles about Christmas food. She put together a file of these articles, recipes, and notes, and even wrote an introduction, intending to publish them as a book. It never appeared, and after her death in 1992, her literary executor Jill Norman found a box with all this material. She put them together as Elizabeth intended, and Godine now has her "Christmas" edited for the American reader, handsomely illustrated and ready to guide us through the festive season with good food and high spirits.

Beautifully written, this new edition contains around 150 recipes together with a selection of David's own articles, plus other writings she found interesting and helpful over the years. Feeding friends and family for Christmas can be stressful, and this book is intended to help busy cooks plan ahead and enjoy Christmas as much as their guests. The classics are all here: turkey (of course), but also goose; stuffings; sauces; mince pies; and Christmas puddings. For the armchair cook, the text also provides information as well as diversion: here are the actual traditions of Christmas's past, as well as description of the yuletide in other countries. In other words, a feast for mind and table.