Contains recipes from one hundred American chefs, each accompanied by the story of why the recipe is a personal favorite.

These ten short chapters are packed with ways to bless family and friends during the holidays.

Highclere Castle, known as 'the real Downton Abbey' bustles with activity at the best of times, but it is never more alive than at Christmas. Christmas at Highclere is a look behind the scenes at the routines and rituals that make the castle the most magical place to be throughout the festive season. Lady Carnarvon will guide you through Advent, Christmas preparations and Christmas Eve all the way through to the day itself, and beyond. Learn how the castle and grounds are transformed by decorations, including the raising of a twenty-foot tree in the saloon, the gathering of holly and mistletoe from the grounds. All the intricacies of the perfect traditional Christmas are here: from crackers and carol singers. The festive feeling is carried through to Highclere's Boxing Day traditions, the restorative middle days and the New Year's Eve celebrations. This book also tells the story of historic Christmases at Highclere - of distinguished guests warming themselves by the fire after a long journeys home through the snow, unexpected knocks on the door, and, always, the joy of bringing family - and staff - together after a busy year. As well as telling the stories of Highclere Christmases past and present, Lady Carnarvon provides recipes, tips and inspiration from her kitchen so that readers can bring a quintessentially British festive spirit to their own home. Lady Carnarvon divulges the secret to perfectly flakey mince pies, the proper way to wrap presents so that you and your guests are guaranteed a Christmas to remember. Lavish, celebratory and utterly enchanting, Christmas at Highclere is celebration of one of the UK's most beloved historic houses and is the perfect gift for any Downton Abbey fan.

We call her the "Official Storyteller of Christmas"—but Debbie Macomber is more than that. She's someone who loves the holiday and all its traditions. Now she shares more than one hundred of her favorite recipes to help you enjoy this most joyous of seasons. You'll also find easy-to-follow instructions for crafts, decorations and gift wrapping—everything you need to create a beautiful and festive holiday. What makes this cookbook unique is Debbie's personal memories and observations. Join her as she reminisces about traditions past and present, and discover the craft ideas she herself uses. As she says, "The holidays are about being with others. They're about celebrating and sustaining our personal community of family and friends." In this beautifully illustrated book, she shows you how to serve a memorable meal, whether it's a sit-down Christmas dinner for a crowd, entertaining a group of friends at an open house or tea, or spending time with your children or grandchildren baking cookies and making gifts.

Kitchen tells the story of the life of the kitchen, through the food we eat now and the way we live, in the most important room of the house. Compendious, informative and utterly engaging, Kitchen brings us feel-good food for cooks and eaters that is comforting but always seductive, nostalgic but with a modern twist — whether express-style easy-exotic recipes for the weekday rush, leisurely slow-cook dishes for weekends and special occasions, or irresistible cakes and cookies as the Domestic Goddess rides again. It answers everyday cooking quandaries — what to give the kids for lunch, how to rustle up a meal for friends in moments, or what to do about those black bananas, wrinkled apples and bullet-hard plums — and since real cooking is so often about leftovers, here one recipe can morph into another... from ham hocks to pea soup and pasties, from chicken to Chinatown salad. This isn't just about being thrifty but about being creative and seeing how recipes come about and evolve. As well as offering the reader a mouthwatering array of inspired new recipes — from clams with chorizo to Guinness gingerbread, from Asian braised beef to flourless chocolate lime cake, from pasta Genovese to Venetian carrot cake — Nigella rounds up her no-nonsense Kitchen Kit and Caboodle must-haves (and, crucially, what isn't needed) in the way of equipment and magical standby ingredients. But above all, she reminds the reader how much pleasure there is to be had in real food and in reclaiming the traditional rhythms of the kitchen, as she cooks to the beat of the heart of the home, creating simple, delicious recipes to make life less complicated. The expansive, lively narrative, with its rich feast of food, makes this new work a natural 21st-century successor to Nigella's classic How To Eat, this time with a wealth of photographs from the instructive to the glorious.

Nigella Christmas comprises reliable, practical, easy-to-follow recipes and inspiring and reassuring advice, presented in a gorgeous package that will make this the ultimate gift to yourself, your family and friends. Nigella Christmas will surely become an all-time perennial favourite, the book we will all reach for – for minimum stress and maximum enjoyment – at holiday season. Recipes include everything from Christmas cakes and puddings to quick homemade presents (cookies and chutneys); food to cook and freeze ahead; oven slow-cooking; “hero” ingredients; as well as party food and drinks. And, of course, exciting and inspiring variations for the Main Event – from traditional turkey, festive ham and special trimmings; to a Swedish or Polish Christmas à la Nigella; to a vegetarian Christmas feast.

Each recipe is practical and reliable, and meets high standards.