A Collection of Christmas Cookbooks
We probably all would agree that you don’t need a fancy, Christmas-themed cookbook to create a memorable holiday meal. Neither my mother nor grandmothers relied upon books to help them whip up their Christmas dinners, dinners that I remember to this day. Instead they served the foods that their mothers and grandmothers before them had made. Yet, sometimes it’s nice to have a little break from tradition and the decades of green bean casseroles, herb stuffings and mince pies. That’s when I turn to the following cookbooks to spice up my yuletide offerings. Packed with color photographs, menus and backgrounds on such holiday favorites as eggnog, fruitcake and gingerbread, “The Martha Stewart Living Christmas Cookbook” (Clarkson Potter, 2003) provides home cooks with all the tips and recipes needed for a spectacular seasonal feast. Don’t let the title deceive you, though. You can use “The Martha Stewart Living Christmas Cookbook” long after December 25th. I make Stewart’s porcini-stuffed mushrooms and roasted beets with feta and pecans, among other dishes, throughout the year. In some respects Elizabeth …