Stonewall Kitchen Winter Celebrations

By Jonathan King; Jim Stott; Kathy Gunst
Chronicle Books, $19.95, 144 pages

Having seen a goodly number of holiday & seasonal cookbooks, I was genuinely surprised by this piece. The sheer simplicity of the recipes and the easy directions make this book a handy staple for the upcoming feasting season. If the idea of multiple winter salads strikes you as odd, these prove themselves otherwise, taking on the more acceptable mantles of “scrumptious” and “healthy” (two words which we all could use more of during the holidays).

All healthier eating aspects considered, the authors did not make the mistake of over-embellishing the food because of winter holidays. Many of the recipes follow classic, straightforward lines; the Beef Tenderloin with Horseradish Crust and Roasted Garlic Potatoes had but few ingredients, yet came out looking as good as in the photograph, and tasted so superior that the dish could easily grace any party buffet table as a satisfying hit. For the more adventurous cooks, this book included new twists on standby recipes, including as baking the turkey with Cranberry & Pecan Stuffing. In buying this book, one knows it will not be much on the shelf this winter but open on the counter, the pages sprinkled with flour and spice-scented.

Reviewed by Meredith Greene