Customer Reviews

The Christmas Table

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have several of Diane Morgan's cookbooks, and I have just added The Christmas Table. The book is visually stunning, with gorgeous colored photographs. Even better, it is filled with wonderful recipes, from traditional favorites like prime rib (done here with a salt and garlic crust) to inventive, contemporary offerings (whole roast salmon with farro-herb stuffing). There's a chapter on holiday brunches and another on Christmas gifts from the kitchen. But the real reason I keep buying Diane Morgan's books is because the recipes work! They are well written and easy to follow, and even the most complicated ones are explained clearly. This is a lovely gift to give for the holidays. My lucky sister will be getting one this year.

The Christmas Table is my new favorite book for holiday entertaining and family dinners. The photography is beautiful and makes any reader want to try so many recipes. My personal favorites are the Whipped Garnet Yams with Pecan Praline Crust (yum!) and Overnight Cinnamon Bread Custard especially for Christmas morning. I recently had a radicchio caesar salad in a restaurant and the recipe in this book is so much better. If you like to cook and want simple, clear recipes with everyday ingredients, you will love this book.

Do not buy this book if you are Sandra Lee aficionado or if you prefer quick and easy recipes that offer convenience, not taste.

I have a number of Diane Morgan's books and I could not wait for Christmas to try new dishes in this book. I love her recipes because they always come out and because following her directions I manage to turn simple ingredients into something wonderful and amazing. For example: roasted carrots and parsnips with fresh dill, p. 102, roast loin of pork stuffed with apricots and dried plums,p. 87. ( Inadvertently I cut the hole for stuffing pork loin with dry fruit a bit too wide, so instead of alternating apricots and plums I used apricot and plum next to each other, followed by plum and apricot and so on, when sliced the pork looked like a work of art, and tasted divine. The only problem- all was gone in one meal, next time I will buy more pork.)

This weekend we are having Short Ribs Bourguignonne. p.98

I have the author's Thankgiving book and loved it so I had to get the Christmas one. I haven't made any recipes yet but there are a lot of great twists on traditional favorites! The book reads just as easy as her Thanksgiving book.

I did bou this book used and the quality was great and the shipping was much faster than I anticipated!

I am a very big fan of Diane's books she always makes me think and try new things. Her recipes work, they come out as advertised and never disappoint. Christmas Table like Thanksgiving Table before it will become my second holiday cookbook bible, as the seasons approach my wife and I take the Thanksgiving book down and start our planning, we will do the same with this one. If you consider cooking a hobby, like to try new things and truly enjoy the process, as well as the results AND you want to please everyone at your table, including yourself this is the book for you.
ENJOY!

Two enthusiastic thumbs up, with or without sugarplums on them, for Diane Morgan's The Christmas Table. The photography's luscious; the writing crisp and informative; the organization helpful; and the recipes easy to follow and delicious. It's not yet Christmas, and it's already a holiday favorite.

I do understand what people are saying about the recipes in this book being elaborate. They are not, however, hard or hard to follow, quite the opposite. Hopefully, one takes the time to notice, even study, what is being purchased BEFORE purchasing. I did read the reviews of the book before purchasing and have not, in the least, been disappointed. Diane Morgan's cookbook for Christmas is, hands down, the best on the market, possibly ever. The writing IS crisp. The pictures and presentations ARE beautiful. Each and every recipe is creative and luscious, giving a whole new look and elegance to "The Christmas Table." I start every Christmas season by studying this book and never tire its inspiration. Bravo!

Many of the recipes are non-traditional, but I already know my family's traditional recipes! I got this book to look for new Christmas recipes. It's great!

The Christmas table was a wonderful Christmas gift! Just one or two of the recipes would have been worth the whole book, but I'm discovering more and more as I have time to read. The time tables in the back for pulling off a wonderful Christmas brunch or breakfast or dinner look very helpful and I'll be using them next year!

As a retired food editor, I certainly didn't need another cookbook, but I purchased this one because I know Diane Morgan does quality, creative work. The recipe for Mocha Pots De Creme is worth the price of the book. I especially like the way Diane drops in helpful "cook's notes," as well as the occasional specific buying tip for ingredients, such as chocolate. Her sense of humor comes through in the menu for "Chrismukkah, the hybrid holiday meal." The leftovers section has a recipe for ham macaroni and cheese -- and its fun photo shows a dish mostly disappeared. I'll be using her menu for Christmas brunch on New Year's Day when my alma mater, the Michigan State Spartans, play in their bowl game. Win or lose the game, the food should be great.