Customer Reviews

Seriously Simple Holidays: Recipes and Ideas to Celebrate the Season

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

 

 

I bought this to simplify a Thanksgiving dinner for twenty we were cooking in a rented house with unknown kitchen supplies. Every dish turned out great. The recipes are simple, but the results look and taste like things that require far more effort. Highly recommended.

You buy this thinking you are just going to simplify your life, but the food is REALLY good. I thought "holidays" might only mean Christmas, but it also included Halloween, Hanukah, Thanksgiving, New Years, so you can entertain for many audiences with effort concentrated on a few good ingredients. My personal favorite recipes, in no particular order, were Polenta with Butternut Squash and Chestnuts (which the author suggests you could stir Marscapone Cheese into); Baked Pasta with Tomato, Red Pepper, and Sweet Italian Sausage; Pumpkin Ice Cream Pie with Caramel Sauce; Cranberry and Pear Custard Crisp; and Pumpkin Waffles. There is a tremendous variety. The recipes give you a lot of bang for fewer ingredients and invested time than you would expect given the results. Many recipes have notes on how to prepare all or part of the dish in advance and variations that you could try. There are also menu suggestions in the front using recipes in the books, so that you could have a very successful dinner party, cocktail party, etc. only preparing a few dishes. I found it a very enjoyable cookbook.

Incredible and delicious recipes are found in this book. I happened to pick it up for $5 at a store's endcap and what a steal! I had read the two Amazon customers' 5-star reviews as well before using the book, and now I'm also submitting my 5-star review to confirm them! I loved her advance preparations section which immensely helped with time management leading up to the big holiday. And also loved her suggested Holiday menu plans and tips.

When some of my proper relatives came over for Thanksgiving, they promptly lost their manners. They asked us if they could tear at the turkey before anyone else. We had left the roast open on the dining table to cool. haha. Then as soon as we brought each dish out they started to ravage at it like madmen and there were much oohs and ahhs about the taste of each dish. No complaints whatsoever. This recipe book has seriously elevated our Thanksgiving to the nth degree. Thanks Diane Rossen Worthington, you're simply awesome! Here are the dishes we made and all of them were excellent: Baked Brie with Toasted Almonds and Cranberry Glaze, Crispy Bacon-Wrapped Stuffed Dates, Spicy Jalapeno Cornbread, Perfect Mashed Potatoes, Cranberry-Pomegranate Sauce with Satsumas, Roast Turkey with Maple-Balsamic Butter Rub, Cornbread, Oyster and Red Pepper Stuffing, Brisket with Figs and Butternut Squash, Pan-seared Sea Scallops with Tomato-Vodka Sauce and Apple Clafouti. We're now looking forward to using this book for our Christmas in a month!

I specifically looked for this book after I had tasted several recipes from it prepared by a friend. The items she cooked were absolutely delicious and looked really good to and I couldn't wait to buy the book for myself. Now that I have the book, I can see that the recipes are easy to prepare and I'm really looking forward to trying them out.

This is a great cookbook. Last night we went to a Christmas party and brought three of the appetizers from this book and everyone stood around the table until they were gone. We tried the Spicy Sausage and Chicken Liver Pate and it is the best I have ever had. Since the recipe made a large amount, the author suggested freezing extra in ramekins so I have a few ready for the next event. The Citrus Marinated Seafood was beautiful and elegant and very fresh tasting. The Baked Brie was extremely easy and turned out better than other baked bries I have done because it was just warmed for seven minutes. I have been so happy with everything I tried. The recipes are well thought out and the notes the author has included are always very useful. I am going to work my way through every recipe; the book is great for everyday cooking also because none of the recipes are difficult. I think this book is a gem and I am so glad I found it. I highly recommend it.

I was always borrowing my mother's copy of this book -- the recipes are wonderful. I finally decided to buy my own copy. The recipes are delicious, preparation instructions are clear, and the photos represent the way the actual dish will look when you finish the cooking cycle (which is not always the case with other cookbooks that I have purchased!)