Delia's Happy Christmas

by Delia Smith

Delia has long been the person we turn to for stress-free Christmas celebrations. This year, she celebrates 40 years of writing recipes and brings you Delia's Happy Christmas—the definitive guide to all aspects of cooking for Christmas. This cookbook will help you to plan your Christmas festivities to the very last culinary detail, acting as an invaluable Christmas organizer from reminding you to make your Christmas pudding and chutneys in November to giving you a crucial countdown for the last 36 hours. Delia's Happy Christmas will give you 150 recipes, including 100 new recipes and 50 much-loved classics, plus menu plans and shopping lists, illustrated with glorious full-color photography.

Genres: Cookbooks, Christmas, Cooking, Food, Nonfiction, Reference

312 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Delia Smith CBE is an English cook and television presenter, known for teaching basic cookery skills in a no-nonsense style. She is the UK's best-selling cookery author, with more than 21 million copies sold.

Smith is also famous for her role as joint majority shareholder at Norwich City F.C. Her partner in the shareholding is her husband, Michael Wynn-Jones. Her role at the club has attracted varying media attention, from positive when she "saved" the club from bankruptcy, to negative, when making a controversial on-pitch announcement in 2005.

Already an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), Smith was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2009 Birthday Honours, "in recognition of ... [her] contribution to television cookery and recipe writing".

Reviews

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have bought many Christmas cookbooks and this is probably one of the best. It is almost an encyclopaedia of Christmas food. All recipes are relatively simple to make and the ingredients easy to find. It is this simplicity of preparation which sets Delia apart from some of the other Chef's, whose recipes are designed for the more adventurous.

This is simply a good, solid, easy to use book, which won't let you down. Recommended.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve had this book since it was first published and I’ve used it alongside its predecessor. I kept both books because although there is a great deal of overlap, there are sufficient differences. However, this year I read both from cover to cover and I’ve concluded that I will keep this one and the other one I can let go. This book is beautifully designed with a good amount of photographs. It has a lot of meat recipes but also many seafood and vegetarian recipes. This is the definitive Christmas cookbook.

[Linnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my second-favourite Christmas cookbook, but I wouldn’t want to do Christmas without it. The recipes, as always, are super clear and dependable. It’s a bit more relaxed in tone than some of her books, too, which I like. This year I blended several of her techniques and approaches with Nigella’s, which worked well. It’s also a good, reassuring reference if you’re not quite sure about what you’re doing with something you don’t often cook, like a pricey chunk of meat or a key dish you want to get right.

[John Ollerton · Rating 4 out of 5]

My go to book for Christmas with the exception of the timed sequence of Christmas Day which took me hours to complete and had me starting at about dawn and ending a crumpled heap on the kitchen worktop at about 6:00pm

[Nicola · Rating 5 out of 5]

My go to Christmas Cookery Book - love it!

[Maggie]

Delightful. Also hella idiosyncratic, what with recipes that begin: “All you do to start off with is place all the compote ingredients (except for the almonds) in a medium casserole.” And “You need to begin this by...” And “All you do here is...”