Books

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Cooks

A rou - dLo of

some recent
cookbooks or
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your gift

imerrnan
Arts Fintertainn-ent Editor

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ritish-Jewish cookbook author, New York Times columnist and television
personality Nigella Lawson has built a culinary empire by demonstrating
that, in the right hands, food can be sensual.
As of late, London's "domestic goddess" has been appearing in her first show
for cable's Food Network, "Nigella Feasts," which airs Sundays at 1 p.m. Filmed in
Lawson's family home in England, the show offers ideas for entertaining, eating on
the go, potlucks and special indulgences.
More than 300 recipes and tempting full-color photographs appear in Lawson's
most recent book, Feast: Food To Celebrate Life (Hyperion; $35). Its underlying prin-
ciple: Whenever an occasion matters to us, we mark it
with food.
As Lawson writes in the book's introduction, "Feast
is not just about the way we cook and eat at the great
religious festivals or big-deal special occasions, but
about how food is the vital way we celebrate anything
that matters — a birthday, a new job, an anniversary;
it's how we mark the connections between us."
While Lawson admits to not being particularly
Jewishly observant or religious — and devotes lots
of space to Thanksgiving and Christmas, Valentine's
Day and Easter — she does include chapters for
Jewish-themed celebrations: "Passover" ("Special
Chicken Soup," "Sephardi Roast Lamb," "Damp Apple
and Almond Cake"); "Rosh Hashanah" ("Sweet Potato Mash," "Pomegranate Jewel
Cake"); the "Festival of Lights" ("Apple Latkes," "Mini Jam Doughnuts"); and, in her
chapter "Funeral Feasts," a recipe for a shivah "Marble Cake."

Senior corporate vice president and head of fragrance development worldwide for
the Estee Lauder Companies, Jewish philanthropist Evelyn H. Lauder also devotes
her time to eradicating breast cancer through support of research and public educa-
tion programs.
A founder of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation in 1993 and inspired by her
belief that good health is a precious gift, she created In Great Taste: Fresh, Simple
Recipes for Eating and Living Well (Rodale Books; $29.95), a collection of good-
tasting and healthy recipes collected in a lush, full-
color cookbook. All of her proceeds will be donat-
ed to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
"I am convinced that eating wholesome food at
home does not have to be complicated or boring,"
she writes.
The cookbook features more than 125 recipes,
organized chronologically through the day and
IN GREAT TASTE
divided into three parts: "Morning" ("Almond Milk
and Peach Smoothies," "Toasted Grain and Nut
EVELYN H. LAUDER
Sundaes with Berries," "My Secret Recipe for
Pancakes"); "Noon" ("Gazpacho," "Smoked Trout
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Salad a la Greque," "Potato Salad," "Cheesecake
with Chocolate Cookie Crust") and "Night"
("Spiced Pomegranate Sparkler," "Red Snapper with Fennel," "Brussel Sprouts with
Orange and Chili," "Baked Nectarines in Raspberry Sauce").
Many sidebars with helpful information and tips for eating healthfully complete this

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LAIC.

lovely cookbook.

DECEMBER 2006 1 JN GIFT GUIDE II

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