Mary Cadogan - Good Food

Mary Cadogan is a highly respected food writer with a wealth of experience in many areas of the culinary world. Mary was Food director of Good Food Magazine until 2005. Before joining BBC Good Food Magazine, Mary contributed to several national magazines and was a top food stylist specialising in food photography. She is also the author of several best-selling cookery books. She lived in France for 10 years running a cookery school, and now lives in Somerset.

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Epub ISBN: 9781473530850

Version 1.0

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BBC Books, an imprint of Ebury Publishing,
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London SW1V 2SA

BBC Books is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com

This compilation copyright BBC Books 2004
Celebrity recipes copyright individual contributors 2004.
All the recipes in this book have been previously published in BBC Good Food Magazine

The contributors have asserted their right to be identified as the authors of this Work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

First published in hardback in 2004 and reprinted in 2006
This paperback edition first published in 2005 and reprinted in 2006

www.eburypublishing.co.uk

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 9780563522867

Compiled by Melanie Leyshon
Commissioning Editor: Vivien Bowler
Project Editors for BBC Books: Rachel Copus and Deirdre OReilly
Designer: Kathryn Gammon
Production Controller: Christopher Tinker

Im grateful to all the chefs who have allowed us to reproduce their recipes in this book. In particular I would like to thank Darina Allen, Rosa Baden-Powell, Val Barrett, Mary Berry, Raymond Blanc, Lorna Brash, Ross Burden, Antonio Carluccio, Maxine Clark, Shona Crawford Poole, Gilly Cubitt, Joanna Farrow, Silvana Franco, Moyra Fraser, Paul Gayler, Brian Glover, Ainsley Harriott, Henry Harris, Alastair Hendy, James Martin, Nick Nairn, Merrilees Parker, Ann Payne, Gordon Ramsay, Paul and Jeanne Rankin, Simon Rimmer, Rick Stein, Tony Tobin, John Torode, Phil Vickery, Gregg Wallace and Ruth Watson.

Id also like to thank Melanie Leyshon, who compiled the book for me, and the team at Good Food Magazine for all their recipe ideas, help and testing, including Sara Buenfeld, Barney Desmazery, Orlando Murrin, Angela Nilsen and Jeni Wright.

Christmas is my favourite time in the cookery calendar. Coming from a large family, I love the many entertaining opportunities it offers, from having friends around for a pre-Christmas supper and drinks, to the large traditional family Christmas lunch. Im usually cooking for at least a dozen on Christmas Day every year.

Christmas is always such a big cooking occasion, whether its your first Christmas as host or your 25th. As Food Director of BBC Good Food magazine Ive cooked more Christmasses than most. I play a key part in planning and creating Christmas recipes for the magazine every August, demonstrate them at the BBC Good Food Show in November, then I cook the Christmas meal for real for my family every December. So you could say Im truly experienced.

Over the years Ive had the wonderful opportunity to devise my own festive dishes to share with Good Food readers and to work with all your favourite celebrity chefs. And here are my top Christmas choices, gathered together in this one Christmas book. Theyre from some of the countrys best loved food names, the BBC Good Food cookery team and top contributors.

Between us, the cooks and chefs in this book have years of experience of cooking Christmas, so rest assured youre in inspired and safe hands, and will be cooking with help from the best in the business. We will help make this Christmas taste the best ever.

While all the recipes are extra special, weve made sure that they are straightforward, too. Youll find step-by-step photographs and clever tips to help you achieve fantastic results.

All the recipes are simple and enjoyable to cook, but theyll still impress your guests. Each one would look at home in a top restaurant, but you dont require the skills of a top chef, or any expensive catering equipment, to recreate them at home. Theyve also been put through their paces many times, having been thoroughly tried and tested in the BBC Good Food test kitchen. These recipes really do work

So your kitchen doesnt become your second home this Christmas, Ive included a cunning batch of freeze-ahead and prepare-ahead recipes. No one will guess theyve been sitting in your freezer all the while. The secret of a successful Christmas is in the planning, so weve included a two-month calendar (). It will help you organise your pre-Christmas food shopping and preparations, and avoid those last-minute panics like no ice for the G&Ts. Plus, we have included a mail order list of our favourite suppliers.

Cooking is much more fun when you dont have to go out and shop for every ingredient. Shop for the fun stuff visiting your local cheese shop, deli and bakery, not forgetting those farmers markets that are springing up all over the country leave the heavy stuff for the supermarket to deliver.

In this book, youll find recipes for every Christmas occasion, from light nibbles for a drinks party to the Christmas Day menu, which will suit the beginner and the more experienced cook alike. But before you get carried away and want to cook everything, make a list. Mix and match what youd like to make and buy, including some ready-made items from our suggested suppliers, your deli or supermarket.

And while were feeling sensible, dont turn down any offers of help either. Part of the fun of Christmas is joining in and helping out, and dont forget to delegate the sprouts wont spoil if someone else peels them.