Rick Rodgers - Christmas 101: Celebrate the Holiday Season From Christmas to New Years

Celebrate the Holiday Season from Christmas to New Years

Photographs by Ben Fink

The holidays bring especially wonderful memories of my family. My parents, Dick and Eleanor Rodgers, play a big part in all of my books, because they taught my brothers and me how to cook in the first place. And in a holiday book where generosity and warmth of spirit are celebrated, this terrific couple deserves to be up front and center.

Diane Kniss, as always, stuck by me through countless dozens of cookies, mountains of candy, and yet another batch of turkey recipes. Celebrating Christmas outside of its season was fun, but even more so with Diane around.

Thanks to the friends who supplied recipes, Vicki Caparulo, Marie Intaschi, Ron Marten, Mary-Lynn Mondich, Grigg K. Murdoch, and Howard Shepherdson. A special note of gratitude is due to Kelly Polan for testing recipes.

When people ask me what I like most about my job, my answer is easyteaching cooking classes. Nothing beats the interaction with my students, and traveling all over the country, I get a firsthand look at how people really like to cook and shop for groceries. I will always be grateful to the schools that gave me this invaluable opportunity: Sur La Table (headquartered in Seattle, WA), Adventures in Cooking (Wayne, NJ), Draegers (Menlo Park and San Mateo, CA), The Silo (New Milford, CT), Classic Thyme (Westfield, NJ), Cook N Tell (Colts Neck, NJ), Central Market (schools throughout Texas), Krogers (Tampa and Sarasota, FL), In Good Taste (Portland, OR), and Lets Get Cookin (Westlake Village, CA).

First, an extra serving of dessert to my old friend Harriet Bell, who originally saw the value in holiday cookbooks that taught the basics. Thanks to Gail Winston who took over the reins with grace, and was ably assisted by Sarah Whitman-Salkin. I am also happy for the support of Michael Morrison and David Sweeney at William Morrow/HarperCollins. Production editor Ann Cahn kept the book on schedule, and I kept copy editor Leda Scheintaub busy. The original version of this book was improved by the work of Sonia Greenbaum. I lift a toast of Grand Marnier to Susan Ginsburg, my longtime agent and friend, and her assistant, Emily Scardino.

Finally, my deepest appreciation and admiration to Patrick Fisher, who has come home to goose dinners in the middle of July and kept his sense of humor throughout. And to his coworkers at Newsweek magazine, who gleefully helped eat all of those holiday cookies and candies.

I ts no secret. I love the holidays. Now, Thanksgiving is great, but I have to admit that there is one thing wrong with that holidayits only one day long. On the other hand, it makes up for this deficiency by being the start of the long Christmas and New Years holiday season. The day after Thanksgiving, as soon as I set the turkey soup on to simmer, I inaugurate the next six weeks of partying. Its quite a whirlwind, but I revel in every second.

In my cooking classes, where many of my students are young people who want to start their own holiday traditions, I hear the same questions over and over again. How can I have a cocktail party that I will enjoy as much as my guests? How do I get my kitchen together to bake a big batch of cookies? Whats a great Christmas dinner menu and how can it be organized to get all of the food on the table at once? But most of all, I hear a sad story: They never got that recipe for their favorite cookies from Grandma, and now they live a life of regret. (They just might find the recipe in this collection.)

As in Thanksgiving 101 , where I concentrated on how to deal with that holidays demands and pleasure, I want to share my tips on how to have a hassle-free, fun, and delicious Christmas season. You can do it! It boils down to one word: organization.

When I was catering, we often had two or three parties on the same day. But as busy as I was, I never allowed business to get in the way of my own personal Christmas festivities. I always found the time to bake my own cookies, make food gifts, send out cards, and put up the tree. How? I baked cookies before the holiday rush and froze them. I made food gifts like flavored vinegars that improved with aging. I bought Christmas cards the first week they appeared in stores, and addressed them on lazy October afternoons or while trapped on long airplane flights between coast-to-coast cooking classes. And how did I put up the tree? I threw a tree-trimming party. I would much rather make a buffet meal of easy, never-fail recipes (that are included in this book) for friends than fret over hanging the ornaments.

Too many people think of these recipes as strictly holiday fare. OKmaybe you dont want to serve fruitcake at a Fourth of July bash, but there are plenty of other dishes here to use for year-round entertaining. Everyone should have a recipe for a great baked ham or roast tenderloin for buffets. The appetizers in this book would be welcome at any party. And the tips on how to turn out dozens of cookies without stress will come in handy whenever you have a cookie craving.

It is not the goal of this book to be a complete holiday cookbookto include all of the traditional Christmas and New Years foods cooked around the world would take volumes. These recipes are for my favorite holiday foods in time-tested versions that I have served to catering clients, cooking class students, and friends for years. Some recipes are labeled 101. These are basic recipes that I explain in depth, just as if you were taking one of my cooking classes. Also, I am fascinated with how our culinary traditions developed. In the sections entitled It Wouldnt Be the Holidays Without youll find out why we eat the things we do during the holidays.

This is a somewhat personal book, as I have been influenced by the recipes and traditions of my family and friends. If you have a family favorite that isnt included here, I hope it motivates you to get the recipe from your elders and start your own holiday collection. Dont be one of those people who regret not getting Aunt Zeldas cookie recipe. Ask her! That is the only way these wonderful traditions are passed along.

Making a List and Checking It Twice

Organization is a skill I developed as a caterer. The holiday season was our business time. We catered every kind of party, from corporate cocktail bashes to celebrity-studded open houses, to tree trimmings (once a hostess insisted that the children decorate cookies to hang on the treenice idea, but what a mess!), to elegant sit-down dinners. We often had two or three parties on the same day, so each one had to be organized to the last frilled toothpick. Lists saved the day.

No matter what kind of party you are giving, a series of lists will help you breeze through the process. Every time you mark a chore off the list, you will get a rewarding sense of accomplishment. And if you look at a list and feel overwhelmed, pick up the phone and get a friend to give you a hand. Here are the lists that I use again and again:

• Guest List: If you are having a large holiday party, send out invitations as early as possible, no later than three weeks beforehand. Very often guests will receive multiple invitations for the same evening, so get your claim in first. The most popular dates seem to fall on the second and third weekends of December. (On the weekend before Christmas, many prospective guests are already traveling to visit families.) We usually give our holiday party the week between Christmas and New Years, or sometimes even up to Epiphany, on January 6. This avoids the usual holiday snafu, and we get a lot more acceptances. If necessary, send a map to the party along with the invitation so you dont have to spend time on the phone giving directions on the day of the event.