Lukins - Celebrate!

sheila lukins
with Peter Kaminsky

Photography by Melanie Acevedo

Workman Publishing New York

To Laurie Griffith, a wonderful person. I could never have written this book without her help and style. She is like honey in the kitchen. After all these years and books together, we work in perfect harmony.

It takes a special magic to celebrate with flair. Enthusiastic friends and colleagues have joined in the festivities from the inception, sharing their talents and support in order to bring Celebrate! to life.

Since 1981, when I first met Peter Workman, my brilliant publisher, I have been in awe of him, and am constantly thankful for his support of my books and my ideas, often before they are completely formed.

None of this would be possible without my beloved, one-of-a-kind editor, Suzanne Rafer, who has also become my dear friend. I could not imagine doing a book without her. Thanks, too, to copy editors Kathie Ness and Ann ffolliott; Barbara Peragine in prepress; and Elizabeth Gaynor in production.

Then of course there is the Renoir of Workman Publishing, Art Director Paul Hanson, who always creates a simply gorgeous book, and this time in living color! The creative Lisa Hollander pulled it all together, as always, along with Elizabeth Johnsboen, who took such care at the photo shoots. Melanie Acevedos magnificent photographs, with food styling by Alison Attenborough and prop styling by Robyn Glaser, make the book a sheer pleasure to look at. Special thanks, as well, goes to Molly Burke for her stylish photo suggestions.

I am very grateful to so many others at Workman. Theres Jim Eber and Kate Tylerthe best publicists going; an unbeatable sales team, including Bruce Harris, James Wehrle, Jodi Weiss, Jenny Mandel, and Heather Carroll; Carolan Workman, who sends all my books off around the world; and an energetic, imaginative marketing crew headed by Katie Workman and Claudia Boutote.

Of course, in the Could-Not-Do-Without category comes my dear friend and agent, Arthur Klebanoff. Thank you for your constant words of wisdom. And then there is my Parade family, led by Walter Anderson, who is always one-hundred-percent supportive of my publishing efforts. I thank everyone at Parade, especially editor Lee Kravitz and my editor at the magazine, Fran Carpentier.

My heartfelt thanks to my creative colleagues, beginning with my indispensable kitchen soul-mate, Laurie Griffith, whom I could not do without. Next, my writing collaborator, Peter Kaminsky, for his eloquent and humorous way with words. He escorted Laurie and me to some great meals on Atlantic Avenue, an especially memorable one after we smoked the pork shoulder in his backyard in Brooklyn. The final results of long, hard work are a book I am very proud of.

Then there are the sugar plum fairies whose confections delight the most discerning sweet tooth. Lynnia Milliun and her brilliant Devils Food Cake and Lemon-Glazed Angel Food Cake, Amanda Ross and those summer fruit desserts, Laura Donnelly and her Luscious Strawberry Shortcake to go to heaven for. These women, along with Maureen Luchejko, shared their talents with me, making life a little bit sweeter, and I am so very grateful! I also thank Graham Murtough for the help he gave me with the flowers. As gardening is a passion, two green thumbs are better than one. Daniel Johnnes and his unexcelled jeroboamwines.com put together our stylish selections, making menu planning easier now that most people are serving a bottle of wine with meals, especially when celebrating.

My musical muses were lyrical and so right for every menu. Many thanks to Laurie Griffith, Brian Burke, and Annabel Lukins.

What a book! Number six and it was still a thrilling, new experience. How many authors can say that? If thats not reason enough to celebrate I dont know what is!

Our calendar year offers up dozens of reasons to celebrate. Choose your favorite traditional and not-so-traditional holidays and annual eventsNew Years Day, the Academy Awards, Mothers Day, Midsummers Eve, Thanksgivingand share them and an abundance of good food with friends and family.

Life is full of surprises, full of joy. A new job, a new bride-to-be, a new graduate, a return from a wonderful vacation. Good fortune and good feelings are meant to be shared with others, whether its a candlelit dinner with one special person, or a day-long festive family reunion. New neighbors next door? Celebrate! Plump blueberries are in season? Celebrate! Just got a big raise? Absolutely Celebrate!

Im in the mood to celebrate! Its the kind of joyous mood that makes me happy to phone friends and family and invite them over for good food, good conversation, and good cheer! Its the kind of mood that makes needing a reason to celebrate unnecessary. Well, almost.

Actually, I like having a reason, and am never at a loss to find one. There are so many occasions to choose frombig and small, traditional and quirkythat selecting the right one is easy. A cousins graduation, a friends engagement, the pleasures of a summer garden, the warmth of a winter hearth, a passion for Italian food-the choices are unlimited. I love planning the menu, shopping for ingredients, cooking the recipes, and decorating the table. And most of all, I get great pleasure in sharing my celebratory mood with others!

I believe the most memorable celebrations take place at home. In mine, all celebrations begin in the kitchen, and part of the fun is deciding what to prepare, creating a menu with appeal, start to finish. Forty-three of my favorites (yes, I have many more than that!) are included in this book, which Ive divided into two sections. The first, A Year of Celebrations, marks the annual celebrations we all look forward to; some are holidays, some popular events. Christmas, the Super Bowl, Valentines Day, the Academy Awards, Mothers Day, the Fourth of July, Thanksgivingall heartfelt traditions to enjoy with food, friends, and family.

In addition to the big occasions, there are special moments that cry out for a get-together. The selection in Celebrating Our Lives includes the kinds of events that inspire us to really pull out all the stops. Youre thrilled to have bought a new house? Inaugurate the kitchen with an aromatic Slow-Roasted Tomato and Fennel Soup and a sweet-tangy meltingly tender chicken casserole. Birthday coming up? Highlight your bash with a seductive Honey-Lime Roast Pork and a gorgeous Chocolate Birthday Cake. Just got a big raise? Blushing Lobster Cocktails and Rich Mans Burgers say it all. Home from an exotic vacation in Morocco? Tempt friends to your table with a tantalizing, succulent Lamb Tagine, and a palate-cooling, fragrant Orange-Blossom Sorbet, and theyll be happy to ooh and ahh over all your photos and your tales of adventure. Roll up the rug for a bridal shower (complete with a Coconut Trousseau Cake), a graduation (slice up a New York Strip Steak Lavished with Tomatoes and Olives), a big family reunion (no one will want to miss the Sherried Shrimp Salad and Roasted Salmon Salad). Plus, enjoy a Saturday dinner with friends, an Anytime Sunday Brunch, Pool Party, A Cozy Dinner for Twothere are menus for all occasions and for any reason.

All the menus, whether theyre for a Fresh Blueberry Breakfast to celebrate summer, a New Years Day open house, or a sit-down Thanksgiving Dinner with all the traditional trimmings, include recipes for several coursessometimes Ive suggested alternative appetizers or entreesalong with suggestions for the appropriate wines or other drinks. Ive left the coffee and tea up to youbrew or steep a pot of your favorite freshly ground beans or loose (if possible) leaves to enjoy with dessert at the end of a meal.