Christmas with Paula Deen

October 15, 2007
Christmas, that time of good cheer and lapsed diets, is the perfect holiday to showcase the cooking of Food Network star Deen (Paula Deen Celebrates!
), who specializes in the kind of butter-and cheese-laden fare that epitomizes family-style comfort food. Sweets and snacks account for most of the recipes, since Deen happily admits to never varying from her Christmas dinner menu, which centers on a Standing Rib Roast and features a trio of potato dishes, including some unbelievably decadent Crème Fraîche Mashed Potatoes. Cooks will find the cookies and desserts familiar but richer, like eyebrow-raising but delicious Chocolate Cheese Fudge and creamy Chocolate Sandwich Cookies. Snacks and breakfast dishes are crowd pleasers, like gooey Praline French Toast Casserole and Cheese-coated Bacon Wraps. Devoted viewers of Deen’s show may miss the sound of her warm drawl narrating the process, but the smattering of glowing family photos and anecdotes about her grown kids and recent marriage, though she’s told them before, are decent stand-ins. Several pages of baking hints are included, but most of the recipes are simple and straightforward enough, with readily available ingredients, that even novices should be able to put together a generous Christmas spread.

November 15, 2007
Deen's ("Paula Deen Celebrates!" seventh cookbook shares her favorite Christmas recipes, most of which have appeared in previous books, along with treasured memories and anecdotes. There are three chapters of recipes for Christmas morning, Christmas dinner, and a holiday open house, and two others are devoted entirely to desserts. Black-and-white photographs of Deen and her extended family are scattered throughout. Her previous cookbooks have sold millions, so expect heavy demand.

Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.