I bought my copy of Nigella Christmas during the holiday sales last year; it’s been available for more than a year in Britain, but the American edition was only recently published. Regular readers know of my long-harboured love for Nigella, so will understand why I just had to buy this. Though If I’m honest, I never do much holiday cooking- instead I hop on a plane back to my parents house, where I rely on others to do it for me.

The coffee table-sized Nigella Christmas is intended as a one-stop shop for those who do engage in Christmas cooking. The nine chapters include The More The Merrier (holiday mass catering), Come On Over… (a useful chapter on stress-free suppers), The Main Event (everything you could possibly want for a traditional, or non-traditional, holiday meal), Joy To The World (holiday baking and sweet treats) and All Wrapped Up (edible presents and preserves). All in, it contains 150 recipes, making it Nigella’s most comprehensive-feeling book since Feast.

If I’m honest, I’m not crazy about the design of the book- it leans rather too heavily on a kitschy and clichéd red, white and green idea of Christmas. But while festive red type and cutesy photo styling might not be my style, but it’s not overtly offensive- and it is Christmassy, admittedly.

The design is successful in other ways- clear, well-presented recipes, loads of full-colour photography, and even step-by-step photographs for some recipes. On each recipe page there’s a clearly marked “Make Ahead Tip”, particularly useful for holiday cooking. The Main Event chapter, which contains traditional recipes for Christmas lunch/dinner, is printed on red-edged pages, making it easy to find in the middle of the book.

For the most part, the recipes in Nigella Christmas are traditional British holiday fare, sometimes with a twist. Canapés like Drunken Devils on Horseback (pg. 22) have a retro appeal, while Gleaming Maple Cheesecake (pg. 74) is a contemporary spin on seasonal flavours. For the Christmas meal itself, Nigella offers up not only Roast Turkey with Allspice Gravy (pg. 115), but Roast Goose (pg. 149), Roast Rib of Beef (pg. 155), Rolled Stuffed Loin of Pork (pg. 158) and Roast Stuffed Pumpkin (pg. 165). There are even recipes for using up the leftovers of each of these- if I was still eating meat, Ed’s Victorious Turkey Hash (pg. 146) would be right up my alley.

I’ve tried a few recipes so far, with good results. Pumpkin and Goat’s Cheese Lasagne (pg. 34) made a yummy Autumnal dinner, and I’m counting down the days until I can make the wonderful Sticky Gingerbread (pg. 201) again. I liked the Roast Squash and Sweet Potato Soup (pg. 53), and Christmas Morning Muffins (pg. 214) made a simple, tasty start to the day (not Christmas Day, though- I made them last winter).

Next on my list are some of the preserves and edible gifts- I want to do all homemade presents this year, so might try my hand at the Chili Jam (pg. 241), Christmas Ketchup (pg. 242), or Peanut Brittle (pg. 244).

The drawbacks of Nigella Christmas are pretty much what you’d guess. It is, of course, a Christmas cookbook, so not exactly a kitchen workhorse. The recipes are mainly appropriate for cold weather, and there’s not so much as a fresh green salad to be found. Whether the recipes are to your taste or not will also be a deciding factor in how useful you’d find it, and while I like traditional British food, I can only take so many recipes for fruit cakes and steamed puddings.

Also- and this is surprising, coming from me- there’s rather a lot of talking. While I love Nigella’s writing, this book has convinced me that it’s best in small doses. Too much of her trademark self-deprecation can wear a bit thin.

If I may, I’d also argue against the very existence of a Christmas-themed cookbook; do people really want new ideas at such a tradition-laden time of year? For me, Christmas is a time for family recipes, passed down through generations. Even if you don’t particularly like these dishes (my family’s herring salad comes to mind), you’d probably rather have them than something prescribed by a celebrity chef.

I like Nigella Christmas, but I doubt my cookbook collection would really miss it, had it never been written. Whether you’ll like it is entirely up to you, but as long as you a) are obsessed with Christmas to the point of hosting multiple holiday parties and making all your own gifts, b) like the sound of a British Christmas feast, but c) aren’t overly hampered by your own traditions, I think you’ll love it. For me, though, it’s a three star book.

I’ve been cooking from my sister’s copy of How to be a Domestic Goddess for years, but since it’s currently across the Atlantic at my parents’ house, I invested in my own copy last year. While I consider myself to be more of a cook than a baker, with leanings toward savory rather than sweet, there are times when only baking will do. When I’m stressed or simply bored, and no regular meal is approaching, I’ll often convince myself that there are cookies/cakes/brownies that need baking, just to have something to focus my mind on. (Hint: the trick is never to buy treats, that way you’ll always have the “Well, there isn’t anything sweet in the house!” excuse at hand.) At those times, I usually turn to this book. While there are many other food writers and cookbooks with wonderful baking recipes, they’re often buried between more practical dishes, and there is something to be said for opening a book and knowing that, within ten seconds, you’re likely to come across just the thing that you’re craving.

How to be a Domestic Goddess is a paean to what in 2003 Nigella considered the lost art of baking. Divided into nine chapters on cakes, biscuits, pies, puddings, chocolate, children, christmas, bread and yeast, and the Domestic Goddess’s Larder, the book is comprehensive, if not exhaustive. Intended as a celebration of baking rather than a manual, it nonetheless has a recipe for almost any baked good you might think of. With the addition of some useful conversion charts in the front, it’s as close to a baking bible as my kitchen is likely to see. 

The recipes themselves are fairly simple, and rarely contain difficult-to-find ingredients or fiddly instructions. They range from basic (Madeira Cake, pg. 5) to impressive (Molten Chocolate Babycakes, pg. 179). It’s not all sweet stuff- the pie chapter is split 50/50 between dinner and dessert (Supper Onion Pie, pg. 85, is delicious), and bread chapter contains recipes for several “practical” loaves. Something that strikes me about the recipes compiled here is the breadth of ethnic influences at work. As expected in a British baking book, there is Victoria Sponge (pg. 14) and Mince Pies (pg. 259), but nestled between them are recipes for Egyptian Om Ali (pg. 140), Norwegian Mountain Loaf (pg. 302), Turkish Lahmacun (pg. 312) and German Plum Tart (pg. 316). It’s a bit of a whirlwind trip around the world of baking, with Nigella as your anecdote-filled tour guide. 

Recipes aside, How to be a Domestic Goddess is beautiful to look at, with the stylish layouts and stunning photography we’ve come to expect from a Nigella Lawson book. Each chapter begins with a two-page spread, a photo printed on matt gold paper that somehow reinforces the book’s message- that baking is something special, to be treasured. The recipes are simply laid out, and clearly state ingredients and equipment needed. (A sticking point for many, and with good reason- who wants to get halfway through a recipe only to find you have to wrong sized pan?) Those who prefer recipes written in numbered steps won’t like Nigella’s paragraphic, colloquial style, but it’s a minor issue. Overall, there isn’t much to dislike here. 

To most of this I say rubbish; I’ve rarely encountered problems with recipes from this book. Granted, the “smooth and springy” dough of Norwegian Cinnamon Buns (pg. 322) was more like a gooey paste escaping across my countertop, but adding a bit more flour fixed the problem, and the resulting breakfast was delicious. And while I had lukewarm feelings toward the Night-and-Day Cupcakes (too dry, with too runny an icing, pg. 201), the Christmas-Morning Muffins (pg. 277) are lovely. In fact, this book inspired me to make several items that I’d previously thought were best left to professionals, including Bagels (pg. 304) and Danish Pastries (pg. 327), both with surprisingly good results.  

Overall, I think How to be a Domestic Goddess is a wonderful baking resource to have around, and certainly essential for anyone who enjoys procrastination or distraction of the culinary kind. 

See, up to that point in my life, I thought of cookbooks as, well, books you looked in when you wanted to cook. Purely and simply resources. It never occurred to me that food writing could actually be exciting. But here was Nigella in all her glory, her gorgeous face and her even more gorgeous food, luring me into her world, where pasta was slurped with wild abandon and chocolate was consumed guilt-free. All of a sudden there was a cookbook that I wanted to read- on the couch, in the bath- and to cook from. Imagine my excitement when I discovered that Nigella was also a contributor to the British version of my favourite magazine, Vogue. 

So, for many years, I was a Nigella disciple. There were more books, there were afternoons spent cooking with my sister, there were memories. But, as people do, I grew up and moved on, finding new books and new writers to enthuse about. My rediscovery came about last Christmas, when my cousin received Nigella Express as a present. I spent the better part  of the afternoon pouring through it, reacquainting myself with an old friend. As soon as I arrived back in Britain (for by now I had moved here myself), I was off to Waterstone’s to purchase my own copy.

Since, then, Nigella Express has become a fixture in my house, both by my couch and in the kitchen. A collection of quick recipes for time-pressed cooks, the book is organized into chapters with titles like “Workday Winners” and “Get Up and Go”. This approach, rather than the more usual organization-by-type, allows for Nigella’s own cooking style to come through. For instance, “Instant Calmer” contains recipes for quick versions of the comfort food for which Nigella is known, and “Holiday Snaps” features her own brand of impressive party food at breakneck pace. 

These dishes are fast, but not necessarily because of quick cooking times. The time-saving secret of this book lies with the ingredients. Nigella calls into service a wide variety of shortcut products, from pre-chopped vegetables to garlic- and ginger-infused oil (sold as Wok oil or Stir-fry oil here in the UK) to various condiments and, in one case, dried mashed potato granules. The problem with these specialty items is that they’re a) unnecessarily expensive, b) often unhealthy, and c) difficult to find, depending on where you live.

Luckily for me, I don’t care about speed in the kitchen. While I don’t want to be standing over the stove all day, I’m much more concerned that a meal be delicious than quick to prepare. After all, I like being in the kitchen. So, where Nigella reaches for a quick-fix ingredient, I just reach for the real thing. Soaked and simmered chickpeas rather than canned, raw prawns rather than precooked, lettuce that you actually have to wash and trim yourself- you get the picture. (Confession: I did try the infused oil, but it didn’t pack enough of a flavour punch for me, so I ended up adding extra garlic and ginger, somewhat defeating the point.)

Among these are some real gems: Spaghettini with Prawns and Chili (pg. 293) is delicious, as is White Bean Mash (pg. 140) and Sesame Peanut Noodles (pg. 261). The Tuscan-influenced Tuna and Beans (pg. 284) has become a weekend lunch staple for me, and the Caramel Croissant Pudding (pg. 23) is so delicious that my boyfriend rarely requests another dessert. 

Of course, Nigella Express isn’t all winners. In true Nigella style, the ratio of sweets to mains is rather high, some might say inappropriately so for a book about quick meals. (I was always under the impression that eating “real food” should be the priority, and dessert should come after, if one has time and room.) Similarly, the focus on entertaining and starters seemed odd to me- or am I the only one not regularly having company over on weeknights? Some recipes barely seem to count as recipes at all, merely suggestions for ingredient combinations (Naan pizza, pg. 19). Add to this the abundance of meat dishes that I can’t eat, and those dishes I just plain don’t want to eat (New Orleans Coleslaw, pg. 277), and I  have to admit, this isn’t my favourite Nigella book. 

Don’t let that dissuade you, though. There are plenty of great ideas in Nigella Express, and most of the recipes are the kind that are easily adaptable to what you have on hand. Of course, if you’re a Nigella-junkie like me, you’ve probably already got it anyway.