In The Healthy Hedonist Holidays, Myra Kornfeld embraces and celebrates the American experience: "In America, we are privileged to have a multicultural, multiethnic society, and the recipes in this book pay tribute to our culinary smorgasbord." Staying true to her principle of eating healthy foods while indulging the palate, she has created an exciting and eclectic group of recipes, all written with her usual clarity. Kornfeld has put together menus the can be served in their entirety or be pulled apart "like a coordinated wardrobe" to meet the needs and demands of every cook. This is a versatile cookbook, one that can be pulled out not only on holidays, but also to find a new recipe on any day of the week.
Celebrating our diversity, she has menus for fifteen holidays. There are the expected holidays of both Christian and Jewish faiths, as well as Kwanzaa, Chinese New Year, Ramadan, St. Patrick's Day, Cinco de Mayo. The list ends with the glorious bang of the Fourth of July.
Kornfeld is among the best recipe writers we have encountered. Gifted with an intuitive grasp of what a cook needs to guide them to success, she knows when to pare a recipe down to eliminate confusion and when to give the one single tip that will ensure success. For further clarity and ease, she offers what she calls "Cook's Notes" which will guide the cook from one week prior to any given holiday right up to the last minute. Ease and flexibility are paramount to Kornfeld.
Celebrating our diversity, she has menus for fifteen holidays. There are the established traditional holidays of both Christian and Jewish faiths, as well as Kwanzaa, Chinese New Year, Ramadan, St. Patrick's Day, Cinco de Mayo. The list ends with the glorious bang of the Fourth of July.
Working with the multicultural, she offers recipes from the Middle East, such as Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Onions, cinnamon, Almonds, and Cherries and from Africa, such as an Ethiopian Chicken Stew, flavored with Berbere Sauce, which recipe is also included. For Christmas Eve she leans to Middle Europe with recipes for Pierogi and Cheese Blintzes with Crimson Compote. Arriving in the same season, she celebrates the latke with two recipes and gives recipes for Coconut-Crusted Spinach Pancake with Basil. Valentine's Day is not only chocolaty, but also has recipes for Fallen Lemon Ricotta Souffles and Breast of Duck with Port-Cherry Sauce. Cinco de Mayo brings a chance to make Black-Bean and Plantain-Stuffed Peppers and Strawberry Guacamole with Jicama Chips.
Fifteen holidays will take you through the year with new recipes. Celebrate any and all and cook your favorite dishes in between holidays:
- Ramadan
- Thanksgiving
- Chanukah
- Christmas Eve
- Christmas Day
- Kwanzaa
- New Year's Eve
- New Year's Day
- Chinese New Year
- Valentine's Day
- St. Patrick's Day
- Passover
- Easter
- Cinco de Mayo
- Fourth of July
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