CHECK IT OUT
With the most festive season of the year now underway, it’s time to
get in gear for holiday gaiety with craft books and cookbooks from
Newport libraries.
New this year from one of America’s premier culinary publications is
“Bon Appetit, The Christmas Season,” featuring more than 125 traditional
and innovative recipes for holiday hosts and hostesses. Stunning photos,
menu suggestions and entertainment tips provide ample inspiration for
festive meals and year-end entertaining in this dazzling volume.
If children figure into your holiday plans, check out “Holiday Party
Ideas for Kids,” a collection of games, crafts and treats geared for 5-
through 11-year-olds. Find instructions for such easy projects as candy
cane reindeer and pine cone bird feeders, plus directions for seasonally
themed relays and quiet activities in Linda Sadler and Rhonda Deason’s
resource for party planners.
For Hanukkah celebrants, Jane Breskin Zalben includes several versions
of latkes, plus instructions for dreidel cookies and other traditional
favorites, in “Beni’s Family Cookbook.” Notes on the religious and
cultural importance of Jewish holidays throughout the year and amusing
tidbits about each of the dishes make this a fine cookbook for family
sharing, especially for all familiar with Zalben’s Beni the bear books.
Once you’re ready to get out of the kitchen, MaryJo McGraw’s “Making
Greeting Cards with Rubber Stamps” features myriad ways to personalize
holiday correspondence, gift-wrapping and party invitations. Included are
30 step-by-step projects that incorporate such techniques as masking,
embossing, layering and water-staining.
Keep the creative juices flowing with “Glorious Christmas Ornaments,”
Pat Richards’ lushly photographed assemblage of handcrafted decorations
for a resplendent tree. In five chapters organized by theme, find ideas
for more than 40 kinds of handmade treasures, including ornaments made
from plastic globes, recycled cards, Styrofoam balls and felt scraps.
Other ordinary household materials are the basis for packages that are
presents in themselves, featured in Amanda Knight’s “Decorating Gift
Baskets, Boxes & Bags.” From Santa baskets that can be filled with soaps
to snowman bags for cocoa and cookies, there are more than 100 stunning
gift presentations in this resource for creative gift-giving.
Once the holiday cards are out and the presents are wrapped, you may
want to prepare for the ultimate year-end affair: a slumber party for
young revelers. Get them cooking with Hallie Warshaw’s “The Sleepover
Cookbook.” Just about all your gang of 9- through 12-year-olds will need
to whip up such festive fare as “fundue” and tuna meltdowns.
* CHECK IT OUT is written by the staff of the Newport Beach Public
Library. This week’s column is by Melissa Adams, in collaboration with
Gina Moffitt. All titles may be reserved from home or office computers by
accessing the catalog at https://www.newportbeachlibrary.org.
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