Do you watch “Downton Abbey” with a group of friends like I do? I’ve been a weekly watcher who always re-watched the previous night’s episode again the next day. I’ve thrown theme parties based around Downton Abbey, and I’ve even driven over a mountain pass to a city two hours away to watch episodes of the show with some of my favorite ladies.
I wanted to point out a couple of Downton Abbey cookbooks that are coming out in time for the holiday gifting season.
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Christmas at Highclere: Recipes and traditions from The Real Downton Abbey (via Amazon) comes out October 25.
It’s written by the Countess of Carnarvon, who also wrote the fabulous At Home at Highclere coffee table book.
From the publisher:
Lady Carnarvon will guide you through Advent and preparations all the way through to Christmas Day and beyond. Learn how Highclere Castle, along its gardens and grounds, are transformed with elegant decorations and sparkling lights, including the raising of a twenty-foot tree in the saloon and the gathering of holly and mistletoe from the grounds. All the intricacies of the perfect traditional Christmas are here: from crackers to carol singers. The festive feeling is carried through to Highclere’s Boxing Day traditions, the restorative middle days and the New Year’s Eve celebrations.
This book also tells the story of historic Christmases at Highclere – of distinguished guests warming themselves by the fire after a long journeys home through the snow, unexpected knocks on the door, and, always, the joy of bringing family – and staff – together after a busy year.
As well as telling the stories of Highclere Christmases past and present, Lady Carnarvon provides recipes, tips and inspiration from her kitchen so that readers can bring a quintessentially British festive spirit to their own home. Lady Carnarvon divulges the secret to perfectly flakey mince pies and the proper way to wrap presents. With this book, you and your guests are guaranteed a Christmas to remember.
Chapters include:
- Christmas is Coming
- Planning & Preparation
- Advent
- Deck the Halls
- The Christmas Tree
- Gifts & Shopping
- Traditions
- Entertaining
- Feasts
- Family Fun
- The Twelve Days of Christmas
- Epiphany and After
The chapters I’m most looking forward to reading include Deck the Halls, Feasts and The 12 Days of Christmas. It all sounds so festively inspiring!
I anticipate buying this lavish hardcover book two or three times: once for myself (a huge Downton Abbey fan) and I’ll gift it to a couple Downton-obsessed ladies I know.
By the way, you can watch Lady Carnarvon teaching how to make butternut squash soup:
I also thoroughly enjoyed her tour of Highclere Castle’s gigantic kitchen:
Another cookbook I’ll be gifting to my Downton Abbey obsessed friends and family members this Christmas is the newly released The Official Downton Abbey Cookbook, by food historian Annie Gray.
You can check out what readers thought of this cookbook at Goodreads. Read a review at The Mercury News and check out Bloomberg’s silly article on the Downton Abbey cookbook . US Magazine has an article about cookbook author Annie Gray, and Parade Magazine shares a beef stew recipe from the cookbook. There’s an extensive review of this cookbook at The Lady & the Rose blog.
You can also purchase the Official Downton Abbey Cookbook at Barnes & Noble and at World Market.
The last Downton Abbey themed gift book on my list is The Official Downton Abbey Cocktail Book, which features a foreword by series creator Julian Fellowes. Cocktail recipes are accompanied by cast member photos in their fabulous costumes. I love that the Dowager Countess’s cocktail is called “The Final Say.” The book is also available at Barnes & Noble.
You can read a brief review of this book at The Drinks Business blog.
You might enjoy visiting the Downton Abbey Cooks website, also!
-Carrie
