The Christmas Chronicles : Notes, Stories, and Essential Recipes for Midwinter

From the bestselling and perennially popular author of "Eat" and "The Kitchen Diaries", comes a new collection of notes, stories and recipes, written in a diary format, to include everything you need to survive and prepare for the season. From information on Europe's Christmas markets to suggestions for candles and books to read, together with delicious and comforting recipes.

From Nigel: "I have always loved the winter months, with their crisp mornings, candlelight and promise of snow. The Christmas Chronicles is the story of my adoration of the cold months, my fondness for the winter landscape with its pale blue skies and bare trees; for autumn and winter baking and the season's rituals and feasting. At the heart of the book is Christmas, its fables, folklore and of course, its food.

There are over a hundred recipes for warming dinners, quick midweek meals and Christmas classics. There are midwinter cakes and baking, mincemeat and puddings, vegetarian suppers, the Christmas roasts, crisp winter salads, main course soups, pickles, chutney and marmalades.

A stir-up of diary, memoir and cook book, here are stories of Bonfire Night and Halloween, of Christmases past and present, trips to the best Christmas Markets, shopping for decorations and how to choose The Tree. There are mincepies and malt loaf, winter drinks and Christmas wreaths, candlelight and carols. This is my celebration of the cold months from late autumn to well into the New Year, a day by day story of the winter solstice and its pleasures. I have never enjoyed writing a book more than this."