Nigella Lawson, Gourmet magazine's "It Girl," New York Times "Dining In" columnist, and bestselling cookbook author, is celebrating life--and you're invited. Feast , Nigella's most festive book yet, offers savory, spicy, and delicious recipes for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukah, Eid, New Year's, Passover, Easter gatherings, and any time you want to celebrate food and life. This book is filled with festive recipes, and in it, Nigella offers tips, tricks, and shortcuts that will ensure you dine with ease, style, and fun. Feast also includes some surprising gems, like Nigella's Chocolate Cake Hall of Fame, and her best cheeseburger. And like her other cookbooks, Feast is a cookbook that will be treasured all year long. If you consider eating with friends and family a joyful, indulgent celebration chances are you love a good feast. And who better to carefully guide you through the daunting task of preparing that Feast than the domestic goddess herself Nigella Lawson. Written in the tradition of Nigella Bites and How to Eat , Feast is a cookbook for the sensualist that wants to eat very well, but also wants to spend time enjoying the company of their guests instead of struggling with the creation of the meal. What sets Lawson apart is not that she's a good cookbook writer, but a strong writer period. Similar to her other books, Nigella's Feast is presented as part personal memoir, part educational, and part recipe presentation. There is a nice blend of occasions including the obvious (Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, and Easter), a few culturally specific ones (Rosh Hashanah, Georgian Feast, and Venetian Feast), feasts for kids, for vegetarians, and an elegant cocktail party. Each chapter begins with an overview of that particular "Feast." Generally, there is a personal story and experience told, an overview of the cultural importance of the feast, and a description of foods that are associated with each occasion. Impressively, every recipe begins with a personal anecdote giving that impression Nigella didn't just throw it in the book, but is experienced with the recipe and has used it with success. Take her twist on the decadent Chocolate Guinness Cake for example: "I wanted to make a cream cheese frosting to echo the pale head that sits on top of a glass of stout. It's unconventional to add cream but it makes it frothier and lighter which I regard as aesthetically and gastronomically desirable." Who can argue? The cake is to die for. So next time you need to prepare a dinner party let the goddess be your guide, and remember: Keep the preparation simple, use easily available ingredients, and take time to enjoy your guests and your meal. Feast may not be the most advanced cookbook you will own, but if you want to create excellent food with relative ease in a short amount of time, you can not beat Nigella. --Rob Bracco "Ms. Lawson brings to life the sensual aspects of cooking, helping you understand . . . the pleasure of the journey." -- New York Times "The genius on display here is the exotic combination of irony, joie de vivre, curiosity and nurturing." -- The Wine News "Vivid and fresh -- we would drive on the left side of the road to get to her molten-chocolate baby cakes." -- People Nigella Lawson is the author of How to Eat, How to Be a Domestic Goddess (for which she won the British Author of the Year Award), Nigella Bites, Forever Summer, Feast, Nigella Express, and Nigella Christmas. She has been profiled in the New York Times Magazine and in many other publications. She lives in London with her husband and two children. Chocolate Raspberry Heart For the cake: 3/4 cup milk 1 tablespoon butter 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract 3 large eggs 1 cup granulated sugar 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 3 tablespoons best unsweetened cocoa powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 2 shallow 9-inch heart-shaped pans for the filling: 1 cup fresh raspberries ½ cup heavy cream for the icing: ¾ cup heavy cream 5 ½ ounces bittersweet chocolate, minimum 70% cocoa 1 tablespoon corn syrup 1 cup fresh raspberries Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and line two 9-inch heart-shaped cake pans. Pour the milk into a small pan, add the butter, and heat over medium heat until the butter melts. Or you can just put the milk and butter in a glass measuring cup and melt the butter in the microwave. When hot, add the vanilla. Whisk the eggs and sugar until thick, light colored, and frothy. I use the paddle attachment of the KitchenAid for this. Meanwhile, mix together the flour, cocoa, and baking soda in a bowl. Still beating the eggs and sugar, add the vanilla-flavored milk. When incorporated, slowly fold in the flour mixture, either using the paddle attachment on low speed or by hand with a spatula. You will need a final scrape-down and fold with a rubber spatula in any event. Divide the batter between the two pans and bake for about 20 minutes. Remove to wire racks and let cool in the pans for abo