How to Celebrate Everything: Recipes and Rituals for Birthdays, Holidays, Family Dinners, and Every Day In Between: A Cookbook

by Jenny Rosenstrach

Overview

A New York Times Best Cookbook of Fall 2016 • A warm and inviting guide to turning birthdays, holidays, and everyday occasions into cherished traditions, with more than 100 time-tested recipes—from the creator of the popular blog and book Dinner: A Love Story and author of the New York Times bestseller Dinner: The Playbook
 
“Families crave rituals,” says Jenny Rosenstrach, and by rituals she means not just the big celebrations—Valentine’s Day dinners, Mother’s Day brunches, Halloween send-offs, Thanksgiving feasts, holiday cocktail parties—but the little ones we may not even realize are rituals: a platter of deluxe nachos on Super Bowl Sunday, or a bowl of creamy mashed potatoes after every braces-tightening session. Whether simple or elaborate, daily or annual, these rituals all serve the same purpose for Rosenstrach: to bring comfort, connection, and meaning to every day. 
 
100+ recipes, including:
• popovers, apple fritters, and golden pancakes, perfect for sleepover mornings or birthday breakfasts
• “Interfaith Sliders”: one version with ham and another with brisket
• Rosenstrach’s legendary chocolate Mud Cake—plus an entire section on birthdays, including a one-size-fits-all party planner that does not rely on pizza
• complete menus for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve
• and, of course, dozens of Rosenstrach’s signature family dinners: Grilled Soy-Glazed Pork Chops, Harissa Roasted Chicken, Crispy Chickpeas with Yogurt Sauce and Naan, Grilled Spicy Shrimp Tacos with Avocado Butter and Summer Cabbage, and more
 
In this digital, overscheduled age, How to Celebrate Everything helps families slow down, capture the moments that matter—and eat well while doing it.

Praise for How to Celebrate Everything
 
“I have been an ardent fan of Jenny Rosenstrach’s beautiful writing for years. I always know that every word of her books will be something to savor, and How to Celebrate Everything will strike a chord with anyone who enjoys family, friends, and delicious food.”—Ree Drummond, New York Times bestselling author of The Pioneer Woman Cooks

“Enjoy How to Celebrate Everything for the easy-to-follow recipes. But even more satisfying are the wonderful anecdotes of family life and [Jenny Rosenstrach’s] genial examination of the lasting role that food plays in our lives beyond the plate.”—Family Circle (September “What We’re Reading” Pick)
 
“With characteristic warmth and humor, [Rosenstrach] urges readers to ritualize and celebrate the small moments in family life by sharing stories from her own. . . . Rosenstrach is a skilled storyteller and introduces each occasion with an engaging essay before offering up the much-loved recipes that inspired it. . . . A delicious and delightful ode to the ways family and food intertwine, reinforcing each other.”—Booklist
 
“Featured recipes are proven kid friendly and presented with humorous mommy angst and nostalgic commentary . . . Rosenstrach inspires, reminding us that the real celebration is family itself.”—Publishers Weekly
 
“This well-designed cookbook comes with a side helping of lifestyle inspiration.”—Library Journal

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780804176309
Publisher:	Random House Publishing Group
Publication date:	09/20/2016
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	1,000,520
Product dimensions:	7.60(w) x 8.60(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Jenny Rosenstrach is the creator of Dinner: A Love Story, the award-winning website devoted to family dinner, and the New York Times bestselling author of Dinner: A Love Story (Ecco), Dinner: The Playbook (Ballantine), and How to Celebrate Everything (Ballantine). She was the features director at Cookie magazine for four years and special projects editor at Real Simple for six. Her essays and articles have appeared in numerous national publications and anthologies, including The New York Times Book Review, Real Simple, Martha Stewart Living, Whole Living, and the op-ed page of The New York Times. She has appeared on NPR’s Weekend Edition and NBC’s Today. She and her husband, Andy Ward, write the Providers column for Bon Appétit. They live with their two daughters in Westchester County, New York.

Read an Excerpt

INTRODUCTION
(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "How to Celebrate Everything"
by .
Copyright © 2016 Jenny Rosenstrach.
Excerpted by permission of Random House Publishing Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Introduction ix

Why Rituals?

Part I Holidays We Didn't Invent 1

"Everything" 2

Easter Ham 9

The Edible Gift Ritual (Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day) 15

Fourth of July, aka Cousinland 28

Halloween Launch Party 37

On Thanksgiving Traditions 43

How to Avoid Empty Celebration Syndrome 60

The Holiday Party 68

My Dad's Genius Entertaining Trick 77

Christmas in Virginia 78

Fancy-Pants Dinner (New Year's Eve) 89

Part II Our Family Rituals 97

The Walk to the Farmer's Market 98

The One-on-One Date 122

Fruit First Thing 133

Pickling 135

Lunch with Dad 143

The Sleepover Breakfast 146

Vacation Rituals 156

Miracle Mashed Potatoes 168

Après Ski 176

Part III Birthdays 185

Abby's Birthdaypalooza 186

Andy's Birthday Breakfasts 196

Jenny's Mud Cake 199

Phoebe's Ice Cream Cake 206

Pick a Country, Any Country 211

A Sane Parent's Guide to Throwing an At-Horne Birthday Party 214

Part IV Family Dinners 227

Did I Ever Tell You …? 228

Sunday Dinners 236

Eating in Front of the TV 258

After-Dinner Rituals 267

On Signature Dinners 276

In Conclusion 287

Rituals and Holidays Organized by Calendar 289

Acknowledgments 291

Index 292

Editorial Reviews

06/20/2016
Rosenstrach, a meal-planning maven, popular blogger, and bestselling author (Dinner: A Love Story), expands her family mealtime focus by providing a “blueprint for starting rituals and optimizing celebrations.” She offers practical planning tips and more than 100 recipes for routinely creating celebrations where “food is at the heart” of family bonding and tradition. Organized around themes and events, Rosenstrach identifies four major ritual groupings: holidays we didn’t invent, family rituals, birthdays, and family dinners. Featured recipes are proven kid friendly and presented with humorous mommy angst and nostalgic commentary. A pre-trick-or-treat Halloween party showcases franks and baked beans from scratch and a chicken chorizo chili. In “Thanksgiving Traditions,” there’s a full menu, as well as her mother’s “Seven Things to Remember When Roasting a Bird.” Holiday recipes include potato latkes with seven toppings. There are sleep-over breakfasts featuring pancakes, fritters, and popovers, along with Sunday dinner favorites such as salmon and potatoes with yogurt sauce. A “Master Party Chart” provides a useful template for planning birthday themes, crafts, games, food, cake, and party favors. Recipes are far from over-the-top, but Rosenstrach inspires, reminding us that the real celebration is family itself. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

I have been an ardent fan of Jenny Rosenstrach’s beautiful writing for years. I always know that every word of her books will be something to savor, and How to Celebrate Everything will strike a chord with anyone who enjoys family, friends, and delicious food.”—Ree Drummond, New York Times bestselling author of The Pioneer Woman Cooks

“Enjoy How to Celebrate Everything for the easy-to-follow recipes. But even more satisfying are the wonderful anecdotes of family life and [Jenny Rosenstrach’s] genial examination of the lasting role that food plays in our lives beyond the plate.”—Family Circle (September “What We’re Reading” Pick)
 
“With characteristic warmth and humor, [Rosenstrach] urges readers to ritualize and celebrate the small moments in family life by sharing stories from her own. . . . Rosenstrach is a skilled storyteller and introduces each occasion with an engaging essay before offering up the much-loved recipes that inspired it. . . . A delicious and delightful ode to the ways family and food intertwine, reinforcing each other.”—Booklist
 
“Featured recipes are proven kid friendly and presented with humorous mommy angst and nostalgic commentary . . . Rosenstrach inspires, reminding us that the real celebration is family itself.”—Publishers Weekly
 
“This well-designed cookbook comes with a side helping of lifestyle inspiration.”—Library Journal

From the Publisher

07/01/2016
Author and blogger Rosenstrach (Dinner) focuses her latest effort on what to eat during the celebrations and everyday routines that become treasured family memories. Those familiar with Rosenstrach's blog, dinneralovestory.com, will find the format of the book to be similar. Simple, kid-friendly recipes are interspersed with personal anecdotes, advice, and lessons the author has learned in her time as a mother and home chef. For the most part, the recipes are updates of home cooking classics, streamlined and easy to prepare for both small and large gatherings. Some feature unexpected yet accessible ingredients that add a bit of sophistication to common meals such as hamburgers, roast chicken, and potato salad. The layout is uncluttered, and the directions easy to follow. In Rosenstrach's parlance, everyday family routines become "rituals," events made to be honored with a special dish or dessert. VERDICT This well-designed cookbook comes with a side helping of lifestyle inspiration. Fans of both mommy- and food-blogging will find something of interest here.—Rebecca Brody, Westfield State Univ., MA

Library Journal