Episode 289: Christmas with Nigella

This week it's Christmas with England's Nigella Lawson, the lustiest, yet pragmatic, cook we know. She'll talk the feast, with ideas for taking the pressure off and having some fun. She leaves us her recipes for Bread Sauce and Easy-Action Christmas Cake from her latest book, Feast.

The Sterns feast at El Farolito, an adobe hut in the middle of nowhere about 40 minutes from Santa Fe.

Andrea Immer talks dessert wines and shares her recipe for Bittersweet Chocolate-Cassis Truffles from her latest book, Everyday Dining with Wine. What could be better than nibbling truffles while sipping a late bottled vintage Port by the fire? For stuffing stockings, Chris Kimball suggests some Cook's Illustrated favorite kitchen gadgets, all mercilessly tested, of course.

Thomas Matthews recommends bottles from The Wine Spectator's Top 100 list. The good news is they're affordable! Poet Maya Angelou tells of a boy's first dish for his mom and shares the recipe for Bread Pudding from her new book, Hallelujah! The Welcome Table. And Lynne gives us the recipe for the Apple Citron Turnover that often appears on her holiday table.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• December 18, 2004