Don’t Decorate that Tree until You’ve read French Country Cottage Christmas
You may think that you’ve got a some good ideas and track record on decorating your Christmas tree, but you might want to wait until you take a look at the new book called French Country Cottage Christmas: Inspiration for a Beautiful and Festive Holiday. This coffee table book is full of beautiful photographs that will inspire you in ways that you’ve never never considered, as well as provides tips and techniques on how to make it all happen.
Written by stylist, photographer, and French Country Cottage blogger, Courtney Allison, this tastemaker has brought French country style to the United States in other publications, but this is the first one that is specifically for the Christmas holidays. Even more specifically, it is the first one that is over 80% just about decorating your tree (the other 20% is about entertaining, recipes, and setting your table for those holiday dinners).
Considering the amount of people that she thanks in the credits, it is clear that Courtney put her heart and soul into this tome. Not only does she decorate many of the pictured trees, or maybe even all, she also had a good number of them shipped to Paris from the United States for placement in that true French setting. That’s reflected in both authenticity and accuracy when it comes to her French styled trees.
We’re also impressed that the book is a hardcover, which means it’s durable, and it doesn’t have a paper jacket, which means you can handle it a lot without tearing any important pages. Because you’re going to want to keep flipping through this photo book for decorating inspiration before, during, and after the holidays.
Published by Gibbs Smith, find it on Amazon here:
French Country Cottage Christmas
Holiday Recipe: Sipi’s Oven Roast Lamb Chops with Lemon and Oregano
Author Tessa Kiros’s new cookbook, Now and Then A Collection of Recipes for Always (Murdoch Books) is a curated collection of 150 new recipes that warm the heart and kitchen, and which includes Tessa’s personal reflections and favorite food memories. It also includes several ideas and combinations for delicious holiday dishes, such as:
- Warm Malva Pudding Cake with Whisky Sauce
- Raspberry Creme Brulee
- Gingerbread
- Ricotta and Jam Pastries
- Chocolate Cake, Sour Cherries and Clotted Cream
- Sugar Lemon Tart
- Kourabiedes With Pecans And Chocolate Chips
- Pistachio Biscuits With Figs, Raspberries And Rose Syrup
One tasty recipe that Tessa Kiros shares with us here is for Sipi’s Oven Roast Lamb Chops with Lemon and Oregano.
Photography Credit: Manos Chatzikonstantis
Sipi’s oven roast lamb chops with lemon and oregano
Says Tessa: “These are the ones my mom always made in the oven at home – a big trayful. I loved scraping the bottom of the dish with chips!
I get the butcher to cut the lamb chops thin and I leave some fat on the chops as it’s meltingly delicious when roasted with the lemon. They must be served warm and, if it is cold outside, serve on heated plates. Lovely with Boereboontjies (page 29) or chips.”
Serves 4
- 1 kg (2 lb 4 oz) thin cut lamb chops, just under 1 cm (½ in) thick max (15–20 chops) with some fat
juice of 2 lemons (about 8 tablespoons) - 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 30 g (1 oz) butter, cut into small chunks
- 3 heaped teaspoons dried
- Greek oregano, plus a little extra to serve
Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Quickly rinse or wipe the lamb chops over with moist paper towels to get rid of any stray bits of bone. Pat dry. Put into a large roasting dish where they fit in a single layer.
Splash with the lemon, season well with salt and pepper and add the olive oil. Scatter the pieces of butter around and sprinkle the oregano over, crushing it a bit between your fingers. Turn through to coat both sides of the chops.
Pour 125 ml (4 fl oz/½ cup) water around the sides of the dish. Cover the dish with foil and bake for about 20 minutes until pale but cooked, with a good amount of sauce.
Remove the foil, lower the oven to 180°C (350°F) and return the dish to the oven for another 20 minutes or until the chops have a good deep golden colour and the sauce has thickened and is bubbling and sticky in parts (there’s no need to turn the chops over and, depending on your oven, you can turn it to Fan to get the chops more golden if you like). Serve hot with a little extra oregano scattered over.
ABOUT TESSA KIROS
Tessa Kiros is international cookbook royalty. She helped define the modern illustrated genre and has sold more than 700,000 copies across multiple titles, languages, and decades. Her previous cookbooks include Apples for Jam, Falling Cloudberries, Provence to Pondicherry, Twelve, Food From Many Greek Kitchens, Limoncello and Linen Water, and Piri Piri Starfish. Tessa’s upbringing and lifelong wanderlust has seen her collect culinary experiences from all over the world. Born in London to a Finnish mother and Greek-Cypriot father, she grew up in South Africa. After many years traveling and working, she settled with her husband Giovanni in Italy, where they raised daughters Yasmine and Cassia. She divides her time today between Italy and Greece. Now & Then is her eleventh cookbook and it’s her definitive new work: 150-plus recipes with gorgeous lifestyle photography reflecting on the food that has shaped her, but also encompassing her table today. Her new cookbook taps into our renewed appetite for nostalgia, in cooking and in life. It calls out to Tessa Kiros devotees, as well as speaking to younger readers through the mediums of color, energy, authority, and the healthful deliciousness of her evolving modern table. This is Tessa Kiros as we haven’t known her; for 2023 and beyond.
Now and Then A Collection of Recipes for Always
- Publisher : Murdoch Books (October 3, 2023)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 400 pages
The Great Dickens Christmas Fair returns with New Features and Activities including Indoor Skating Rink and Christmas tree sales
After a two-year hiatus, The Great Dickens Christmas Fair & Victorian Holiday Party returns to the historic Cow Palace (2600 Geneva Ave.) on Saturdays and Sundays (as well as the Friday after Thanksgiving) from November 19 through December 18, 2022. The 38th edition of this one-of-a-kind event has expanded to include a whole new 50,000-square-foot exhibit hall adjacent to the Cow Palace main arena. This pre-show area – known as “Vauxhall Gardens” – is free to the public (with $15 parking) and features a beautifully decorated Victorian park-like setting with a skating rink and Christmas tree sales. Visitors may purchase hot spiced cider and refreshments, skate rentals, and even live Christmas trees. Those with tickets to the Fair may continue to the lower exhibit halls to immerse themselves in the new wonders and delightful traditions of Dickensian London.
Now encompassing over four acres, this year’s Dickens Christmas Fair is filled to overflowing with holiday-themed shops, pubs, stages, and dance halls. Guests are greeted by the sweet aroma of roasted sugar almonds and swept into the fun by hundreds of colorful characters and the mirthful greetings of shopkeepers, street merchants, and fellow holiday merrymakers.
To increase audience comfort, attendance is limited via online-only ticket sales, date-specific ticketing, new ventilation, and a redesigned layout that allows for more fresh air from open doorways. “We are grateful for the opportunity to bring back this beloved holiday tradition,” says the Fair’s new general manager, Drew Patterson. “We will continue to do everything we can to make this much-loved event a safe, enjoyable, and accessible experience for all our guests and participants.”
The winding lanes of this ever-expanding world of Victorian holiday delights will include many new wonders for its return to full indoor production after the long two-and-a-half years of the pandemic. Experience the deeply immersive theater created by hundreds of skilled and engaging performers as you discover handmade treasures for your holiday gift giving or sit down to a pint of draft English Ale or a feast of hearty handmade foods.
Throughout the streets and stages, new theatrical works as well as traditional favorites will delight and entertain fairgoers young and old. Step into the Christmas Eve Past of Ebenezer Scrooge’s youth at Fezziwig’s Christmas Party for games, music, and unhosted sets of dancing throughout the day. Join Sherlock Holmes as he gathers clues to solve a mystery, or Oliver Twist for pick-pocketing school in Fagin’s Den. An all-new traditional Christmas pantomime The Tale of Puss In Boots will delight the younger set, while Jim Chiminey returns with a comedic tale that unfolds based on the audiences’ answers. And, of course, the Victorian lanes and shops will be filled with an ensemble of characters found in Charles Dickens’ works, along with the illustrious author himself hosting readings from his ‘new’ story A Christmas Carol.
The Great Dickens Christmas Fair overflows with holiday magic for the youngest guests, offering hands-on craft activities, old-world games of skill and chance, and lively interactive shows. Back this year are Mr. Punch and his mischievous friends in the Punch & Judy puppet show, as well as The Bold Tailor, a Grimm’s Fairy Tale brought to life with young actors from the audience. For more hands-on fun, try the Dart Parlour, fencing lessons, or the hand-powered Adventure Carousel. Or build your own Fairy House to take home for the holidays.
Brand new to the Fair is Vauxhall Gardens, a skating rink (with rental skates) and Christmas tree lot with refreshments available, including hot spiced cider. Enjoy a day at the Dickens Fair and return home with a tree for your parlour!
The Dickens Fair’s delicious traditional fare and libations are back – including Fish & Chips, Bangers and Mash, and East Indian delicacies. Tea will be served with traditional English tea service, complete with finger sandwiches, scones, and cakes. New this year are delectable Scotch Eggs, and vegan and vegetarian food options. Takeaway items – perfect for seasonal gifting – include handmade chocolates, gourmet salts, English Christmas cakes and puddings, and specialty teas.
After a day of shopping and entertainment, enjoy a pint at one of the Fair’s five English pubs, including an absinthe tasting at the Bohemian Absinthe Bar.
Shop for the perfect holiday gift and revel in a wonderland of one-of-a-kind artisan treasures. Nearly 100 beautiful shops and carts offer fine crafts, fanciful clothing and accessories, ceramics, elegant drinkware, stunning jewelry, toys, ornaments, antiquarian books, and more. Peruse at your pleasure, and don’t miss these fine purveyors making their Dickens Fair debut this season:
- The Curious Wonder Caravan – Nadya Geras-Carson exhibits sculptures and paintings, mostly of the animal kind, dressed to impress. Her peculiar sense of humor and theatrical sensibilities are apparent in all her work.
- Roses, Ribbons & Reticules – Ribbon purses and bags made to carry the objects of your choice, and ribbon rosettes to adorn your hair, home, or apparel. Each is handcrafted from the finest ribbons of London.
- Natalie’s Jewels – Inspired by the Queen’s Jewels, artist Natalie works with precious and semi-precious stones, natural pearls, precious metals, silk, and treasures to bring body adornment into your wardrobe.
- Salon Des Artists – Olivia and Marilyn handcraft crowns, tiaras, chokers, necklaces, earrings, and jewelry accessories. All pieces are one-of-a-kind and made from the highest quality materials.
- Time Traveler– Quality carpet bags, reticules, and Victorian collars. These carpet bags are a wonderful addition to any occasion, traveling for the weekend, or for walking the streets of London.
TICKETING AND OTHER PERTINENT INFORMATION
Tickets range from $7 – $45, are date-specific and must be purchased in advance, online only. Please see dickensfair.com for details on General Admission, Early Bird, Group Sales and other special discounts.
To ensure the comfort of all guests, there will be a limited number of tickets available for each day of the Fair. As with many other theatrical events, select-day tickets must be purchased for the actual day you wish to attend. After tickets sell out for any given day, there will be no more tickets available for that day, so purchase early to ensure you are able to attend on the day(s) you prefer. Although all tickets are non-refundable, they are fully transferable to another day (if available) or to another person.
The Great Dickens Christmas Fair was originally conceived and created by Ron and Phyllis Patterson in 1970, inspired by their successful Renaissance Pleasure Faire (the first Renaissance Faire in America) which they brought to the San Francisco Bay Area during the Summer of Love in 1967. Their son Kevin Patterson along with his wife Leslie Patterson has been at the helm since 2000. This year, eldest son Drew Patterson takes over as General Manager to continue a 60-year family tradition of presenting deeply immersive, fully inclusive, and historically authentic environmental theater.
Red Barn Productions and The Great Dickens Christmas Fair are committed to Social Justice. For information on their diversity, equity, and inclusion plans, and ongoing social justice efforts, please visit the Red Barn Productions Community Page.
Land Acknowledgement: As Red Barn Productions welcomes participants and audience members to The Great Dickens Christmas Fair at the Cow Palace in Daly City, we wish to acknowledge that this property sits on the unceded homeland of the Ramaytush Ohlone people and is the ancestral territory of the Miwok, Yokuts, and Patwin, as well as other Ohlone peoples. It is Red Barn’s intention that in gathering to create an immersive, entertaining, and educational fair, all who gather here are doing so with respect and recognition of Indigenous people and First Nation members and elders, and of all the Native peoples for whom the greater Bay Area is their ancestral home.