Book Review: A Christmas Carol Plus Recipes by Charles Dickens (and some other ladies)

Obviously I had a tough time naming this review, because although this book is technically A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, the book is part of the Puffin Plated series, which incorporates classic stories with modern-day recipes from famous chefs. If you find something like this too commercial or sacrilegious, you might as well stop reading my review now, because I really enjoyed it.

There’s no point in me reviewing the story itself. We all know A Christmas Carol, and it has stood the test of time because its message is still resonating with audiences today. But this new spin of including recipes that fit with the holiday theme of the book is an interesting one to me because it gets people reading, and, in case it wasn’t obvious enough, it presents itself as a wonderful item for gift-giving.

The book includes 11 recipes in total from Giada de Laurentiis, Ina Garten (The Barefoot Contessa), Martha Stewart and Trisha Yearwood. There are appetizers, entrees, side dishes and desserts, and although I didn’t have time to cook any of them (see my #SSAC2018 posts), they looked fairly simple upon read-through, so novice cooks need not worry. The Christmas Carol story in particular lends itself to being divided up into ‘courses’, especially since there are a few scenes that center on the importance of food around the holidays. Something else I really liked about this book was the cute little food designs scattered throughout the text. I’m curious what Dickens would have thought about this treatment of his writing, but either way, it’s ensuring his work finds a place on every bookshelf and now, kitchen pantry, so I hope he’d be in support of it.

According to google my extensive research, there is only one other book in the Puffin Plated series so far, and that is Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Apparently that book is full of recipes for tea-time treats, all done by Martha Stewart, which seem quite fitting. Aside from the questionable ethics of including Stewart in the production of these books (can’t we find some other cook who hasn’t gone to jail?), I think this series is a lovely idea, and I look forward to seeing what else Puffin comes up with.