• FeastsandFestivals on June 22, 2012

  Beautifully produced book with very tempting seasonal dishes many of which are very unusual. Love it.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Roast beet salad with orange and goat cheese

  • vickster on July 04, 2014

    It is a pretty standard beet salad, but the toasted walnuts add a delicious touch. And I had some blood oranges remaining from this year's crop. I'm sure I will be making this salad frequently.

  • Astrid5555 on February 27, 2023

    This is a delicious little salad for when you have some beets lingering in the fridge, nice crunch from the walnuts.

  • e_ballad on November 28, 2017

    I really enjoyed this salad, though I did deviate from the recipe as written, instead dressing the hot beetroot then allowing it to cool in the dressing. Very tasty.

• Tartiflette

  • kari500 on January 19, 2020

    This is rich, decadent, and delicious. Perfect for a cool, rainy evening. Easy to make and put together, although there are a few different steps that make it take longer than I expected. But we really loved it; simple green salad on the side was a good foil for the richness. If you want to be lazy (which I often do), I think this would work with a bag of frozen hash browns and save the step of boiling, then slicing, then browning the potatoes.

  • FJT on December 31, 2019

    This was delicious and hilarious! My husband, who normally says that every vegetarian dish I cook would be better with bacon, decided to cook tonight .... and forgot the bacon!!! He saved the day by frying off the lardons and serving them alongside the tartiflette, but I have demanded that he cooks it again properly, soon!

• West country pot roast chicken with apples and cider

  • Avocet on March 15, 2016

    A lovely dish. Made it with thighs instead of whole chicken and used a little more cider than called for, which I reduced after taking out the chicken. Nice with a side of her Savoy cabbage and juniper berries and some noodles.

  • nzxnick on April 25, 2019

    Really lovely easy to make dish.

• Québécois mussel chowder with cod and cider

  • Avocet on March 15, 2016

    This was excellent. The cider lends a subtle note, it doesn't come across as cider. The cod was perfect tender and sweet. Did need the squeeze of lemon. We'll make this again.

  • Barb_N on February 18, 2020

    I felt like the cider flavor was completely cooked off after steaming the mussels. If I make this again, I will hold back half the cider to add at the end. I also found myself wishing for bits of bacon to season the broth.

  • breakthroughc on March 19, 2023

    As written this would be a really bland chowder. Thanks to Barb_N I started with some bacon. Diana says it doesn’t need salt, but it does. I also added some corn, Tabasco and a little bit more cream at the end. I made it for our monthly cocktail night with friends and the guys loved it, I thought it was okay, not sure I would make again.

• Savoy cabbage with garlic and juniper

  • Avocet on March 15, 2016

    A very good side dish, but we didn't think that butter was the right medium for sauteing the cabbage. Next time I'll use olive oil or duck or goose fat. The leftovers warmed up nicely the next day.

• Smoked haddock and leek risotto

  • Astrid5555 on February 29, 2020

    Made this to use up some leftover smoked trout and some leeks lingering in the fridge. Perfect winter risotto for the adults, not so much for the kids. Nevertheless, will repeat when there is just the two of us.

  • FJT on March 08, 2020

    We really liked this and it makes a nice change from mushroom risotto (my go-to risotto!). Will make again.

  • herbietea on January 25, 2013

    Very tasty, next time use smaller, less green leeks

• Danish Christmas kringle with cardamom

  • monica107 on January 26, 2014

    The recipe put me off at first glance because it required yeast and rising time and such, but upon further review (and making it) it is quite unfussy. I left the first rise overnight (no time is specified) out of sheer convenience. After making the dough I made the filling and stuck it in the fridge til I assembled and baked it the next day. Let the filling sit out and come to room temp before you attempt to spread it onto the long strip of dough. The frosting seemed superfluous to me; a dusting of powdered sugar looked much better. Overall, an impressive looking dessert item, quite uncomplicated once you get started, and highly recommended for a holiday table.

• Georgian lamb with damsons and walnuts

  • saladdays on March 08, 2014

    This is such a good recipe that I shall find it difficult to make any other lamb casserole dish. There is a real depth to the flavours from the different spices especially enhanced by the pomegranate molasses. I halved the amount of cayenne pepper used as it looked rather a lot and it was lip tingling rather than lip numbing. Used damsons from an autumn glut that I had in the freezer. Recipe is on p. 133, it is not in the book's index.

• Onion and cider soup with melting Camembert

  • Lillibet on September 23, 2013

    Very nice and rich for an onion soup - cheese melt really sets it apart.

• Melting leg of lamb with juniper berries

  • FJT on April 04, 2021

    This was excellent and will now be my go-to leg of lamb recipe. I took a few liberties with the recipe, but I don't think I altered it beyond recognition. I only had a 1kg boneless, rolled leg of lamb rather than a 2.4kg bone-in joint, so the cooking time was always going to be reduced. I also didn't fancy cooking it on the stove as I had a few things to take care of and wanted a hands off recipe - so this went in a low oven for just 4 hours with some extra liquid added after 2 hours. It did indeed melt and tasted wonderful. We had to stop ourselves eating too much as the leftovers are destined to become shepherd's pie tomorrow!

• Georgian cheese pies

  • stockholm28 on January 13, 2020

    This was fine, but it was nothing like the khachapuri that I tasted in a Georgian restaurant. It seems that most of the khachapuri recipes use yeast. This one uses baking powder. The recipe makes 2 pies, so I just made half a recipe. The dough is made with bread flour, Greek yogurt, milk, salt, and baking powder. After kneading a couple minutes, I had to add about a Tbsp more yogurt as it became clear that I would never get all the flour incorporated. She also says to place it on a buttered baking pan and I wasn’t sure if this meant a sheet pan or a round cake pan or something else. I used a 9” cake pan and it worked fine, but I think a sheet pan would work better. I doubt I will make this again, but I will seek out a more authentic recipe.

• Sour cream apple-pie muffins with pecans and brown sugar

  • stockholm28 on January 19, 2020

    I have the U.S. edition. I’m sorry to report these were a bust for me. I am not sure if I did something wrong or if this was a US conversion issue, My recipe calls for 4 cups flour, 1 cup sour cream, and 2 Tbsp milk. I’m wondering if the measures were not properly converted from the UK edition. I have had that problem before with the U S editions of Diana Henry’s books. My dough did not really come together. It was like big crumbs. It just seemed like way too much flour for the amount of wet ingredients. It was still not cooked at 20 minutes baking so I went an extra 5 minutes. The muffins ended up very dry and dense. The flavor was good, but the texture was not.

  • Hannaha100 on January 20, 2020

    I've not made this one but I was curious - it does seem to be a conversion issue. UK version says 400g plain flour, sifted, 200ml sour cream, 25ml milk. 4 cups flour is more like 500g.

• Mulled wine (Glögg)

  • stockholm28 on January 25, 2020

    While this has some ingredients that I’ve never seen in glögg before (Marsala wine, Angostura bitters, and Cointreau), it was very tasty. I omitted the aquavit.

• Honeyed duck breasts with figs, chestnuts, and shallots

  • Foodycat on February 03, 2020

    I halved the amount of sugar and only used 1tbs of honey, which was perfect for our tastes. The recipe only uses a few tbs of cider - which I didn't mind because I am more than happy to drink the rest of the bottle - so I wouldn't buy it specially. Very nice and quick to cook.

• Austrian rabbit with bacon and sour cream

  • Foodycat on March 08, 2015

    I used pork tenderloin, cut into thick medallions, because I have very mixed results cooking rabbit. I used a leek instead of an onion and cut the cooking time down to about 40 minutes. Really delicious.

• Salad of smoked duck with farro, red chicory, and pomegranates

  • Foodycat on December 22, 2014

    I used bulgar wheat because I didn't have farro, and a bit of honey in the dressing because I didn't have creme de cassis. A delicious, hearty winter salad.

• Seared scallops with bacon and Jerusalem artichoke purée

  • Foodycat on January 13, 2020

    Very simple and absolutely gorgeous. I pureed the Jerusalem artichokes with 100ml cream and it didn't need more than that for a beautifully velvety puree.

• Roast winter squash with porcini cream

  • Foodycat on July 28, 2014

    I add some garlic to each squash. We've also done this on the Weber in summer, as a side dish and it is very successful!

• Roasted pork rib chops with pears, onions, and melting Gorgonzola

  • Foodycat on November 01, 2014

    I made this once years ago, and I remember being stunned by how rich it was. This time around I used loin chops and omitted the marscarpone, and it was still quite rich, but really delicious.

  • Elbea on February 27, 2021

    This is incredibly easy and the end dish is really tasty. The only adjustment I make is to add the mascarpone a couple of minutes before the cooking time is up, otherwise it seems to melt away completely. It's a good honest dish, using minimal ingredients. We love it and make it regularly when there's plenty of pears (or apples) to use up.

• Swedish Thursday soup with split peas and ham

  • e_ballad on September 03, 2018

    Delicious winter warmer.

• Farmer's carrots with bacon and parsley

  • e_ballad on September 17, 2019

    It’s got bacon. So of course this is excellent. It is really very rich & is great for the depths of winter.

• Irish stew

  • e_ballad on June 15, 2017

    I have loved a great many Irish stews... but sadly this wasn't one of them. This appears to be a very authentic dish, but it lacked any flavour, despite ample seasoning. I really wanted to like this more than we did.

• Mile-high buttermilk pancakes with date and pecan butter and maple syrup

  • e_ballad on December 27, 2017

    Not sure if our hot humid conditions influenced the outcome, but we failed to get much rise from these pancakes.

• Beef pie with wild mushrooms and claret

  • Frogcake on October 15, 2016

    This beef pie definitely warmed our souls. Will make this again.

• Roast figs, shallots, and chestnuts with Gorgonzola polenta

  • raybun on December 20, 2017

    This has to be one of my favorite dishes I’ve made all year. The flavour combination was fantastic, and was perfect for a cold winters night. I used Roquefort instead of Gorgonzola as that’s what I had. A 5 star recipe! (Photo).

• Romanian bean, smoked bacon, and sour cream soup

  • Frenchfoodie on February 16, 2020

    Seriously good soup, light but satisfying and tasty but really well balanced.

• Hungarian lecsó

  • mjes on September 09, 2021

    Onions and bell peppers season in sweet and hot paprika served with sour cream over noodles. This makes a quick and tasty main dish for me.

• Pommes de terre Braytoises

  • MarciK on September 23, 2019

    I used sour cream instead of creme fraiche. This turned out very well. I don’t like mashed potatoes, but I did like this. Next time I’d halve the recipe since half a potato was plenty filling for me, and I don’t need 8 servings for just me.

• Bibliocook

  Vividly luminous photographs...compliment Henry’s sensuous writing and make this a book to curl up with on a dark night in front of a roaring fire. Just don’t try doing it when you’re hungry.

  Full review

• The Foodie Bugle

  An interview with Diana Henry about her cookbook collection, her life and her new book.

  Full review

• Jam and Clotted Cream

  This book is not just about food and ingredients but about the weather, the seasons and about forgotten places - in essence it's about the magic of Autumn and Winter.

  Full review