Amazon.com (ISBN 051788271X, Paperback)

Nobody knows the holidays like Martha Stewart, and here she gives you all the information you need to have a spectacular Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Eve. Martha and her crew provide you with a hearty Thanksgiving feast featuring Quail with Brussels Sprouts and Shallots, Garlic Roast Potatoes, and Roast Fennel. Later she offers up a tasty but simple family breakfast for Christmas morning and a sumptuous Christmas dinner centered around a Loin of Venison with Red-Currant Bordelaise and Roast Capon with Wild Rice Sourdough Stuffing. The lower-key New Year's Eve dinner of five dishes may be more appealing to kitchen novices.

Even if you're not planning a huge party, you'll still find the book useful for more simple ideas--chapters on homemade gifts, gift-wrapping, and wreaths and garlands provide easy-to-follow directions and lots of advice. The chapter on cookies features 23 different classics, and another chapter offers recipes for six pies plus tips on their assembly and even a list of "our favorite baking apples." Throughout the book you'll find interesting sidebars and beautiful photographs to tempt and inspire you. Maybe you're a new convert, maybe you missed one of the fabled Martha Stewart Living holiday issues, or maybe your copies are too dog-eared to read anymore--Holidays: The Best of Martha Stewart Living will help you make your holidays spectacular. --C.B. Delaney