This is the time of year when my mailbox is stuffed full of catalogs for companies that I am not entirely sure how I got on their list- Little Princess catalog, really? I don't have a young daughter as a matter of fact, I don't have any daughters. I'm not quite sure how that one happened.
What I do enjoy showing up in my mailbox are the holiday issues of food magazines. The covers are so cheery and bright, and there are always great recipes that I want to add to my holiday repertoire.
Cooking Light has a lovely little mini raspberry cheesecake on the cover that just screams Christmas. Last year we celebrated New Year's Eve with a dinner at our home in Longboat Key, Florida. We bought a huge beef tenderloin from Costco, seasoned it up and grilled it outside. (We never used to be able to do that in Central New York in December!)
This December issue has a Holiday Survival Guide section, and a recipe for the Perfect Beef Tenderloin is there, along with a Board Dressing that you place on the cutting board for your roast. You mix the herbs, oil and vinegar, then place the roast on top after it cooks, roll it and then slice. We are definitely trying this one on New Year's Eve. The link for the recipe is here.
![]() |
| Photo by Jennifer Causey- Cooking Light magazine |
food network magazine has a special pullout Favorite Holiday Party Foods section that takes you from appetizers like Party Peppers (stuffed jalapenos) and Spinach-Artichoke Soup Shooters to drinks like Apple Cider Floats to desserts like Pear-White Pepper Tiramisu.
The main issue has 120 holiday recipes, 25 cookie recipes, and 100 gift ideas for the food lovers on your list, with price points from $8 to $100. There is also a cute section on ideas for gingerbread houses- roofs made of Crispix cereal and Necco wafers, doors made of spearmint gum, windows from Oreo cookies. You'll ace any Gingerbread House competition with these clever ideas.
The link for food network, with pages of holiday food ideas, is here.
Do you have any favorite food magazines? Let me know in comments.

