by Mario Batali
Italians are big on holidays—and you would feel pretty big, too, after a Christmas Eve feast of three different pastas and seven fish dishes. New York City restaurateur (Babbo) and Food Network chef Mario Batali draws on travel and his own family's traditional recipes for these festive menus—everything from aperitifs like blood orange bellinis to the final walnut tart. Seafood selections such as sea bass ravioli with marjoram and potatoes are at the heart of this book, which includes full-page color photos of most of the dishes as well as Christmas scenes from around Italy. Batali is American, so the Felliniesque photos of him in Italy—hanging around green markets, riding a Vespa—seem a trifle contrived. But he knows Italian food. If you survive the sumptuous Christmas Eve menu, you can look forward to Christmas Day's baked crepes stuffed with cheese, turkey stuffed with chestnuts and prunes, and crisp almond rings. We're stuffed just thinking about it. (Clarkson Potter, $23)
Bottom Line: You can always diet after New Year's
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