Contents

Christmas-tide

Spirit of Christmas

Mrs Winterson’s Mince Pies

The SnowMama

Ruth Rendell’s Red Cabbage

Dark Christmas

Kathy Acker’s New York Custard

Christmas in New York

My Christmas Eve Smoked Salmon and Champagne

The Mistletoe Bride

Susie’s Christmas Eve Gravlax

O’Brien’s First Christmas

Dad’s Sherry Trifle

The Second-Best Bed

Shakespeare and Company’s Chinese Dumplings

Christmas Cracker

My Mulled Wine
(Or: No More Fruit in Main Courses)

A Ghost Story

Kamila Shamsie’s Turkey Biryani

The Silver Frog225

My New Year’s Eve Cheese Crispies

The Lion, the Unicorn and Me

My New Year’s Day Steak Sandwich

The Glow-Heart

My Twelfth Night Fishcakes

Christmas Greetings from the Author