Essential Mormon Celebrations

Jensen follows up her beloved Essential Mormon Cookbook with this handy, spiral-bound hardcover. Like the first book, it's organized by the four seasons, but this sequel is preoccupied less with day-to-day cooking than with special events. There are recipes for holidays both major (Christmas, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving) and minor (Mother's Day, Labor Day, Memorial Day), as well as scattered occasions throughout the year: bridal and baby showers, a missionary homecoming, a graduation and a tailgating party, among other events. A few of the first book's recipes are repurposed here: orange rolls, glazed carrots and peas (""a family favorite,"" Jensen explains), and wassail all put in a sophomore appearance. But most of the recipes are new, including some international fare: there's a pan-Asian menu for New Year's Eve, a Tex-Mex feast for Cinco de Mayo, and an Irish dinner for Saint Patrick's Day. Despite the international forays, Jensen clearly favors stick-to-your-ribs American comfort food that is easy to prepare and made with ingredients a family may already have on hand. You don't have to be Mormon to appreciate this helpful book, though there are nods to Latter-day Saints culinary traditions, including suggestions for food for Pioneer Day (when Mormons remember their pioneer ancestors each July 24), and a menu for ""conference dinner,"" a make-ahead meal for those two weekends a year that Mormons all over the world watch General Conference by satellite. And of course, Jell-O-a cultural staple for many American Mormons-features prominently in several recipes.