Seasoned readings — New Christmas cookbooks

Paula Deen is the Food Network's motherly queen of Southern comfort. Viewers joke that her recipes start out with either a cup of butter or a pound of bacon, but more than half of the 10 most-accessed recipes from the Food Network Web site for 2005 were from her series, "Paula's Home Cooking."

Deen's first claim to culinary fame was her restaurant, The Lady and Sons, in Savannah, Ga. She now has five cookbooks — including "Paula Deen Celebrates!" by Paula Deen with Martha Nesbit (Simon & Schuster, $26) — and a magazine. Her prime-time special, "Paula's Southern Thanksgiving," was Food Network's most-watched TV special to date.

This isn't strictly a Christmas book; Deen covers year-round celebrations like Mother's Day, Mardi Gras, Fourth of July and Thanksgiving. She also includes her own "holidays," such as Elvis' Birthday (Jan. 8), and a Movie-Watching Pizza Party in Bed.

Deen declares, "At the restaurant, we have to cook so many turkeys and hams for Thanksgiving and throw so many parties with turkey and dressing, that I am just sick to death of turkey by the time Christmas rolls around. All I want is beef."

She writes that she always cooks at home on New Year's Day because her restaurant is closed, and because she wants to make sure her family eats black-eyed peas (for luck), hog jowl (for health) and collard or turnip greens (for financial success).

ZUCCHINI BOATS

3 medium zucchini squash

1 1/2 cups soft bread crumbs

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 egg, beaten well

2 green onions, minced

1 tablespoon minced parsley

1/2 teaspoon salt

Paprika

Grated Parmesan cheese for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash zucchini. Cut off ends but don't peel. Cook in boiling, salted water 7-10 minutes. Drain off water and cut zucchini in half lengthwise and carefully remove pulp with spoon, leaving shell intact. In a small bowl, mash zucchini pulp with fork and mix with bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, eaten egg, onion, parsley and salt. Spoon mixture into zucchini shells and place in baking dish. Sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese and paprika. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Makes 6 servings. — Lion House Christmas

ROASTED ROOT VEGETABLES

1 large onion

2 large carrots

1 large potato

2 large parsnips

2 large turnips

3 tablespoons canola oil

1 teaspoon cracked black pepper

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 red bell pepper

1 green bell pepper

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley