And now, without more delay:

December Magazine Review

Gourmet:
Contents Section - the Aztec Sluggers recipe looks like a wonderful grown-up approach to Mexican hot chocolate; hopefully we'll be able to try them over Christmas.
Menu - the Popcornography is interesting
Good Living - the peppermint ice cream looks yummy, as does the Beef Stroganoff, but the reviews and other items featured weren't as striking the ones in past issues have been, and although I love the apple peeler that I also suggested a while back, most of their suggested gifts are out of my price range
Drinks- the article about sparkling wines is informative and interesting
Features - Although their cookies are not as visually striking as they have been in past years, the Grasshopper Squares and Chrusti look very yummy, and I would love to make one or both. The requisite sugar cookie recipe is also worth exploring. The piece on a Lebanese restaurant in Indiana was not what I expected from the lead-in, which was dissapointing, but the piece on a Caribbean vacation was wonderfully day dream inducing, and the piece about food enterprises run by women in Uganda is inspiring and fascinating. The Casual Cooking piece is beautiful, if not particularly inspiring to the cook in me, as was the Lowcountry Lowdown article on culinary traditions in Coastal South Carolina.
Gourmet Everyday - Braised Chicken with Apples and Sage - definitely have to try that, and the Butternut Squash Polenta. The Potato and Blue Cheese Gratin also sounds wonderful.
And finally, the article in the middle of the issue has a fascinating duality to it - as a cook, I loved reading about Celia Barbour's trials making "the best cookies in the world", but the descriptions of her staying up late night after night, while a great read, definitely did not make me want to try to make the cookies myself!

Bon Appétit
Definitely the prettiest cover picture of the month, this picture of their cookies is mouthwatering!
Starters - the Tools for the Tree picture is adorable and makes me want everything shown, and the Signature Bowl with Sterling Scribe is a great idea (if only it were in my budget)
Easy Entertaining - the Cranberry and Vanilla-Bean Mimosas look amazing (nice twist on a great classic), and everything else looks great, if less inspired
Cookbooks - A great roundup (and what a pretty picture - the art director does an amazing job all through this issue)
Easy Entertaining - the Carrot Soup with Star Anise and the Bibb Lettuce Salad with Persimmons and Candied Pecans look especially good
Kitchen Favorites - the Cranberry and Tart Apple Gelées and the Gingerbread Truffles both look like must tries, and the Hot Buttered Rum Cheesecakes look great, but it's probably too much of a big project for this year
People and Places - great story of traveling and longing for the tastes of home
Wine & Spirits - interesting, but not as informative as the one article in Gourmet, but the gift list is good
Gift Guide - they look nice, but definatley out of my price range
Features - The Main Attraction looks good, though nothing grabs my attention except for the Green Onion-Parmesan Popovers, and that's only because my mother has a popover pan I can use while visiting her later this month. The Hanukkah party article is wonderful, and I want to try the Pomegranate-Prosecco Cocktail, the two variations on traditional latkes, adn the Cream Cheese, Olive, and Rosemary Rugelach (and good job, editors, for including a substantial article on Hanukkah!) I'm not particularly blown away by the article on Christmas Eve with a Mexican twist - something about the food doesn't really inspire me - and Christmas in a Flash suffers from the same problem. Their cookie piece, however, is inspiring enough to make up for all of that, and I can't wait to try their Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies and the Pistachio, Raspberry adn White Chocolate Biscotti. The dessert article is beautiful, especially the picture of the Poached Pear Tart with Caramelized Pistachios, and The Ultimate European Christmas is a fascinating look into Christmas traditions around the Europe.

Saveur
Fare - fascinating mini-trips through the Fair of the Fat Ox in Italy, the history of the Lower East Side, and the characteristics of the Pakistani sweet-tooth (and of course, a review of cookbooks - how would we survive the holidays without these?)
Cellar - entering their take on the seasonal bubbly, the editors focus on blanc de blancs - very informative
Memories - the story of how one girl came to love chitlins; a nice exploration of her relationshiop with her parents and her experiences growing up
Lives - growing grapes and making wine in Southern California; for some reason it just didn't pull me in - and I grew up around there
Source - a nice introduction to the Grenache varietal and the people who want you to drink it
Classic - the what and how of Hot and Sour Soup; interesting, but I'm not particularly inspired to abandon my takeout and make it myself
Features - a beautiful exploration of Christmas in Moscow, and interesting article on the "mother of Mexican Cuisine," an ode to strudel, and a fascinating piece about the Basque descendents in Idaho; all interesting reads, but they don't make me want to go out and make the effort to cook the dishes highlighted, no matter how yummy they sound (I may make an exception for the Rice Pudding; it can't be that hard to make, and it looks so comfortingly good)

Martha Stewart Living
From My Home to Yours - This year Martha's giving friends bread pudding made of brioche from Balthazar, in special hand-made bowls, with label tags made from a woodcut a famous artist did of one of her trees. Nice idea, but who has those kind of resources? Of course she gives you copies of the tags to make yourself, but who wants to give a gift that's an exact replica of the one the most famous hostess in the country is giving?
Dessert of the Month - this Poppy Seed Grapefruit Torte has one giant flaw: the poppy seeds on the top are so reminiscent of bagles and cream cheese that the pieces of grapefruit sticking out of the cake look like lox. Not an appetizing idea.
From the Garden - Tiny trees are cute, but not inspiring
Find of the Month - wrapping presents in vintage linens is a nice idea, but I'd probably just give them as gifts
Good Things - the idea of making molds of snow to put candles in is nice, but the picture they have makes them look kind of messy; the editors seem to have taken my idea of keeping frozen dumplings in the freezer; putting white light strands in opaque vases looks nice and seems totally doable, and the idea of giving spice sachets is great (just make sure to give them early in the season so they can use them)
Food - the cookies don't look particularly inspiring, but I'll try the sugar cookie recipe to test it against the others, the fuss-free holiday snacks aren't particularly inspired, though the drinks look good (but who thinks a recipe that requires you to juice an apple for an apple martini qualifies as "fuss-free"?)
Entertaining - the idea of buying wine by the case is great, but the bottles she chooses aren't particularly affordable
Crafts - the candles in the form of holiday shapes - especially the pine trees - are really cute (if only I had that kind of time to craft)
Gardening - good useful info about caring for potted bulbs and other holiday plants
Technology - these ornaments made of paper with photos on them might be a fun project with kids, but they're not particularly inspiring; the photocards aren't anything new, but the art director had some great ideas for composing the photos; "digital cameras, demystified" isn't particularly informative, unless you know absolutely nothing about digital
Features - I don't really care enough about pointsettias to read the whole thing, but the pictures are lovely; the pictures in "a feast of flavors" are fantastic and the pât é with pomegranate gelée looks wonderful, as do the eggnog Bavarians, adn I'm definitely going to try to make the pistachio-cranberry torrone; the ideas in "Christmas in the City" are a little too upmarket for me (and no kids are that perfect and clean), the small house decorations are cute in a kind of model train way, and the idea of using baskets of fruit and vegetables, while not new, is a nice reminder of easy ways to decorate; I'm not sure what Martha's obsession with glitter is this year, but the article on glitter kind of makes me think that Glinda the Good Witch threw up all over the set - there is one really great idea (decorating glass pillars with winter scenes in glitter), but this project obviously requires money, time, and skill that I don't have
Fit to Eat - this sweet potato based menu looks good
What's for Dinner - though not usually a fan of this section, these dishes look great; hopefully I'll get a chance to make some