Fast and Fabulous Dinner Parties

Rating:
Summary: Fast and Fabulous Dinner Parties
Review: I attended a cooking class featuring Michele Braden. I have to say, afterwards I would have bought 30 books, had she had them available! I have impressed company time after time with these wonderful recipes. Michele was the most interesting approachable chef I have ever met. I read through this book like a novel, its that good!

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding favors busting out in every dinner party plan
Review: The most comprehensive plan for dinner parties by season. Decorating ideas plus a blending of wonderful flavors. She makes one want to try every recipe in the book. She has the ability to combine colors, flavors and tastes ina unique way to make you a wonderful hostess.

Rating:
Summary: Even Better Than Braden's 1994 Fast & Fab Parties
Review: Well worth it to get your oven mitts on this out of print hottie.

This is the one with her recipe for pesto and sun dried tomato torta which never fails to disappear rapidly into the mouths of ecstatic guests. The later book has a version of this with ingredients altered, not as wonderful.

Nothing in this book is truly fast, but everything is fabulous. Braden feels that if you can prepare certain things in advance (and she always details these for the reader), the cook's final assembly IS fast, so I can forgive this misleading title. Everything is organized into seasonal menus, with ideas for table presentation, type of party, & many useful suggestions on recipe variations. Perhaps it is this down-to-earth attitude about playing around with a dish which makes each recipe so interesting and fun.

I particularly like the way that many menus contain recipes which are not necessarily rich, caloric, and fussy. There are plenty of recipes that call for simple, fresh ingredients. That said, Braden definitely includes a number of recipes which are indeed very decadent, elaborate, and labor-intensive, with hard-to-find ingredients for all but those living in proximity to urban gourmet outlets. On balance, you can find herein either fuss or no-fuss recipes, and there always seems to be a way of simplifying a recipe. Also, Braden sometimes suggests ways of dealing creatively with a leftover.

There's a real enthusiasm in the whole setup of the book, which helps any cook immensely. Great skill is never necessary, and the recipes are clear and nearly fool-proof. Most joyful cookbook I've ever used!

Rating:
Summary: Even Better Than Braden's 1994 Fast & Fab Parties
Review: Well worth it to get your oven mitts on this out of print hottie.

This is the one with her recipe for pesto and sun dried tomato torta which never fails to disappear rapidly into the mouths of ecstatic guests. The later book has a version of this with ingredients altered, not as wonderful.

Nothing in this book is truly fast, but everything is fabulous. Braden feels that if you can prepare certain things in advance (and she always details these for the reader), the cook's final assembly IS fast, so I can forgive this misleading title. Everything is organized into seasonal menus, with ideas for table presentation, type of party, & many useful suggestions on recipe variations. Perhaps it is this down-to-earth attitude about playing around with a dish which makes each recipe so interesting and fun.

I particularly like the way that many menus contain recipes which are not necessarily rich, caloric, and fussy. There are plenty of recipes that call for simple, fresh ingredients. That said, Braden definitely includes a number of recipes which are indeed very decadent, elaborate, and labor-intensive, with hard-to-find ingredients for all but those living in proximity to urban gourmet outlets. On balance, you can find herein either fuss or no-fuss recipes, and there always seems to be a way of simplifying a recipe. Also, Braden sometimes suggests ways of dealing creatively with a leftover.

There's a real enthusiasm in the whole setup of the book, which helps any cook immensely. Great skill is never necessary, and the recipes are clear and nearly fool-proof. Most joyful cookbook I've ever used!