Julia's Menus for Special Occasions : Six menus for special celebrations--from a cocktail party to a buffet dinner.

Rating:
Summary: Ambitious, imaginative, delicious menus .
Review: This book was for me a primer. I enjoyed cooking, knew a few basics, had the time and desire, but lacked experience to put together elegant, imaginative, satisfying and most important, delicious meals for special occasions. In spite of its ambitious menus with fancy hors d'oeuvres and desserts, this book was a patient teacher.

The cooking instructions were friendly, but detailed enough for anyone to get first rate results, even the first time. I committed to heart a few of the basic recipes, like the poached pairs and the caramel sauce, that I found myself making over and over again on whims. It helped me gain confidence to experiment; I applied the candied orange rind confetti from the book's orange slices and blueberries, to grapefruit sorbet and created a new hit. That led to experiments with the details of other courses and finally the menus themselves.

Julia's "Menus for Special Occasions" is an important resource in my kitchen. It's a constant inspiration. I recommend it for any who does not already have it, or its earlier incarnation as two separate volumes: Julia Child & Company, and Julia Child & More Company.

Rating:
Summary: Ambitious, imaginative, delicious menus .
Review: This book was for me a primer. I enjoyed cooking, knew a few basics, had the time and desire, but lacked experience to put together elegant, imaginative, satisfying and most important, delicious meals for special occasions. In spite of its ambitious menus with fancy hors d'oeuvres and desserts, this book was a patient teacher.

The cooking instructions were friendly, but detailed enough for anyone to get first rate results, even the first time. I committed to heart a few of the basic recipes, like the poached pairs and the caramel sauce, that I found myself making over and over again on whims. It helped me gain confidence to experiment; I applied the candied orange rind confetti from the book's orange slices and blueberries, to grapefruit sorbet and created a new hit. That led to experiments with the details of other courses and finally the menus themselves.

Julia's "Menus for Special Occasions" is an important resource in my kitchen. It's a constant inspiration. I recommend it for any who does not already have it, or its earlier incarnation as two separate volumes: Julia Child & Company, and Julia Child & More Company.