At Home With Carolyne Roehm [Hardcover]

Carolyne Roehm (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 30, 2001

Former fashion designer Carolyne Roehm is renowned for combining a keen appreciation of beauty with practical know-how. Now, with this gorgeously illustrated guide, readers can go behind the scenes of her memorable parties, learn her entertaining secrets, and visit the glamorous homes where she has dazzled her prominent guests.

Imparting fresh ideas and inspiration for knockout events on any budget, At Home with Carolyne Roehm follows the calendar’s seasons to provide year-round suggestions for place settings, floral arrangements, and menus. Emphasizing creativity and natural elements, Carolyne Roehm’s tips are not exclusively geared toward elegant functions: Picnics, cozy fireside meals for two, afternoon teas, and formal dinner parties are treated with equal verve. Drawing on ingredients and imagery appropriate for spring, summer, winter, and fall and all the major holidays, this handsome collection yields a trove of simple but sophisticated recipes along with perfect tabletop and decorative accents to accompany them. Biscuit sandwiches of Mustard-Glazed and Smoked Cheddar; Shrimp and White Bean Salad; Zucchini and Watercress Soup; and Fudgy Rum Chocolate Cake are just a few of the delicious and easy-to-prepare dishes. For successful festive occasions that friends and family will remember for years, from a grand New Year’s Eve gala to a spring brunch with a floral theme, At Home with Carolyne Roehm is itself glorious cause for celebration.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Before launching her own line of couture clothes, Carolyn Roehm worked with Oscar de la Renta. The author of five previous books, she divides her time among her exquisite homes in New York City, Paris, and Connecticut, all of which are frequently featured in the media.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

SWEET POTATO PEAR SOUP
-a recipe from At Home With Carolyne Roehm-

3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
4 cups chicken stock
3/4 cup chopped shallots
2-inch piece of ginger root, peeled and minced
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup orange juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 Bartlett pears, peeled and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup pear brandy
Zest of 1 lime

Simmer potatoes in chicken stock, until potatoes are cooked through. Meanwhile, over low heat,
saute shallots and ginger in 2 tablespoons butter for about 5 minutes.
Drain the potatoes, reserving liquid. Puree potatoes, shallots, ginger, and reserved liquid with
an immersion blender or in a food processor (in batches). Process until smooth. Return soup
to pan and season with salt and pepper. Over medium heat, saute pears in the remaining 2
tablespoons butter for 5 minutes. Remove the pears from the stove and add the pear
brandy. Return the pears to the stove and flambé pears until the alcohol burns off. Add
pears and pan juices to the soup. Reheat soup. Pour into individual bowls and top with lime
zest.

Makes 6 servings

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter; 1 edition (October 30, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0767908880
• ISBN-13: 978-0767908887
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 1.2 x 12.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #352,812 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #9 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Expert Advice > Carolyne Roehm

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Lush Photography on Entertaining, Not on Interior Design, November 12, 2001

By 

"eguisheim" - See all my reviews

This review is from: At Home With Carolyne Roehm (Hardcover)

As a fan of Carolyne Roehm's A Passion for Flowers, I was anxious for the release of At Home with Carolyne Roehm. Given her instinctive sense of color, texture, and proportion in designing luxuriously elegant flower arrangements, I was hoping to see her talents applied to interior design in her latest book, At Home. I had expected to see favorite rooms in her houses with tips on decorating, but please be advised, "At Home" refers only to entertaining including menus, recipes, place settings and more flower arrangements. Although I was frustrated at having misinterpreted the title, the sheer loveliness of her ideas on seasonal dinners, afternoon teas and picnics did make up for some of my disappointment.

If you're interested in still life photography or design layout, you will enjoy the visual appeal of this book. Chapters are organized by season and subdivided into holidays and other events. Roehm creates poetic tableaux - for example, a springtime picnic photo shows a canoe laden with cushions, picnic basket, fruit and flowers. It's moored at the banks of a grassy island (yes, owned by Roehm) and leafy branches trail at the surface of the water.

I have tried a few of the recipes, which are for the most part, simple and tasty. But what makes Roehm's meals extraordinary are not the recipes, but her impressively extravagant collection of china, silverware and glassware. Although there is an appendix ("Details") on table setting design and care of china and linens, etc., this is not for someone who is looking for an extensive "how to" a la Martha Stewart. It probably wasn't meant to be.

I believe Roehm simply offers us artistic inspiration. This is her visual interpretation of a year's worth of entertaining. And while most of us don't have the extensive resources she has, we are still able to draw several ideas about presentation that will delight our own guests.

33 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A page-turner feast for the eyes., November 16, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: At Home With Carolyne Roehm (Hardcover)

Page after page of lush photographs--flowers, table settings, rooms, vignettes. Roehm's color sense is superb. i.e.her use of brown with red, or sprouting spring green with violet. Although the settings are lavish, the ideas are inspiring and certainly adaptable to a lesser scale than her own. We can learn from these photographs.
The recipes are hearty, easily followed, and particularly appropriate for less formal dining and buffets. I would, however limit the overdose of mixed herbs in the shrimp and bean soup to one combined tablespoon). At the end of the book, in the Details appendix, are small inset photographs of table setting paraphernalia. This section could be very helpful as a reference guide to table setting know-how in general.
I found this book to be a culmination of Roehm's Four Seasons Notebooks, but it is still different enough,informative enough to warrant adding to your collection. At Home with Carolyne Roehm is one of my choices for this season's gift giving since it's all about the love and warmth of home and hearth. I cannot imagine a more beautiful book. At least until Roehm's next book is published.

48 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Visually Stunning, October 31, 2001

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: At Home With Carolyne Roehm (Hardcover)

Once again,the statuesque Carolyne Roehm has dazzled us with a sumptuous collection of words and images creating a world in which we want to live now. Her touch is at once delicate and confidently bold in her use of color,groupings of furniture, objets and recipes.Her style is not at all derivative,but conveys vast knowledge of not only the art of living well, but how to really enjoy life. Regardless of the amount of money spent, these are ideas, not merely pretty pictures. Hopefully Carolyne will treat us to more of her world with additional peeks onto her lush life.