Customer Reviews

At Home With Friends: Spontaneous Celebrations for Any Occasion

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Now let's be fair. I wouldn't call a book with full page photos every other page minimally pictured. Topping the quantity of the pictures is the quality--crisp, rich, highly inspiring. (If you like the magazine Real Simple, you will like this book.)

Some of the recipes look complicated but are in fact fairly easy to follow. I tried a few and the results came out pretty close to the pictures. Every menu comes in a Plan Ahead version and a Last Minute version. So if you are in a time crunch and still want to impress your friends, this book is for you.

ONLY buy this book if you're looking for party planning ideas. the recipes are overly simple: for example, a few pages are dedicated to teaching you how to lay out deli meats for a buffet. many recipes suggest using store-bought cake and muffin mixes...gross! the pictures are pretty, though.

I found this book to be incredibly inspiring. The ideas and the recipes are new and inventive. It's beautifully photographed and well written--a definite keeper!

I bought this books in hope of getting lots of great ideas! I love pictures for ideas and there were minimal pictures...the menus were so so and pretty complicated. Some great ideas thrown in the midst of all the "stuff". Good book for those who don't need visual inspiration and can create recipes with ease!

As other reviewers have essentailly said, this is less of a cookbook than it is an idea book. The recipies are generally not complicated, and the pictures nicely fit the overall theme of the cookbook, which I see as making hosting a party seem uncomplicated. By this I mean that with easy recipes, clear directions, and thematically appropriate pictures one can, without much trouble, put a party together. The cake mixes and other simplifications (that might make Mark Bitman shake his head) are quite reasonable accommodations when seen in light of this simplifying approach to a party.

Our favorite section is the Asian Dinner. The ginger-shrimp dumplings are outstanding as is, and after making them a few times we've make fun modifications (such as mushrooms instead of shrimp to be veggie-friendly). The assembly style soup is one of my favorite, easy group meals. Everyone gets what they want and it just 'feels' nice in a party setting. It is certainly not 'fancy', but makes for a good meal that can involve attendee participation in preparation!

One minor nitpick is that the book itself does not hold up well to repeated use. The cover has completely fallen off ours and the spine is cracked in several places. Granted we have had it a while, but a cookbook should last longer than this.

This book is both much more and much less than a traditional cookbook. It is worth seeing it for what it truly is (the thing it excels at): a quick, uncomplicated guide to throwing a party surrounding a meal. Having simple meals is welcome if you don't entertain often. Otherwise you will likely see this as too simple. But that is not a fault of the book by any means!

I love all the recipes especially the the Florentine Sandwhich cookies, Cannoli with Orange Zest, Mediterranean Pizza,and Easy Apple Pie The party ideas were very creative and colorful and elegant and wonderful, I love the pictures which help the presentation! Very well done!!
Really enjoyed the book. Actually Love it! Have purchased several copies to give to friends as gifts.

The writers of this book are uber creative, but this book is no indication of their talent. Have to give this one two thumbs down:(