Cooking for Company: All the Recipes You Need for Simple, Elegant Entertaining at Home [Paperback]

Nicole Aloni (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2, 2003

From the author of Secrets from a Caterer's Kitchen, the only 55 recipes you'll ever need to entertain with style and confidence.

Features:
* 55 essential dishes with lots of variations for every occasion
* 38 versatile menus-from casual meals to elegant repasts
* The basics of how to roast, grill, or steam meat, fish, and vegetables
* From napkins to utensils-what every home entertainer needs
* Hints and tips from the professionals to make every gathering as much a pleasure for the host as it is for the guests
* Crowd favorites and exotic cocktails
* Expert wine selections

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Nicole Aloni, author of Secrets from a Caterer's Kitchen, is a 15-year catering pro whose sold-out cooking classes are held throughout the country. She's appeared on local and national television and radio, including the Food Network. She lives, cooks, and entertains in southern California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: HP Trade; 1 edition (September 2, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557884021
• ISBN-13: 978-1557884022
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,096,868 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I have enjoyed an exciting, diverse career in the culinary arts. In my teens, I opened a small catering business. In my twenties, I completed the diploma course at La Varenne, Ecole de Cuisine in Paris and stayed on to work as a chef at chateaux in Burgundy. In California, I owned a natural foods restaurant, directed one of the country's most prestigious catering operations, owned my own catering company and produced a line of gourmet food products.

For six years, I was the Director of Catering at the Los Angeles Music Center where I catered the Academy Awards four times, prepared a state luncheon for HRH Queen Elizabeth II, and produced galas in honor of three American presidents, foreign dignitaries, divas and Julia Child. Julia was the one that wowed me!

Then I opened my own company, Nicole Cottrell Productions, Inc. My company catered elegant events for clients such as the Four Seasons Beverly Hills, the Tournament of Roses and the Kirov Ballet. We also manufactured packaged foods for fine grocers like Vons/Pavilions, Gelsons, Trader Joe's, Larry's and Neiman-Marcus.

Ultimately all of this had provided me with plenty to talk about, so I began to write books. My first book, Secrets From a Caterer's Kitchen, was published by Putnam in 2001. The second book, Cooking for Company, was published in September 2003. My most recent, The Backyard Bartender, was published in 2007 by Clarkson Potter.

As I write this, I'm at work on a cookbook for the environmental idealist in all of us. I also talk about cooking and entertaining across the country on television and radio, teach at schools like Sur La table, Draeger's and Central Market, and write lots of articles every year for national magazines. I live and cook in Seattle, WA.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SENSATIONAL!!!, January 17, 2004

By 

malibu reader (Malibu, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cooking for Company: All the Recipes You Need for Simple, Elegant Entertaining at Home (Paperback)

After hearing the charming Nicole Aloni on NPR I immediately purchased this cookbook book. (I even was late to an appointment because I didn't want to leave the car until the interview was finished). I became especially intrigued with her 5 criteria for including any recipe in her book (such as "delicious and easy yet look like they took all day", and "traditional enough to appeal to your grandmother's palate, yet sophisticated enough to impress your new fashion designer daughter-in-law").

After trying several recipes, I can say without a doubt that this is my most treasured new cookbook, and I have already given several copies as gifts.

My absolute favorite so far is her recipe for Carole's Perfect Brownies. I was skeptical because over the decades I have tried many MANY brownie recipes. This one is ABSOLUTELY THE BEST EVER - using 3 kinds of chocolate. I have FINALLY found the ultimate chocolate dessert!

I actually shouldn't say I have a favorite recipe in the book come to think of it, because the Lemon Tart and the Risotto Dolce Scented with Cardamom and Orange are
sensational. The very easy Chocolate-Orange Cake was absolutely delicious - and very unusual.

The New Wave Spinach and Pomegranate Salad sounds great as do all of the unique salad combinations that Nicole lists as one of her many "extras".

I can't wait to try the mole poblano-Style chili with Beans and the Arugula Pesto Roast Lamb.

ORDER THIS BOOK NOW and then go to Nicole's website to check out her classes around the country. I can't wait until she comes to Los Angeles! THANK YOU NICOLE!!!!!!!!!!!

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Can't wait for the holiday party season now!, October 14, 2003

By 

"lmarlatt" (Sugar Land, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cooking for Company: All the Recipes You Need for Simple, Elegant Entertaining at Home (Paperback)

This book is so much more than a collection of wonderful new recipes (Hot Scampi Dip, Coconut Crab Dip, Pork Tenderloin w/ Fig Sauce, just to name a few)...the author offers wine recommendations for almost every item, as well as explicit instructions on how far in advance an item can be prepped. Can entertaining get any easier than this?? The roasting charts cover virtually every cut of meat and every vegetable imaginable, making the book a veritable gold mine of information. And the section at the end entitled "Year Round Entertaining Menus", well, all I can say is that Nicole seems to have written this section for all of the cooking enthusiasts who never feel entirely confident that their party menu reflects an adequate balance of tastes, textures, and flavors. With this book in hand, I'm ready to entertain year-round!

17 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So much more than a great cookbook!, September 22, 2003

By 

James McHenry (La Mesa, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cooking for Company: All the Recipes You Need for Simple, Elegant Entertaining at Home (Paperback)

This is an enlightening peek into the mental and physical processes of gourmet cooking and presentation as well as professional entertaining. It is instructive and humorous. A great read for anyone who aspires to take entertainment to a higher level. Pick and choose among hundreds of ideas and variations to find the ones that appeal to you.