Review
No spiral-bound collection of recipes for "casseroles" held together with cream of mushroom soup, Gatherings is a highly professional, coffee-table volume of recipes and menu ideas"gathered" from the Milwaukee area. Ten chapters offer suggestions for complete meals with the focus on entertaining. Topics include holidays and special occasions, formal diners, picnics, theme parties, etc. Attractive color photographs illustrate selected dishes. Recipes are for, the most part short and easy to read, with plenty of white space available for cooks' scribblings. Ingredients native to the Great Lakes-area predominate--dairy products, beef and pork, local fish, fresh fruits and vegetables-but the inclusion of such dishes as Hungarian Steak, Sole Caledonia, Pheasant Perigourdine, and the like suggests an international flavor. Items called for are usually easy to find but not necessarily inexpensive. Gatherings will prove useful to people who entertain frequently since it provides ideas for entire repasts, thereby eliminating the time consuming "what shall we serve with what" dilemma, and even offers occasional suggestions for table decorations. Bookstores and libraries serving the Great Lakes area should consider purchase. -- From Independent Publisher
