Customer Reviews

Potluck at Midnight Farm: Celebrating Food, Family, and Friends on Martha's Vineyard

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I Loved this cookbook! I first made the Lighthouse Lasagne and everyone raved, then onto the corn spoon pudding at another occasion, did I mention the Roasted Herb and Garlic Chicken, Tooo Good! This is a great cookbook for ANYONE that gets invited (To be so Lucky )a potluck with their children. How wonderful it is to spend an evening with friends and you're children and have great family food and fellowship. This is not a celebrity cookbook as some have mentioned, but rather a wAY TO get together book.

Ignore the parochial carping and celebrity baiting found in the previous reviews. This is actually a handsome and useful book. Not all of recipes are keepers, but that's true of any cookbook. The good ones, though, are quite good (the fried chicken is sensational), and the entertaining tips are savvy and valuable. Well worth the [money].

Sure it's fun looking. Great pictures. But some of the recipes I tried were far from good and I AM a cook. In addition, once you look through it, you get a little tired of seeing all of these gorgeous faces in glamourous settings and long for something a bit more "real". I am not sure why I bought this- and I will get a little fun out of it, but I will be passing it on as it is not a keeper. Makes a decent GIFT, but for the serious cook- or even the not so serious cook- this will be like an afternoon with People Magazine. Not a lot worth remembering.

i bought the book because i have spent 25 years going to martha's vineyard--the book is inspiring because it makes you want to have a potluck party at your own home--but dont buy it simply for the recipes--they are fine--buy it because its a fun addition to your collection and inspires you to celebrate family and friends-- and martha's vineyard--
the author's friends (whom she touts as a very eclectic group) happen to include all of the island's celebs---which does make it fun to look at the pics and read their recipes--

This beautifully photographed book is more than a cookbook. Each guest who brought a dish contributed a paragraph explaining the value their recipe holds to them personally. It is nice to see a warm sense of friendship and community so fashionably displayed and organized. The fear factor is taken out of shying away from trying the recipes as these are favorites and specialties of the recipe contributors. You will find something new everytime you open the book, just as if you were to visit Midnight Farm itself.

I love this book! I had pretty much given up on giving dinner parties -- who has time to shop, cook, and clean up after working all day? -- but this book opened my eyes to a new way to entertain. Everyone pitches in, everyone can relax and enjoy the meal and the company, and best of all, everyone helps clean up! Try it. You'll be very pleasantly surprised.

The New York Times was right: This book makes the Vineyard look like "a minimal-security prison for the criminally self-absorbed". There are so many better Vineyard-based cookbooks (like The Martha's Vineyard Cookbook--out now in its 3rd edition!)

The recipes are so-so but the text you have to wade through to get to them will ruin your appetite.

This book was given to me as a hostess gift during our first cocktail party (Ina Garten and Barefoot Contessa inspired) from a friend who knows that I love all things New England, especially Cape Cod and the Islands.

The photographs are delicious in and of themselves, even inspiring a few unusual bouquets of flowers and eclectic ideas for table settings. There are a few recipes that seem unappealing to me, but that is true of any book. An author simply cannot please everyone! For the most part I have found these recipes to have different and creative twists on many favorite flavors.

I recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in the "magical" element of the Vineyard as well as its' celebrity life. This is certainly not a book for those who want to throw hot dogs on the grill behind a split -evel home - not that there is anything wrong with that! It is for those who want to add an element of style to their backyard picnic behind that same split-level home. Potluck at Midnight Farm is about doing things with grace, that is, a Vineyard-style grace.

A year of potlucks on Martha's Vineyard are reflected in Tamara Weiss's Potluck At Midnight Farm, a superbly presented cookbook which covers everything from brunches to grill fests, and a hundred recipes from the author and her guests. Add striking color photos of finished dishes and a seasonal arrangement and you have a gorgeous presentation of eyecatching ideas for potluck dinners and special occasions.

I read the reviews and had to grin. Martha's vineyard has a groove,..a flow all it's own,..and it is what it is. If you don't get Martha's Vineyard,..then I can understand why alot of people don't get the book. I was bothered by the celebrity comments,..because on the island everyone mixes with everyone,...leather faced fisherman,..the town bar fixtures, quirky characters and yes even the celebrities. Good book for those who love the island and get the mind set.