Customer Reviews

Retro Luau: Planning the Perfect Polynesian Party

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What a great book!

Unlike a previous reviewer, I read all about this book before I bought it, and knew what I was getting. And I love it.

Full of fun party ideas and MEALS. Ok, recipes which can be turned into meals. Ingredients are accessible, and fairly easy to make. We're planning a luau for the summer, and this book will be our guide!

We made almost all the stuff in this book and love it. We made a weekend Laau and had over 35 guest and they loved it. It went over so well that they have asked us to do another one. We even made the pig, we love this book, even my kids love the food.

I'll probably never make any of the recipes nor use any of the party ideas but it was still a fun read.

The premise of Retro Luau is appealing: here's recipes and other information for putting togeher a luau, with the spirit of the old, simpler days. Aha, I thought: I've wanted a collection of Polynesian recipes, and this one is pretty darned inexpensive.

Alas, I'm disappointed in what the book delivers. I had expected it to be a hoot, especially since I was initially recommended the book because I'd purchased and enjoyed The Gallery Of Regrettable Food. Instead, Retro Luau really does feel like a 1950s cookbook (with "retro" illustrations to match), with recipes including macadamia cheese puffs, upside-down pineapple cake, and teriyaki beef skewers.

None of the recipes are *bad*, mind you (though they're heavy on mayonnaise in a 1950s sort of way). The next time I need to take a covered dish to a buffet party I'm sure I'll look through Retro Luau for inspiration, if not bring along the sweet-and-sour meatball recipe. If you want food like Mom used to make, and don't want to expend a lot of effort, this may be a good choice for you.

But you should be aware that this is definitely a cookbook for creating a luau, complete with instructions for roasting a whole pig and how to make a lei. It is emphatically not a collection of Polynesian recipes that you might whip out for a different Sunday dinner. The book description says this, of course, but I hadn't expected nearly everything to be finger-food and munchies to serve 8-10 at a minimum. (Happy Ham Salad serves 20-25 people.)

I may pull out this cookbook occasionally (especially since a close friend has a yearly luau-inspired party), but I don't expect any of its pages to get dog-earred.