Customer Reviews

Williams Sonoma Complete Entertaining Cookbook

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Finally, fresh ideas for presentation as well as food selections - especially for salads, light and tasty dressings that are easy to make, and vegetables which are delightfully easy to make and lovely to view - be sure to review the spinach with green peas - have you ever? and the alvacado with shrimp and grapefruit with a super dressing ! I gave this book to my daughter and daugher-in-law for Christmas and could not wait to get home to order mine -enjoy!

Williams Sonoma has put together another "must own" for anyone who entertains! This book covers not only recipies (broken down into specific menus), but also table setting ideas, floral arranging, wine suggestions (VERY helpful) and napkin folding for the extra special touches sure to make your next get-together a unique and much talked about occasion! Highly recommended!

I entertain very often, and that's why I originally purchased this book. As it turns out, I use it several times a week just for the family. It's not only beautiful it's full of information. All of the recipes have color picures and many recipes have alternatives if it's the wrong season for some of the ingredients. I'm very pleased with the book and the price is fantastic for what you get.

I bought this book on the strength of the other Amazon.com reviews and looked forward to receiving it. However, when I started reading it, I felt that there was very little in it that I actually wanted to cook. I am an accomplished cook and baker, own over 600 cookbooks, and not afraid to try new recipes. But some of the combinations in here seemed a bit unnatural, and the menus appear to be comprised of items which all require a fair amount of time and preparation. In my experience, the key to successful entertaining is striking a balance between a few showstopping dishes and those items which are of sufficient quality and freshness to be prepared and served simply, with a minimum of unneccessary flourishes. As much as I love to cook, I don't want to spend a week in the kitchen before a dinner party, do you? However, the photography is gorgeous and very inspiring, and there are a lot of tips which are worth reading. Although I will consult this book for certain things, like table decoration and the dessert recipes, I think the recipes out of the Southern Living books on the whole are better.

This book is the perfect combination of elegant entertaining ideas and "how-to's". I just love the themed menus--there is everything from a formal tea, a holiday (Hannukah) buffet, a Mediterranean Easter feast to a romantic dinner for just two. If you don't want to reproduce the exact menu, you still get some great ideas as starting material for any kind of party you might want to give. The recipes are not overly elaborate. In fact, they are pretty easy yet well-chosen. I particularly like the salads. I also found this book useful for progressive dinner ideas.

Even better is the back section on "how-to." I absolutely LOVE the section on folding napkins, carving roasts, and proper table setting, all in one place.

This is now on the shelf as my chief entertaining reference book. Can't recommend it highly enough, especially at the price.

To date, I have cooked 2 full menus from this cookbook (Casual Pizza Party and Backyard Barbecue), and pieces of some others, most notably the Afternoon Tea. The recipes are fabulous, and have received rave reviews from everyone. Yes, the recipes do not have any shortcuts, and you will be in the kitchen for a considerable amount of time, but as far as I'm concerned, that's the whole point. I love cooking from scratch, and my guests have always noticed the quality. Every recipe I have made from this book has been an absolute success, even though I have not attempted anything similar before. The peach bread pudding was a new experience all around for me, and turned out fabulous. I'm actually considering making it again, just to have around for dessert.

What I love the most about this cookbook is the preset menus. They go together so well, and for a relatively inexperienced (not culinarily trained) cook, I appreciate the guidance. Making one amazing dish I can do, but putting together 5 dishes that relate so well is something else all together, and this cookbook takes care of that. What more can I say? I love this cookbook, and can't wait to try another menu (although my wallet can wait!).

One sidenote: based on my experience, the portions seem rather large. You can probably easily stretch a 6 person menu to 8 or 9 people without adding to the recipes.

Every recipe I have made in this book so far is a winner. I make the cranberry sauce every year for my family, and now for my boyfriend's. It always gets raves. The recipes in this book are not quick weeknight dinner ones. They can be time consuming, and can involve finer, somewhat more expensive ingredients. None are overly complicated though, and create wonderful, special dinners. A great book to have for anyone that entertains.