Party Food: Small and Savory (Hardcover)

by Barbara Kafka (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Kafka ( The Opinionated Palate ) here combines her talents for creating original recipes with good old common sense. This is a very practical guide to home entertaining (in our teetotaling times) when cocktail parties, as she writes, might be better characterized as "informal parties without assigned seats." Hers is a gathering of "finger food" recipes and ideas for serving store-bought and previously prepared foods, of suggestions for such matters as how to phrase the invitations ("We're all wearing jeans" or "I hope it will be very gala") to valuable--and not often shared--cooking methods: how to pit an olive, how to preserve pickles and chutneys, how to wrap foods in edible leaves and how to open oysters in a microwave oven. Some of the more novel recipes include glazed garlic on brochette, sweet-and-savory soy anise macadamia nuts, clams with black beans, and sage potatoes. A section on beverages rounds out the volume with recipes for nonalcoholic cocktails and champagne drinks. Author tour; HomeStyle Book Club main selection.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Kafka, author of the best-selling Microwave Gourmet ( LJ 9/15/87) and of columns for Gourmet and the New York Times , offers more than 300 delicious recipes for all sorts of occasions, from casual get-togethers to more elaborate cocktail parties. Recipes are arranged by type (dips and spreads, mousses and pates), and although most are upscale and sophisticated, others were created with young guests in mind; there are also a good number of vegetable/vegetarian dishes. Kafka emphasizes ease of preparation and lack of fuss, and many dishes can be completed well in advance of the party; she also includes a section on "ready-mades" in each chapter. Color photographs show off many of the finished dishes and offer inspirations for various menus and presentations as well. Highly recommended. HomeStyle Bks. main selection.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 323 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Cookbooks; 1 edition (October 22, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 068811184X
• ISBN-13: 978-0688111847
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #120,156 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The One Best Book when you don't know WHAT to serve!, December 20, 1998

By A Customer

From veggie purist to decadence (including martinis) beyond par, this is an amazing range of recipes for those delectables that will make YOUR party unforgettable. Choose a theme - you'll find a menu here! Or look in the frig - match what you have to what Kafka suggests. It's a big step beyond my other cookbooks with their "appetizer" sections - inspiring, fun yet SIMPLE. Great ideas on presentation... the art that follows the cooking.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy to read and use. Beautiful to look at!, December 5, 1998

By A Customer

Barbara Kafka's Party Food has simple straightforward recipes. She has a grasp on what modern family life is like. There are lots of hints on how to make entertaining fun and relaxing. As an added plus the book has beautiful photographs. It is almost pretty enough to display. It is a great gift for any level of cook.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The BEST party food book ever, December 5, 2001

By	"meaux30" (Denver, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This in the one cook book in my extensive collection I return to again and again. It's not pretentious and its fun and easy to use.

The recipies work - Every single recipie I have ever tried works just as expected. There are no surprises. I have used some other big name appetizer books and been dissapointed, not so with Kafka's book. Everything is consistent and delicious. The photos are real and extremly helpfull to picturing the end results.

This book helps with planning whether for a huge party or intimate gathering. Kafka outlines clearly which items can be fixed in advance, what can be frozen and what needs to be prepared on the spur of the moment.

This book is packed with ideas. Kafka makes tons of suggestions for alternative uses of sauces, fillings and breads - all are completly cross referenced with page numbers and names. There is an entire section on dressing up "ready mades." The book covers everything from complete menu suggestions to cocktails to homemade breads to simple spreads.

Finally, one of my favorite features is the extensive cross referenced index. It's easy to find anything you want whether you search on ingredients, origin or theme. I love this book and have purchased it as a gift for all of my family and friends.