Reviews (10)

A Quirky Treasure
Recipes, hostess tips, and landmine humor. Now, you can invite your fiends over for a party, and for entertainment you can pass around this book. From the colorful, comical pages, and the recipe photo collection, there is something for everyone, if you're slightly twisted.

Finally!A book about entertaining I can relate to!
I don't think a book about entertaining has ever made me laugh to the point of tears before!Seeing peanuts!Gift ideas for nuns! Dad come home cake!Change your medicine chest from herbal remedies to something that works! The section on guest etiquette is priceless and hits the nail on the head. Todd Oldham's photography with its lurid lighting/hues is amazing. And the children's games section alone is worth twice the price of the book.
Well rope me up and call me Doggie!
First of all, I want to be adopted into the Sedaris family.Really, I do.I have been waiting for this book to come out for the longest time with a borderline unhealthy anticipation.I marched right into the bookstore this morning and saw it waiting there just for me!I read it in the car while driving to work, and I didn't even care that the other driver's minded.It is SO FUNNY!...and practical.Let me tell you, there is a party on every page!!When I got home, I ordered four more to give to friends who might invite me to their house's or something. Now, I'm going to go make an eye burrito to help relax my eyeballs so I can sleep because I'm so excited!I am going to have visions of heavyset cheeseballs dancing in my head all night long!! Well done Amy Sedaris!You can be my BFF any day!!
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Subjects:  1. Anecdotes    2. Cookery    3. Cooking    4. Cooking / Wine    5. Entertaining    6. Entertaining - General    7. Home Management    8. Hospitality    9. Recipes    10. Cooking / Entertaining   

Editorial Review

Fans of Food Network star Paula Deen enjoy her unpretentious Southern-gal persona as much as her easy, what's-not-to-like recipes. As a writer of four other cookbooks, including Read more

Reviews (2)

Excellently Appropriate Selection of Events and Recipes. Buy It.
`Paula Deen Celebrates', by Food Network star and home cooking matron, with assistance from "Savannah Magazine" columnist, Martha Nesbit expands Ms. Deen's franchisee in a most logical and expected manner, by being a collection of recipes appropriate to twenty-one (21) favorite occasions to celebrate with food.
Start entertaining

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Subjects:  1. American Regional Cookery    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Entertaining - General    5. Holiday - General    6. Holiday cookery    7. Menus    8. Regional & Ethnic - American - General    9. Regional & Ethnic - American - Southern States    10. Cooking / Entertaining   

Reviews (3)

Eat healthy on those special occasions too!
The South Beach Diet Parties and Holidays Cookbook is an excellent addition to your cookbook collection whether you are following the program or not.
yummy in the tummy
While being in the healthy foods business for many years, I have had a deaf ear to fad diets.When my husband's physician suggested he try the South Beach Diet to lose weight, I ran to the library to find out what was going on with this popular diet.
Fantastic Cookbook -- Even if you are NOT on the Diet
Try the recipes even if they look odd compared to what you're used to eating. The food is LOADED WITH flavor that somehow satisfies your hunger with far less food than ordinary. Not only that, but after you eat these foods you feel GOOD and HEALTHY instead of just STUFFED and TIRED (like normal food.) ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cooking    2. Cooking / Wine    3. Entertaining - General    4. Health & Healing - General    5. Holiday - General    6. Holiday cookery    7. Recipes    8. Reducing diets    9. Weight loss    10. Cooking / Entertaining   

Subjects:  1. Cookery    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Entertaining - General    5. General    6. Home Management    7. Cooking / Entertaining   

Reviews (5)

great advice for what wines to keep on hand...and a great read
I bought this book for help in selecting ten wines to keep on hand for all occasions. And it worked! Now, whether I'm roasting a chicken or ordering in Thai food, there's always a good bottle to go with dinner. The bonus is the all the fascinating info (why Ph matters) and anecdotes (chef Patrick O'Connell on how easily he turned his whole staff into wine enthusiasts). Beautiful photographs, beautifully written. A great gift for the holidays or for engaged couples.

What a beautiful book!
WHAT TO DRINK WITH WHAT YOU EAT is a beautiful book filled with great ideas of what to wines and other beverages (from iced tea to lemonade) to serve with different dishes.The photography is absolutely mouth-watering!It's fun to flip through and read about what to serve with everything from chicken to chocolate brownies.This book is definitely worth the price.

The book I've been looking for ever since I learned how to cook.
After learning to cook, I looked forward to serving new dishes to guests -- but found I was hesitant about entertaining because I never knew what wines to serve.I was tired of being dependent on my local wine store for recommendations that often seemed to be more about what they wanted to sell than what went with what I was cooking. WHAT TO DRINK WITH WHAT YOU EAT provides such thorough recommendations that it's easy to come up with the perfect match.I'm looking forward to entertaining again, now that I can serve wine and other drinks with equal grace to the food I prepare.And my non-drinking guests benefit, too, given all of the innovative recommendations for non-alcoholic beverages. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Beverages    2. Beverages - General    3. Beverages - Non-Alcoholic    4. Beverages - Wine & Spirits    5. Cookery    6. Cooking    7. Cooking / Wine    8. Courses & Dishes - General    9. Entertaining - General    10. Wine and wine making    11. Cooking / Wine & Spirits   

Reviews (3)

Guaranteed to Please
I enjoy the PBS series "America's Test Kitchen," so when I received this book as a Christmas gift last year I was very excited.Now, almost a year later, I have cooked my way through scores of the recipes in this cookbook and there is not a dud in the bunch.This book takes basic, American fare and boil it down to it's most essential (and flavorful parts), allowing you to cook tasty favorites.My only caveat is that is you are looking for quick meals, this may not be the best choice--many of the recipes are quite time consuming.However, if you only want one cookbook in your kitchen, this is the one!

Best Cookbook Ever!
I've purchased a ton of cookbooks over the years I've been cooking at home.However, once I purchased this cookbook all of the other cookbooks have become covered in dust.The only exceptions would be a handful of other Cook's Illustrated recipes not covered here in the America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook.If you are a cooking enthusiast or a new beginner this is the cookbook for you.

Much better than your mother's Betty Crocker cookbook
So you think you know the best way to make meatloaf, chili, and chicken soup?
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Subjects:  1. Cookery    2. Cookery, American    3. Cooking    4. Cooking / Wine    5. Courses & Dishes - General    6. Entertaining - General    7. General    8. Methods - General   

Reviews (22)

Fast, easy and delicious!
"Get Togethers" contain some wonderfully delicious recipes!
Rachel multi-tasks!
More fine, quick recipes from one of my favorite cooks.Rachel knows how to reduce a recipe to its basics without compromising the taste.On the day it arrived, we found a recipe that had to be shared -- the Chili Casserole.I look forward to trying most of the others.I go back to Rachel Ray's cookbooks time and again -- many of her recipes have become standards in my cooking.But she can sure multi-task!I rarely do one up in thirty minutes until I have done it several times.

ALL of her books share the same major fault....
Don't get me wrong, I love her shows, it is great to see how she pulls it all together in the 30 minutes without seeming rushed. The recipes, for the most part, are pretty healthy and have good variety. The lack of pictures doesn't bother me, as she's not really into foo-foo presentation with raspberry sauce swirled half-a-mile away on the edge of the dessert plate, imho totally wasting perfectly good raspberry sauce....
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Subjects:  1. Cookery    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Entertaining    5. Entertaining - General    6. Menus    7. Methods - Quick & Easy    8. Quick and easy cookery    9. Cooking / Entertaining    10. Etiquette & entertaining    11. Main courses   

Subjects:  1. Cookery    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Entertaining - General    5. Methods - Quick & Easy    6. Cooking / General   

Reviews (1)

Outstanding, Easy, and Delicious
Have tried four recipes and all have been very quick and easy to make and have been delicious.Have given the book as gifts and plan to give more.An outstanding book in a wonderful series of books.Never a disappointment with Cook's Illustrated books.Highly recommend to beginner or experienced cooks. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cookery    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Entertaining - General    5. Holiday - General    6. Methods - Quick & Easy   

Reviews (10)

You can learn a lot if you don't fall asleep first.
I am currently enrolled in a floral design program using this book as text.Yes, it is a very imformative book, but Ms. Hunter goes into far to much detail and uses far to many words to get her point across.Maybe it's just me and I am a far more visually oriented person, but trying to learn floral design through the use of a text book so far is not my cup of tea...I think it's a good reference book but that's about it.

Excellent Textbook
I have referred to this textbook throughout the five years since I took my first floral design class.I am now a seasoned designer and sometimes refresh my memory by re-reading chapters.Well-written and illustrated.

Definitely worth buying.
This is a great textbook.Not for casual reading.It has so much information about floral design and care and handling of fresh flowers and foliage.It gives good design illustrations that you can copy and make for your home or for friends and family.I'll be referring to this book for information long after my classes are over. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Counseling - Vocational Guidance    2. Crafts & Hobbies    3. Crafts / Hobbies    4. Design - Decorative    5. Floral Arts    6. Flower Arranging    7. Flower arrangement    8. Hobbies/Crafts    9. Technology / Agriculture & Animal Husbandry   

Reviews (47)

Hilarious........
This book kept me laughing for hours on end. I am from the south and had an occasion to spend 6 months in Greenville, Miss. recently, so having been there, met lots of natives, etc. made it even more comical. While reading the book you can almost hear the accent of the "Southern Ladies" in conversation. Gayden really has a way of turning mundane everyday life in the Delta, into one hilarious situation after another. I thoroughly enjoyed the stories and great recipes as well.

A taste of the deep south
I found this such a humorous and, for me, sentimental read. For each incident and character, I have enough life experiences in the deep south to be able relate the tale to characters and events in my past, including seeing ladies examine invitations from an angle to be sure they are engraved ("that beauty-graving is so tacky"). I am going to buy a couple copies for family members who I am sure will love this book as much as I do.

Sorry, but I didn't like it that much
The book was recommended to me by an elderly Southern lady with a great sense of humor, so I had high hopes.
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Subjects:  1. American Regional Cookery    2. American Satire And Humor    3. Cookery, American    4. Cooking / Wine    5. Entertaining - General    6. Etiquette    7. Form - Essays    8. Funeral rites and ceremonies    9. General    10. Humor    11. Regional & Ethnic - American - Southern States    12. Southern States    13. Southern style    14. Cooking / General   

Editorial Review

Lauren Bacall gets cranky when Barefoot Contessa, an East Hampton specialty food store/institution for more than 20 years, is sold out of Indonesian Ginger Chicken. She can now thank her lucky stars that exuberant owner Ina Garten has written Read more

Reviews (192)

Great Book
This book has some great recipes, very easy and yet the food tastes very sophisticated.The BBQ chicken and potato salad are the best I've ever had.The only negative is that there aren't many beef or pork options and seems a bit more female oriented but overall a good buy.

A classic!
This book has it all--so beautiful, great recipes and Ina's friendly voice. I love cookbooks with photos and this is one of the best! All the recipes that I have tried are wonderful. This is one of my favorite books to give as a gift.

Beautiful cookbook/Easy to use
This book is beautiful to look at; the full-size photos of the dish, the thick, glossy pages, and the additional notes next to the recipes make this a useful addition to any cook's collection.(It would make a perfect gift, too!)Yes, the recipes do call for extra-large eggs but, so what?! Buy a dozen!!I also especially liked the source lists at the end of the book.The recipes I've made all came out really well; there is something for everyone here. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Barefoot Contessa (Store)    2. Cookery    3. Cooking    4. Cooking / Wine    5. Entertaining - Party Planning    6. General    7. Cooking / Entertaining    8. General cookery   

Reviews (23)

LOVE this cookbook
Unlike other reviewers, I was unfamiliar with the editors of this cookbook.Bought it because of the cheesecake on the cover!
Best light cookbook ever
I have to admit I am not a fan of "light" cooking or the manymagazines out there; I am also a huge fan of the whole "Cooks Illustrated" books and magazine, so I loved this book. Most low fat and/or low calorie recipes rely on "light" or artifical products to cut calories.This book does not, it adheres to the high standard of Cook's Illustrated recipes. The recipes are not the most low fat or calorie possible, but each is delicious and most importantly works like they say it will. This is also the first oftheir books to provide full nutritional counts.There are the usual detailed explanations of what works and what doesn't so you know exactly why this recipe is going to work.Everything I've tried has been fabulous.

The cookbook I've been waiting for!
So far, I've enjoyed every recipe I've tried in the book. Low-fat blueberry muffins to me taste even better than the original, because they're less greasy. And they're vastly improved from the hockey puck, low-fat muffins I've made in the past. You'll often have to do a little extra work with the recipes -- this is from Cook's Illustrated, after all, not Betty Crocker. But paired with thoughtful illustrations, buying guides, and taste tests for low-fat products, these recipes are a must-have. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cookery    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Courses & Dishes - General    5. Health & Healing - Low Fat    6. Holiday - General    7. Methods - Lite    8. Health & wholefood cookery   

Editorial Review

Williams-Sonoma, purveyor of choice gourmet products and kitchenware, has also created a collection of succinct yet comprehensive cookbooks. Part of the series, Read more

Reviews (1)

Better than 5 stars
From Williams-Sonoma, "Thanksgiving" has 40 essential recipes that you can count on to be delicious. Thanksgiving is all about the experiance of enjoying home cooking. Learn to make a no fail classic roast turkey, or Hickory-Smoked Roast Turkey with Horseradish-Apple Sauce if you want to get fancy. All the side dishes are here and maybe some new ones too including wild rice and chestnut stuffing, butternut squash Soup, dressings, breads, cranberry sauce and more.A wholechapter is dedicated to the important staple "potatoes" and they varied ways you can prepare the humble spuds. Sweet Candied Yams are here too. Desserts are not forgotten such as Creamy Pumpkin Pie
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Subjects:  1. Cooking    2. Cooking / Wine    3. General    4. Holiday - General    5. Thanksgiving cookery    6. Thanksgiving cooking    7. Cooking / General    8. General cookery   

Reviews (6)

A winner.
CHRISTMAS WITH SOUTHERN LIVING 2006 (0848731158, $29.95) isn't strictly a cookbook, though recipes are its core: it combines menus and time-saving holiday plans as well as party ideas with dishes which lend to entertainment and family gatherings. Many are fast, easy editor's picks, with chapters handily divided by type of entertainment: brunch buffet, office party, dinner party, and the like. A winner.
Not Up To Snuff
Like many of you, I collect these books year after year.This year was very disappointing.The book really is mainly recipes.I don't buy them for that, although the few I try are good. I buy this book mainly for the decorating and gift ideas.This year the book is really lacking in them.In years past they've shown how to decorate the outside of your house, the mantle, the table, and just about anywhere in a house that you could put a decoration.This year you basically have one mantle.That's it.Sorry, this book had me saying to myself, "I paid full price for this!!"
Christmas with Southern Living 2006
I love this book! I give to my 3 girls as well. I have gotten this book almost every year since it was first published. It has decorating suggestions, crafts, recipes and just all kinds of information to make your Christmas the best ever. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. American Regional Cookery    2. Cooking    3. Crafts / Hobbies    4. Entertaining - General    5. Holiday - Christmas/Hanukkah    6. Holiday - General    7. Regional & Ethnic - American - Southern States    8. Seasonal   

Reviews (7)

A Must-Have for People Who Like to Have Company
This is the book I turn to for help in what to fix for what occasion.At the end of every recipe is a chart answering When to Fix It, How Far Ahead Can I Make This?
Excellent Source for Easy Entertaining for Experienced Cooks
`Perfect Recipes for Having People Over' by notable culinary writer, Pam Anderson is a sequel to her earlier `Perfect Recipes' and continues her somewhat revisionist approach to recipe writing I saw in `How to Cook Without a Recipe'.
A highly recommended pick for any regular hostess
When entertaining, it's important to have a cache of tried-and-tested dishes which are simple yet foolproof: Pam Anderson shares nearly 200 convenient dishes in Perfect Recipes For Having People Over, filled with dishes which lend to both make-ahead preparation and crowd-pleasers. From Easy Savory Strata to Perfect Roast Chicken with Several Sauces and Quesadillas for a Crowd, this is a highly recommended pick for any regular hostess.
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Subjects:  1. Cookery    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Entertaining    5. Entertaining - General    6. Cooking / Entertaining   

Reviews (3)

G R E A T
First of all the book is beautifully presented. The ideas are chic and easy to make. AWSOME floral design book with lots of explanation and beautiful pictures. I LOVE IT! It is an excellent buy for new designers.

Paula Pryke's Flower School: Mastering the Art of Floral Design
I bought the book as a present for my wife who has an interest and talent in floral arranging, but no formal training.She loves the book.It has numerous wonderful color photos and discusses colors and texture in floral arranging.The book covers design ideas for shape and form; balance; harmony; scale and proportion; texture and contrast; movement; dominance; rhythm; repetition; massing flowers; grouping; bunching and bundling; carpeting; layering; manipulating plant material; structural designing; and season.It also has an excellent and informative section on color concepts.A key feature of the book is the step by step instructions for making decorative arrangements, along with photos of the arrangement as described in the steps.I cannot speak for what professional florists would like, but for my wife it was a perfect book.It would have been worth it just to see the beautiful pictures of floral arrangements, but the lessons really make the book what it is.

Very Informative
The step-by-step instructions in the book are extrememly helpful -- but she still allows for the reader to think creatively in their review of her information.It is a beautiful book with many, many photos, including step-by-step photos for the instructions. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Crafts / Hobbies    2. Cut flowers    3. Flower Arranging    4. Flower arrangement    5. Flowers    6. Flowers - General    7. Gardening    8. Gardening/Plants    9. Gardening / Flower Arranging   

Subjects:  1. Cooking    2. Decorating - General    3. Entertaining - General    4. House & Home   

Reviews (3)

An excellent first choice
I fail to understand the complaints of two previous reviewers. This beautiful glossy volume is an excellent compendium of previosly publisned Cook's Illustratedrecipes. In style and format it would make an excellent first choice for anyone wishing to be introduced to a selection of the best of the best recipes from America's Teet Kitchen (i. e. Cook's Illustrated) without the tediousness of having to wade through lengthy descriptions of how the recipes were arrived at.
Good, but consists entirely of previously published recipes
This book is a compilation of recipes from other America's Test Kitchen publications that have been released within the last 1-2 years, including their magazines (Cook's Country and Cook's Illustrated) and books (The Best Light Recipe, The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, Best American Side Dishes, and The Best 30-Minute Recipe). Above each recipe there is even a thumbnail image of the publication in which the recipe originally appeared.Scattered throughout the book are tutorials (such as "Rice and Grains 101" and "Pie Pastry 101"), equipment reviews, and taste tests (similar to what appears in Cooks Illustrated Magazine).
Recipes are a dime a dozen ...
I subscribe to Cooks Illustrated, owned season 4 and 5 DVDs and have bought all their previous 6 books under the America's Test Kitchen title. This is my 7th. I used to subscribe to Cooks Country but found that to be amateurish and have since discontinued.
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Subjects:  1. Cookery    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Courses & Dishes - General    5. Entertaining - General    6. General    7. Methods - General    8. Regional & Ethnic - American - General   

Reviews (45)

the best food i ever tasted
hi its me again my mom purches this book when it first came out. she knows how to cook and cooks diner every nite. she love to wach paula deen on the food channel one day on a saturday she saw this realy good thing that she saw there the next day she made it for us and it tasted soooooooooo good and another time she made a choclate chip pie it was so good too I recomed this toy for every parent who likes too cook and there kids like there food.

Best cookbook I've purchased in a long time
My new thing is to check out books from the library first, then buy.This technique has saved me hundreds of dollars.I'd take out a book I really wanted to buy, and after browsing, only liked a handful.Well, this cookbook was so incredible from start to finish, that I quickly returned it to the library and bought my own copy.
Good but not her best
This is Paula Deen's first cookbook that gets the "star treatment" - nice hardcover, beautiful color photos of some of the mouth-watering menus, and a nice format. She has arrived! However, I don't think it is necessarily her best content-wise. Her previous books, the little paperback editions with the plastic ring binders, have far more recipes and feel more "intimate," if there is such a thing with a cookbook! This book features sample party menus and have titles like "A Bridge Club Supper" and "A Georgia Bulldawg Parking Lot Tailgate." Most of these feature a main entree, a few side dishes, an appetizer or two and a dessert. The chocolate sandwich cookies (on page 94) and the pimento cheese spread (page 40) are two recipes that are delicious and very easy to make. Some of the recipes, including the chocolate sandwich cookies, didn't originate with Paula and she says so in the introductions to the menus. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. American cooking    2. Cookery, American    3. Cooking    4. Cooking / Wine    5. Entertaining - General    6. Regional & Ethnic - American - General    7. Regional & Ethnic - American - Southern States    8. Southern style    9. Cooking / Entertaining