Cookbook Gift Guide for Entertainers

Dinner at the Long Table by Andrew Tarlow and Anna Dunn and Scarlett Lindeman delivers a year’s worth of menus that range from the simple, yet stunning, Carrot Cues, with Pistachio & Parsley to an elaborate Rabbit & Chorizo Paella. Beautiful full page photographs fill the book and menus are quaintly named – such as Cold Night Cassoulet or I Love, You Love, We All Love Bluefish. This cookbook is fun, elegant, quirky, sophisiticated and simply beautiful and perfect to elevate dinner party fare.

3 X a Day by Marilou and Alexandre Champagne reflects the author’s natural flair for entertaining and cooking. Recipes like Garlicky Angel Hair Pasta with Stuffed Turkey Meatballs; Thai Shrimp and Vegetable Soup; and Tomato Strawberry and Basil Gazpacho with Cheese Balls are all great examples for dinner parties. This book is also very special in that it speaks to finding a healthy relationship with food.

Danielle Walker’s Against All Grain Celebrations: A Year of Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, and Paleo Recipes for Every Occasion by Danielle Walker includes helpful hints for menu planning, preparation and twelve month’s worth of recipes organized by calendar year, this title is perfect for the entertainer in all of us. Lavender-Rosemary Leg of Lamb, Knife-and-Fork Pork Ribs, Chicken Salad Biscuits, and Berry Tart with Vanilla Bean Custard are a few examples of the range of recipes that woud be perfect for a dinner party or backyard barbecue. Our author interview shares two recipes from the title.

The Gourmet Kitchen: Recipes from the Creator of Savory Simple by Jennifer Farley home-cooked meals are elevated with unique and bold flavors. Jennifer Farley, the author, is also the creator of the blog, Savory Simple (451 recipes currently indexed on EYB) with almost half-a-million followers who eagerly await her new recipe posts. The book delivers over 100 sophisticated, but approachable, recipes accompanied by her signature photography. From quick and healthy weeknight dinners, fun appetizers and sweets for all occasions, Jennifer provides classic recipes with inventive twists that will please novice and seasoned cooks alike.  You can read more about this book and the author in our author interview and enter our giveaway as well.

Celebrate Everything: Fun Ideas to Bring Your Parties to Life by Darcy Miller Celebrate Everything!: Fun Ideas to Bring Your Parties to Life by Darcy Miller is packed with planning strategy and original ideas making it the ultimate guide to creating unforgettable special occasions. Darcy invites readers to dozens of parties she’s thrown, and shares hundreds of chic and cheerful ideas for ways to make a celebration personal. It’s a blueprint for making the best occasions in life even better, filled with fun ideas to inspire just in time for the holiday season! 

How to Celebrate Everything: Recipes and Rituals for Birthdays, Holidays, Family Dinners, and Every Day In Between by Jenny Rosenstrach is a New York Times Best Cookbook of Fall 2016. The book provides a warm and inviting guide to turning birthdays, holidays, and everyday occasions into cherished traditions, with more than 100 time-tested recipes.

Pastry Queen Parties: Entertaining Friends and Family, Texas Style by Rebecca Rather and Alison Oresman delivers more than 100 recipes for starters, sides, main dishes, desserts, and drinks and showcase Rebecca’s bold and bounteous style of cooking. Plentiful stories and useful cooking and entertaining tips from Rebecca and other great Texas hosts and hostesses, a roster of “party express” recipes to pull together quickly, and more than 100 gorgeous scenic and food photos from across the state, 

The Yellow Table: A Celebration of Everyday Gatherings: 110 Simple & Seasonal Recipes by Anna Watson Carl features delicious seasonal recipes just right for feeding the people you love. The book includes everything from Crustless Quiche Lorraine and Pumpkin Spice Pancakes to a Kale Detox Salad, Roasted Vegetable Ratatouille, and Grilled Skirt Steak with Chimichurri. Enjoy snacks like Watermelon, Feta, & Mint Skewers; soups and stews, including Three-Bean Turkey Chili; sandwiches, simple suppers, sweets, and stress-free dinner-party menus. You’ll even find plenty of vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options – and wine pairings from award-winning sommelier Jean-Luc Le Dû add the perfect finishing touch.

Party-perfect Bites: Delicious recipes for canapes, finger food and party snacks by Milli Taylor delivers a mouthwatering collection of recipes for small bites and fingerfood – ideal for serving at parties or any social gathering, large or small. This book includes ideas for fresh all seasons of entertaining: Grilled Peach, Mozzarella and Parma Ham Bites, Seared Beef Tataki Spoons with Miso Sauce and Scallions, and Persian Sausage Rolls with Pistachios. For the dessert aspect of entertaining there are Rose and Raspberry Profiteroles, Cocoa Nib and Salted Caramel Brownies, Mini Candy Cane Meringues with Whipped Cream, Berries and Raspberry Coulis and Mini Donut Balls on Coffee Shots.
 

At Our Table: 120+ Recipes and Entertaining Tips for Every Occasion by Delicious Magazine is the cookbook for those of us who love cooking for friends and family as much as they appreciate presentation. This book is from the award-winning team behind Australia’s leading premium food lifestyle magazine delicious. and hugely successful website delicious.com.au. With gorgeous photography, stunning design and more than 100 impressive but effortless recipes, and each chapter offering a flexible menu, as well as brilliant ideas for drink pairing and advice for setting the scene – including styling the table, colour palette inspiration, flowers, lighting and downloadable party invitations – this is the ultimate party planners’ cookbook.  

In the Mood for Entertaining: Delicious Food for All Occasions by Jo Pratt has an easy-to-follow layout, with four main chapters broken down into various different menus, offering you food for every occasion: Two’s Company, Relaxed Entertaining, The Extravagant Dinner Party and Cooking for a Crowd. From Coconut and ricotta hotcakes with espresso syrup to Honey roast ham with pistachio crumbs, via Mini tomato tatins and Spiced mussels with tomato spaghetti, Jo Pratt’s creative and stylish recipes are fuss-free and easy to follow. Accompanied by beautiful full-colour photography, drink suggestions and recipe hints and tips, this book will make entertaining a joy, whatever the occasion.

Other titles perfect for entertainers are: Vegetarian Dinner Parties, Mozza at Home, A Recipe for Cooking (see our interview and giveaway), Mad Hungry Family (see our interview and giveaway), Effortless Entertaining Cookbook was one of my picks to review at Sunday Supper Movement, Diana Henry titles are a must, and Twenty Dinners.

Of course, a gift certificate to Eat Your Books is a great gift for a cookbook collector and we have a special contest for those who buy a certificate so be sure to check that out! I have two more gift guides planned this week and next: a guide for the baker and a guide for cooks from beginners to advance. My top forty cookbooks of 2016 may help with your decision making as well.