"If you've watched my television show, you know that PERFECT is not my thing!" says Nathalie Dupree. In Comfortable Entertaining, she has written the book that gives us permission--at long last--to entertain in a less-than-perfect world. A much-loved cookbook and television personality, Dupree has thrown parties on rooftops and in tiny apartments, planned galas for hundreds, and put on last-minute get togethers. Her award-winning cookbooks have sold over half a million copies, but Comfortable Entertaining is the book that shows us how to do what Dupree does best--create spontaneous hospitality and great food. This full-range cookbook and entertaining guide features twenty-six full menus, from holiday classics to an eye-popping formal dinner party for eight, from soup parties and brunches to more casual meals and salad lunches. Dupree displays colorful and attractive napkin and tablecloth procedures, and explains how to seat feuding guests; and what to do when dinner burns to a crisp minutes before the guests are to arrive (order out!). Whether your style is burgers on the grill or dining on heirloom porcelain, Nathalie Dupree's Comfortable Entertaining is a must-have. Illustrated throughout with color photographs, and packed with 250 life-is-not-perfect recipes, Comfortable Entertaining is as friendly, inspiring, and down-to-earth as a cookbook can get.
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From Publishers Weekly
In entertaining at home, Dupree tells her readers, "perfection isn't the goal... the goal is your comfort and the comfort of your guests." This new collection from the TV cooking show host and prolific author (Nathalie Dupree Cooks Quick Meals for Busy Days, etc.), a companion volume to an upcoming 28-part series on PBS, gives home hosts the culinary and organizational techniques needed to entertain successfully. After outlining planning, preparation, presentation and participation strategies in the first, long and helpful chapter, she offers 26 menus with more than 250 recipes featuring Sit Down Meals, Fork Meals, Finger Meals (think Tortilla Party), Holidays and Core Recipes. With her usual mix of warmth, practicality and flexibility, Dupree suggests a range of ideas from a simple Fruit Plate to multistep Moroccan Chicken B'stilla made in advance with many ingredients. With suggestions from Shrimp and Fennel Risotto to Semisweet Chocolate Pie, Dupree comforts and informs, helping readers carve a melon basket, get the lumps out of gelatin and pull a dinner party out of the hat with two hours' notice. Laced with bits of cooking lore, anecdotes and brimming with cheerful encouragement, Dupree's latest advances the welcoming traditions of Southern hospitality. Author tour.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Dupree (Nathalie Dupree Cooks Quick Meals for Busy Days, LJ 2/15/96) has been the host of numerous television cooking shows; this book is the companion volume to a PBS series starting this fall. Her intent is to make entertaining unintimidating, and she includes lots of useful material on planning, budgeting, presentation, and more, along with often-amusing anecdotes and cautionary tales from her own experiences. Menus range from Three Simple Suppers to an Eye-Popping Menu for Eight to a Buffet for 12 to 50 in Four Hours; surprisingly, the recipes within a particular menu don't always "match" in terms of number of servings. The true novice may find Elaine Corn's Now You're Cooking for Company (LJ 9/15/96) more helpful, but Dupree's more ambitious menus and informative text should appeal to many readers-and her new series is sure to be popular. [Good Cook/BOMC selection.] Marks's The World of Jewish Cooking (LJ 9/15/96) was a wide-ranging exploration of Jewish food, culture, and culinary history; now he has written a guide to Jewish entertaining equally broad in scope. Marks includes religious holidays rarely mentioned in similar cookbooks, and his family celebrations range from A Middle Eastern Wedding Shower to A Southern Jewish Family Reunion. Marks, both a rabbi and former editor of Kosher Gourmet, provides a lot of information in a straightforward, readable style, starting with "A Guide for the Perplexed Host." Chapter introductions, headnotes, and boxes cover religious as well as culinary history and include many suggestions to make entertaining easier. Recommended.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
Format:Hardcover
Nathalie Dupree is one of the most practical, yet creative chefs around. She has created (many) beautiful books, the being the culmination of her efforts at culinary, literary and artistic undertakings. I have watched her develop over the years and recommend this to all those who want to entertain properly as well as those who just want some wonderful recipes.
What will she publish next? I'm waiting!!!!!!
What will she publish next? I'm waiting!!!!!!
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
I not only enjoy the Comfortable Entertaining Cookbook by Nathalie Dupree, but I feel Nathalie Dupree's Comfortable Entertaining television series is one of the best cooking series ever. I can identify with Nathalie more than other cooking show personality's. She makes me feel as though perfection is not a prerequisite for a good cook. She comes across as someone who finds joy in cooking and entertaining and does not require prefection in herself or others.
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
I've always been a fan of Nathalie Dupree's books. You can almost always count on her recipes and cooking tips. But after watching her most recent PBS series, I have to admit that my admiration for Ms. Dupree has significantly decreased. If you haven't seen the woman before or realized who she is in the culinary world, you would never believe that this is a graduate of the prestigious Le Condon Bleu. Ms. Dupree appears inconfident, ill-prepared, unorganized, and sloppy in the kitchen. She's nothing like I'd imagine my favorite cookbook author would be on TV. Compared to other prominent TV chefs, Ms. Dupree flunks out big time. Some of her favorite sentences on TV include (paraphrase): "I missed a step, but that's okay. We can fix it. Follow the recipe. Don't do what I do.", "These popovers are a little bit overbrowned. Yours should look much lighter than this.", etc. The way Ms. Dupree sloppily pipes whipped cream on top of a pie or struggles to remove silver skins from a piece of beef tenderloin (resulting in a very sloppy and jagged looking piece of party roast) makes one wonder if she really belongs up there with Jacques Pepin or Julia Child.
The show needs to be retaped and edited. The host herself needs a new haircut which doesn't require constant flipping and allows people to see more than half of her face.
Like I said, get the book but skip the TV show.
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4.9 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
a good read and a good resource
A great gift book for those who have entertaining skills as well as those who aspire to. Natalie Dupree does an excellent job of demystifying gracious entertaining. Read more
Published on Feb 15 1999
5.0 out of 5 stars
This superbly illustrated cookbook is Nathalie at her best!!
As an owner of all of Nathalie's cookbooks, she again has proved herself a consummate professional and a perfectionist as far as format and content are concerned. Read more
Published on Dec 10 1998 by jarkens@edcen.ehhs.cmich.edu
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