Barefoot Contessa: Parties! - Ina Garten

Hardback.  Near new condition.  2001

After more than twenty years of running Barefoot Contessa, the acclaimed specialty food store, Ina Garten published her first collection of recipes.  The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook was an overnight sensation, but it's the kind of success that can only be grounded in years of experience.  In it, Ina shared her ideas for familiar food but with outstanding flavour and -- most important of all -- recipes that really work.

Now, with Barefoot Contessa Parties! Ina shares secrets she has gleaned from her years not only as a caterer but as a dedicated party giver.  The keyword here is fun.  Ina's parties are easy to prepare and fun for everyone, including the host.  Forget those boring Saturday-night dinners that just won't end.  With Ina's advice, you're certain to have all your friends saying, "Wasn't that fun!"

Ina has packed Barefoot Contessa Parties! with plans for pulling off parties like a pro, stories about her own parties, and tips on assembling food (rather than cooking everything) and organising like a caterer.  In the spring you can invite your friends to a party where they all make their own pizzas.  Come summer, it's into the garden for a lunch with grilled lamb and pita sandwiches that guests assemble themselves.  In the autumn, when it's not Thanksgiving, Ina roasts a fresh turkey, which her friends enjoy with popovers and a creamy spinach gratin.  And on a snowy winter's day, everyone is invited for a lunch buffet with seafood chowder and butternut squash and apple soup.

With so many great ideas and recipes in these pages for you to use, your friends will start to wonder why your parties are always so much fun.