• Eat Your Books

  2000 International Association of Culinary Professionals Award Winner

  See Dana Treat's review of this cookbook and her take on Grilled vegetable salsa (with sample recipe).

  See Lisa is Cooking's take on Arancini and Blue cheese popovers from this book.

• Kringler on November 05, 2010

  A masterpiece. Meticulous organization makes it easy to create a menu for any occasion from the most casual to the most elegant. The recipes I have tried looked just like the beautiful photographs. The Hot Crab Dip is outstanding---and it freezes well. The Roasted Vegetable Terrine is one of my all-time favorites. It is delicious, beautiful, and can be made two days ahead. Peel the eggplant for easier slicing. Agar can be substituted for gelatin to make a vegetarian dish. The Asparagus and Shitake Mushroom Terrine is also excellent.

• nomadchowwoman on January 08, 2010

  Very thorough, but many of the recipes are intimidating.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Parmesan-rosemary icebox crackers

  • Tommelise on May 05, 2013

    These crackers are very very good, and are so easy to make. I added a bid of fresh thyme and used butter milk instead of sour creme. Even if the recipe calls for freezing the dough for 24 hours, my dough was easy to cut after just 1 hour in the fridge. I will defenitely make these again.

  • inflytur on March 21, 2018

    Make multiple batches and freeze the logs to bake for unexpected guests.

• Lemon crab salad tea sandwiches

  • Lindacakes on November 14, 2017

    These are marvelous. Have served them to guests as sandwiches and also just the salad over greens. Very refreshing in the summer. Use one can of Phillips crab meat from Costco.

• Goat cheese and chive tea sandwich

  • Bloominanglophile on August 08, 2021

    These are nice for a formal tea. I did use half goat cheese and half cream cheese to make them a bit more approachable for a children's event. I might add a smidge of garlic to fill out the flavor of the filling next time.

• Sesame-crusted chicken salad tea sandwiches

  • Bloominanglophile on October 06, 2013

    This is a lovely chicken salad recipe. The tea sandwiches do make a nice presentation with the toasted sesame seeds along one edge. I, however, have made this for my family more often as lunch than for tea. If you want this to travel (as in a lunchbox), forget the sesame seeds along the edge of the sandwich--I just mix them into the salad itself. Delicious!

• Shrimp, cucumber, and dill butter canapes

  • Bloominanglophile on October 06, 2013

    These are delicious little canapés that would make a lovely presentation on a rectangular platter (a la Martha Stewart). I used a light rye bread instead of the white sandwich bread in the recipe to reinforce the Scandinavian taste. This recipe could also serve as a light lunch served on regular slices of bread--smorrebrod!

• Cherry tomatoes with white bean puree

  • Bloominanglophile on August 08, 2021

    These were quite a bit of work to scrape out the cherry tomatoes, but easy to make the filling, fill the tomatoes, and make the sage garnish. Unfortunately, they don't make an impression on me as an hors d'oeuvres--maybe if I had used bigger cherry tomatoes? Just not exciting.

• Warm mixed nuts with rosemary and shallots

  • Bloominanglophile on October 06, 2013

    I remember watching Martha Stewart make these on her show and thinking, "Man, I have GOT to try this recipe!" These are fabulous--definitely moreish!

• Cheddar-cornmeal icebox crackers

  • Bloominanglophile on October 06, 2013

    These are zippy--which can easily be modified by lowering the amount of cayenne pepper. I made them for a Halloween party, scoring the rounds with a knife to look like a pumpkin and sticking in a blade of rosemary for the "stem". Someone thought they were cookies, and got a bit of a surprise once they bit into them! A little label by the plate might not hurt in these cases!

• Shallot-parsley butter

  • Bloominanglophile on October 06, 2013

    This is a component of the Shrimp, Cucumber and Dill Butter Canapes recipe. Leftovers would be delicious on chicken or a steak!

• Blue cheese popovers

  • Bloominanglophile on October 06, 2013

    I ran the risk of making these for the first time for a ladies function, and then promptly had to scramble to replace them with something else. I don't think I've ever called anything "vile" before, but that is what I thought these tasted like. Having said that, I must admit that I only like small amounts of blue cheese in ANY dish. If you can tolerate eating blue cheese with abandon, this might be a recipe for you.

• Buttermilk-peppercorn dip

  • Bloominanglophile on October 06, 2013

    This is a delicious dip for crudités, and with some tweaking (more buttermilk), could serve as a ranch-style dressing.

• Beef empanaditas

  • susankay on October 24, 2022

    These are delicious.

• Classic crab cakes

  • Jpderouin on January 04, 2014

    These are fantastic! Every Christmas morning I make these in my eggs Benedict instead of Canadian bacon!

• prosciutto-wrapped shrimp

  • WaterPenny on November 29, 2021

    Makes a nice, slightly unusual appetizer due to the Sambuca. If I were to make this again I would reduce the amount of oil and sambuca. I ended up throwing out more than I felt comfortable with and the shrimp can only absorb so much.