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★ The Hostess Handbook
According to Maria Zizka (The Newlywed Table), the three pillars of party planning are “the desire to host, some reliably excellent go-to recipes, and a bit of party know-how.” You’ll get a hefty dose of all three in The Hostess Handbook: A Modern Guide to Entertaining. It’s filled with a wide variety of truly enticing recipes that will make you want to start cooking, including vegetarian summer rolls with peanut sauce, saffron couscous with cauliflower, chickpeas and pomegranate, and—wait for it—churro doughnuts with chocolate glaze. These are included in a variety of menus, ranging from a Sunday supper to a holiday dinner party. Zizka also advises on flower arranging, expelling lingering fishy smells and—importantly—navigating dietary restrictions of guests.
Zizka’s writing style is entertaining in itself, as well as informative. The flavor of salt-and-vinegar potato-peel chips with chive dip is as if “a regular potato chip went on vacation to a tiny British coastal village and had a fling with a fisherman.” Along with numerous elegant recipes, Zizka offers helpful basics, such as a list of 10 Simple Nearly No-Cook Appetizers, including my personal favorite: “potato chips served in a pretty bowl.” As Lewin notes, “They never disappoint.”
Big Night
Katherine Lewin is the sort of entertainment goddess everyone needs. An introvert who sometimes recharges with short naps while hosting, Lewin owns a dinner party essentials shop in New York City. She shares boatloads of tips in Big Night: Dinners, Parties & Dinner Parties, a guide to making “any night you choose . . . a little more special,” whether it’s an elegant gathering or casual weekday meal. Four chapters—one for each season—include 85 recipes along with bartending, preparation and pairing suggestions galore, presented with photos and graphics that pop.
Lewin notes, “You know it’s a party when pigs arrive in blankets,” so she includes a sweet-salty “grown-up” recipe for the eponymous appetizer. Her recipe titles alone will make readers smile, with names like A Noodle Soup to Get People Excited and A Big Chopped Salad (to Go With Takeout Pizza). Lewin’s encouraging humor shines through on every page, giving would-be hosts the confidence to plan their own big night.
Swing By!
If you really want to step up your entertaining game, dig into Swing By! Entertaining Recipes and the New Art of Gathering. Stephanie Nass has been called the “millennial Martha Stewart,” and this is by far the largest, lushest, most over-the-top of these entertaining books. Nass, who earned the nickname “Chefanie” as a child and uses it as her brand name today, caught the entertaining bug early: “All my life,” she writes, “I have been at greatest peace in the middle of a party.” The book’s winsome cover features Nass perched atop a dinner table, dressed in a drapey pantsuit that matches the place settings.
Thumbing through these colorful pages will make you feel as though you’ve been to a fun, fabulous fete. Innovative takes on standards, like her King Midas Pizza with edible gold leaf, shine. Nass is a gifted baker, and her show-stopping chocolate-meringue cake will surely inspire readers to muster their culinary courage.
★ Victorian Parlour Games
Liven up any gathering with Victorian Parlour Games: A Modern Host’s Guide to Classic Fun for Everyone. Ned Wolfe’s charming treatise is chock-full of easy-to-play games “that have stood the test of time for good reason.” Featuring competition games like Smells, Endless Story and German Whist, its compact size makes it an ideal stocking stuffer or hostess gift. Did you know, for instance, that it’s Blind Man’s Buff, not Bluff? Or that the game Hot Boiled Beans and Bacon was featured in both The Big Bang Theory and Charles Dickens’ The Mystery of Edwin Drood?
These amusements are suitable for a variety of ages and occasions, from children’s birthday parties (Musical Chairs and a variation, Musical Potatoes), long car trips (Crambo), family get-togethers (pillow fights, with rules) and romantic evenings (kissing games!). Don’t miss Wolfe’s colorful cautions—including “nothing ruins a game night quite like a visit to the hospital.”