Park Avenue Potluck: Recipes from New York's Savviest Hostesses

WHO NEW THAT THIS BOOK WOULD BE SO APPROACHABLE. I HESITATED TO PURCHASE THIS BOOK BECAUSEI THOUGHT IT WOULD BE FULL OF UNKNOWN VEGETABLES, AND SPICES, THAT MY LOCAL GROCERY STOREDOES NOT EVEN CARRY. WORSE I WOULD NEED A DEGREE FROM THE CORDON BLUE TO UNDERSTAND IT.JUST THE OPPOSITE, IT'S FULL OF VERY EASY AND USEFUL RECIPES, START TO FINISH. FROM THE MAINCOURSE TO LIBATIONS(DRINKS). THE FOOTNOTES AT THE BOTTOM ARE VERY USEFUL AND HELP GUIDEIN CHOOSING THE RIGHT INGREDIENTS, THE RIGHT PREP, LOTS OF LITTLE POINTERS. SO THAT EVERYTHINGCOMES OUT SUCCESSFUL. I MUST SAY THIS BOOK HAS MORE HELPFUL HINTS AND POINTERS THANMOST COOKBOOKS I'VE BOUGHT. ANYWAY, I LIKE THE BOOK, AND LOOK FORWARD TO MAKING LOTSOF NEW THINGS OUT OF IT. PLUS, IT'S FOR A GOOD CAUSE.

I bought the book mostly to look at once in awhile when I needed a break from feeding everyone mac 'n cheese and frozen pizza (hey - I'm a working mom, cut me some slack). I was quite surprised when the Strawberry Souffle and Dutch Baby recipes both worked out amazingly well with very little fuss. I'm eager to try more dishes - much like Barefoot Contessa, these seem to be rich and delicious, yet easy to make and with a "wow" factor because they look and taste swanky. Works for me!

This book is so beautifully designed and photographed that it honestly could do double duty as a coffee table book. Having said that, and at the risk of sounding snobbish, the only thing separating this cookbook from your local community junior league cookbook is that this book has much better photography and does not come spiral bound. So, buy it for its looks or for the good cause it supports, but chances are you already have most of these recipes lurking in your cookbook collection.I purchased this (rather expensive) book expecting to find it filled with exclusive recipes for fancy dishes served by the Park Avenue elite, but instead I found it to contain very approachable, common recipes, many of which I was already familiar with. That is not to say that the recipes aren't good: they are. The lemon & dijon chicken, the Paris iced tea, "Mexican" chocolate cake with a boiled chocolate icing and the "Aunt Janet's" beef recipe all turned out beautifully.Bottom line: this book is filled with recipes by and for home cooks, whether your home's address happens to be on Park avenue or not.

One of my favorite cookbooks for company

This is a great cookbook. It is definitely worth the price just for the Chicken Cacciatore recipe.My friends have reservations about my cooking skills. At this meal pictures were taken on mobile phones and sent over the Internet. They were taken in a positive and not a negative spirit.I made some changes in the Chicken Cacciatore recipe. The most important was I used boneless chicken thighs. The recipe does mention the problem with bones. With the thighs, everyone gets similar portions too. I used cheap red wine rather than dry white. I think that works better with tomato, onion, bell pepper, paprika, pepper, salt, oregano, and garlic. Instead of cremini mushrooms I used little button mushrooms from the supermarket. You could probably use bottled if necessary. I used canned sliced black olives. I probably used more mushrooms and olives than called for in the recipe but that is no drawback. I used just one green bell pepper instead of one half green and one red. As for cutting the bell pepper in strips I cut the pepper in half, cleaned it, then cut across the width of the half slice. That made cutting them into strips easier. I also thought it was better to half strips of pepper in the dish that were only half the height of the pepper and not the full length. The recipe's suggestion of serving this over fettuccine was a great idea. The fettuccine was put in flat bowls and the chicken and sauce placed over it. We were eating with knives and forks but there was no sauce left in the bowls at the end. The fettuccine swept it up. You could cut up the pepper and onion the day before and store it in the refrigerator. You can get all the ingredients at any supermarket which is an advantage.

I was slightly disappointed with this book. It's beautifully done, but in paging through it I only found a few recipes I'd use. I had bought these for gifts, sight unseen. I certainly hope the recipients like them better than I did. I had expected more entree recipes instead of the assortment that it has. I had also hoped there would be more photos of the Park Avenue apartments where these recipes originated. I would have returned the books except the proceeds go to a good cause, so I kept them.

So far, I've made the Sweet and Sour Meatloaf, Muffie's Mustard Lemon Chicken, and a great summer squash zucchini cassarole---all with great results.In addition to the wonderfully easy recipes, the cookbook is well photographed and illustrated. It would make a very good addition to your own collection of cookbooks as well as a well received gift.I give this one 5 stars!

This is not so much a serious cookbook, but one that follows in the tradition of fundraising cookbooks sold by churches or ladies' groups over the years, many of which have since become classics of home cooking. Park Avenue Potluck takes that idea and elevates it with gorgeous photos and stylish layouts. The recipes are an eclectic lot, and many of them are very simple, accompanied by amusing anecdotes. This is not gourmet cooking by any means, but it is a fun book in support of a good cause, and contains some real gems.