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

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!

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!

In the silver serving bowl on the cover of "Park Avenue Potluck", there's a....could that really be a casserole? For that matter, when was the last time you saw "Park Avenue" and "potluck" in the same sentence? Yes, the days of black tie dinners that begin with Rigaud candles in the hall and champagne in the living room are over. "Ladies who lunch" have pretty much died off. Fashion shows have lost their urgency. And thank you notes are starting to look a lot like e-mails. Oh, one thing hasn't changed: the ultimate audience. "I design every menu according to what the men will eat," a hostess says. She's a smart one. The C-level husband labors all day to keep his family in a zillion dollar co-op and a country "cottage" --- if "New York's savviest hostesses" are going to make their men go to dinner parties, better believe they'll focus on their care and feeding. So what we have here is a book of recipes that a Manhattan hostess could actually cook --- has, in fact, actually cooked. Like a local club cookbook. If you happen to live in a neighborhood where everyone's rich, accomplished and fit. So (and this may be meaningful) only the drinks are exotic. Like "Pond Water" --- sugar, vodka, limoncello, lime juice and thyme. Not something you drink every day. The soups here are simple and toothsome and, mostly, appallingly healthful. There are no fewer than 15 casseroles, including a mac-and-cheese punched up with dry mustard. Chicken with Potato Chips: there's a blue-collar concept. Nice recipe for cider-marinated pork loin from a Rockefeller. A pot roast recipe I don't know, but very much want to try. Applesauce with dark rum. And far too rich desserts. Florence Fabricant, a world-class food writer, did this book as a labor of love --- it benefits Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. As a private cancer facility, it's the world's largest. As a cause, it's one of the most prestigious in New York. Good to see a fundraising tool that not only tempts the palate but suggests "New York's savviest hostesses" aren't all insufferable snootballs.

My wife has cooked many of the recipes in the book and they have been incredible meals. Great thing is she says they are mostly easy recipes. Many favorites of these wonderful Park Avenue Ladies. Ladies you will enjoy these classic recipes. Gents, what a wonderful present. Its a great looking book and you'll get to enjoy many wonderful meals when your wife trys these recipes. All to support Sloan Ketttering, a gift of life for those battling cancer.

This book has some fantastic recipes....have not yet tried one that wasn't a winner--I recommend it highly!