Vegetarian Dinner Parties: 150 Meatless Meals Good Enough to Serve to Company: A Cookbook

Imaginative, with an emphasis on strong flavor. Encouraging to see the newer vegetarian cookbooks taking untrod paths and treating vegetarian food as seriously options for everyone. There's no longer a need to genuflect in the direction of "healthy eating" to sell this really toothsome food."Vegetarian..." is very much in the vein of the Yotam Ottolenghi books albeit somewhat less Middle Eastern in its starting place. The cookbook contains 150 meatless recipes that are tagged as fancy enough for company. And, for the most part, they seem like the kinds of things that will taste and look great for those entertaining occasions. What also sets these authors' book aside is an emphasis on combinations frequently incorporating fruit. These are intriguing ideas, but I haven't tried many of them yet, so I'm not sure how I feel about the approach across the board. I suspect that some are much more successful than others.In any event, this is a book very much worth a look, whether you're a full-time vegetarian or not.

This book is not for your standard home cook. If you like Rachel Ray this is not the book for you. There are lots of steps but nothing to complicated just need to take your time and do your prep work.

I'm not a vegetarian, but after I checked this book out from the library and read the many delicious recipes, I knew I had to buy a copy of this book for my own cookbook collection. I am trying to include more vegetarian dishes in my weekly menus, this will inspire me to do it!

Great guide to all kinds of dinner parties. We had a vegetarian couple over for dinner right after getting this book, so I took a leap of faith and planned the party around this book. I honestly think it was one of the best dinner parties I've ever thrown. Thanks for the tips as well as the recipes guys.

A present for a son-in-law who may no longer be vegetarian! Many recipes are complicated but some are quite doable. Mark is a delight I will add.

What a fabulous cookbook!Bringing elegance to vegetarian options for dinner parties. Some are fussy, some are elegant, all are accessible recipes.SO GLAD I bought this!

Highly recommend buying this!

This is a beautifully presented, well thought-out cookbook and planner designed to make vegetarian-themed dinner parties easy and flavorful. Most recipes are designed for 6-8 people, a number the authors consider ideal. But the book is not just recipes, there is also a lot about planning before and then presenting during the event. From playlists to lighting, seating orders, to what dishes work best together. This is a complete all-in-one resources for a great dinner party and suitable for more than vegetarians: the authors hope hosts get a better understanding and appreciation of our most underused food: the vegetable.The book breaks down as follows: 1) Twelve ways to say "welcome". 2) No plates needed. 3) Small plates. 4) Salads and soups. 5) pastas. 6) large plates. 7) Final plates. As you can see from the titles of the chapters, this is written so that the party organizer can arrange the meals not like a buffet but as they do in today's trendy restaurants: no side dishes and instead several one-item plates from which diners eat.The recipes are divided into seven types that follow the arc of a dinner party: cocktails and nibbles to go with them, small plates, salads, soups, pastas, large plates, and desserts. Between each chapter are tips on what to serve and how to move along/transition the party. Helpful tips such as keeping guests from congregating around the kitchen or preventing a between course hitch when plates have to be removed are presented in the appropriate places in the book.All recipes have a plan ahead section to make it easier on the host - steps to do in advance as well as storing items before the party. They are also flexible - the authors give tips on how to ramp them up or tone them down.The recipes are beautifully presented and made to be easy to follow by using different colored type and fonts. Each recipe has a paragraph introduction, easily readable ingredients list, preparation steps in numbered paragraph form, an AHEAD section for what needs to be made hours in advance, a NOTES section on any tips that are important but not necessarily a part of the recipe, a MENU of which plates go great with this recipe (to put together a whole party menu), and, of course, POUR - appropriate drinks to accompany that plate.The recipes are varied: from watermelon panzanella capers, basil to elderflower spritz. There are some exotic recipes in here but for the most part there are a lot of staples from the local supermarket.This is a well written book but what keeps it from being 5 stars is the sheer lack of images to show how the recipes should be presented. When I see the presentations in the few photographs that are in the book, I am honestly daunted because I never would have suspected to show it that way. Since presentation is so important in a dinner party, the lack of images is disappointing and really takes away from the efficacy of the book.Reviewed from an ARC.

Just to clarify I am not a vegtarian, but I love vegetarian food and have many cookbooks, both vegetarian and non-veggie. The idea behind this book is brilliant - how to put together exciting and elegant 5 or 6 course vegetarian, or vegan, dinners. The recipes are well explained, with plenty of advice and tips. They vary from finger food, salads, soups, small plates, plenty of main courses and of course a wide variety of intersting desserts. They are very good at making sure a dish has lots of texture and constrasting flavours in it. They are well balanced with sweet, sour, acid etc. elements, appropriate to the relevent stage in the whole menu.Too many vegetarian recipe books end up being what seems like a great list of really intersting and delicious side dishes - this book doesn't do that, each recipe has a reason and a place in the meal, so it's much more useful.It is certainly high end restaurent standard food, but not difficult to cook. Very inspirational.

Great ideas!