Features
- Cover Type: Hard Cover with 240 pages
- Published by: Clarkson Potter April 23, 2002
- Written in: English
- ISBN 10 Number: 0609609092
- ISBN 13 Number: 978-0609609095
-
Book Dimensions:
10.3 x 7.9 x 0.9 inches
- Weighs: 2.2 pounds
Product Review
Everyone loves potluck parties. Recognizing this, Tamara Weiss offers
Potluck at Midnight Farm, a collection of 130 potluck recipes contributed by her friends and neighbors in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. The island is home not only to Midnight Farm, the gift shop Weiss owns with Carly Simon, but also to cooks whose recipes strike just the right relaxed yet sophisticated note. Their dishes, from Lighthouse Lasagna and Grilled Striped Bass with Wasabi and Ginger to Roasted Pecan Coffee Cake and Diane Sawyer's Cherry Pie, are easy-to-do crowd pleasers. Cooks interested in recipes for a wide range of informal gatherings--from backyard dinners to bring-your-own picnics--will find the book a valuable culinary resource.
"I am an organizer," says Weiss, and to prove it she offers useful tips for successful potluck events. (Pick a main course to give to food-bringing guests; direction is an obvious but often overlooked example.) The recipes are arranged by season and include menus like the one featuring Coriander Chicken, Beetroot Salad, Grilled Striped Bass with Papaya-Lime Sauce, and Fresh Fruit Tart, among other dishes. Other menus are equally appealing. With 190 color photographs of the gatherings in various island locales, tips, and a foreword by Carly Simon, the book is a can't-miss guide to informal entertaining.
--Arthur Boehm
From Publishers Weekly
In a bid for the Barefoot Contessa audience, Weiss, co-owner with Simon of a home furnishings store on Martha's Vineyard, offers suggestions and recipes for casual potluck parties. These are reportedly culled from various thematic potlucks that Weiss herself has organized or attended, so a chapter on Indian Night includes Green Mango Chutney and Mango Lassi, and one on a Long Point Autumn Afternoon (held at the local wildlife refuge) offers Steak, Arugula and Parmesan Wraps, and Napa and Cilantro Salad with Spicy Peanuts. Each chapter bears a rather lengthy descriptive introduction extolling the natural wonders of the island. The result is something of a mishmash, and a few recipes do not even seem appropriate to the potluck format Herb and Garlic Roasted Chicken sounds delicious, but calls for deglazing the pan at the last minute to create a sauce. Ultimately, this is a collection of solid if unsurprising dishes appropriate for entertaining (such as Seared Tuna with Wasabi Aioli on Crispy Wontons and Fresh Fruit Tart), organized in a somewhat confusing manner. Each recipe is credited to a potluck guest, and since Martha's Vineyard is a resort where the elite like to summer, there are selections from famous names: Daphne's Fried Chicken from Bill Styron and Mary Steenburgen's Corn Spoon Pudding. (Apr.)Forecast: This is likely to sell best to those who love Martha's Vineyard and what's not to love? Those unfamiliar with the magical island, however, may not be quite as charmed by the chatty prose and familiar recipes.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Reader ReviewsI Loved this cookbook! I first made the Lighthouse Lasagne and everyone raved, then onto the corn spoon pudding at another occasion, did I mention the Roasted Herb and Garlic Chicken, Tooo Good! This is a great cookbook for ANYONE that gets invited (To be so Lucky )a potluck with their children. How wonderful it is to spend an evening with friends and you're children and have great family food and fellowship. This is not a celebrity cookbook as some have mentioned, but rather a wAY TO get together book.
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