A complete guide to the basics of entertaining at home with confidence and ease -- filled with 100 of the best recipe choices for entertaining and lots of tips to make it all look perfect. The four elements of a great party are the Entertaining Equation: Good Company + Good Food + Good Setting + Good Planning = Great Time! Betty Crocker's Entertaining Basics: Learning to Entertain with Confidence details all the steps to take to guarantee that a party adds up just right. One hundred of the best recipes to prepare for a party are here, from appetizers to desserts (all photographed) in an easy-to-read and easy-to-follow format. Plus, you'll find more than 25 easy Set the Scene" decorating ideas (all photographed) for making festive additions to the table such as: a picture frame serving tray; illustrated menu-, buffet-, or placecards; rustic cast-iron candleholders; iced decorated wine bottle.And, there are more than 80 how-to's (all photographed) explaining basic and slightly more advanced cooking techniques such as: pressing out pizza crust dough; layering lasagna ingredients; cutting and seeding a jalapeno chili."

This authentic facsimile of the 1959 entertaining guide brings beloved memories from Betty Crocker history in a new concealed-wiro format. Tried and true recipes: They may have been invented in the '50s, but these recipes have withstood the test of time. Vichyssoise, Parmesan Oven-Fried Chicken, Baked Alaska Angel Food Cake, Stuffed Leg of Lamb, Gourmet Potato Salad, Herb Batter Bread, Gay Nineties Charlotte Russe, and Mulled Cider, and Brownie Peppermint Pie all have plenty of appeal today. The real thing! A primer on 1950s-style entertaining: Dinners and buffets, after-dinner coffee, stag parties, midnight suppers, dessert-and-coffee, barbecues, brunch, and potlucks. A charming snapshot of that era, with its rules of etiquette, turns of phrase, and recipes, such as: * "When is the telephone best for invitations?" * "When Guests Arrive" * "When Guests Leave" * How to serve a small dinner for up to six people * How to organize a coffee service * How to host an afternoon tea

Here is the complete cooky book-more than 450 recipes, dozens of appetizing full-color photographs, and many how-to-do-it sketches. This treasury of cooky baking embraces all tastes-from the old-fashioned and traditional to the new and sophisticated. Plus a large section devoted entirely to holiday cookies. Fun to use. . .perfect to give. Here's the classic treasury of cookie baking that so many people grew up with: the beloved 1963 edition of Betty Crocker's Cooky Book, now in a brand-new, authentic facsimile of the original book. Remember baking cookies with Mom or Grandma when you were a kid? The wonderful smell, the spatulas to lick and, best of all, delicious cookies you'd helped to make yourself? If you grew up baking with Betty Crocker, then you probably had this book, filled with all your favorites-from Chewy Molasses Cookies to Chocolate Crinkles to Toffee Squares and many more! Now, with this authentic reproduction of the original 1963 edition, you can relive those moments, taste the cookies you grew up with and share them with your loved ones. All the charm of the original and all the great recipes are here. Turn to Betty Crocker's Cooky Book to find: * An authentic facsimile of the classic 1963 edition packed with all your favorite cookie recipes * Over 450 recipes, dozens of nostalgic color photographs and charming how-to sketches * Scrumptious recipes for Holiday Cookies (dozens of Christmas specialties), Family Favorites (for lunchtime, snacktime, anytime), Company Best Cookies (fancy enough for company) and much more This book is a great gift for new and experienced bakers alike. Only one family copy of this favorite cookbook? Now everyone can have a copy of this classic book!

A captivating collection that celebrates the wonderful recipes from the Betty Crocker archives in a package that appeals to the modern cook Betty Crocker Lost Recipes is the ultimate treasure for the most devoted Betty Crocker fans, as well as cooks who are interested in recipes with a retro/nostalgic twist. Eighty percent of the book includes tried-and-true recipes that simply aren’t in today’s cooking repertoire—mainly from-scratch recipes that are hard to find. Twenty percent is a fun look back at some of the cooking customs of the past that may not be worth repeating, but are worth remembering. Features include ideas like “How to Throw a Hawaiian Tiki Party,” and the robust introductory pages contain interesting stories, anecdotes, and artwork from Betty Crocker’s history. Recipes are carefully curated to ensure that they are still relevant, achievable, and made with available ingredients—think Beef Stroganoff, Chicken à la King, Waldorf Salad, and Chiffon Cake. These lost recipes are ready to grace the tables of a whole new generation of cooks.

IN 1945, FORTUNE MAGAZINE named Betty Crocker the second most popular American woman, right behind Eleanor Roosevelt, and dubbed Betty America's First Lady of Food. Not bad for a gal who never actually existed. "Born" in 1921 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to proud corporate parents, Betty Crocker has grown, over eight decades, into one of the most successful branding campaigns the world has ever known. Now, at long last, she has her own biography. Finding Betty Crocker draws on six years of research plus an unprecedented look into the General Mills archives to reveal how a fictitious spokesperson was enthusiastically welcomed into kitchens and shopping carts across the nation. The Washburn Crosby Company (one of the forerunners to General Mills) chose the cheery all-American "Betty" as a first name and paired it with Crocker, after William Crocker, a well-loved company director. Betty was to be the newest member of the Home Service Department, where she would be a "friend" to consumers in search of advice on baking -- and, in an unexpected twist, their personal lives. Soon Betty Crocker had her own national radio show, which, during the Great Depression and World War II, broadcast money-saving recipes, rationing tips, and messages of hope. Over 700,000 women joined Betty's wartime Home Legion program, while more than one million women -- and men -- registered for the Betty Crocker Cooking School of the Air during its twenty-seven-year run. At the height of Betty Crocker's popularity in the 1940s, she received as many as four to five thousand letters daily, care of General Mills. When her first full-scale cookbook, Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book, or "Big Red," as it is affectionately known, was released in 1950, first-year sales rivaled those of the Bible. Today, over two hundred products bear her name, along with thousands of recipe booklets and cookbooks, an interactive website, and a newspaper column. What is it about Betty? In answering the question of why everyone was buying what she was selling, author Susan Marks offers an entertaining, charming, and utterly unique look -- through words and images -- at an American icon situated between profound symbolism and classic kitchen kitsch.

This faithful reproduction of Betty Crocker's Party Book will be a treat for anyone who lived through the 1960s--or wished they had! Packed with practical advice, classic recipes, color photographs, and whimsical illustrations, it reveals secrets of great parties back in the era of Leave It to Beaver, most of which are still applicable today. Readers will find detailed plans for more than 30 different parties, including themed birthday celebrations (such as a Space-Age Adventure Party and Cinderella Party), holiday get-togethers (for Christmas, Halloween, and more), and wedding-related events (like a Bridal Shower and an Anniversary Party). The accompanying recipes--including Blueberry Coffee Cake, Pineapple Chicken, Brownie S'Mores, and Easter Bunny Cake--are as tasty today as they were back in the sixties. Complete with craft ideas (such as how to make a gilded fruit centerpiece) and entertaining advice ("What Makes a Hostess Famous?"), this facsimile edition is a charming snapshot of life in a more innocent era--and a perfect gift.

Includes over 1,000 recipes with complete nutrition information, food history, special helps, time-saving recipes and ideas, and charts of yields and equivalents.