Do you think inviting friends for dinner is scarier than organising an international peace treaty? Then you need someone to guide you step-by-step through your Dinner Party preparations. And lazy stay at home socialite Alexandria Blaelock is just that someone. Drawing on her event management experience, she’ll tell you: • Who to invite, how to get them there, keep them entertained and make them leave. • What makes a balanced menu, dietary requirements, serving sizes, matching drinks. • When to accept the comfort of modern convenience, and how to look like a better cook than you are. • Why your outfit needs to be practical as well as attractive, and what to consider when you choose it. • How to set your budget, prepare your home, and make sure you have the stuff you need. You’ll learn what you need to know, to have the confidence you need so you can relax and enjoy your night too.

Something magical happens when people come together to share a meal--and this cookbook, named for the beloved wooden table in Anna Watson Carl 's childhood kitchen, celebrates that joy and conviviality. Featuring delicious seasonal recipes just right for feeding the people you love, it includes everything from Crustless Quiche Lorraine and Pumpkin Spice Pancakes to a Kale Detox Salad, Roasted Vegetable Ratatouille, and Grilled Skirt Steak with Chimichurri. Enjoy snacks like Watermelon, Feta, & Mint Skewers; soups and stews, including Three-Bean Turkey Chili; sandwiches, simple suppers, sweets, and stress-free dinner-party menus. You'll even find plenty of vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options--and wine pairings from award-winning sommelier Jean-Luc Le D add the perfect finishing touch.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The social media star, New York Times columnist, and author of Dining In helps you nail dinner with unfussy food and the permission to be imperfect. “Enemy of the mild, champion of the bold, Ms. Roman offers recipes in Nothing Fancy that are crunchy, cheesy, tangy, citrusy, fishy, smoky and spicy.”—Julia Moskin, The New York Times IACP AWARD FINALIST • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review • The New Yorker • NPR • The Washington Post • San Francisco Chronicle • BuzzFeed • The Guardian • Food Network An unexpected weeknight meal with a neighbor or a weekend dinner party with fifteen of your closest friends—either way and everywhere in between, having people over is supposed to be fun, not stressful. This abundant collection of all-new recipes—heavy on the easy-to-execute vegetables and versatile grains, paying lots of close attention to crunchy, salty snacks, and with love for all the meats—is for gatherings big and small, any day of the week. Alison Roman will give you the food your people want (think DIY martini bar, platters of tomatoes, pots of coconut-braised chicken and chickpeas, pans of lemony turmeric tea cake) plus the tips, sass, and confidence to pull it all off. With Nothing Fancy, any night of the week is worth celebrating. Praise for Nothing Fancy “[Nothing Fancy] is full of the sort of recipes that sound so good, one contemplates switching off any and all phones, calling in sick, and cooking through the bulk of them.”—Food52 “[Nothing Fancy] exemplifies that classic Roman approach to cooking: well-known ingredients rearranged in interesting and compelling ways for young home cooks who want food that looks (and photographs) as good as it tastes.”—Grub Street

A fun, informative guide to hosting the perfect party every time. "Every dinner party experience I’ve had in the last ten years at Corey’s has been incredible. But practice really does make perfect and I can now honestly say there is nowhere I’d rather be in the world than at his table ... I can’t begin to express the relief I felt in reading this book and realizing there was a method to his success." - Sarah Polley, from the introduction We’ve all been there: twenty minutes before guests arrive, and you’re unsure if you’ve got enough wine, or enough chairs, or whether your friend is a vegetarian or a vegan. Hosting a dinner party is hard, but Corey Mintz can help. For his popular Toronto Star column, "Fed," he has presided over 115 dinner parties, every week opening his home to strangers and friends alike in an effort to perfect the craft of hosting. And in How to Host a Dinner Party, he shares everything he’s learned in a hilarious handbook that will appeal to everyone — from those throwing their first dinner party to seasoned entertainers looking to enhance their skills. This book guides readers through everything they need to know about hosting, starting with the golden rule — that the goal of a dinner party is to have fun with our friends, not to show off our cooking skills. It will explain why we like to gather for dinner, when we should host, who we should invite, what we should cook, and how we should cook it. Featuring recipes, anecdotes, expert analysis, and an endless bounty of how-to tips, it is the essential guide to perfecting the art of welcoming people into your home.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER Mary Berg--winner of MasterChef Canada and star of Mary's Kitchen Crush--shares her most delicious, stress-free recipes, grand enough for special celebrations and easy enough for a regular Tuesday night. Everyone knows that a good party always ends up in the kitchen, whether you're grabbing a drink, tasting a dish, or just chatting with the host and other guests. That's because the kitchen is the heart of every home, big or small. But sometimes entertaining (even casually) can feel daunting or overwhelming, with all the planning, shopping, cooking, and clean up. Enter Mary Berg . . . In her first book, TV star and home cook Mary Berg is here to banish any anxiety about preparing food for the people you love. All of Mary's recipes are meant to be laid down on a table that is groaning under the weight of delicious food and relaxed elbows. Kitchen Party is filled with Mary's family-style favorites for brunches, dinners, and special occasions--along with some of her famous baked goods and desserts, of course. You'll find over 100 simple, straightforward and mouthwateringly-good recipes for dishes like Blueberry Cheesecake French Toast Bake with Apple Cinnamon Syrup; Ricotta, Roasted Grapes and Hazelnut Tartines; Flank Steak with Horseradish Cream; and Slablova (aka Pavlova for a Crowd). And with Mary's tips and suggested menu pairings for multiple occasions, from Mother's Day Brunch to a Low-Key Bridal Shower, you'll never find yourself short of ideas. Whether you're cooking for a big crowd of friends or hosting a romantic dinner for two, Mary is here to guide you using the warmth and cooking skills that have already made her a beloved voice of encouragement for all types of home cooks.

An array of recipes and entertaining ideas for hosting Thanksgiving dinners and parties.

It’s sensuous summer all year long with Nigella -- in a fabulous new cookbook that draws on the best from all over the world: to tie in with her new 8-part television series. Summer food doesn’t have to be eaten just in summer. Even on our coldest days, indeed especially then, we need to summon up a little warmth on our plate. Summer cooking is relaxed cooking that conjures up a mood of sunny expansiveness: easy cooking, easy eating. No one wants to slave over a hot stove for hours: the keynote, as ever with Nigella, is simplicity. The ideal is of lazy abundance. The food of Italy and Spain, the fragrant mezze of the Eastern Mediterranean, the traditional strawberries-and-cream feel of an English summer afternoon: all these notes and flavours are reflected in Forever Summer. The uniting force is attitude as well as palate so the food is far-reaching but personalised, and fresh so that it fits in with the way we live. It’s a way of celebrating summer while it lasts, and extending it into the months beyond. Forever Summer has the practical appeal of a cookbook as well as the aspirational lure of a travel book, the sort one might flick through longingly in winter, dreaming of much-needed sunshine.