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| Desperation Entertaining! | 
 enlarge | Authors: Beverly Mills, Alicia Ross
Publisher: Workman Publishing Company
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy New: $0.01
You Save: $14.94 (100%)
New (38) Used (49) from $0.01
Avg. Customer Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 436746
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 400
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.7
Dimensions (in): 9 x 7.3 x 0.9
ISBN: 0761118152
Dewey Decimal Number: 642.4
EAN: 9780761118152
ASIN: 0761118152
Publication Date: May 6, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: SATISFACTION GUARANTEED.... ...... ..MINOR SHELF WEAR..........BK
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Socially inclined but time-deprived? Want to see friends for dinner, but can't do more than order takeout or meet in a restaurant? Well, help is here. From Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross-whose nationally syndicated column reaches millions of readers through 115 papers comes the perfect cookbook for the harried would-be host and hostess.
Desperation Entertaining! is filled with 200 marvelous recipes for impressive dinner party food. Desperation Entertaining! is a complete game plan for having guests over (children included) without having to spend more than 20 minutes on a dish, or 20 minutes per cook-ahead phase. There are tips on saving time (buy prepeeled garlic, doctor supermarket potato salad with fresh chopped onions and paprika); sanity (tie the bottle opener to the cooler); and money (sangria costs less than wine). But of course the genius of the book is in the recipes: Cajun Catfish Gumbo, Cabernet Pasta Sauce with Italian Sausage, Greek Stifado with Artichokes, Citrus Shrimp Kebabs, Grilled Pork Chops with Southern Peach Salsa. Plus plenty of homemade desserts that won't break the host, including Rocky Road Brownie Sundaes, Berkshires Blueberry Crisp, and Sunset Key Lime Pies. Who's coming over next week?
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| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
 Another great book in the Desperation Dinners Series August 30, 2006
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
I have all 3 books by these authors and this one is my favorite. The recipes are good for both entertaining and cooking for your family. Although, the recipes are not quite as quick as the Desperation Dinners cookbook, they are still quick, easy and usually use common ingredients.
I do agree with the other reviewers that this book is heavy on dips. But, when you are entertaining a dip is a very useful addition to the menu. For recipies that are more complex, the authors show you how to break the prep and cooking into steps. I found this to be a great help since as a mom of little ones I usually cook in spurts.
We have tried a number of recipies from this book and have found them to be excellent. I have been in search of a good meatloaf recipie and I finally found one in this book. The Fastest Fruit Salad recipie is also excellent and gets rave reviews everytime I make it for a potluck. The Blue Jay Point Pasta is also very yummy and is great to freeze.
I highly recommend this book to people who like to entertain and like to cook a nice meal without becoming stressed out.
Great quick recipes September 8, 2005
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
I have Desperation Dinnners but this cookbook is great for entertaining.Have made several easy things from here which certainly makes entertaining much easier.A must have along w/other Desperation Dinner cookbook.
 Entertain yourself July 4, 2004
13 out of 13 found this review helpful
This book is a great source of recipes for entertaining or just for your everyday dinners where you want to relax. As with the earlier Desperation Dinners, it is focused on making things easy for you, although in this book not necessarily fast. In the first book, all the recipes took about 20 minutes from start to finish (although they sometimes started assuming you already had the water boiling!). Here the emphasis is on planning things ahead so you can do preparation work before your company arrives, leaving you to time to enjoy visiting rather than go crazy in the kitchen at the last minute! Don't save the recipes and use them only when you're having company. There are some great recipes that your family will enjoy even when you're not having company.
A guests-are-coming survival guide April 30, 2004
22 out of 22 found this review helpful
I pull this book out every time I face an entertaining challenge, and I always find at least one recipe that's perfect for the occasion. The guacamole-with-peas and black bean "hummus" dips wowed my New Year's Day guests and they were really tickled when I revealed the secret ingredients. (They said, "You must really trust the "Deperation" ladies!" I do!) Witty commentary and helpful shopping, presentation, and decorating tips make this a fun book to browse through. Some warnings and comments: Unlike the original "Desperation Dinners," this book focuses on multi-stage do-it-ahead recipes. Those wanting lots of menus that can be on the table in an hour or less will be disappointed.One long chapter is devoted only to grilled main dishes; another to slow cooker meats and soups. If you don't grill or slow cook, half of the main dishes won't work for you. Certain food themes are repeated ad naseum - there are 9 creamy dips, 6 chicken salads, 5 chilis, 4 kinds of slaw, and 8 breakfast casseroles. The beverage and side dish chapters are slim, but the dessert chapter is much larger here than in "Desperation Dinners." Both authors are North Carolinans, and the book is heavy on Southern favorites. Although they make some concessions to low-fat dairy ingredients, this is not the book to turn to for low-fat, low-carb, or low-calorie ideas.
Because these dishes rely on partially-prepared ingredients such as "already-cooked" bacon, and because the authors favor shrimp and fine cuts of meat, most recipes are expensive. If your grocery store is rural or small, you'll struggle to locate some ingredients. Check this out if you're looking for easy entertainment-specific recipes, throw-together dips, do-it-ahead plans, and lots of interesting advice for the host or hostess. Most dishes serve 8-12.
One of my favorite cookbooks April 25, 2003
14 out of 14 found this review helpful
I would rate this a low five or a high four. My big complaint about this cookbook and it's fellow one "Desperation Dinners" is that sometimes there is so much advice and hints, the recipe kind of gets lost on the page. But having said that, these are great cookbooks. They are full of easy to follow recipes, time savers, hints and helps. The recipes require normal ingredients and rarely anything fancy. Every meal I have made has turned out fantastic. And this book lives up to it's name, in that almost every meal in this book can be served to company. Well worth the money.
Enjoy
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