Review: Perhaps Not
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 07 24, 2012
Grandma must say, she truly wonders where on earth Karen Lancaster came up with some of the ideas she presents inDinner Party Cookbook: Menus Recipes And Decorating Ideas For 21 Theme Parties!  The sample contains party plans with recipes for three different parties - "Cocktails and Grazing", "Taste of the Tropics" and "Swiss Fondue."The menu for "Cocktails and Grazing" presents both a brushetta and crostini, two of the four savory items offered, which seemed to Grandma to be repetitive - not in a good way.  Worse, she advises the hostess to set up an open bar where guests can serve themselves - a sure recipe for breaking the bank! Ever been to an "open bar" wedding?  People drink like fish when there is no one to see how much they are consuming.  Grandma has known a bride or two to break right down in tears upon seeing the bar bill!  Not only will a hostess roll right through the booze, but in a good many states these days a host/hostess can be held legally liable if someone gets drunk at their home andthen goes out and injures someone.It was, however, the Swiss Fondue party that really made Grandma's eyes bug right out of her head! Fondue is a lovely and intimate  meal, one to share with just a few good friends - you are, after all, all eating from the same pot and "double dipping" those forks!  It is the sort of meal that one lingers over, sharing great conversation and a glass of wine or two between bites. Moreover, fondue is a heavy meal that needs only the simplest of accompaniments.  If Grandma thought that serving bruschetta and crostini at the same cocktail party was duplicative, you should have seen her face when she read Karen's "Swiss Fondue" menu:Mulled WineHot Buttered RumRoasted Pepper CanapesCheese Fondue with French BreadMixed Green Salad with VinaigretteBeef Bourguignonne Fondue with Horseradish SauceChocolate Fondue with Strawberries and Angel Food CakeThat's right - Karen serves not just one fondue, she serves THREE of them at the same one party!  Talk about overkill!  Not to mention expensive!  A quick search shows that a fondue pot intended for four costs $30-50 these days - and most of them are electric.  Since this party is structured for 8, you'll need to acquire 6 fondue pots and pray that nobody trips over the electrical cords strung everywhere.  Luckily, Karen does advise that you have plenty of candles, a good thing since you might very well blow a fuse.All in all, Grandma was distinctly unimpressed. This author could learn a few things from Sandra Lee.Not recommended!