Great Parties: The Best of Martha Stewart Living
While this book is very much in the style of Martha Stewart, the parties that it depicts were planned and executed by other folks. There's a Louisiana lunch at a stately home outside Baton Rouge, complete with maquechoux oysters and pecan-crusted catfish; a garden harvest party, with mountains of vegetarian delights served in an East Hampton garden; a Vietnamese-Thai feast in a garden by the Sacramento River, with the signature flavors of Southeast Asian cooking--lime, ginger, lemongrass, chile paste--gracing spring rolls, chicken, and fish; a soul-food brunch given by an interior designer in Harlem that includes collard greens, gumbo, and sweet potato tarts. Details such as how to make lovely, lotus-like napkin folds are illustrated in "Good Things" sidebars. From the down-home barbecue in a horse arena in Marfa, Texas, to the Polynesian fantasy picnic on the beach in Maui, the key to a great party, says Martha, is caring--"about people, originality, the most attractive settings, and lovely, finely honed, time-honored traditions." And let's not forget food.