Everyday to Entertaining: 200 Sensational Recipes that Transform Casual to Elegant

Meredith Deeds & Carla Snyder
Robert Rose Publishing (2011)
ISBN 9780778802716
Reviewed by Irene Watson for Reader Views (5/11)

Those of us that are extremely busy, yet want to entertain friends and family, find that preparing meals take time and effort; sometimes it’s just easier to take them out instead.  However, with “Everyday to Entertaining” things can be different.  Some of the easy and classic dishes we make for ourselves can be transformed to something elegant. The unique part of this cookbook is there are two recipes; the everyday recipes and the entertaining recipes. 

For the purpose of the review we are asked to test three recipes.  The first one I tested was “Roasted Pear Salad with Gorgonzola Rounds.”  This was the “entertaining version” and the everyday version was called “Pear Salad with Hazelnuts and Gorgonzola.”  The difference?  I grilled the pears, toasted the hazelnuts, and shaped the cheese. The salad was wonderful and actually didn’t take too much extra time.  My guests loved it.

The second recipe I tested was “Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Goat Cheese.”  The recipe was simple and very tasty.  I decided to do the “entertaining” version as my third test.  The “Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Olives and White Wine Sauce” was a great alternative.  The only thing that was different is I added olives and made a reduction with white wine.  The interesting part is that it was like two different recipes and actually two different tastes.

I commend Deeds and Snyder for coming up with this unique recipe book.  I think it’s ingenious.  Yes, of course, we can easily modify a recipe and come up with a totally different taste and look of the dish.  I recommend “Everyday to Entertaining” to anyone that loves to modify and create. I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.

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