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Welcome to the Table - Simple Recipes for Gracious Dinners & Parties
by Barbara Scott-Goodman
Hearst Books
ISBN 1-58816-543-4
Published November 2006 - Hardcover - 238 pages - $24.95

Renown cookbook author (among many other things), Barbara Scott-Goodman's latest offering is this gorgeous book on dinners and parties.  Too many of us are too intimidated to throw elegant dinners, but with more and more people wanting to spend more time with each other, if we want to be able to relax and spend time together, we'd better learn a few tricks of the trade.  Whether you're having one over for dinner or as many as you can comfortably seat in your home, you'll find inspiring ideas in this book which should help to lighten the load you're needlessly bearing.  Take the indecision out of planning your next dinner soiree by choosing meals from the following: Appetizers & Drinks; Soups; Salads; Main Courses; Side Dishes, and Desserts.  I found these recipes tantalizing and different: Chicken and Scallion Yakitori with Peanut Dipping Sauce; Tomato-Mango Salsa (sounds so delicious my mouth was wateringy uncontrollably!); Chicken Liver Mousse with Red Onion Sauce (I've been hunting for a decent chicken liver recipe for ages); Cosmos for a Crowd (great idea); Chilled Zucchini Soup; Braised Fennel Soup (I adore fennel), Asian Turkey Salad; Beef Brisket; Citrus-Grilled Game Hens, or Ricotta-Almond Cheesecake.  As you'll see from the illustrations in this book, you don't have to have crystal and delicate china - it's how you use what you've got that will either dazzle or deflate your get togethers.  Deflate in your mind, not your guests'.
No nutritional guides.  Exquisitely illustrated.  I've got to try more of Barbara Scott-Goodman's books as I'm a new fan of hers.
Conclusion - An incredibly practical and uncomplicated book that I think everyone will benefit from.