Hors d’oeuvres made modern: Today’s style of entertaining calls for fuss-free party foods that are easy to make and just as delicious as ever. With more than 200 recipes for tasty pre-dinner bites, substantial small plates, special-occasion finger foods, and quick snacks to enjoy with drinks,Martha Stewart’s Appetizers is the new go-to guide for any type of get-together.
(Summary and pic from goodreads.com)
I received a free copy of this book from bloggingforbooks.com in exchange for my honest review.
My Review: It’s no surprise to anyone that Martha Stewart knows what
she’s doing. I mean, this is not her first rodeo. I firmly believe that Martha
has been cooking since she was a wee lass and that she has only gotten better
with age. And experience. I mean, really. Have you ever had something of Martha
Stewart’s that was terrible? No. She’s pretty much the queen of all things
domestic.
This book was pretty much like you’d expect. It was a
beautiful hard cover book. I have reviewed quite a few cookbooks and although
this one is not as trendy and flashy as some of the others I’ve had, I would
say it is definitely classy. Timeless. It’s the kind of book that I may have
seen in either the trendiest kitchens or maybe my grandma’s kitchen. And
Grandma knew how to cook, peeps. I’m not saying it’s old school. The pictures
are nice and descriptive. They’re not bright and vibrant and photo-shopped like
a lot of really trendy cookbooks, but I like the timeless look of them. It
shows the food, it looks super delicious, and it looks like it’s something I
could pull off.
As far as the recipes go, there are lots of classics and
then takes on classics. These are appetizers that, without a doubt, will always
work. The ones I tried were really good, and the variations were fun and
different. The recipes are tried and true favorites, but sometimes it’s fun to
have something tried and true with a little twist. People recognize it, it’s
nothing shocking, but it’s a fun little twist on what they expected.
I also really enjoyed the little explanations she had
before each recipe. I felt like it added to the book without being overly wordy
or preachy about a particular appetizer. It also had nice tips about doing
things ahead of time and about actually entertaining, which was a nice addition
to a book that looks to me like basically the bible of appetizers.
I am giving this book 4.5 stars because it’s beautiful,
the food is delicious, and it’s definitely a classic. It loses half a star (so
it doesn’t get five stars) because I felt like it was not seriously innovative.
It was pretty safe. There were classics, there were twists on classics, and
pretty much everything was covered. There was nothing really different or
surprising in it. However, I would highly recommend it as a good addition to
any cookbook collection. One can only try so many faddy things and then you
yearn for something tried and true.
My Rating: 4.5
Stars
For the sensitive
reader: This is yummy, good clean fun.
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