Some good information, some problems

books:


	• Secrets from a Caterer's Kitchen: The Indispensable Guide for Planning a Party Nicole Aloni HP Trade, 2001 - 352 pages average customer review:based on 20 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

bought as gift

sent to africa to a friend who was doing catering. was thanked over and again but am unsure of how useful it was.

Indispensable

I'm a private chef who occasionally caters specialty workshops. I appreciated all the information in this book.

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Watch out

I appreciate having Aloni's books in my catering collection. They are full of useful information and have a delightful tone. Watch out for the recipe for Sun-Dried Tomato and Pesto Torta. The quantities for the tomato and pesto layers appear not to be correct. I suggest doubling them. I used a 2-quart souffle dish to form the torta; there was barely enough pesto & tomato for one layer of each. Consequently I wasted a lot of time having to double back and make more of these two layers, including another trip to the grocery store. I'm trusting that the dish will be attractive and tasty as described by the author but "easy" is not a word that applies here. I wonder if this recipe was scaled down from a large quantity (you can't make just one of these for Neiman Marcus), thus the quantities are messed up a bit.

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Some good information, some problems

Overall a good resource, especially for the price.

Pros:
-- excellent lists and tips for making lists
-- good section on portions and quantities
-- interesting menu ideas
-- tips on how to find help and when to use hired help
-- good decoration ideas

Cons:
-- some of the recipes don't work
-- most recipes serve 8 people. If your party is for 50 it would be helpful to have recipes that serve more people or more specific information on how to scale the recipes (both those in her books and favorites from other sources).
-- could use more sketches/diagrams on table settings. The few she has are good. Possible layouts for rooms and buffets would be helpful as well
-- some information is obvious or redundant

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Looks good, but was hoping for more

I'd read great things about this book and was hoping for more conversions and amounts of food to serve large groups. There is a nice table that includes some amounts, but I was hoping for a more comprehensive list.

It includes some interesting recipes, and it looks like it would be great if you're looking for the whole...how to do it and start from scratch. I already have recipes I want to use and so it wasn't exactly what I needed.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4

From the author of Secrets from a Caterer's Kitchen, the only 55 recipes you'll ever need to entertain with style and confidence.

Features:
? 55 essential dishes with lots of variations for every occasion
? 38 versatile menus-from casual meals to elegant repasts
? The basics of how to roast, grill, or steam meat, fish, and vegetables
? From napkins to utensils-what every home entertainer needs
? Hints and tips from the professionals to make every gathering as much a pleasure for the host as it is for the guests
? Crowd favorites and exotic cocktails
? Expert wine selections

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hot