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 - Little bit of a disappointmentI was slightly disappointed with this book. It's beautifully done, but in paging through it I only found a few recipes I'd use. I had bought these for gifts, sight unseen. I certainly hope the recipients like them better than I did. I had expected more entree recipes instead of the assortment that it has. I had also hoped there would be more photos of the Park Avenue apartments where these recipes originated. I would have returned the books except the proceeds go to a good cause, so I kept them. Rating:  - Great Cookbook---Easy RecipesSo far, I've made the Sweet and Sour Meatloaf, Muffie's Mustard Lemon Chicken, and a great summer squash zucchini cassarole---all with great results. In addition to the wonderfully easy recipes, the cookbook is well photographed and illustrated. It would make a very good addition to your own collection of cookbooks as well as a well received gift. I give this one 5 stars! Rating: - When was the last time you saw "Park Avenue" and "potluck" in the same sentence?In the silver serving bowl on the cover of "Park Avenue Potluck", there's a....could that really be a casserole? For that matter, when was the last time you saw "Park Avenue" and "potluck" in the same sentence? Yes, the days of black tie dinners that begin with Rigaud candles in the hall and champagne in the living room are over. "Ladies who lunch" have pretty much died off. Fashion shows have lost their urgency. And thank you notes are starting to look a lot like e-mails. Oh, one thing hasn't changed: the ultimate audience. "I design every menu according to what the men will eat," a hostess says. She's a smart one. The C-level husband labors all day to keep his family in a zillion dollar co-op and a country "cottage" --- if "New York's savviest hostesses" are going to make their men go to dinner parties, better believe they'll focus on their care and feeding. So what we have here is a book of recipes that a Manhattan hostess could actually cook --- has, in fact, actually cooked. Like a local club cookbook. If you happen to live in a neighborhood where everyone's rich, accomplished and fit. So (and this may be meaningful) only the drinks are exotic. Like "Pond Water" --- sugar, vodka, limoncello, lime juice and thyme. Not something you drink every day. The soups here are simple and toothsome and, mostly, appallingly healthful. There are no fewer than 15 casseroles, including a mac-and-cheese punched up with dry mustard. Chicken with Potato Chips: there's a blue-collar concept. Nice recipe for cider-marinated pork loin from a Rockefeller. A pot roast recipe I don't know, but very much want to try. Applesauce with dark rum. And far too rich desserts. Florence Fabricant, a world-class food writer, did this book as a labor of love --- it benefits Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. As a private cancer facility, it's the world's largest. As a cause, it's one of the most prestigious in New York. Good to see a fundraising tool that not only tempts the palate but suggests "New York's savviest hostesses" aren't all insufferable snootballs. Rating: - "Park Avenue Potluck" is WASP cooking at its finestThe reason this book may appear to be "common" and "easy" by some reviewers is that many of these recipes were created by WASPs (Old Guard families). WASPs like simple, yet attractive food. If you want nouvelle cuisine of the nouveau riche look elsewhere. Rating: - Savvy and easy (the recipes not the hostesses)My wife has cooked many of the recipes in the book and they have been incredible meals. Great thing is she says they are mostly easy recipes. Many favorites of these wonderful Park Avenue Ladies. Ladies you will enjoy these classic recipes. Gents, what a wonderful present. Its a great looking book and you'll get to enjoy many wonderful meals when your wife trys these recipes. All to support Sloan Ketttering, a gift of life for those battling cancer. page 1 of 2
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