The Loaves and Fishes Party Cookbook

Anna Pump and her daughter, Sybille Pump, combine kitchen artistry and sound advice in perfect proportion, leaving readers happy relaxed, and full of eager anticipation for the meals. In THE LOAVES AND FISHES PARTY COOKBOOK, the Pumps have created menus that stress fresh ingredients in creative combinations, simply and quickly prepared. The Pumps thirty-five menus (and more than two hundred mouth-watering recipes) cover every occasion from a small patio luncheon to a children's birthday party to a formal sit-down wedding reception. The menus are organized by season, to best take advantage of fresh produce and to highlight appropriate seasonal styles of entertaining. A hot summer day calls out for "lunch under a shady tree, picnic style, with a pretty patchwork cloth as a table" and a menu featuring Chilled Carrot Soup, Lemon-Basil Chicken Salad and a refreshing dessert of Frozen Peach yogurt. In winter, a party of cold ice skaters are well warmed by Hot Spiced Wine and a hearty Lamb, Onion, and Butternut Squash Stew. The authors offer solid counsel on how to arrange a celebratory meal or a modest picnic, based on years of their own catering experience. With interesting and innovative recipes, well-balanced menus, and myriad useful, time-saving hints, THE LOAVES AND FISHES PARTY COOKBOOK is the ideal guide and inspiration for the many people who wish to entertain stylishly and well. Anna Pump says there are only a few rules for giving a successful party: "Create an atmosphere you want, do everything as best you can, and once the party begins, if something goes wrong, carry on. Chances are no one but you will even notice. And have fun!"