My Kitchen Party

Party Food is the newest addition to the Artisanal Kitchen series, adapted from What’s a Hostess to Do? (Artisan, 2013) by the ultimate hostess, Susan Spungen. Here is a collection of recipes that makes entertaining easy for any occasion—whether it’s a cocktail hour, a brunch, a dinner party, or an elaborate holiday feast.

Mary Berg—winner of MasterChef Canada and star of Mary's Kitchen Crush—shares her most delicious, stress-free recipes, grand enough for special celebrations and easy enough for a regular Tuesday night.

Nothing makes a statement like a celebration cake, especially when you bake it from scratch. Cheryl and Griffith Day, New York Times bestselling authors and owners of Savannah’s must-visit Back in the Day Bakery, touch all the high points of American cake magic—coconut, red velvet, carrot with cream cheese frosting, chocolate (both traditional and flourless), spice, angel food, and the essential pineapple upside-down— with 36 truly decadent, showstopping creations.

Nothing makes a statement like a celebration cake, especially when you bake it from scratch. Cheryl and Griffith Day, New York Times bestselling authors and owners of Savannah’s must-visit Back in the Day Bakery, touch all the high points of American cake magic—coconut, red velvet, carrot with cream cheese frosting, chocolate (both traditional and flourless), spice, angel food, and the essential pineapple upside-down— with 36 truly decadent, showstopping creations.

You’re not entirely clueless in the kitchen, but your skills are rather basic. You may even have relied on Annabel Frere’s first cookbook, Help! There’s a Stove in My Kitchen, when you were in digs. But you’re no longer a student and your palate and those of your friends are more sophisticated. What can you serve that will impress them but not result in hours spend in the kitchen?

In its heyday, The Stork Club was the "place to be seen" among New York's glitterati. Gossip columnist Walter Winchell held the corner table, recording the comings and goings of the brightest stars of stage and screen—including Lauren Bacall, Bette Davis, and Ralph Bellamy—along with shining literary lions—from Ernest Hemingway to Dashiell Hamett and Anita Loos—to politicians and bigwigs—including regulars like J. Edgar Hoover. And the Club's host—Sherman Billingsley—became famous for keeping the fun going to the early hours of the morning.