Diane Phillips - Perfect Party Food: All the Recipes and Tips Youll Ever Need for Stress-Free Entertaining from the Diva of Do-Ahead

The Harvard Common Press
535 Albany Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02118
www.harvardcommonpress.com

Copyright 2005 by Diane Phillips
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval
system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Printed in China

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Phillips, Diane.
Perfect party food : all the recipes and tips you'll ever need for stress-free
entertaining from the diva of do-ahead / Diane Phillips.
p. cm.
ISBN 1-55832-259-0 (hardcover : alk. paper)ISBN 1-55832-260-4
(pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Entertaining. 2. Make-ahead cookery. I.Title.
TX731.P43 2005
642'.4dc22
2005004949

ISBN-13: 978-1-55832-259-2 (hardcover); 978-1-55832-260-8 (paperback)

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Book design by Wendy Palitz
Illustrations by Laura Tedeschi

To Ted Pierot
your friendship is a great gift

My life is a party! I am blessed to have family, friends, and colleagues who make my life rich beyond measure. When I began this book, I had no idea it would become this large or this comprehensive, and along the way there were many people who helped make this book into what it is today. First and foremost, my husband, Chuck, was a willing participant in all the recipe testing, and I couldn't imagine having a party without him by my side, not only for moral support, but also to enjoy the moment. Thanks, Dr. Chuck, it has been 33 years of constant fun. And thanks to our children, Carrie and Ryan, who have been party participants since they were old enough to walk and make an appearance at our parties. Thank you, Carrie, for helping me with the beverage chapter and for being such an encouragement when I feel overwhelmed, and for all you have taught me about entertaining with style. To our son, Ryan, who is an incredible sports writer, thanks for being so encouraging and for eating most everything that I cook.

My agent and friend, Susan Ginsburg, went above and beyond the call of duty, by selling this book and patiently waiting for it to become a reality. Thank you, Susan, for the gift of your friendship, your advice, and for taking my career and molding itI am so grateful to have you in my life! My pals Lora Brody and Rick Rodgers have been two of the most generous people in the business; I live vicariously through your successes, and thank you both for your friendship and advice over the yearsI'm truly blessed.

The students and the cooking schools where I teach are some of my most treasured relationships. I'm able to whisk into these kitchens and teach eager students all over the country. A special thank you to: Chan Patterson and the staffs at the Viking Culinary Arts Centers and Viking Home Chef; Bob Nemorovski and the family at Ramekins; Cynthia Liu, Mia Chambers, and the staffs at Draegers; Doralece Dullaghan and the staffs at Sur La Table; Marilyn Markel and the staff at A Southern Season; Larry Oats and the staff at KitchenArt; Nancy Pigg, Lana Santavicca, Nancy Rau, and the Fricke family at CooksWares; Sue and Lynn Hoffman and the angels at the Kitchen Shoppe; and the staffs at Central Markets. A special thank you to Ron and Devora Eisenberg, Allison Sherwood, Erika D'Eugenio, Sarah Rose, Carly Gunderson, and the amazing staff at Great News! in San Diego for giving me a kitchen to call homeyou all are the best and it's so nice to come home!

To my friends who have tasted, sampled, and requested recipes, thank you for your love and support. I know that this book is better because of all of you. To the Sunday night group: Jim and Cindy Schoeneck, Brian and Wendy Morgan, Bill and Paula Taylor, Nancy and Mike Garrett, Steve and Terry Carter, and Steve and Susan Goe, thanks for bringing the party to our housewhat a pleasure it is to know you all and to share in your lives. Thanks also to the Lunch Bunch, my friends Nancy Stansbury and Linda Costello, and the friends and family who shared recipes and stories about their parties. A special thanks to Jan Stapp for organizing the shopping lists for my Web site and giving me great editorial advice and feedback for various parts of this book. My friend Nonnie Owens and I began cooking up parties together more than 30 years ago and we continue to share friendship and party planning advice with each otherthank you for your friendship, hospitality, and encouragement. Robin Cox is an author's dream when it comes to recipe testing, and the recipes in this book are better because of her.

Finally, this book would not have come about had it not been for my publisher, Bruce Shaw, and the vision of one incredible friend and editor, Pam Hoenig. Thanks, Bruce, for believing in the concept, and to Pam, I am so grateful for your questions, tenacity, and encouragement, and for shaping the book. Special thanks to executive editor Valerie Cimino for taking over the final edit, and to Deborah Kops, the copyeditor authors only dream about, thank you for making the recipes into tight, organized, and readable prose. I'm grateful to you both for your eye for detail and your sense of humor! Thanks also to the entire team at The Harvard Common Press: Christine Alaimo, Liza Beth, Abby Collier, Christine Corcoran Cox, Virginia Downes, Amy Etcheson, Pat Jalbert-Levine, Skye Stewart, Julie Strane, Megan Weireter, and Betsy Young. Thanks for taking me into the marketplace and for all your hard work on my behalf!

Finally, to you, dear readerthanks for buying this bookif you have questions or comments or want to chat, please feel free to visit my Web site at www.dianephillips.com.

I got my start as the Diva of Do-Ahead when I cooked Thanksgiving dinner for my family one year a long time ago. After I labored for 10 hours to make all the dishes on Thanksgiving Day, and then sat down to dinner, exhausted, my family inhaled the meal in 10 minutes! I was left sitting at the table, thinking that it would have been easier to order in. I said to myself, Here I am an experienced cooking teacher and cookbook author, and this meal has made me crazy.

I decided there had to be a better way to plan and execute my favorite holiday meal, so I devised the Do-Ahead Thanksgiving cooking class. I figured that if I had a problem with this dinner, chances were that other people did, too. Strange as it may sound, this is the meal that people of all ages, from newly married twentysomethings to seasoned kitchen veterans, have a hard time with. The reason: Mom always made everything. So I started by giving a small class in my home to friends, testing the waters with them. Their response was amazing, and I went on to sell out this class in cooking schools all over the country.

From the success of that class, using the same basic principles of breaking the recipes down into manageable do-ahead steps, I've created classes for teaching do-ahead Christmas, Easter, cocktail parties, bridal showers, brunches, picnics, barbecues, Super Bowl parties, and many other seasonal occasions.