Gift Idea: Book for Hostesses

Someone else's mess

Does your husband having a cleaning disease where he can't see any of his own mess and clutter until one day he snaps and throws away 15 cookbooks?

Neither does FruHubs.

Ahem.

OK, so FruHubs is totally oblivious to things like his four pairs of shoes and dirty socks and paint-covered khaki shorts strewn all across the bedroom.  But let one magazine rest on the coffee table too long and, POW!  He turns into the Incredible Hulk of cleaning.

Which is how The Frugal Hostess found him tonight. 

SLAM!  Junk mail vanquished.

POP!  Christmas wrapping paper hidden.  Possibly forever.

CRASH!  Clean laundry stuffed into a basket and whisked away.

And before you say that FruHo is lucky and crazy to complain, please note that this happens once every two months, maybe.  Perhaps quarterly.

But when it does, boy....

This is why The Frugal Hostess finds herself in a hot rush to read and write about a new cookbook she received.  If she doesn't watch her ass, that cookbook will be swept away into the recycling bin in ten seconds flat.  The book is 750 Best Appetizers*, by Judith Finlayson and Jordan Wagman, and TFH was sent a free copy to review.

Here are the pros:

1.  Paperback and thus less of a pain to deal with in the kitchen.

2.  A truly exhaustive list of all kinds of appetizers, including sweets, soups, and homemade parsnip chips.

3.  Some lovely pictures of prepared recipes.

And the con:

The point of this post is to sell you this book.

1.  Only some pictures.  Like, maybe 20 of the 750+ items in the book.  Despite being a very verbal girl - FruHo prefers reading blog posts to watching their accompanying videos, for example - cookbooks are one place where pictures are a must.  How in the world can you possibly cook something without seeing a picture of what it's supposed to look like?  Especially when the dishes are appetizers and hors d' oeuvres, often marvels of construction.  TFH is sure that the authors wish the book had more pictures, too.

In all, this is a great resource to have in your library, especially if you love to have parties.  Just expect to have to use your imagination.

750 Best Appetizers* by Judith Finlayson and Jordan Wagman is selling right now for $16.47 on Amazon.  It would make a great gift for your favorite hostess.

*Affiliate links.  See Disclosure page for complete details on how that works.