Dining by Design: Stylish Recipes - Savory Settings

This is one beautiful cookbook put out by the Junior League of Pasadena. It's a large hardcover filled with glossy pages and many photos. The theme creates two books in one. There are of course great recipes, but the photos show some of the members' dining rooms, kitchens, patios and other areas. It's fun to just browse the pictures and look at these splendid homes.

The Contents are:

Special Menus At the Doorstep - Appetizers and Beverages Sconces & Scones - Bread and Breakfast By The Hearth - Soups and Chilis In The Garden - Salads Patterns & Pasta - Pasta Sides On the Sideboard - Side Dishes The Foundation - Main Dishes Decorative Decadence - Desserts Let's Play - Recipes for the Family Committee List Special Thanks Contributors Nutritional Information Index

The recipes all have easy to follow, detailed instructions. Each gives the number of servings. Nutritional information isn't listed with the recipe, but is given in a table for all recipes in the back of the book. Also back there is one of the most legible indexes I've ever seen. (A good, thorough index is a major selling point for me!)

Throughout the book there are some sidebars that give information about an ingredient or much more interesting, a "memory" of a member about the recipe. Those were great to read. Here's one for Five Pounds of Easy Fudge: "This recipe is an old family favorite. My mom used to hide the finished fudge to let it cool completely. My dad, brother, and I hunted until we found the fudge hiding place. Once we found it in the trunk of her car, and another year we found it stashed in the dryer." Isn't that great? I just love reading about how recipes fit into peoples' lives.

I'm really enjoying this one and will continue to cook from it. Some of the recipes I have marked to try are Chile and Tortilla Soufflé, Garlic Lemon Chicken, Salmon in Pastry Crust, Cranberry Sorbet, Amber Tea, (I don't have a dishwasher, but if I did, I'd try the Dishwasher Salmon), and Lemon Whipper Snappers.