Better Homes and Gardens Entertaining With Ease

by cmoneyspinner

Trust yourself. There's a gracious host or hostess within you. You can be a domestic diva and entertain guests with ease.

Most of us like to be entertained; but some people enjoy entertaining.

Most of us are in the first group and only end up wearing the host or hostess hat because we were drafted.

When that happens, the creativity instincts kick in and all kinds of ideas about the easiest and fastest way to get happy guests in and out, start coming to mind.

But instead you find yourself involved in:
- working up detailed menus;
- performing time-consuming chores;
- constantly reminding yourself to remember to erase the name of who volunteered you for this project from your holiday gift list; and
- watching the clock and wondering why you weren't given sufficient time to make it all come together. Like 3 years instead of 3 days!

Describing myself? Yes indeed.

The Domestic Diva Transformation

Several of my friends - male and female - are the domestic diva types.

- They turn a dining experience into a memorable event.

- They throw a soirée and people excitedly anticipate receiving an invitation to attend the next gathering.

- They make a casual Sunday brunch look like Breakfast at Tiffany's.

- You suspect that they take Jacques Pépin or Sandra Lee DNA pills which are secretly supplied to them by a mad genetic scientist; and only pretend that entertaining with ease comes naturally to them.

Well maybe for them, being a gracious host or hostess is their talent. But for others like me who are not so gifted? We want to express our appreciation to Better Homes and Gardens®.

BH&G has been around forever! (See their timeline.) With good reason too! Through the years, this company has earned a highly respected reputation for being a trusted reliable source if you need information and helpful advice on how to make your homes and gardens always better! Their vision and mission is in the name itself. When you see their seal, you do not doubt the quality of the product.

In my home library of cookbooks, there is an old book that has stood the test of time. How old is it? It's so old, there's no website address to direct readers to GO TO. (About 30 years old.) It was a gift; a perfect gift for non-hostess, non-domesticated types like me. In less than 400 pages, you will discover that you can be a domestic diva. It's really easy.


The book is appropriately titled:

Better Homes and Gardens®

Entertaining with Ease Cook Book.

* * *

Serve The Guests and Enjoy Yourself Too!

Everyone is having a wonderful time. Everyone, but you. You're sitting on the couch, managing to smile but feeling exhausted. Why? Because you've burdened yourself with all of the important and necessary tasks of extending gracious hospitality to your guests; not knowing that there were tips and tricks you could have employed to serve the guests and enjoy yourself too.

 

Listed below are some of the highlights of Entertaining With Ease that make this hard copy ready reference such a terrific GO TO.

- Practical Party Planning Tips for people on a budget


- The Progressive Dinner trick


- Easy and elegant recipes for American, European and Asian cuisines

(May I suggest the Indonesian Sâté with Peanut Sauce? Page 26.)


- Soups and Salads to mix and match

(The Hot and Hearty Sausage Soup with the Mideastern Green Salad OR the Marinated Avocado-Mushroom Salad are great combo.)


- Desserts to die for!

(If you don't serve cheesecake, your guests will beg you for the Upside-Down Chocolate Pie.)


- Delicious virgin drinks (nonalcoholic)

- Candlelight suppers that would meet the high standards of Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced boo-kay or as in Bouquet)

[ British comedies are my weakness. Episodes of this series are available on YouTube. ]


- A special section wholly devoted to Special Celebrations. The all-purpose "Celebration Party" is suitable for any occasion: housewarming, retirement, weddings.


- Last, but not least, fabulous photographs for the visual learner.

 

Since the creation of all the various food networks on television, my spouse and I both are both cooking show fanatics. But this book has been with us for about 20 years, the pages are falling out of it from years of wear and tear; but we refuse to part with it. My husband still refers to it for new dishes and instructions for cooking techniques. I won't give it up because it taught me how to make and vary my favorite dessert: cheesecake!

Emerald Dress for a Sunday Brunch
Emerald Dress for a Sunday Brunch

Better Homes and Gardens® Entertaining with Ease is vintage now. Looking for a more current BH&G cookbook?

Better Homes and Gardens The Ultimate Quick & Healthy Book: More Th...
Better Homes & Gardens
$20.7  $18.18

Humorous Food Quotes

(Full ladle of laughter with a hint of "profound truth".)

blue face

"Life is uncertain. 

Eat desserts first." 

-- Sucre Spice All Things Nice

 "Preserve and treat food as you would your body, remembering that in time food will be your body."   -- B.W. Richardson

“People who love to eat are always the best people.”  --  Julia Child

"The two biggest sellers in bookstores are the cookbooks and the diet books. The cookbooks tell you how to prepare the food and the diet books tell you how not to eat any of it."  -- Andy Rooney

"Everything you see, I owe to spaghetti." --  Sophia Loren

 

Where to Next at Wizzley?

Classic, but very much up to date (and super easy!) recipe for a year-round dessert.
Cooking for a big holiday party or dinner can be a daunting task. But if you plan well in advance you can save money and prepare lots of tasty food for your guests.
Updated: 08/19/2017, cmoneyspinner
 
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cmoneyspinner on 11/10/2014

Thanks sweet lady! :)

ologsinquito on 11/10/2014

I'm pinning this now that Thanksgiving is almost here.

cmoneyspinner on 08/06/2013

It might. But by that time I won't have any pages left in the book. :)

ologsinquito on 08/06/2013

The Better Homes & Gardens entertaining book looks like it has an abundance of recipes, at such a great price. It might even become a collectable item at some point.

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