| Title | : | Dinner After Dark: Sexy, Sumptuous Supper Soirees |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0609609750 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780609609750 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 224 |
| Publication | : | First published October 15, 2002 |
The recipes are drawn from Colin Cowie’s sophisticated international palate, focusing on the exotic. The Peri-Peri dinner offers Saketinis to start, then moves on to Curried Mussels in Coconut-Milk Broth, red-hot Peri-Peri Chicken with green olives and preserved lemons, and a luscious Orange Custard Tart. The Cuba Libre cocktail party features Escabeche of Swordfish, Picadillo in a Lettuce Cup with Fresh Tomato Salsa, Plantain Chips, and Arroz con Camarones, all washed down with Mojitos and Cuba Libres. And the intriguing Bombay Soirée includes an appetizer of Stir-Fried Shrimp with Lemon and Scallions and an entrée of Chicken Curry and Peas, served with three different cooling raitas, Mango Chutney, Pappadams, and Aromatic Basmati Rice.
What’s remarkable about the hundred recipes is that the dishes rely on spices rather than fats, on delicious pairings instead of interminable ingredient lists. Even more remarkable is that nearly every recipe can be prepared in less than an hour, and almost none requires last-minute cooking, allowing you to be a guest at your own party.
Each party will be a fabulous one, with fun, helpful features such 911, entertaining emergencies and how to solve them; 411, information calls, like what a tagine is or how to trim an artichoke; OTT (Over the Top), on how to make the evening truly spectacular; and A Lighter Touch, on adapting recipes for less fat, or simply to be less heavy. All of this is presented in Colin’s inimitably stylish, irrepressibly fun voice that’s both entertaining and informed.
Each party takes place in a uniquely beautiful location, from spectacular New York City apartments to an oh-so-very L.A. Modernist house to the beach in East Hampton. The guests are smiling and glamorous and having a good time, the decors and tabletops and food are extraordinarily appealing—you want to be there. Not only will
Dinner After Dark: Sexy, Sumptuous Supper Soirees Reviews
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There are people who see food as a chore of sustenance, people who love fine dining as long as they aren't responsible to create it themselves, people who will blissfully invite you to join them for a meal that can barely keep its nose above mediocrity, and those who never entertain because the very concept of timing and cleaning and setting a table terrifies them witless.
Then there is Colin Cowie; who defines entertaining as I've always understood it to be: a sexy lavish intimate gathering over surprising and delicious dishes in a seductive atmosphere designed to create memories. With alcohol; preferably appearing first as the evening's signature cocktail, and then sliding into bottles of wine selected to compliment the feast.
Cowie loves opulence, and rule-breaking, and is no snippy dictator insisting that every morsel be concocted from scratch. Enjoy your guests, and make their evening enjoyable: this seems to be his motto, and though he would put it more elegantly, I heartily concur. Cowie leans more on the side of simplicity in his recipes than I do, but we are both in accord in a belief that time with friends is some of the most precious time we spend. He urges his readers to entertain often, and memorably, and he shows you how he does it; from menu to cocktails to theme to table settings to ambiance.
If you care about your friends, and aspire to entertain with memorable style, consult Cowie. He'll help enthusiastically, and makes a charming pre-party companion as you prep.
