Silver Spoons and Party Tips From Park Avenue

by Amanda Gordon (RSS feed)
Jan 7th 2010 at 11:01AM

There's a lot to like about the Park Avenue lifestyle, especially as it is captured in the book "Park Avenue Potluck: Celebrations," published by Rizzoli. This book takes us inside the apartments facing the broad boulevard with a European feel, to tell us, if not everything, then just enough, to entertain Park Avenue style. Hint: there may be a cook for hire involved, and you'll want to get out the china, write place cards, and dust off the napkin rings. As for what you'll be serving: The ladies are not cutting-edge professional chefs, so this is not the place to find culinary revelations on par with "Momofuko." Rather the recipes are for comforting dishes, not too healthy or unhealthy, and presented simply but beautifully. Vetted by New York Times food writer Florence Fabricant, these are gold-plated go-to dishes. And some, such as Coco Kopelman's baked latkes, are a real find.

The authors are a group of volunteer fund-raisers for The Society of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. They've opened their recipe books and their rolodexes, and in some cases, jotted down words of party wisdom, to raise more money for the cancer center. The first "Park Avenue Potluck" collection of recipes emphasized informal meals for large groups of guests, and was filled with truly personal anecdotes and recollections. This latest is less personal, more utilitarian, organized by occasion: St. Patrick's Day, Passover, etc. One of the book's treasures is the luxury-focused "Guide to Sources for Entertaining" in the back, essentially a rolodex of vendors these ladies turn to for flowers, linens, invitations, and, specialty foods. And the lush photography alone makes it a page turner.

Tags: cookbook, dining, entertaining, florence fabrikant, FlorenceFabrikant, food, park avenue, ParkAvenue, recipes