Sunday Suppers

Summer afternoon -- to Henry James, the two most beautiful words in the English language.

And yes, it's hard to best summer afternoon, but Sunday Suppers comes awfully close.

It's a fantasy of mine to have a Sunday Suppers Chez Lucie -- but I've dismissed it for various reasons.  Cost is foremost.  I can't afford it without everyone pitching in.  Two, time.   Three, my kitchen is tiny, Manhattan galley style.  Even my chef friends have shaken their heads, Impossible!  I didn't want to start something I couldn't finish.  As Mordechai points out, word about her first supper spread quickly.

But still, fantasies live on, persist so I was thrilled to read Karen Mordechai's Sunday Suppers.  She makes the fantasy seem possible.  Food does not have to be overly demanding, you can vary the locales.  Her recipes reflect her philosophy that stresses less is more.   Atmosphere, quality of ingredients and people matter most.

Most of the recipes are simple and call for easily found ingredients.  Her apple and olive cake looks great except that it takes 2 C of sugar, 3 C of extra virgin olive oil, and 3 C of milk.  I remember this recipe was distributed via NY Times or Epicurious and brought a lot of outcry over the amount of sugar and olive oil combined.  I wish there were a lower calorie version.

The joy in this book comes from the well-thought out menus which are easy to mix and match, and substitute out.  By showing you what worked communally, Mordechai helps free your creativity.

"I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."