Bridgehampton Weekends : Easy Menus for Casual Entertaining

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Summary: A book that Julia Child would be very very proud of!
Review: Love the book. Wonderfully done with style & grace. Great and easy receipe to follow. Thank you, Ellen.

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Summary: Thanks Ellen!
Review: Please be careful reading the not so nice reviews. Remember, the title is Bridgehampton Weekends, and the words easy and casual are in there too. We all know the Hamptons are not known for their, shall we say, "regular" people. However, Mrs. Wright has given us a wonderful cookbook with many good ideas, etc. For our Easter dinner yesterday, I made her Beef Rib Roast with Yorkshire pudding and it was fabulous. She also has lots of little shortcuts and tips to help along the way. And her foolproof piecrust is perfect! Her writing is warm and inviting and I hear she has another book coming out soon. I urge you to ignore the "consipracy" review and try this book. You just may come away with a few new delicious recipes. Good luck!

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Summary: all the pretty little horses
Review: The "once Upon a time in the Hamptons" tv mini-series inspired me to purchase this book, which I hoped would provide a bigger taste of the good life. Though the menus were rather homely for what I would expect, I rarely give complicated artsy-fartsy gourmet affairs more than a second glance; so in all fairness, this cookbook was just the thing for me, simple and practical, yet elegant--something I might cook from if I could bear to get it dirty. The photography is delightful; half the pictures contain hidden messages, half again of which you probably imagined after catching the first. I might sound like a paranoid schizophrenic doing book reviews for a psychotherapy assignment, but hey, the author and her husband once worked in the white House, be smart! Is that a "yankee pumpkin" far left in the Halloween spread? Native New Englanders know what the frustrated redcoats, far away from their ladies, did with THOSE during the revolutionary war. Towards the end of the book is a bizarre photo with a scrabble board center stage. The facing plaque spells: "THERFBI." WHO?!? Pretty spicy stuff here. The pictures could use some captions, though...er. Back to the recipes themselves, I would say they are about average quality-Wise. I should warn you I must have UpWards of seven hundred cookbooks, am a fairly accomplished cook myself, and can often tell a good recipe at glance without making it, so my assessment of "Bridgehampton Weekends" cookability might be a bit Off. There were a few off-beat offerings like "white House Saltines" I appreciated. But I couldn't give it my best thumbz up with things like angel food cakes calling for all-purpose flour and stock made with bouillon, not even as substitute ingredients. Not in the Hamptons--well, perhaps; maybe they always eat out there! (Or maybe there's something more than meets the eye here, too; gotta remember the Hamptons are a place of intrigue, murder, and mayhem!) Still, the generous amount of background to each menu made the book worthwhile for me, again because I have so many cookbooks I get bored if they aren't also a good read, which this most definitely is.

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Summary: Easy Elegant Entertaining--Thank You!
Review: This book is beautiful with really attractive pictures of country living and entertaining-- in an elegant manner. But most cookbook authors present recipes and entertaining ideas that I would never try for an important occasion--never! They are complicated and scary if they are good, or they are boring. This book is different. Ellen Wright gives us great menus, tells us when they were a hit with(love the stories), and gives us tips on how to handle problems. Even I have tried three of the menus with no problems and thats amazing.

Rating:
Summary: Easy Elegant Entertaining--Thank You!
Review: This book is beautiful with really attractive pictures of country living and entertaining-- in an elegant manner. But most cookbook authors present recipes and entertaining ideas that I would never try for an important occasion--never! They are complicated and scary if they are good, or they are boring. This book is different. Ellen Wright gives us great menus, tells us when they were a hit with(love the stories), and gives us tips on how to handle problems. Even I have tried three of the menus with no problems and thats amazing.

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Summary: thank you,ellen wright
Review: this book makes entertaining and just home-cooking really enjoyable and easy....thank you,ellen wright.....

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Summary: Move over Martha and share your pedestal!
Review: What marvelous ideas for entertaining family and friends! And the best thing is that with Ellen's recepies, you aren't stuck in the kitchen with endless preparation. I can't wait for Vol. II! Maybe something on casual dinner parties and small gatherings for NYC apartment dwellers?

Rating:
Summary: Move over Martha and share your pedestal!
Review: What marvelous ideas for entertaining family and friends! And the best thing is that with Ellen's recepies, you aren't stuck in the kitchen with endless preparation. I can't wait for Vol. II! Maybe something on casual dinner parties and small gatherings for NYC apartment dwellers?

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Summary: Easy Elegant Entertaining
Review: What would you get if you took Martha's eye for presentation but left off the obsessive-compulsive side? It would probably be something along the lines of Ellen Wright's beautiful book. Photographer Tom Eckerle's gorgeous pictures show off the natural beauty of The Hamptons as well as the artful arrangement of Wright's mostly casual home-style food. Many of the seasonally arranged menus feature old-fashioned dishes and none of the recipes could be mistaken for haute cuisine. Wright unabashedly uses baking mix and iceberg lettuce and wouldn't dream of asking you to make mayonnaise from scratch. Her philosophy is that inviting someone into your home for a meal is not about impressing them with your 4-star cuisine, but about making them feel comfortable and appreciated and well-fed. She reminds us that good food, lovingly prepared, an attractive setting and pleasant company are the hallmarks of gracious entertaining. She obviously is doing something right as James Beard and Tom Brokaw are but two of the luminaries who have graced her table and sung her praises. In an era of knock-your-socks-off culinary one-upmanship, Ellen Wright is a voice of gracious good sense. Relax, drop the pretense and enjoy entertaining again. Not to be missed: Banged Chicken and Brown Sugar Peach Pie.

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Summary: Great book!
Review: Wright's, Bridgehampton Weekends offers great ideas for wonderful menus that go easy on the cook. The book contains an impressive array of recipes, many of which blend together interesting ingredients to create distinct flavors and extraordinary meals. A useful reference for entertaining guests or simply to make family mealtime special, I enthusiasically recommend this book!