Book review: Dishing with style has all the ingredients for easy entertaining

I received Dishing with style by Rori Trovato for my birthday from a modish girl friend and her husband. She knows that I prefer cooking books with lots of beautiful pictures. I am visual girl after all.

I read the book this morning. Wow, Dishing with style fits like a glove into my entertaining philosophy. And more importantly, the book delivers on its promises.

The chef and food writer Rori Trovato started up this project by acknowledging that no cooking book on the market:

teaches you how to do the one thing that has the greatest impact: to combine great-tasting food with great-looking food, to make guests say “Wow” as soon as they sit at the table, and then again when they take their first bites.

One thing that differentiates Dishing with style from other cooking books is the fact that:

Nearly every recipe includes two stunning options for presenting the dish to your guests. One is more casual, often family-style, perfect for Sunday suppers and backyard get-togethers. The other option is more elegant, usually served in individual plated portions, for dinner parties and more formal affairs.
– these are two excerpts from the publisher text

Cleary if you are looking for food presentations that you can easy reproduce at home, take a look at Dishing with style. Rori Trovato encourages her readers to think outside the box and to experiment new ways to plate the food. Nothing is revolutionary but the book is actually stimulating. View this book as a source of plate inspirations that you can adapt to your own dinnerware, cooking skills and budget. Use the book as a tool to freshen up your party themes and even push you to try new entertaining styles.

If the latest culinary artistry is what you are looking for, you will be better served with a book like Working the Plate: The Art of Food Presentation by Christopher Styler. Make sure to read the user’s comments on Amazon.com to know what you are getting yourself into. Culinary artistry requires lots of tools, perfect techniques and times on your hand.

If you want culinary artistry, I suggest to most people that they go out to a top notch restaurant where they can enjoy a unique dining experience with their friends. Or you can hire a chef at home for one night that will even clean everything up before he leaves.

For my part, I am satisfied with a book that shows me how to make impressive plate ideas and recipes that leave me time to have fun with my guests. What are you looking for: culinary artistry or easy to do stylish dishing?

Sourcing:
Buy online: Dishing with Style: Secrets to Great Tastes and Beautiful Presentations