'Tis the Season - Another Book Giveaway!

Good Morning and Happy Middle of the Week!

I'm going to make this (relatively) short and sweet:

I have lovely book here by Matthew Mead, called Entertaining Simple.  To quote the subtitle, it's full of "recipes, menus, and party ideas for every kind of gathering."  Put out by Wiley Press, the book is a gorgeous collection of suggestions and photographs (beautifully done by Quentin Bacon) to inspire you. 

 

So, how do you enter?

 

Like this:

 

In the comments section of this post, I'd like to know if you like to entertain or not, and if you do, what's your favorite sort of gathering to host?  A big holiday meal?  Simple party with friends, your child's birthday?  What.  And if you want to share details, like WHY you enjoy it, or what you serve, or anything else, feel free. 

 

And then, when the contest is over, I'll come up with some clever and cute way to select one of the entries, at random, as the winner.  I'm thinking maybe my cats could help out this time...maybe.

 

The contest will remain open until midnight of this coming Friday, November 21st, and the winner will be announced on Saturday, November 22nd.  PLEASE remember to come back here and see if you're the winner.  If you are, email me at jayne (at) barefootkitchenwitch (dot) com with your shipping address so I can get the book out to you as soon as possible.

 

I believe that's everything. 

Let the contest begin! 

Comments

[Sarah]

Favorite party is a big holiday party where I am only responsible for the main course and drinks. Everyone else brings sides and desserts. It is fun to see the variety that everyone brings and the stress level for me is totally decreased. And it is fun!

[Margie]

Sporting events.
I love having people over for football games or UFC fights because it gets so lively and, during commercials or color commentary, I get to dole out my food and watch them eat and enjoy.
I even enjoy loading up my dishwasher after its over.
This year though, Im looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas as its been a rough year for my family and I so it is going to be nice to have them all over and be there for one another.

[Jen - The Alien Spouse]

I really miss hosting Eurovision Song Contest parties.

I know America has no clue what the Eurovision is, which is a pity but allow me to elucidate: once a year almost all of Europe competes in a pop song contest, the songs are dreadful, the clothes are eye-poppingly awful and the voting is purely political (The UK is regularly in the bottom three, no matter what the quality of the song. Its infuriating!). I adore the show, and the parties we had for it were always memorable and fun.

The main theme of the food was that each guest would choose a country and bring a regional snack and some alcohol from that region. It is AMAZING how many Eastern European countries produce vodka.

[Janna-Lynn Weber]

Im still learning, but I really love doing dinner parties for my friends and I. I even like to help my mom with her dinner parties.
Im still a student and still working on my cooking skills but I love being able to pull a whole meal together for everyone that isnt just pasta. As I get closer and closer to graduating (for the second time) dinner parties start to feel like playing grown-up, as I experiment what my life might be like in the real world.
For valentines day a few years ago, I hosted a 12 person dinner party, my first real dinner party. It gave me quite a sense of accomplishment when I was able to put the spread on the table, tasty and on time. Its not very often that you see that many university kids sitting at a table, that isnt in a restaurant.

[Sharon]

I like to have themed dinner parties with friends. For example, one night we may do an asian party where we haul out all our asian dinnerware, chopsticks, and tea cups. Weve also had fondue nights where we try to recreate Melting Pot recipes. Its a lot of fun.

[erin]

i like sharing meals when everyone is in the kicthen while its cooking, helping a litle, laughing a lot. and then everyone finds themself a comfy spot to sit and eat and chill out.

[Maggie May]

I agree with Margie...sporting events are great to host. Besides the fact that I just love sports, there is never a lack of conversation and entertainment, and appetizery foods, drinks and desserts are my favorites to both make and eat. You can create such a variety!

Good food, good drinks and good fun. I just doesnt get any better than that!

[Jane M]

I prefer sit down dinner parties of about 8 - 12 people at the most. I enjoy the entire process...prep, cocktail hour, dinner and dessert. I love having people in - and when people come here, they STAY FOREVER! (sometimes I get a little tired in the wee hours of the night - and I often end up serving twice!)

[Susanna]

I host a party 2 days after thanksgiving every year for my camp counselor friends from the 80s. All our kids come and I make a caldron of Cincinatti chili. Its my favorite day of the year.

[Laura]

I am nervous and sometimes uncomfortable entertaining adults. However, I have a 7 year old girl, 5 year old boy and a 2 year old girl. I LOVE throwing crazy elaborate parties for them and their friends. We do tea parties, halloween parties, cooking parties, princess parties, glow stick and silly string parties and so on. I would like to get more comfortable with the grown ups. If they are friends of mine, its all good. If they are the kids parents that I dont know so well or my husbands friends, Id rather not. Pick me and maybe your book will help! :-)

Love your blog. I started one too mostly out of appreciation and jealousy of yours! :-)

[just1beth]

I love to have the same group of friends that have always come over since high school- we are now 41(!!!!) It is tradition to get together at least once every summer at my house out by the pool, late into the evening. In the winter, however, my favorite thing to do is fondue, which is a tribute to YOUR house growing up. Because, yes, your sister is one of the girls in our group. Your Mom always served the best fondue parties for us, and now we keep the tradition going!! We try to get together at least once a winter, too. I have to say, we are pretty goood at it.

[Marilia]

I love to have parties for my fiance and his friends. (Unfortunately it doesnt happen often, as we usually just get really drunk and order pizza instead.) However the few times I am able to abstain; for a little while; I love to make asian inspired foods like shrimp in ginger-garlic sauce or teriyaki chicken. It doesnt take long to cook and is really tasty.

[Vicki]

I love holiday gatherings, but since were far from family, we usually collect strays, who otherwise would be alone. Ive got 14 people coming over for Thanksgiving, and Im not related to a single one of them.

[Chris]

I like to host but I really like to just make food for occasions especially baked sweets that others can really enjoy

[Memoria]

I like to entertain only one person: ME! LOL! I dont like to have people at my house. I am a major loner and proud of it. :D

I hope I win!

[Lyvvie]

I used to love entertaining, but its a very different thing in the UK. My Husbands family are uptight pseudo-posh types, most folks would rather go to a pub than someones home and they dont seem to do the family/friends barbque kind of thing. Well, certainly not my family. I miss America. Id have many more opportunities there. Folks here, in this part of Scotland (It would be a very different story in Glasgow where folks are a million times more sociable and jolly) are in the constant search for chilling out alone. Im languishing in the dust bowl of the entertainment world. The most extras I cook for are my daughters pals when they come over.

Now dont I sound bitter? This is why were moving to Australia. Not because Im bitter, but because the Lonely Scotland vibe.

[Rachel Baransi]

Hey! Love your blog, just discovered it last week, but I made the Bittersweet and Ginger-Lemon poached pear tart twice!! :) Im currently an au pair for a family in Amsterdam (were all from the states, just moved here in the last few months), theyve got three kids a busy life and since Ive been here the dad says Im eating better now than I have in 15 years! theyve never really had guests over for dinner because food wasnt their strength. Now with the help of creativity and the internet were making fun food and having people over all the time. Theres nothing better than making new friends and sharing delicious meals with them..... :)

[Rachel M.]

I love entertaining...

We have a group of 5 couples that get together each month for card club we play games and cards. Everyone brings food...sometimes the hostess will make soup or grill out. Adult beverages are also served...

Its a great time to try new appetizers and desserts.

I highly recommend starting your own card club...its so fun.

[Megs Jenkins]

It doesnt matter what we do as long as the people we love are here! Last party I found a whole bunch of great gourmet pizza ingredients. Fun cheezes and meats and although I started to make the pizza dough I ran out of time and we had to make an impromptu trip to the grocery store for pre-made ones. Everyone got to pick what they wanted and as we baked the pizzas people ate soup (i made two types) and finished off with tiramisu and lemon cake. So much fun, and a great way to bring people together.

Megs

[Amy]

Okay...I LOVE entertaining. I just wish I wasnt still in grad school and have a tiny apartment...But one of my favorite things to host (and actually works in the tiny space) is a FONDUE party. If you have never been to a fondue dinner party or the Melting pot...you must...it is amazing.

We do a cheese fondue to start (similar to the fiesta cheese fondue at the Melting Pot) and then both broth and oil (separate pots...got a great broth recipe from the new Melting Pot cookbook) and then a chocolate fondue to finish with. We usually have apples/veggies/chips for the cheese and then meats/mushrooms/squash for the oil/broth and then fruit/etc for the chocolate.

It is so much fun because most of the time we have at least one person of the group of 8 (only 8 can fit comfortably around our table) that have never had fondue before...and it is fun because not only is it a great dinner but it is entertainment. Sometimes we will play some sort of game afterwards, but fondue can make the whole party. We had a fondue party a couple weeks ago and I cant wait to have another one!! Perhaps we can squeeze it in before Christmas :) Thanks for another cookbook opportunity...love your site.

[Marthe]

I love entertaining!! My favourite way of entertaining is having some friends over for diner (and desert ofcourse) and then playing some cardboardgame....

[sumara]

I love to cook for my family, friends and co-workers anytime of the day. However, my favorite gatherings are special occasions, out-of-town family visits, big parties (50+ people)...I know crazy but a lot of fun. I grew up in an extended pakistani family, where all your uncles, aunts and cousins live in one house, everybody share foods, laughters, cries, and everything in between. Growing up, I thought it was very weird, not normal and unfair to us, kids, which it isn't at least in that country. Anyways, now that I have grown up (I think), I wouldn't change that for the world. In fact, I wish everybody could experience the childhood I had. BBQ's at winter nights at the rooftop, roasting peanuts while watching movies outdoors, Buffet tables in the verenda, when everybody got together for dinner especially on fridays. That's the kind of entertaining, we do in my family still but not to the extreme of outdoor BBQ's on winter nights since we live in chicago, now. However, try that sometimes, there is nothing better.

[Allison]

I do like to entertain, even though I haven't been able to in ages. My favorite is just a casual night with friends, dinner and drinks.

[Carla]

I love to entertain! I have lost some of my inspiration and gotten out of the habit since moving here. Probably something to do with the winters and how people like to hibernate. This book looks absolutely gorgeous. I love holiday meals of course(who doesn't?). My favorite would probably casual small dinners with people I am familiar and comfortable with. It takes a while to figure out your friends' taste buds and what they prefer. The first few times are not as fun since you are on pins and needles hoping they are not humoring you but secretly wishing they were home eating something else. Can you tell I've been burned by a few "blunt" people? lol.

[Luna]

My birthday is New Year's Day, so I always have a New Year's Eve/Birthday party. I wrap things, like unwanted tarot decks, or get candles, etc., and we play games. The winner gets a gift, but I make sure that there's enough gifts that EVERYONE gets one! It's my surprise twist and the games are always fun. The best was one year, I brought each guest alone into my bedroom, shut the door, and swore them to secrecry. Then, I had them make a funny face, took a photo, and printed it. Everyone wondered what we were up to alone in the bedroom! Then, I posted all the photos on the door, and we voted on the funniest face. I nearly wet my pants that night. I have lots of food - appetizers, and always "Texas Caviar" which contains black eyed peas, which are eaten for good luck. Champagne and all that. The house is decorated for a birthday, and the new guests are always surprised. But it's TOO MUCH FUN (for me!) to sing Auld Lang Syne at midnight, followed by a drunken rendition of Happy Birthday! My favorite day of the year, and a wonderful way to set the tone for the new year.

[Autumn]

I do like to entertain if I have time and a good reason. I think the first time I hosted a dinner party was a casual little Thanksgiving in 2004 or around that time - 20 year old hostess in training. It was my first time, and I pulled out all the stops. Granted, I was in a student apartment without a dining table, so we camped out in the living room around the coffee table. Hey, it worked! I've done a few other meals since then. I guess my favorite things to do are casual dinner parties for a few close friends or improvised snack-nights. I like making little bite sized foods.

[Tanya Fox]

I am just now learning to entertain. For most of my life I always felt my house wasn't clean enough, big enough, etc. However, I had a wonderful experience hosting a baby shower at my home that has made me want to entertain more often. I did little appetizers and desserts that were all finger foods. My favorite part was setting it up. My last favorite though was the cleanup. Now I know why people use paper plates.