Actress, cupcake cook, and Stranger with Candy, Amy Sedaris is the author of I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence, now available in hardcover and as a newly released audiobook.
While the Sedaris shtick goes on a little too thick at times and some of the semi-homemade style recipes will not appeal to all, don't dismiss I Like You. As the author says in her introduction, this is not a joke cookbook.
Listen up for some downtown entertaining tips from a certified New Yorker, just the kind of stuff Martha and Mom get sweaty talking about:
• Hostesses should not try too hard. "Entertain not overtain."
• Keep a Party Log to record menus, guest preferences, decorations and other important notes. "I also think its worthwhile to create a party log because it would be a wonderful item for someone to find after you die. I would buy that at a flea market."
• "Make sure every guest list isnt the same. Thats a club."
• Be aware of pickpockets. (I do worry about something disappearing from someone's purse or coat pockets when I host a large party. Do you?)
• "Dont exploit guests." Guests might not want to share a special skill, a long story, their accents.
Sedaris created this "clinically simple" guide for both guests and hosts/hostesses. While posting her section on being a good party guest here would be preaching to the converted, I wish I could find a way to share this advice with a certain few louts I've hosted.
Previously: Going All Googly Eyed for Amy Sedaris
I flipped through this at a friend's house and it is was so funny and witty! I've always been of fan of Amy Sedaris though. And plan to buy this book for myself this weekend... or get it as the "free gift" for donating to NPR's pledge drive in progress.
Amy Sedaris....
she ain't right!