cover image The Two of Us . . . and Friends: A Young Couple's Guide to Cooking and Entertaining (Easily, Affordably) with Elegance and Style

The Two of Us . . . and Friends: A Young Couple's Guide to Cooking and Entertaining (Easily, Affordably) with Elegance and Style

Jessie Carry Saunders. Marlowe & Company, $27.5 (268pp) ISBN 978-1-56924-325-1

This little charmer of a cookbook is equal parts recipe collection, party planning guide, and extended riff on the guilts and pleasures of modern twenty-something life. Author and illusrator Saunders, a newlywed bent on throwing dinner parties in her tiny New York apartment, offers dozens of kindergarten-simple recipes like Potatoes Roasted with Olives and Smoked Salmon Salad with Dill and Creme Fraiche. However, she's unafraid to dare her readers to try more complicated offerings: hearty Red and Orange Beef Short Ribs, elegant Butternut Squash Risotto, and tangy Chickpea Fritters With Yogurt-Cumin Sauce all have a place at her table. Desserts are especially appealing: Deepest, Darkest Chocolate Spice Cake is surprisingly simple to make and impossible to stop eating. With how-tos on creating fruit centerpieces (ranked ""low"" on the ""artistic talent meter"") and choosing cheap wine (go for vinho verde instead of blush zinfandel), this volume is full of tips and tricks for the apprentice entertainer. Cute illustrations, zingy drinks, and instructions on building a buffet round out the volume.