Throughout our twenty years of entertaining, Dorothy and I have enjoyed many convivial evenings of food and conversation with our friends and family. To our way of thinking, there’s no more comfortable way to socialize.
Buoyed by the compliments Dorothy and I have received, I decided I wanted to share our knowledge and experience with anyone interested in fine dining and entertaining.
The Clever Bastard’s Guide to Entertaining started out as a legacy project. It was to be something Dorothy and I could leave to our children, grandchildren, and friends.
Our first plan was to put copies of the recipes in binders and give one to each of our children. After hearing about our project, many of our friends suggested our ideas would lend themselves nicely to a website. That way, we could not only share our recipes with others but also have a repository for collecting them. As a result, we created our website, Dinner Parties and More. It later served as the format for this book.
If my book inspires you to host a party, then what I am offering has fulfilled its mission. It is presented in two parts: a detailed approach in how to entertain and tried-and-true recipes you can use.
My book is written to help you at every step along the way. It will also offer hints to help you slow down and appear composed because slow is better. Slow is cool, and you want to be cool.
I hope you enjoy the book and remember, there’s an entertaining superhero in all of us, so just put on the cape and follow me.
“Bob showed me how to make creme brulee, and graciously looked the other way while I had a second helping. Can there be a better host?”
- Suzanne Brodine
“I’ve been the recipient of his innovative, imaginative, and thoughtful entertaining on several occasions, and I enjoyed it immensely. I think it’s great he is willing to share his expertise, and I am excited about reading his book.”
- Dr. Scott Ehresman, M.D.