This review refers to an advanced copy received through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.
Slurp is the kind of "casual living" book that would be at home in a Crate & Barrel or a Pottery Barn. It's bold, glossy color photographs, modern glassware and exotic ingredients speak to suburbanites trying to add a touch of glamour to their parties. Unfortunately, that glossy exterior belies the impracticality of trying to incorporate these recipes into your event.
The book is divided into times of the day with appropriate food and drinks for hosting during those times. While they use the terms Morning, Daytime and Evening, the recipes are really geared towards a Sunday Brunch, Casual Lunch, and Cocktail Party. I've evaluated each section based on ease of preparation, availability of the ingredients, party-friendliness and host-friendliness. Party-friendly recipes should be versatile and allow guests to relax and enjoy themselves. Host-friendly recipes should be easy to prepare in advance, translate easily into larger quantities for a sizeable party, and allow the host to participate in the party, not just serve guests.
The Daytime grouping is really successful in terms of a summer lunch party. The carrot and ginger soup could be prepared early and reheated (or served cool), and any of the refreshing salads can be stored until needed. The drinks featured, such as lemonade, iced tea, sangria and daiquiris, can be made in large batches and kept tableside for easy guest access. The frozen coffee granita would be a nice summer dessert. I only have a quibble with the omission of gin from their Long Island drink recipe (unforgiveable!). It's a good grouping overall.
In the Morning section, the recipes are promising, though some are problematic. The standout foods are the zucchini and feta omelet, Moroccan pancakes and baked plums, all of which will work well with a small group. The drinks are an issue. Several drink recipes call for the use of a juicer, which can be a pricey investment. Several of the important ingredients, such as watermelon, papaya, passion fruit and mango, are only available seasonally, or not at all, in some markets. The coffee drinks all require use of espresso and another equipment investment, albeit a more useful one than a juicer.
The Evening grouping is the least successful part of this book. Again, I evaluated this as though I were hosting a cocktail party - the food is not substantial enough for dinner, unless served as appetizer. A cocktail party has different constraints from a lunch party. Portability is a big concern. Also, the food must be able to hold up well. The host shouldn't have to run in and out of the kitchen all night.
There were some bright spots with the food. The return on investment with the spiced nuts, sweet potato chips, marinated olives and gazpacho are great. They show the gazpacho being served in a martini-sized glass, but that creates portability problems, especially if you have a real martini in the other hand and a small plate of food. I would add an ounce of vodka to the recipe (boast the flavors), then serve it in shot or cordial glasses. Then guests can get the flavors and carry the glass on their plate. The tuna slices on cucumber are also nice. They can be prepared ahead of time and kept on trays in the refrigerator. The shrimp skewers, which they pair with the gazpacho, would work well, but they call for it to be served warm. Unless you're serving these at an outdoor barbeque, that means you'll need a chafing dish.
The spring rolls, mini focaccia, and goat cheese tartlets all sound great, but they all have to be served warm. Unless you can afford a caterer to bake these and serve them hot thoughout the party, skip them and enjoy the party.
The drinks in this section are completely uninspired. A Cosmopolitan? Is there anyone who doesn't know how to make that? They also do not translate well into pitcher-size mixes, which would lessen the need to play bartender for your guests and allow the host to control expenses (have a reasonable variety of pre-mixed drinks instead of buying a ton of liquor to fit every individual taste).
While this is a pretty book with a well-intentioned concept, it fails the practicality test. A good cookbook or drink guide should give more information on interesting recipe variations, pitfalls to avoid, and techniques to use. For example, the watermelon and mint salad on p. 53 could become a fantastic summer salad by adding sliced cucumber and tossing the ingredients with some gin. Noting that the authors are two photographers and a food stylist, I suspect the recipes are not their own creations and were chosen for aesthetic reasons.
Thank you to LibraryThing and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the opportunity to review this book!
Originally posted @ LibraryThing on April 11th, 2008.
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