A Table for Friends: The Art of Cooking for Two or Twenty

Based in London and Venice, McAlpine (A Table in Venice) brings a British sensibility to Italian cuisine with more than 100 recipes geared toward both small and large dinner gatherings. The first 30 pages delve into the author’s strategies for menu planning while offering tips on table settings. Clever flavor combinations highlight the opening chapter of main courses, including sausages with grapes, and roast pork with honey-roasted persimmons. A section of simple and visually appealing sides features a carrot, cumin, and mint salad and roast plums. And an extensive collection of desserts puts an emphasis on fruit in choices like frozen berries with saffron white chocolate sauce, plus three different types of panna cotta—­vanilla, lavender honey, and salted caramel. Home cooks will want a conversion chart at the ready as the recipes are offered only in grams and liters, and perhaps a calculator for those wanting to reduce the portions for the many dishes designed to feed eight or more diners. A handier tool included with each recipe are the “hands on” and “hands off” times, which indicate how many minutes are involved in preparation and how many to bake, simmer, or freeze. This elegant and delicious collection is sure to be a crowd pleaser. (July)