Todd's grandmother died recently, and while Todd's mom was going through some of her things she found this cookbook and thought of me. It's a relic of the early sixties, but it has a refreshing and honest (and sometimes amusingly dated) view of cooking and hostessing, with tons of make-ahead advice. I've only made one thing from it so far, but it isn't the recipes that I find appealing. Stories and tips (such as how to decide what to serve for a balanced and easy-to-eat buffet) are sprinkled throughout the book without feeling like essays or forced intros to the recipes. It's fun to curl up with and read.

The recipe I did make was au gratin potatoes, and the main thing I learned from it is it's not that hard and you don't need a mandoline. I would actually use a different recipe next time, because you sprinkle flour on each layer in this one to thicken the sauce but it actually just makes curdled-looking squiggles (it was tasty, though). I think Julia has some wonderful herb-infused milk potato recipes.