Julia's Menus for Special Occasions: Six menus for special celebrations--from a cocktail party to a buffet dinner.

Julia Child dishes up more helpful cooking tricks in Julia's Menus for Special Occasions, the second in her four-part retelling of Julia Child and Company and Julia Child and More Company. Like its predecessor, Julia's Delicious Little Dinners, this book centers around six meals. But this time, Julia tackles some of the real challenges of entertaining, such as serving a fancy dinner to vegetarians, making an impressive meal when you don't know how many guests are coming, and feeding dieters. Some of Julia's suggestions border on lifestyle choices. For example, when throwing a cocktail party, she suggests "more cheer for fewer people"--lots of food (served in the kitchen, to promote a casual atmosphere), lots of wine, and not too much booze. Ample color photos make even complex dishes such as Ham Pithviers--homemade puff pastry with ham filling--seem possible (if a bit ambitious for a cocktail party). It's a special occasion indeed when the average home cook will set aside a weekend to make cassoulet, but just reading Julia's recipe is mouthwatering fun. With tips on shopping, presentation, cleaning up, and leftovers, Julia offers graceful solutions to daunting party problems. --David Kalil