THE AFTER WORK ENTERTAINING COOKBOOK

Dyer's tips on informal entertaining--menus and accoutrements--will be plausible for some but they're not intended for the average worker. They require a ""junior executive's budget"" and make numerous assumptions (proximity to the job, choice of stove and refrigerator) that won't apply generally. Many of the dishes are tasty, the preparation steps enumerated, the flavors well-coordinated. The offerings may be as simple as beer and hot roasted peanuts or as elaborate as a twelve-dish buffet Dyer frequently recommends (dispensable) trimmings such as an English hunt table or a view of San Francisco to enhance them. She includes day-off-from-work foods to make and freeze for unexpected guests (a freezer is another assumption) but also resorts to shortcuts like refrigerator biscuits for a cheese puff base. For that audience residing closer to Madison Avenue than Main Street.