Just A Few Friends: Entertaining Twelve or More People and Making It Look Easy - Softcover

"This book is the definitive 'How-To' manual for hosting small parties in your home."
-Violet Goode

"Ellen is such a gracious hostess. Her annual Tea Party is the highlight of the social season for all English expatriates on the central California coast."
-Norah Bennet

Just A Few Friends is a complete step-by-step guide to entertaining small groups, from 12 to 150 people, in your home. With guidance from an experienced hostess, you will learn the secrets of:

• Menu Selection Based on Group Size, The Season, and the Occasion
• Table Setting, Seating and Decoration
• Planning
• Shopping for Ingredients
• Recipes
• How To Host an English Afternoon Tea
• Plus the Secret Recipe for Colonel Coile's Chutney!

Beautifully illustrated and with easy-to-follow recipes, Just a Few Friends is the perfect guide for anyone wishing to entertain in their own home.

Ellen Miller Coile was born in England and lived through WW II with its acute food shortages. Marrying an American and immigrating to the United States, she was amazed at the quantity and variety of food available. As her husband rose up the management ladder in Washington, D.C. she was thrust into the position of learning how to host parties. Following her husband around the world she was exposed to various cuisines, ultimately settling in California where she continued her entertaining using the fresh fruits and vegetables so readily available.