The Gathering of Friends my favorite cookbooks

I was so excited last weekend when DeWayne and I were invited over to some friends house for dinner, Mike and Debbie Jones are great friends of ours and we try to get together once in awhile. Some times we meet at a restaurant or at each others home. This time we went to their home.   Their home is beautiful, it looks like something out of a magazine. They don't have grandkids yet and their kids are all grown so their house is immaculate! Debbie and I have been friends for nearly 30 years and our tastes and interests are very much alike so we have fun inspiring each other.

Well was I surprised to find out when we got there that she was making dinner with her new volume #3 of
The Gathering of Friends cookbook.......I didn't even know it was out yet.

I'm the one who showed her my cookbooks (volume #1 and #2) and she fell in love with them.....she ordered hers and since then we have both given them for birthday gifts and wedding gifts......everyone loves these cookbooks!!!

Michelle Huckstable, the woman that wrote them is also and interior decorator and the photos in her books of beautiful rooms and beautiful tablescapes are very inspiring. She also has the same taste in decorating as me and Debbie do so we get tons of ideas for our homes from these cookbooks. (who would have ever thought you could get decorating ideas from a cookbook?)
Thanks Michelle!!!


I just ordered volume #3  of my favorite cookbooks of all time....:o)

I have quiet a collection of cookbooks and I love to cook, set a pretty table and have family gatherings.
I started doing dinner parties a few years ago for adult birthdays....I set the table with all the pretty stuff I have collected, tall stemmed cut glass water goblets, colorful place mats, cloth napkins, candles and my red toile dishes that I bought at TJ Maxx (love that store). My mother has even gotten in on the fun and picked up some nice pieces she has come across at yard sales.  SO FUN!!  I also do a nice table for Holidays. Its a great creative outlet for me. The birthday person gets to go through my "The Gathering of Friends" cookbooks and select their menu. With all the grandkids there are 10 of us so I set two tables, one for the adults and one for the kids. I think I have tried most of the recipes in volumes 1&2 and I can't wait to get #3.

So if you like to cook like cookbooks and pretty tablescapes go check out these cookbooks and buy one...... I bet you will love them too!  warning though you'll want to collect them all :o)


Blessings!
*Susan*