Dish Entertains: Everyday Simple to Special Occasions
Written by Trish Magwood
Reviewed by Nancy Hinton

At first glance, Trish Magwood’s Dish Entertains (HarperCollins, 2008) struck me as superficial – a glossy package that was short on substance, more concerned with looking good than with delicious food.

However, after spending some time with the book, I found this initial impression to be dead wrong.

Yes, Dish Entertains is more about entertaining than actual cooking. There are more artistic photos of table ornaments and of Trish than of the actual dishes. However, the design is attractive, classy, clean, and effective. There’s nothing wrong with being beautiful and smart, and Dish follows through, delivering the goods without seeming to try too hard. The inside cover describes the Dish way as “Simple and Stylish!”, and this theme rings true throughout the pages.

The bottom line is that this book is a pleasure to cook with. Although hardly revolutionary, it feels fresh, and the recipes are enticing, inspiring, and accessible. The recipe format is user-friendly, and there are loads of useful tips and well thought out planning guidelines in the sidebars. Most importantly, the recipes work!

The book starts with a selection of easy-to-assemble hors d’oeuvres such as smoked salmon breadsticks, figs with proscuitto, stilton stuffed new potatoes, complete with banquet table set up and decorating ideas. Subsequent chapters offer up sprightly salads and a variety of mains, as well as appetizing vegetable sides and desserts that range from straight-forward to dressy, yet never too complex. Winners were a frozen lemon soufflé, lime curd tartlets, and little meringue cups with rhubarb compote. On the simpler side, the baked olives with orange and oregano were tasty, and the haricots with pine nuts turned out extra flavourful after a surprising turn in the oven. The no-frills roast chicken was great, and a good reminder that basic technique is often all you need.

As a professional chef myself, I couldn’t help but want to zing up some of her recipes with a touch more citrus, spice or fresh herbs — but that’s me. Magwood is just more conservative, which is probably wise when entertaining. Not everyone likes coriander in their ceviche.

I couldn’t help but think that less experienced cooks might find the instructions vague at times, but I personally like this pared down approach. Not spelling out every detail requires you to use your head, but also implicitly encourages you to not worry too much — to go with it and have fun, which suits the breezy, uncluttered style here. The only time I disagreed with Magwood was when she recommends using canned lobster as a substitute for fresh in the otherwise pleasant surprise of an appetizer featuring endive and grapefruit.

Her simple yet elegant style, the sunny flavours of her food, and the easy crossover between eating well everyday and special occasion fare reminds me of Josée Distasio, the brilliant and ever so popular Quebec culinary personality. The underlined scribble, So “À la Distasio”, jumps off the page of my kitchen-stained notes and perfectly sums up my review — the highest of compliments!

Editor’s Note: Dish Entertains is a triple award-winner. It won Silver in the cookbook category of the 2008 Canadian Culinary Book Awards, a James Beard Foundation Book Award and the Gourmand World Cookbook Award.

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Nancy Hinton is the chef at La Table des Jardins Sauvages, a woodland table specializing in wild plants and mushrooms, outside of Montreal. You can read about her food adventures on her blog Soup Nancy.