The Get 'Em Girls' Guide to the Perfect Get-Together: Delicious Recipes to Delight Family and Friends

Once you get past the bright pink and purple cover with cartoonish women and the “you go girl” writing style of the introduction, The Get 'Em Girls' Guide to the Perfect Get-Together is actually a pretty good cooking and entertaining book. Confession: I’m a girl who actually does like pink, and entertaining, and cocktails with little pieces of fruit for garnish. I even like cartoons. However, I can’t help but be a little bit turned off by marketing that screams, “You have estrogen! You must love this!”

I decided to experiment with the entertaining menu concept, since the central theme of the book is simplifying the get-together so that you don’t have to agonize over what to serve. Being a huge fan of brunch (what’s not to like about getting up late and drinking mimosas?), I decided to host a small, late-morning party for a few friends using the “Meet the Family Sunday Brunch,” though I went with the “Meet Prince Charming” menu (out of three choices) because it featured grits, and being a Southern girl, I am a sucker for grits.

The full menu consisted of sweet potato waffles with honey butter, easy coffee cake muffins, and of course, the baked cheese grits. I was a little bit unsure about having muffins and waffles (won’t most people pick one or the other?), but both were a huge hit. The waffles were perfect—enough sweet potato flavor to be different, but enough like a waffle to qualify as real brunch fare. The muffins were crumbly and moist and sugary delicious. They were probably not super-healthy (hello butter, sugar, and shortening!), but worth the indulgence. And I practically finished the pan of cheesy grits myself.

The book is divided into chapters by type of social event, and is prefaced with some quick information about wine, decorating, and cleaning up. The chapters even have little tidbits of handy knowledge mixed in. (Hosting a poker night for the girls? Here’s a quick guide about cards.) I found most of the information useful, with the exception of the list of eight reasons to host a get-together. Assuming that I bought this book, I probably wouldn’t need too much convincing to have my friends over. Especially not for the reason number eight, “Last but not least—you are a Get ‘Em Girl!” I am?

I will definitely try more recipes from this book. In fact, when my friends saw the book on the counter at my brunch, they demanded another party featuring the key lime and chocolate martinis from the cocktail section at the back. My advice is to ignore the girly trappings and start cooking the tasty food (and drinks!). Your guests will keep coming back for more.

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