But Mama Always Put Vodka in Her Sangria!

Along the way, Reed discovers the perfect Pimm's Royale at the Ritz Paris, devours delicious chuletons in Madrid, and picks up tips from accomplished hostesses ranging from Pat Buckley to Pearl Bailey and, of course, her own mother. Reed writes about the bounty-and the burden-of a Southern garden in high summer, tosses salads in the English countryside, and shares C.Z. Guest's recipe for an especially zingy bullshot. She understands the necessity of a potent holiday punch and serves it up by the silver bowlful, but she is not immune to the slightly less refined charms of a blender full of frozen peach daiquiris or a garbage can full of yucca flats. And then there are the parties: shindigs ranging from sultry summer suppers and raucous dinners at home to a Plymouth-like Thanksgiving feast and an upscale St. Patrick's Day celebration. This delightful collection of essays by Julia Reed, a master storyteller with an inimitable voice and a limitless capacity for fun, will show you how to entertain guests with style, have a good time yourself, and always have that perfect pitcher of sangria ready at a moment's notice.

JULIA REED is a contributing editor at Garden & Gun, where she writes the magazine's "The High & the Low" column. She is the author of Ham Biscuits, Hostess Gowns, and Other Southern Specialties, Queen of the Turtle Derby and Other Southern Phenomena, and The House on First Street, My New Orleans Story. Reed lives in New Orleans.