This week we’re celebrating another amazing cookbook, and this one is all about entertaining at home. Gatherings by Jan Scott and Julie Van Rosendaal is subtitled “Bringing People Together with Food”, and I love everything that stands for.

My obsession with Julie runs deep, and is currently in its 5^th year. Ever since she changed my life by teaching me how to make small batches of jam in a skillet, I’ve been in love. When she had A Pie Party at her house in Calgary in the summer of 2011, I begged my friend Danielle to drive over to take part, since I unfortunately live a few provinces away. I finally got to meet Julie at the Food Bloggers of Canada conference last year, and she was just as warm, friendly, funny and down-to-earth as she is on her blog.

I heard Jan speak on a panel at the same conference, and have been obsessed with her blog, Family Bites, ever since.  I love her approach to entertaining, and have tried to incorporate some of her ideas at my own family parties over the past year or so. (You should have seen me try to convince my Mom we needed a Toppings Bar at a casual family barbecue in my parents backyard last summer. Mom: “We have ketchup and mustard, what else do we need?” Classic. Love you Mom!) I’m also fascinated by Jan’s posts on feeding her two teenage boys, and send them to my friends Lydia and Heather (who each have two little guys) with captions like: THIS IS YOUR FUTURE.

The common thread between these two inspiring ladies, is what I like to call ‘low-stakes entertaining’. You don’t have to bust out fancy china, or make sure your house is impeccably clean, or cook an eight course meal: people just want to come over for some good food, good laughs, and good company. This philosophy is captured perfectly in Jan & Julie’s new book.

The ladies are trying to take the stress out of having people over, and the book is crammed with amazing ideas. You have your seasonal Gatherings (backyard barbecue, holiday open house), family Gatherings (kid’s birthday party, Sunday supper) plus some awesome ideas for Gathering just for fun (the previously mentioned Pie Party, retro game night, BEER TASTING!).

One of the sections that caught my eye was how to host a Pantry Party. The idea behind it is that you get together with your friends to swap homemade food to stock your cupboards. This is genius for someone such as myself, who doesn’t can, but is always stealing jars of pickles and jams from my blogging friends. But what could I contribute to a Pantry Party if I don’t can? Jan and Julie have me covered with this recipe for Clumpy Peanut Butter & Honey Granola, pictured up top. It’s quick and easy to make in a big batch, and looks so cute when packaged up in a mason jar. You can find the recipe on Page 70 of Gatherings or on Julie’s blog here.

Back in February, I was inspired by the Js to make a blog resolution to host more Gatherings at home, and I definitely didn’t achieve this on the scale I had in mind. I feel like I’ll have the same goal when I come up on 5 years of blogging this year. Now that I have this book, I have endless inspiration to put my home entertaining plans into action!

Make sure you check out all the other Gatherings posts, which are happening all week long! (I’ll be updating as we go!)

Monday

• Mardi made Spiced Mulled Wine + wrote about her top tips for entertaining + a GIVEAWAY {eat. live. travel. write.}
• Mairlyn chose Gatherings as one of her top new Canadian cookbook picks {Mairlyn Smith}
• Charmian made Bourbon Blondies with Pecans & Chocolate Chunks {The Messy Baker}

Tuesday

• Amy made Garlic Bread Focaccia + a GIVEAWAY! {Family Feedbag}
• Jennifer made Pork Tenderloin with Maple Balsamic & Cranberry Sauce {Seasons & Suppers}
• Heather made Parmesan Thyme Puffs {The Tasty Gardener}

Wednesday

• Isabelle made Nenshi Pie {Crumb: A Food Blog}
• Jenny made Pear and Cardamom Cream Cheese Tart {The Brunette Baker}
• Stephanie made Sweet and Spicy Mixed Nuts {Clockwork Lemon}
• Valerie made Bacon Wrapped Dates {A Canadian Foodie}

Thursday

• Britt made Pulled Pork with Real Baked Beans {My Daily Randomness}
• Libby made Braised Beef Short Ribs & Yorkshire Pudding {Libby Roach}
• Meg made Peanut Butter Balls {Sweet Twist of Blogging}

Friday

• Christina made Chicken Fingers {Strawberries for Supper}
• Lou made Proscuitto Wrapped Prawns {Living Lou}
• Liliana made Simple French Onion Soup {My Cookbook Addiction}
• Rhonda made Sticky Cocktail Meatballs {Olive and Ruby}
• Jenn made Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Walnuts & Grainy Mustard Sauce {Chocolate Shavings}

Disclaimer: Mardi organized this party, and I was sent a copy of the book from the publisher, but it was on my Christmas List for Santa to bring me anyway!