Julia's Casual Dinners

Julia’s Casual Dinners: Seven Glorious Menus for Informal Occasions by Julia Child is a practical guide to relaxed entertaining, bringing Julia’s signature attention to technique and organization to seven complete menus designed for gatherings with family and friends. Rather than focusing only on individual recipes, the book shows home cooks how to plan and execute an entire meal—from preparation and shopping to timing and serving.

The menus cover a variety of occasions, including an ambitious Buffet for 19 featuring oysters and Turkey Orloff, a Chafing-Dish Dinner, and an Indoor/Outdoor Barbecue with grilled butterflied lamb and homemade pitas. Julia provides detailed advice on planning ahead, stocking essential ingredients, creating shopping lists, coordinating multiple dishes, adapting menus, and creatively repurposing leftovers, making entertaining feel far more manageable.

Step-by-step color photography illustrates ingredients, techniques, and finished dishes throughout. Compact but highly practical, Julia’s Casual Dinners is especially appealing for Julia Child collectors, home entertainers, dinner-party hosts, and cooks who want to learn not just what to serve, but how to organize and confidently pull off a memorable meal.