Television lifestyle expert B. Smith shares her passion and ideas for entertaining, cooking, and crafts in this fabulous twelve-month celebration of holidays and rituals. As a restaurateur, TV host, columnist, and former model, B. Smith lets us in on the tricks of entertaining with flair and personal style. The first in a series, Rituals & Celebrations is organized by calendar month, each including two or three celebrations and containing a history of the ritual, full-course recipes, party ideas, and step-by-step craft  instructions. In addition to such basic celebrations as a wine tasting at home,a Labor Day picnic on the beach, and a New Year's Eve pajama party for kids, Rituals & Celebrations also incorporates such African American traditions as a Juneteenth celebration and a bid whist card party. The book also includes some wonderful variations on traditional holidays, such as a hot pink Valentine's Day, a Thanksgiving featuring Jerked Roast Turkey, and Christmas Eve spent dipping into fondue. Shrimp Dumplings with Ginger Soy Sauce, Candied Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Sweet Potato Stuffing, and Triple Chocolate Torte are just a few of the  other mouthwatering recipes included. Craft ideas    include putting together the perfect houseguest thank-you basket and creating beautiful personalized hand-painted glassware. B. Smith brings these celebrations into your home and helps you make them your own. Filled with beautiful full-color photographs, B. Smith: Rituals & Celebrations completes any home and makes a great gift all year long. B. Smith gives us twelve months of menus, recipes, crafts, and party ideas that help us celebrate with style Barbara Smith, lifestyle expert. Restaurateur, TV host, columnist, former model, magazine publisher ( B. Smith Style ). You might want to add shaman to the list, if you are to take at all seriously her latest triumph of project vision and organization, B. Smith: Rituals and Celebrations . Smith has conveniently divided the year into 12 months and provided a vision of a celebration or ritual for each month. Christmas/Kwanzaa is obvious enough. So too is Valentine's Day. March, however, is about a young girl's rite of passage. Throughout the chapters you will find menus, recipes, and instructions for creating special ritualistic and celebratory atmospheres. For example, Dana's Rite of Passage Dinner includes Plantain and Sweet Potato Chips, salad, Oven-Barbecued Short Ribs of Beef, Spicy Braised Cabbage with Cashews, and Kale Mashed Potatoes. The food, by and large, is what you would find in any upscale deli, or provided by a trendy caterer. While the "look" has vision, it seems based on what's available by credit card from any of several catalog companies. If you read the acknowledgements closely, you'll discover that it doesn't hurt to have a personal executive assistant, a makeup artist, a hair designer, a fashion stylist, food stylists, recipe developers, prop stylists, and craft-designer artists, should you not really have enough time in your own life to make all the goodies to give to guests. B. Smith Style magazine will do for the reader and idea-seeker all that this book tries to accomplish. Somehow it all seems more appropriate between the kind of soft covers you can recycle without too much thought. --Schuyler Ingle In this book, Smith, former model and now owner of three restaurants (in New York City, Sag Harbor, NY, and Washington, DC), offers "menus and ideas for festive events throughout the year, from `A New Year's Day Buffet' to `A Christmas Eve Fondue.'" (LJ 9/15/99) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. "B. Smith's goal is to get you looking good and having fun." --The New York Times Magazine "Ms. Smith has surfaced as one of the most formidable rivals of Martha Stewart."         --The Wall Street Journal "B. Smith's unique sense of style jumps off every page of this wonderful new book. Rituals & Celebrations is full of original ideas on food and entertaining that will undoubtedly make your next celebration a memorable event."   --Bobby Flay, chef/owner of Mesa Grill and Bolo, television host of Hot Off the Grill with Bobby Flay, and author of Boy Meets Grill "Rituals & Celebrations incorporates B. Smith's grace and charm and is a must-have encyclopedia of fine dining and entertaining for all occasions." --Sylvia Woods, owner, Sylvia's Restaurant ifestyle expert B. Smith shares her passion and ideas for entertaining, cooking, and crafts in this fabulous twelve-month celebration of holidays and rituals. As a restaurateur, TV host, columnist, and former model, B. Smith lets us in on the tricks of entertaining with flair and personal style. The first in a series, Rituals & Celebrations is organized by calendar month, each including two or three celebrations and containing a history of the ritual, full-course recipes, party ideas, and step-by-step craft instructions. In addition to such basic celebrations as a wine