I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence by Amy Sedaris
(Warner Books, $27.99)

Allow me to confess that I’m a little bit biased before I review Amy Sedaris’ new hospitality tome.
David’s little sis has rocked my world ever since I first watched Strangers with Candy three years ago and saw her ingenious, ass-slappingly hilarious portrayal of Jerri Blank (If you’ve never seen the show or the movie version, Jerri is a 46-year-old high school freshman with a debilitating overbite and a history of drug abuse and streetwalking).
Since then I’ve taped all of Amy’s talk show appearances, printed a snapshot of Jerri on my personal checks, and slutted myself up with cheap makeup and a gold lamé turtleneck so I could be Jerri on Halloween.
Thanks to I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence, Amy is now a permanent resident in my kitchen. A psychedelic send-up of 1960s cookbooks and Martha Stewart, I Like You is a colorful and deliberately tacky explosion of recipes, kitschy arts and crafts projects, party hosting tips and musings on personal hygiene. Need the recipe for the scrumptious Lady Baltimore Cake? Just turn to page 138, and while you’re at it eyeball the next page for illustrated instructions on how to give your vagina a “spirited scrubbing.”
Gay fashion designer Todd Oldham captures Amy in a multitude of hilarious guises, from a raven-haired Greek vixen to bong smoker in a vintage floral print dress. Remove the book cover and on the flip side you’ll discover a giant pin-up photo of Amy slathered with whipped cream and rainbow sprinkles, joyously kicking her legs up in the air.
In the “Hospitality in Action” section, Amy teaches us how to handle every conceivable kind of guest, from out-of-towners to lumberjacks to gypsies. She prints the “Entertaining the Elderly” chapter in a gigantic font, spiking the text with politically incorrect digs: “I don’t mind pointing out some of the failings of old age, because we are all headed in that direction, unless of course we take our own lives.”
So far all of the recipes I’ve tried have turned out great, though I must say that Amy’s minimalist instructions keep me guessing a little more than I’d like. I paired a vegetarian version of the meatloaf with the tomatoey Greek Beans. Both were delicious, though a tad over seasoned thanks to the ambiguous directions.
I also recommend Captain’s Mouthwatering Bite-Size Blue Ball Cheese Balls, a surefire hit at any holiday soiree. Just don’t forget the Ritz.