People: She’s more of a hostess twinkie
Is Amy Sedaris a party expert?
“No! I do the same thing over and over again,” says the comedian, actress, little sister of best-selling storyteller David Sedaris and author of a kooky new book, “I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence” (Warner, $27.99).
“The only reason my book is in chapters is because I just thought those would be challenging situations for a hostess.”
Each chapter – “A Rich Uncle Comes to Visit,” “Grieving,” “The Out of Town Guest” – comes with tips, recipes and Sedaris-style suggestions for successful entertaining.
Those attending a wake, for example, should not ask if the deceased smoked or was drinking at the time of death.
Out-of-town guests should not only offer to set the table but also rake leaves, wash windows and paint baseboards.
Sedaris is not quite famous, not quite nobody. She starred in “Strangers With Candy” as the freaky Jerri Blank, the oddly sympathetic former drug addict who returns to high school in middle age.
She was in “Elf” and “School of Rock” and played Carrie Bradshaw’s publisher on “Sex and the City.”
She sells cheese balls and cupcakes that she makes in her West Village kitchen and is a regular on David Letterman‘s show.
“I don’t think of myself as a famous person,” she says. “I don’t get stopped on the street. I don’t endorse products. The telephone’s not ringing off the hook. It’s great, but I don’t know if I’d attach the word famous to it.”
Her book is loaded with visuals reminiscent of a vintage cookbook, a kitsch-filled thrift store and your college party pics. Designer Todd Oldham took many of the photos, done in Sedaris’ apartment, and other friends helped put the book together over 18 months.
Buy this book for instructions on making a plant hanger out of pantyhose.
Buy this book if you like the sound of the following pumpkin pie recipe: “Directions are on back of can of pumpkin.”
“I want them to know what it takes to throw a party,” Sedaris says when asked why she wrote the book.
“So if you don’t entertain, next time you go to someone’s house, you know how to be a good guest. You don’t show up empty-handed, three times in a row.”
Do not, however, show up at any of her book signings with gifts. She’s received artwork, pocketbooks, pills, books and treats for her pet rabbit, Dusty.
“What are they thinking?” she says. “Someone gave me a huge pillow, the size of a steering wheel. It just amazes me. How am I supposed to get this home?”
The birthday bunch
Actress Estelle Parsons is 79. TV personality Richard Dawson is 74. Comedian Dick Smothers is 68. Actress Veronica Hamel is 63. Broadcast journalist Judy Woodruff is 60. Musician Joe Walsh is 59. Actor Richard Masur (“One Day at a Time”) is 58. Actress Bo Derek is 50. Actress Sean Young is 47. Pianist Jim Brickman is 45. Actress Ming-Na (“ER”) is 43. Rapper Mike D (the Beastie Boys) is 41. Rapper Q-Tip (A Tribe Called Quest) is 36. Actress Marisa Ryan (“New York Undercover”) is 32. Country singer Dierks Bentley is 31. Country singer Josh Turner is 29. Actress Nadine Velazquez (“My Name Is Earl”) is 28.