Tiny Hot Dogs: A Memoir in Small Bites

by Mary Giuliani

From awkward schoolgirl to Caterer to the Stars, Mary Giuliani weaves together a collection of hilarious memories, from professional growing pains to her long journey to motherhood, never losing her sense of humor and her love for everyone's favorite party food, pigs in a blanket.

Mary's utterly unremarkable childhood was everything she didn't hailing from a deeply loving yet overprotective Italian family in an all-Jewish enclave on Long Island. All she wanted was to fit in (be Jewish) and become famous (specifically a cast member on Saturday Night Live). With an easy, natural storytelling sensibility, Mary shares her journey from a cosseted childhood home to the stage and finally to the party, accidentally landing what she now refers to as "the breakthrough role of a lifetime" catering to a glittery list of stars she once hoped to be part of herself.

Fresh, personal, and full of Mary's humorous, self-deprecating, and can-do attitude against all odds, you'll want to see where each shiny silver tray of hors d'oeuvres takes her next. You never know when the humble hot dog will be a crucial ingredient in the recipe for success, in building a business or simply making life more delicious.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Food, Audiobook, Book Club, Cookbooks, Cooking

Audible Audio

First published April 9, 2019

About the author

Mary graduated from Georgetown University with a degree in English/Theater and spent a year in Florence, Italy studying Italian food, wine and culture. She often jokes and says she graduated the prestigious university “magna cum party”.

Mary has appeared on The Barefoot Contessa, The Chew, The Today Show, Good Morning America and is a regularly featured guest on The Rachael Ray Show

Reviews

[Suzanne Leopold (Suzy Approved Book Reviews) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the memoir about Mary Giuliani who is a successful caterer and event planner from Long Island. She recounts her life growing up with a loving Italian family inside a predominantly Jewish neighborhood. She quickly blended into the local flow while attending Hebrew school despite her Catholic roots. After attending college, her goal was to be an actress but in the interim landed a job as a caterer to pay her bills. This story explores how her dreams of acting got pushed to the side as her catering career flourished. Along the way she deals with marriage, demanding clients, infertility, and memorable celebrity encounters.

Tiny Hot Dogs is engaging story about Mary Giuliani embarking on the catering business and all the life lessons she learned along the way. I enjoyed this book and suggest that readers attend one of her engaging books signings. Mary is a really funny and delightful person.

[Mary Jackson _TheMaryReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. Thank you to Suzy for sending me a copy.

[Linda Zagon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Linda’s Book Obsession Reviews “Tiny Hot Dogs in Small Bites” by Mary Giuliani, Running Press Adult, April 9, 2019

Mary Giuliani has written a witty and entertaining Memoir, “Tiny Hot Dogs A Memoir in Small Bites” I appreciate the many recipes that the author includes in the book. I enjoyed reading about Mary Giuliani’s past, present and future dreams, as well as her memories about her family.

I appreciate that the author discusses the hardships and heartbreaks in her life as well as her triumphs and personal victories. I would recommend this amusing memoir and recipes.

[Gina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mary Giuliani (no relation to Rudy) is a famous caterer to the stars who I'd never heard of. This is a collection of non-fiction stories centering around or at least mentioning tiny hot dogs/pigs in a blanket. There were parts that were genuinely funny and some heartbreaking ones related to her infertility and miscarriages (completely did not expect that and wouldn't have read it had I known), but overall I didn't like it. Self-depreciating humor can work well when used well (i.e. David Sedaris), but it comes across as completely disingenuous here, like awkward back-handed compliments for herself. Her name-dropping grated in the same way. I get that this is a collection of short stories, but the all over the place time-line, jumping from childhood to present day and in-between needed some context per story to add perspective to where in her life it happened. This also contains a few recipes, which is fun given the book's premise but I'm not sure that it worked in the context of the collection. Great collection concept but mediocre at best execution.

[Emily Stepper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this - very fun and light. Minor points deduction for her weird crush on Alec Baldwin and sticking up for "Hilaria"...

[Kate Vocke (bookapotamus) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mary Giuliani may just be the coolest and funniest person I've never heard of. No she's not related to THAT guy, and she may not be a celebrity like she wanted to be when she was a kid - but hot dog does her life makes for a fantastically funny book! I devoured every tiny morsel of this memoir and then I licked the plate clean. OK that sounds gross, but seriously - I want to hang out with her, I want to attend her parties, I want her to be one of my lady lobsters! (You'll have to read it to find out what that is!)

This is the caterer to the stars memoir that we have all been missing if there ever was one! There's a perfect dash of childhood hilarity, a beautiful glaze of touching and hard moments, a healthy drizzle of inspiration and gusto, and some scalding hot dishes of celebrity encounters... all folded into the perfect recipe for an amazing read. And did I mention the incredible recipes included as well??

Mary is funny, like SNL funny. She's warm and witty and there's not an ounce of ego or pretension even though she hobnobs with the celebrity elite. Her stories will make you LOL (an Alec Baldwin encounter is a fave of mine!) and her memories will wrap you up in a warm hug of peppered nostalgia. I inhaled this book and relished every story - I only wish there were 5 more courses of it!

[Zee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Y'all this was the perfect book for right now.

This is going to be a conversational review, mostly because I actually bought this book and if you follow me at all you know 90% of my reading is ARCs for publishers and I want those reviews to be pretty and polished and etc etc. Also if you know me, you know that 99% of the book recommendations I get, I ignore. Nothing personal to anyone but when books are literally your job(s) reading for personal funsies isn't a thing you do, but this was an exception.

I'm tangenting. Here's a story.

One day I was at work (at the greatest bookstore ever, Copperfish Books in Punta Gorda FL, heyy) and a customer visiting from New York asked if we had any copies of Tiny Hot Dogs because she'd heard the author talking on the radio and she really wanted a copy. And we got to talking about the book and she basically told me, "yeah so Mary Guiliani is this celebrity caterer and her advice is that no matter how fancy a party is or how expensive the food is, the thing everyone actually wants the most are those tiny hot dogs wrapped in puff pastry. You know. Pigs in a blanket."

She didn't even tell me to read the book. She didn't even get the book from us (we didn't have it in stock, which was a shame). But I wrote the title down, bought the book during COVID-stress book-buying, and now that I've finally gotten a bit of free time, I figured, hey, why not read about the life of a New York City caterer to the stars?

Y'all.

I repeat: y'all.

This was the book I needed. It's funny as shit. Entertaining. Thought-provoking. Easy prose, each chapter is like three pages, the recipes are simple and straight-forward, and positivity infuses every page. If you, like me, are struggling with books to read during uncertain plague times this is probably the book you need. I devoured it in like two days, which hasn't happened in a while. A+.

[Sherrie Howey · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author details her childhood and career in short chapters and by the time you finish the book, you wish that Mary was one of your close friends. She grew up in a Catholic family in a predominantly Jewish town on Long Island and voluntarily went to Hebrew school in order to fit in. She wanted to be an actress but ended up as a caterer and is now extremely successful.
Many of her stories are hysterically funny but at the same time, others are so heartfelt, in particular as she addresses her fertility issues. An added bonus in this delightful memoir are a number of recipes which sound delicious and are easy to prepare. This is such an engaging, fast read and I was quite sad when it ended as I would have loved to read more!

[Jocelyn Jane Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

This made me laugh and also remember the times before parenthood, and the myriad of emotions involved in procreation, and well, life. Mary Giuiliani highlights the challenges of balancing family (or impending family) with career and health complications. 

I loved learning more about the world of catering for the stars, plus her family’s background on Montauk and her brief stay in Piermont, NY. Her perspective is quirky and she is a funny writer, but I admire how she also doesn’t shy away from sharing her struggle with infertility and endometriosis. I enjoyed hearing how creativity is at the heart of her business, and all the unique party themes. This is what drew me to the book in the first place. My mother passed this hobby/interest/skill to me on a much smaller and less star-studded scale.

[Rhiannon Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read my review on my blog: https://ivoryowlreviews.blogspot.com/...

I love a food memoir but Mary Giuliani's "Tiny Hot Dogs" missed the mark for me. I had never heard of the author but I thought a book written by the "Caterer to the Stars" would have some hilarious stories and slip ups. Unfortunately, the slim volume is almost entirely about her personal life and I found her constantly self-deprecating humor(?) annoying. On the upside, there are delicious appetizer recipes accompanying each chapter that are worth checking out.⠀

[Benita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mary was on a podcast I listen to and I found her hilarious and charming, so I immediately put a hold on her book at my library. It's just as funny and charming as I expected. Vignettes of her life growing up as a big dreamer to trying to make it as an actress to finding her calling as a celebrity caterer. I liked some stories more than others but overall, a fun read.

[Gabs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charming and funny. Felt like I was reading the transcript of a wine fueled girls night with a big sister type friend sneaking advice in there. And there were recipes! Great quick, summer read.

[Wendy Henning · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and charming stories interspersed with a smattering of recipes.

[Christine O'Boyle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've seen a few interviews and cooking segments with Mary so I was excited about this book. It started strong and I was loving it. Then it got slow and braggy. But the recipes she shares look good.

[Elsimom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was what I needed right now. Funny, light hearted, with good stories and an engaging narrator.

[Kelly Banchak Grady · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book from the moment she started talking about her obsession with the movie “The Jerk.” This memoir has laugh out loud moments along with the tear jerkers. I flew through it and can’t wait until her next one.

[Russell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mary Giuliani describes the book as a "memoir in small bites," and truly does keep each chapter to just a few pages on a single subject. It's entertainingly written in a self-deprecating style, and the catering-type recipes dispersed between chapters are interesting. But in the end this book just didn't deliver: the anecdotes are repetitive, the recipes are completely impractical unless you have a caterer's set of New York City contacts (8 mini hot dog brioche buns - come on), and the potential sizzle from dropping A-list clients' names doesn't happen, replaced by the claim that "just trust her, they're big!" Luckily it's so short that you won't waste much time reading it.

[Mediaman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a half-baked book that has some of the ingredients of what could be tasty but ends up just something unfilling that you nibble on. It's extremely short (230 tiny half-pages), with six-page chapters, lightweight, repetitive, at times confusing, and fails to deliver on the promise of complete stories about her celebrity encounters. Almost no famous people are named in the book--in two cases she names people she almost met (John Goodman and Bill Murray) but didn't and in another case (Robert DeNiro) she mentions that he invited her out to eat but then refuses to state what exactly he told her before he left. Alec Baldwin, however, gets lots of praise.

Mary Giuliani sounds like a very sweet person who was raised in a relatively well-to-do atmosphere and thought herself to be much better at life than it turned out. She actually can't do much of anything. She stumbled into being a party planner, failed repeatedly at basic details of the job, and even in this book it's difficult to know how she can be considered so good at it because the half-stories we hear are mostly her failures. She never gives full details of what goes into any of her events. She doesn't cook (which is a bit of a surprise for a book filled with recipes), what she does serve is simplistic picnic-like food, and she says almost nothing about her media appearances. I wouldn't hire her based on this, and for the life of me can't figure out why she got calls from celebrities when she had almost no experience.

She's also incredibly confused about life. She seemed to have no problem living a very wild, rebellious lifestyle of drinking, smoking, drugs, partying, possibly sexual swapping (it's implied), but then gets angry at God for not letting her get pregnant. Hey, honey, maybe if you stopped overworking, overpartying, overconsuming, and overworrying you might allow your body to heal.

She does now have a humble attitude and the birth of her child (by surrogate) seems to have grounded her. But at the end of the book she remains uneasy and unhappy. She seems to want to have the life of her grandparents, who she adored, and become the successful entertainer that her grandmother was. Instead she needs to figure out exactly who Mary Giuliani is and learn how to be happy without the need to entertain others.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mary Guliani is not your average chef. She didn’t go to culinary school or slave away in a hot Manhattan restaurant kitchen for years, moving up to the head of the line. Instead, she studied acting. She took odd jobs to make ends meet. She met Robert De Niro. And then when she decided that Saturday Night Live might not be ready for her yet, she buckled down and took one of her odd jobs seriously, working at a catering company, helping to plan parties for the rich and famous.

It’s not a surprise that this job stuck, as her grandmother was a famous innkeeper on Montauk, Long Island (her hotel was the first on Montauk, actually, and she used it to build an empire). So Mary took her chutzpah and her quirkiness and her work ethic and her genetic propensity towards hospitality and her husband and started her own catering company in New York City.

It was her love of Pigs in a Blanket (aka tiny hot dogs in pastry) that helped inspire her to create fun finger foods and inventive cocktails that attracted her high end-clients. Movie stars, rock stars, and the glitterati all call her number and book her for their parties. You’d think that this would help the formerly geeky kid who worshiped the Monkees turn into an elegant, confident, sophisticated business woman. But no, just reading this memoir leaves me no doubt that she’s just as much of a quirky, playful dork (said with nothing but respect; I totally relate!) who is not afraid to let her geek flag fly. For that, she is one of my heroes. I love how she has kept her good-natured whimsy despite living in New York, despite working in very difficult and competitive industries, despite having traded in her original dream for another one (or six).

I loved reading Tiny Hot Dogs, in part because Mary Guliani is a testament to finding the best in difficult situations and in part because she is a fun, funny, honest, and open writer and mother and wife and daughter and caterer. She is who she is, and that’s enough for her. It’s also more than enough for me. And if it’s not enough for Saturday Night Live, then they should at least call her to cater all their parties. She can hook them up!

Galleys for Tiny Hot Dogs were provided by Running Press Adult through NetGalley, with many thanks.

[Maggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book a lot. Mary G describes herself in her childhood exactly as I would:brash, stubborn, and fixated on fame. I appreciated her honesty about her obsession with being a success and a star that she never achieved in the way she thought she would. Her last chapter about her grandmother Lucille is worthy of a movie. I love all stories about tenacious businesswomen ahead of their time who do what they want. I can see Mary so clearly coming from this headstrong and compelling woman I’d love to meet. In fact, this book is chock full of amazing women. My main hang up was the lack of recognition of privilege. So much of Mary’s success and happiness comes from her family’s support and money. There’s a lot of complaining in this book about struggles, the ridiculousness of celebrity clients and working hard and I believe Mary does work hard, but it’s really hard to feel bad for someone who has had every advantage. Sure she was an awkward kid. Heard. Sure she was never given her fair shot at the stage or screen. Heard. She went to a big public school. Yup. This book is a testament to powerful head start given to white kids by their families. Good for them. But please recognize this privilege. It began to be distracting as the book went on.

[Jessica Haider · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the subtitle indicates, this book is a collection of short autobiographical essays. Mary Giuliani (not related to THAT Guiliani) grew up on Long Island in the 80s. She loved The Monkees and dreamed of being an actor when she grew up. While living in NYC after college and trying to land an acting gig, Mary takes a part time temporary job at a catering company. This ended up being a turning point for her aspirations.

I found this book to be a fun, quick, read. The author is pretty close in age to me so I could relate to the pop culture references she made throughout the book. Giuliani freely admits she is not a trained chef. She happened to find a niche as a caterer who appealed to celebs and others with her small bite fancified versions of food you might find on a kids menu (think mini grilled cheese sandwiches and fancy-ish pigs in a blanket). A perfect little read for the summer!

[SundayAtDusk · Rating 4 out of 5]

What can you say about a woman whose writing muse was John Goodman? Or a woman who grew up in the 1980s and was gaga about the Monkees? (Yes, that’s hey, hey, we’re the Monkees.) Well, you can say she wrote a pretty good memoir, except for the crude parts and the drinking. The crude parts are fortunately limited. The drinking is not. You can also say she is often as funny as can be, and offers some excellent advice to those who wanted to become famous, but didn’t end up that way. (At least not as famous as they wanted in the way that they wanted.) Plus, you can say the Jewish part of her childhood was hilarious and her Italian family a delight. Anything else? Yes, what can you say about a woman who writes the two men (dead or alive) she’d most want to dance with are Kenny Rogers and Jesus?

(Note: I received a free e-ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher or author.)

[brettlikesbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

if you like: reminiscing about the ‘80s, to laugh your face off, FOOD (there are recipes!), nuggets of wisdom, the film classic The Jerk, and to be moved & a little verklempt—then you will flat-out adore this book + i devoured it in one sitting
🌭
“Back to my one eyebrow. I was so uncool that other people’s parents took pity on me and forced their kids to invite me to all the parties. So in 1986, I attended 178 bar/bat mitzvahs. Picture, if you will, a unibrowed Ralph Macchio dressed in a poufy pink dress attending two or three of these soirées a weekend.” 😂
🌭
“We expect that all big stories have a big finale...Not everything has to be big. Not everything has to be skywriting. Finding the big in the small works for me and allows me to be happy with what I’ve got. If we all want more from something, aren’t we always going to be disappointed?”
🌭
instagram book reviews @brettlikesbooks

[Blair Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have no idea how I ended up reading Tiny Hot Dogs nor what peaked my interest. Perhaps in was the potential name dropping clients or because the review said that it was a humorous read.
I totally agree with all the possible options covered in thus bio novel.

Tiny hot dogs was a humorous read! I found myself cheering for the author, at times sympathizing with her and face palming many of her early years trying to wing it to get a job. If you’ve ever thought about starting your own catering business you need to read this book! Being a caterer is definitely not easy like the way a movie on the Hallmark Channel or Lifetime!
Tiny hot dogs was a nice change of pace from all the mysteries I love to read.
No who done it instead, it was, who were the celebrities was she catering for. I hope you enjoy this fun read.

[Jenni V. · Rating 3 out of 5]

As the note above the copyright states, "all of these stories are true-ish, except for the parts that are not".

It was mildly entertaining but I tire quickly of "oh oops I fell into success" stories in general. The way she tells it, her success happened in spite of her seemingly best efforts to sabotage them which means either a) she's diminishing her abilities for some reason or b) she's severely downplaying the boost her family's career and access helped her.

I read this on vacation and I left it behind intentionally in a hotel in London so another person can read it and hopefully love it more than I did.

Now that I've written it, the review seems negative for a 3 star rating but I'm catching up after vacation and I gave it 3 stars immediately after finishing it so that's what I'm sticking with.

Find all my reviews at: https://readingatrandom.blogspot.com

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had no idea who Mary Giuliani was. I'm not a wealthy person or a celebrity who would have used her catering services. Nor am I a TV watcher, so I would never have seen her on Rachael Ray or wherever she might have appeared. I had no idea she had written another book. Basically she was not on my radar at all. Well, shoot, I'm so glad I found her and this hilarious, sweet little memoir! I laughed out loud multiple times. I appreciated her simple, yet unique and fun recipes throughout. And mostly, I loved that she referenced one of my favorite movies, Baby Boom. Sold! Highly recommend if you're looking for a book with heart and humor.

Thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher for the ARC. These opinions are my own and are in no way swayed by the method in which I received this book.

[Lauren Merritt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a sucker for a good memoir, ESPECIALLY when I discover that (to my delight!) the author really leans into how their life has been shaped by others rather than just focusing on the self. I’m a big believer that we are mosaics of all the people we have loved and admired and those that have loved us. And in order to be truly loved, we cannot hide our true self behind masks we think others will receive well. Lean into your weirdness!! Those that don’t get it weren’t meant to!

My only cause for a 1 star subtraction is the routine name-dropping. As a celebrity caterer, it’s no surprise that Mary has certainly rubbed shoulders with many A-listers, but I don’t feel including their names came off as a key element to the story—it honestly subtracted from it in my opinion.

[library lola · Rating 3 out of 5]

This seemed like a memoir that would be right up my alley since I love food, pop culture, and life stories. Somehow, this writing just didn't resonate with me. I couldn't establish an emotional connection with the writer. I tried to continue reading, hoping it would engage me later, but I finally set the book aside. Their wasn't anything technically wrong with the writing and this story may very well resonate with other readers. If you think you might like it, give it a try! There is certainly nothing wrong with it, just not my cup of tea.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this book.

[wellreadtraveler · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I received this book I had no clue what is was about. Within a few pages I was completely hooked and finished it in one day.You guys, this book is hilarious!
Tiny Hot Dogs is a memoir written by the super funny Mary Giuliani. Besides being funny, and beautiful, she is a lifestyle expert and caterer.
If you have friends who like to laugh and love to cook, GET THEM THIS BOOK! At the end of each chapter Mary shares a recipe and they are all very double.
More importantly once I finished the book I wanted to reach out to Mary and beg her to be my friend. She’s super cool, I’m super cool..together we’re the coolest 😎

[Adrian · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.8 - An entertaining collection of musings and reflections. The author is laugh out loud funny and I enjoyed listening to this as an audiobook. Was it a great time? No. Was it a good time? Yes absolutely. Just like the passed hours d’oeuvres at most parties, this book is a mix of some fun, delicious bite sized musing and a few reflections that feel like a tired replica of something you’ve heard before. This memoir didn’t make me think differently about life, as some memoirs do, but that’s okay. It still made me smile a few times and even laugh out loud more than once, and that counts for something.