bookshelf

COMPANY FARE

Name: COMPANY FARE
Author: Ronald Johnson
ISBN: 0-671-69510-X

by Ronald Johnson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 1991

bookshelf

Johnson's very personal Simple Fare (1989) was a sort of sophisticated take on humble, if not retro, fare. Here, though the preparations are still pretty simple, the dishes get a little fancier (Johnson begins with a tribute to Alice Waters's hot goat- cheese salad from Chez Panisse and goes on to a paean to caviar and a lot of dishes with French names)—or at least trendier, with all those Italian starters and twists like arugula instead of the conventional coleslaw served with Maryland crab cakes. Many pages of sauced fish (much of it with wine, most of it with butter, some of it with cream), both meat and chicken in what he describes (while introducing pork) as ``a host of rather elegant ways,'' a whole section of gratins among the variety of side dishes, fruit pastries and other fruit desserts high in cream and sugar: From all of this, and without undue effort, you can surely put together company-worthy meals. In an age of gastronomic aftershock, if not exhaustion, that's probably enough for most home cooks.

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1991

ISBN: 0-671-69510-X

Page Count: 368

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1991

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

bookshelf

NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

bookshelf

This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

bookshelf

TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

bookshelf

An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.