WHAT TO COOK WHEN THERE'S NOTHING IN THE HOUSE TO EAT

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WHAT TO COOK WHEN THERE'S NOTHING IN THE HOUSE TO EAT

Name: WHAT TO COOK WHEN THERE'S NOTHING IN THE HOUSE TO EAT
Author: Arthur Schwartz
ISBN: 0-06-055326-X

MORE THAN 175 RECIPES AND MEAL IDEAS

by Arthur Schwartz ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 1, 1992

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...or, how to slant a cookbook when there's nothing left to introduce. As complacently as those old folk recipes that begin with ``first, catch your lizard,'' Schwartz (Cooking in a Small Kitchen, 1979) calls for canned clams, several cheeses, Arborio rice, dried Polish mushrooms, chocolate, and various liqueurs, as well as more common staples such as flour, dried spaghetti, and canned tuna, in these suggestions for spur-of-the-moment meals. In other words, for a varied repertoire of dishes that can be made from whatever's available, keep a variety of stuff on hand. That done, you can of course find recipes for using them in any basic cookbook; Schwartz is not into novelty. The old standbys he's gathered here include purÇed (``refried'') black beans, cabbage and noodle kugel, ``Ronald Reagan's favorite'' macaroni and cheese, the Greek soup avgolemono, from-scratch cream-puff shells, brownies, and a kind of tuna Ö la king. Who needs recipes for this stuff? According to Schwartz, anyone who comes home too tired to shop, think, cook up a storm, or even, presumably, leaf through an encyclopedic hardcover like Fannie Farmer. He might have quite an audience at that.

Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1992

ISBN: 0-06-055326-X

Page Count: 304

Publisher: HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1991

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

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

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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

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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

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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.