Once TV's devil-may-care ``Galloping Gourmet,'' Kerr got religion some years back and his cookbooks turned austere and preachy. Now he has struck a balance with a principle he calls ``minimax''—designed to minimize risk (from fat and other dietary culprits) and maximize flavor. Many of his own old specialties and those of other chefs have been revamped to fit the principle; new flavor-boosting tricks have been adopted (one recipe ``smokes'' chicken breasts in tea bags); and Kerr calls on Thai, Mexican, and other cuisines for tasty fish dishes that fit the new imperative. Yet there's not only some red meat but some indulgence within the revisions: We find ground-turkey sloppy Joes but chili with beef; some dishes using eggs and some with egg substitutes; de- alcoholized wine throughout but a note that wine with alcohol works just as well; and similar range and contrast in the style department as pheasant with chestnuts, for example, follows catfish poorboys. Overall, though he is working well-trod territory, Kerr does quite well ``minimaxing'' old faves and new attractions, with an upcoming author tour promising max exposure.
Pub Date: Oct. 25, 1991
ISBN: 0-385-42074-9
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1991
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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