Before Sliced Bread

Name: Before Sliced Bread
Author: Jeannette Kerr
ISBN: 978-1-4602-6762-2

MEMOIRS & CUISINE

by Jeannette Kerr ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 21, 2015

Well-written, mouthwatering, and nostalgic—an excellent addition to the literature of North American cooking.

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This memoir of a Canadian girlhood affectionately combines recollections with recipes.

In her debut book, Kerr—a former chef and restaurant owner—shares nostalgic memories of growing up in and moving around Canada and the special dishes she encountered along the way. After arriving in an ethnically mixed neighborhood in Montreal as a small child in 1938, Kerr learned to love kosher delis, cheese blintzes, and Newfoundland molasses taffy. Meanwhile, she experienced childhood pleasures that will ring familiar to Canadian readers and awaken new interest in the era for Americans, including reading the Eaton’s catalog at Christmastime, wearing Red River coats (“Everyone has a story about this famous coat”), and riding open-air streetcars for sightseeing. As an adult, Kerr wound up in Vancouver, but in her various stops, she experienced an intriguing variety of culinary traditions. Period photos help tell the story, and an epilogue provides background on Canadian history. Kerr’s culinary journey embraces home-style goodies such as poutine à trou and maple syrup pie in Montreal; fried fiddleheads and Acadian bread pudding in New Brunswick; “bakeapple” pie in Newfoundland; Mennonite onion pie in Manitoba; and coquilles St-Jacques à la Corbeille (Kerr’s restaurant) in British Columbia. In between anecdotes and recipes, the author traces the varied influences on Canadian cooking, such as patterns of immigration or expulsion, the importance of seafood in the Maritimes, and foods linked to special holidays. Kerr’s family’s stories and anecdotes are absorbing, but home cuisine is the star of this book. Its evocative prose, excellent photos, and luscious-sounding recipes will stoke readers’ appetites and spark their imaginations. The instructions are written clearly and aimed at readers who are experienced enough to have, for example, a favorite pastry-crust recipe; indeed, all the entries are based on tried-and-true family recipes. Another plus is Kerr’s emphasis on local food customs, which include ingredients such as fiddlehead ferns, Saskatoon berries, or Newfoundland cod and techniques such as boiling dinner in a gauze bag. The recipes may be old-fashioned, but they have timeless appeal.

Well-written, mouthwatering, and nostalgic—an excellent addition to the literature of North American cooking.

Pub Date: Sept. 21, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-4602-6762-2

Page Count: 128

Publisher: FriesenPress

Review Posted Online: Nov. 30, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

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.