A charming, glossy book of sweet Parisian morsels.
Delectable, butter-heavy French delights made easy.
Paula Deen isn’t the only one cornering the market on buttery creations. French pastry chef Marechal (Irresistible Macaroons, 2011, etc.) continues his Les Petits Plats Francais series with this beautifully photographed selection of elegant, bite-sized complements to frothy coffee drinks. To begin, he recommends purchasing cookie cutters, paper liners (“cases”) and silicone sheets and molds for best results, but he offers alternatives using more common kitchen equipment like spatulas and non-stick baking trays. Elegance abounds in his indulgent delicacies: Florentines with almonds, pistachios, and candied orange peel; meringues; truffles; miniature varieties of canneles, madeleines, waffles and brownies; and sinfully silky, refrigerator-friendly vanilla, cocoa, coffee and chicory-flavored mini cream pots. While most recipes are everyday-baker-friendly, Marechal includes some daring challenges. Readers willing to go the extra mile will bookmark recipes for beautifully fragile spun sugar balls that require little more than a candy thermometer, sugar and “slight of hand.” Crisp cookie “tuiles” may appear daunting, but the author’s instructions are straightforward and worry-free. Most items are made with some combination of butter, superfine (“caster”) sugar, cream and flour. Maybe not for dieters, but these treats are fashioned to delicately stroke the sweet tooth and act as the perfect compliment to a hot café beverage.
A charming, glossy book of sweet Parisian morsels.Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-85720-251-2
Page Count: 72
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK/Trafalgar
Review Posted Online: Sept. 3, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2011
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
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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