Health-conscious but also taste-centered, Shulman has already shared menus from her Paris dinner parties in Supper Club Chez Martha Rose (1988) and recipes for other company-worthy dishes in Mediterranean Light (1989). Here, she offers an eclectic sampling that reflects her current enthusiasm for Mediterranean food—a French-style rabbit in wine and mustard; a Catalan vegetable and garlic dish called escalivada—and mixes in unpretentious chile, pita, pizza, and pasta recipes that could be seen as updates on themes from her earlier Vegetarian Feasts books. In keeping with the entertainment motif, she includes a good array of ingenious but uncomplicated appetizers, some refreshingly personal advice on selecting and serving wine, and introductory notes on party planning and on light, low-fat entertaining. Salsas, marinades, stocks, herbs, liqueurs and wines, judicious dollops of olive oil, good fresh vegetables, and lots of smashing fish and seafood dishes—all provide robust flavors without excessive calories or fuss. Hosts should, however, be alert to the small portions (six ounces of pasta for three or four diners) that might need adjusting for robust appetites.
Pub Date: Nov. 15, 1991
ISBN: 0-553-07150-5
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Bantam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1991
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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