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BAKE YOURSELF HAPPY

Name: BAKE YOURSELF HAPPY
Author: Norma Borelli
ISBN: 978-1490966106

COOKIE RECIPES FOR BEATING THE BLUES

by Norma Borelli ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 2, 2014

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Baking cookies as therapy? Let’s eat!
The product of a big Italian family, Borelli has always been fascinated by cooking, especially where cookie baking was concerned. She taught baking to troubled teens and adults and witnessed the power of “flour therapy.” And so, in her debut cookbook, Borelli pulls together her favorite cookie recipes, which she claims are easy enough for her poodle to understand. She starts with a chapter on baking 101, covering subjects such as the basics of common ingredients, baking equipment, storing the cookies for future eating and so on. The recipes themselves are arranged by type of cookie—bar cookies, drop cookies, rolled cookies, etc.—including an entire chapter on biscotti and their Jewish cousin, mandelbrot. The recipes are accompanied by scrumptious color photographs of the final products. For the most part, Borelli’s recipes are as simple as she claims, and she provides very clear directions. Recipes range from old favorites like brownies (“the quickest cookies to make”) and chocolate chip cookies to oddballs like eggnog logs and figs in blankets, which for the most part seem mouthwateringly good. Borelli uses cereal in several of her recipes, not just the standby Rice Krispies Treats; Cocoa Pebbles work, too. Her cookbook is clearly aimed at first-time bakers, but Borelli occasionally fails to explain terminology for such newcomers: For example, she doesn’t define what “stiff peaks” should look like when beating egg whites. She doesn’t include nutritional information for her recipes, either, which would be helpful for dieters trying to decide how much to indulge or diabetics needing to limit sugar intake. Likewise, the therapy aspect is barely sprinkled on.
Despite a few flaws, this cookie cookbook is worth a try, though unwary readers may gain 5 pounds just looking.

Pub Date: Oct. 2, 2014

ISBN: 978-1490966106

Page Count: 218

Publisher: CreateSpace

Review Posted Online: Dec. 24, 2014

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.