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THE OPEN HAND CELEBRATION COOKBOOK

Name: THE OPEN HAND CELEBRATION COOKBOOK
Author: Stanley Eichelbaum
ISBN: 0-671-73740-6

GREAT CHEFS COOK FOR FESTIVE OCCASIONS

edited by Stanley Eichelbaum ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1991

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Two years after the first Open Hand Cookbook, for which California celebrity chefs contributed recipes and shared profits with the organization that feeds San Francisco-area AIDS patients, this second all-star benefit performance focuses on foods for special occasions—mostly holidays and other dress-up affairs but also informal barbecues and cozy get-togethers. Paul Bertolli, Edward Espe Brown, Bradley Ogden, Wolfgang Puck, and Alice Waters are some of the Bay Area chefs whose names stand out from the list of 69 contributors, and there are others—such as Marion Cunningham and Madeleine Kammon—not normally associated with the region. Their seasonally arranged recipes can be dirt-simple or comfortably ethnic but tend to the upscale, flamboyant, or creative California mode. Home cooks attracted by the names won't be disappointed, though those motivated by the cause might find some of this above their toques.

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1991

ISBN: 0-671-73740-6

Page Count: 368

Publisher: Pocket

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1991

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.