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THE NOODLE SHOP COOKBOOK

Name: THE NOODLE SHOP COOKBOOK
Author: Jacki Passmore
ISBN: 0-02-594705-2

by Jacki Passmore ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 1994

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Passmore (Asia the Beautiful Cookbook, not reviewed) was inspired to put together this group of Asian noodle recipes when she left Hong Kong and experienced ``noodle withdrawal,'' and she has done a bang-up job of collecting and replicating dishes. In fact, this book's only major flaw is that the recipes are a little too authentic for Western taste buds. Perhaps that's why the final chapter, containing Passmore's own vigorous innovations, like cold sesame noodles with grilled eggplant and squash, is so pleasing. Descriptions of unfamiliar products like dried rice sticks and bean-thread vermicelli are helpful, and margin notes are innovative and fun, covering everything from creating scallion-curl garnishes to noodle-slurping and how to avoid it. Sometimes, however, cross- referencing is out of whack. A note on how to fry tofu is mentioned in one recipe where fried cubes are called for, but other recipes command the reader to fry without explaining how. Not all of these recipes are foolproof, either. Three of the ingredients in a recipe for spicy Chinese bean threads are listed separately as seasonings but must be added along with the other ingredients, a move that is sure to cause confusion in the middle of a stir-frying frenzy. And in a cookbook calling not only for exotic noodles but also for hard-to-find items like kecap manis (sweet Indonesian soy sauce) and lap cheong (Chinese pork sausages), it's thoughtless not to include a list of mail-order sources. Far above Spaghetti-Os but not quite up to Tampopo standards on the noodle achievement scale. (14 illustrations, not seen)

Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1994

ISBN: 0-02-594705-2

Page Count: 192

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1994

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.