An earnest, if uneven, cookbook for Sunday occasions.
In this debut cookbook, Morgan fondly recalls foods from past Sunday afternoons and evenings that she spent visiting her relatives’ houses, strolling the farmers market, having picnics at the beach, or watching football games.
The author’s recipes here serve up nostalgia, along with some newer ideas to shake things up. Various chapters address breakfast food (“Carpe Your Diem”), picnic fare (“Perfecting the Piqué Nic”), TV-viewing snacks (“Couch Potato Fan Food”), fancier entrees (“Culinary Class”), and desserts (“Sundaes & Confectioneries”). These are all are rich, hearty foods made from scratch, and they’re not aimed at dieters, although the author does encourage sourcing ingredients from local farmers markets. The type is large and easy to read, and most recipes include large, full-color photographs by the author, which would have benefited from professional lighting and food styling. Although she includes serving sizes, she doesn’t supply preparation times. There are additional tips at the end of many recipes, such as “Gotta-Have Gadgets,” including a cherry-pitting tool, and “Sunday Jump Start,” offering tips on how to use leftovers. The recipes range from such classics as “Chicken ‘n Dumplins” to more exotic entries, such as “Roasted Pepper Chutney on Welsh Rarebit Sandwiches.” Many recipes are somewhere in between these categories—classics with a twist, such as “Tequila-Spiked Berry Shortcakes” or “Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Bread Pudding.” The introduction paints the cookbook as a tour through memory lane, but anecdotes about specific recipes are sparse. Some instructions could have left more room for adaptation; for instance, instead of saying “drop the batter into the lined muffin cups using a 3-inch ice-cream scoop,” the author could have simply described how full the cups should be. Other recipes depend on specific appliances, such as a bread machine, which isn’t always mentioned right away. That said, there are some fun recipes here for readers to try for their next family gathering or afternoon at the park.
An earnest, if uneven, cookbook for Sunday occasions.Pub Date: Nov. 13, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4809-4049-9
Page Count: 334
Publisher: Dorrance Publishing Co.
Review Posted Online: April 27, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s...
Music journalist and musician Wald (Talking 'Bout Your Mama: The Dozens, Snaps, and the Deep Roots of Rap, 2014, etc.) focuses on one evening in music history to explain the evolution of contemporary music, especially folk, blues, and rock.
The date of that evening is July 25, 1965, at the Newport Folk Festival, where there was an unbelievably unexpected occurrence: singer/songwriter Bob Dylan, already a living legend in his early 20s, overriding the acoustic music that made him famous in favor of electronically based music, causing reactions ranging from adoration to intense resentment among other musicians, DJs, and record buyers. Dylan has told his own stories (those stories vary because that’s Dylan’s character), and plenty of other music journalists have explored the Dylan phenomenon. What sets Wald's book apart is his laser focus on that one date. The detailed recounting of what did and did not occur on stage and in the audience that night contains contradictory evidence sorted skillfully by the author. He offers a wealth of context; in fact, his account of Dylan's stage appearance does not arrive until 250 pages in. The author cites dozens of sources, well-known and otherwise, but the key storylines, other than Dylan, involve acoustic folk music guru Pete Seeger and the rich history of the Newport festival, a history that had created expectations smashed by Dylan. Furthermore, the appearances on the pages by other musicians—e.g., Joan Baez, the Weaver, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Dave Van Ronk, and Gordon Lightfoot—give the book enough of an expansive feel. Wald's personal knowledge seems encyclopedic, and his endnotes show how he ranged far beyond personal knowledge to produce the book.
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s personal feelings about Dylan's music or persona.Pub Date: July 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-236668-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
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BOOK TO SCREEN
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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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