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THE SPLENDID TABLE

Name: THE SPLENDID TABLE
Author: Lynne Rossetto Kasper
ISBN: 0-688-08963-1

500 YEARS OF EATING IN NORTHERN ITALY

by Lynne Rossetto Kasper ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1992

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From an American food writer and cooking teacher, an informed and enthusiastic culinary tour of the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, famous for its fervently upheld cooking traditions and as the source of tortellini, Bolognese ragó, Parmigiano- Reggiano cheese, and balsamic vinegar. This last ingredient appears here in everything from pesto to rabbit stew, veal scallops, and an enticing pot-roasted lamb with wine and olives; and Kasper, who devotes several pages to the mysteries and hierarchies of balsamic vinegar, passes along a tip for simulating the expensive ``craftsman'' quality with more common versions. It's the kind of cookbook that comes with a bibliography and with copious historical and other background notes on the recipes and the different local traditions within the region. It also comes with descriptions high in swooning superlatives; fortunately, the recipes—many of them local specialties unfamiliar elsewhere—live up to the billing, both in their attention to flavor-enhancing detail and in the certifiably splendid nature of the dishes. Serious culinary explorers, Italian food enthusiasts, and readers of gastronomic travelogues will put this on their list. (Twenty-four pages of color photos—not seen.)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1992

ISBN: 0-688-08963-1

Page Count: 500

Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1992

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.