In this unappetizing and tacky effort, Philbin and Gifford (Cooking with Regis and Kathie Lee, not reviewed) combine recipes from guests on their hyperirritating morning chat show with those from their friends and family in chapters organized by holiday (Memorial Day, Easter and Passover, etc.). There are some terrific dishes here, but they are without exception those from professionals, like Daniel Boulud, many of whom have written their own, far superior books. Recipes from friends and relatives could have come from a 1950s ladies' auxiliary cookbook: ambrosia fruit salad with marshmallows and flaked coconut, and jelly thumbprint butter cookies that are virtual cholesterol bombs. The overall presentation is sloppy and disorienting, with boxed information often serving to confuse rather than help. What is a definition of wheat berries doing on a page with a recipe for rendering chicken fat? Worse than the food are the coy, name-dropping anecdotes and tips dripping with self-importance. Gifford says that her trick for staying slim is ``doing an exercise video'' because ``thousands of people will see your fat thighs if you don't.'' Party suggestions sound straight out of the Girl Scouts—for Saint Patrick's Day hosts are instructed to attach an ``O'' to the name of each guest and address them as ``for instance, Mr. O'Steinberg.'' Want to throw the cheesiest party of the year? This is your guide. (First serial to Good Housekeeping; Literary Guild/Better Homes & Gardens Book Club selections)
Pub Date: Oct. 13, 1994
ISBN: 0-7868-6067-7
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1994
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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