A vibrant culinary take on the American melting pot via an international array of recipes and flavors.
Edited by Maze (Healthy Foods from A to Z, 2015, etc.), a bilingual cookbook that introduces readers to iconic foods from cultures around the world.
Take a tour of international flavors through 30 ethnic recipes in this engaging, educational cookbook in English and Spanish. From British shepherd’s pie to Chinese kung pao to Israeli cabbage rolls, each recipe delves into its corresponding culinary tradition. Cooking tips and tricks kick off the book: If you ever wondered what to use to thicken sauces (cornstarch), how to clean a cast-iron pan (water, oil, and salt instead of soap), or how to prevent bamboo skewers from burning (soak them overnight in cold water), you’ll find answers here. The introduction emphasizes the emotional and nostalgic ties people feel to the food of their homelands and ways the United States, a country rich with immigrants, benefits from the abundance of culinary options. Breaking bread, the book states, is a timeless unifier: “In an age of zillions of impersonal gadgets, a shared meal may be one of the last bastions of true interpersonal connectivity and communication in our country and across the world.” While inspired by the traditional dishes of their countries of origin, some recipes have swapped red meat and pork for healthier proteins like chicken and turkey, and in some cases, the recipes have gone vegetarian. Further healthy hints, like substituting sweet potatoes for white potatoes or using ghee instead of butter, are offered at the end of the book. All dishes in the cookbook cost less than $18 to prepare, and each recipe includes nutritional facts. The brightly colored pages feature whimsical fonts and enticing food photography. Readers won’t just learn how to cook these dishes, they’ll learn about the historical and cultural origins of them; e.g., New Orleans’ staple jambalaya was born out of Spanish paella and a dish common among French Cajun settlers in the Louisiana bayou.
A vibrant culinary take on the American melting pot via an international array of recipes and flavors.Pub Date: May 13, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-9727697-2-3
Page Count: 85
Publisher: Moonstone Press LLC
Review Posted Online: Feb. 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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