Eclairs & Brown Bears: The Young Gourmet) [Hardcover]

Arielle Rosin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1994 | Age Level: 10 and up

Step-by-step, illustrated recipes enable young bakers to create cakes, fruit tarts, meringues, and other desserts and also cover basic baking techniques and the history of baking.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The snappy food-styling and abundant color photographs give a distinctive look to these appetizing volumes from the Young Gourmet series. Each book supplies easy-to-follow recipes for a variety of gratifyingly fancy-looking treats. The approach could be described as Martha Stewart with a sense of humor. Pizzas & Punk Potatoes shows how to transform eggs, apples, potatoes and other ordinary kitchen staples into ingenious party snacks (e.g., hard-boiled eggs easily styled to resemble mice, chicks, porcupines; decorated chocolate-covered apples; potato pigs with pretzel legs). Eclairs & Brown Bears, stuffed with instructions for butter cookies, brownies, meringues and tarts (among other goodies), offers more than a little inspiration for would-be pastry chefs. Prefaces in each volume stress the importance of careful measurement and assembling necessary ingredients and equipment before beginning each project. Photos give aerial views of the utensils and ingredients for each recipe, and highlight the festive garnishes. Recipe sections are interspersed with two-page spreads filled with food facts, brief bios of famous chefs (among them Cyprien Ragueneau, the poetry-loving pastry chef immortalized in Cyrano de Bergerac ) and thoughtfully selected artwork. Tasty. Ages 8-up.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5 Up-Two beautiful titles that were originally published in France. Their layout and design are as artful as the dishes themselves, and they are full of wonderful possibilities for talented cooks. Of the two, Eclairs may be the more daunting. The "brown bears" of the title are meringues, beaten for 10 minutes with an electric mixer, then made into bear shapes with a pastry bag, baked, dipped into chocolate that has been melted in a double boiler, and then decorated. The directions are thorough, but patience, skill, and experience are definitely required. Pizzas offers recipes for eggs, pizzas, potatoes, apples, crepes, and milkshakes. For each item in this odd assortment is a basic recipe and several variations, all clearly presented and tastefully illustrated with full-color photographs. After each section of recipes, a double-page spread about the history, culture, and science of the food appears. The preface suggests that readers should not worry if their results don't look like the examples. "They'll still taste good." On the other hand, there are enough variations to inspire some cooks to make their own creations.
Carolyn Jenks, First Parish Unitarian Church, Portland, ME
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 56 pages
• Publisher: Ticknor & Fields (March 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395683807
• ISBN-13: 978-0395683804
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,119,838 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Bake Up Some Fun, September 8, 2008

By 

Renee Huskey "I learn something new every day." (Pacific Northwest) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eclairs & Brown Bears: The Young Gourmet) (Hardcover)

This kids' cook book is full of unique kitchen fun and sweet desserts. Start out by making "brown bears:" meringue piped into the shape of little bears, baked, and finished off with a dip in a bowl of melted chocolate. In fact, the whole first chapter is devoted to meringue, including a brief but interesting "history of meringue" and an explanation of how baked Alaska is made. Subsequent, equally interesting chapters cover brownies, butter cookies, tarts & pies, cream puffs, and finally, cakes.

Each recipe is clearly described, and directions are succinct, complete and accompanied by good supporting photographs. Recipes have been carefully chosen to not only build upon one another, but to allow for creativity once the cook has a good hold on the process: for example, brownies can be sprinkled with nuts, or M&Ms, or coconut - whatever suits your fancy. Each chapter presents a basic recipe, a number of variations, and a two-page spread on food facts. And although it is ostensibly offered as a "children's book," this cookbook will inspire even the most "mature" of readers.