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.
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.
Carolyn Jenks, First Parish Unitarian Church, Portland, ME
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
