Nonna Tell Me a Story: Lidia's Christmas Kitchen Review

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(More customer reviews)In some Christmas books, they are written as fairy tales, to entertain and keep young minds entranced, with characters and situations that make for happy endings. But with this particular new book, from the talented and creative mind of Lidia Bastianich, you have a true tale. A true tale of a harder life that some people had to live during more difficult times, but told in such an endearing way, that her message of love and family comes shining through.
This hardcover, 9"x11", 26 page tale of Christmas past, will enchant the little ones with how simple acts of love and the the true spirit of Christmas, brought joy to Lidia as a child. And now, as a grandmother herself, she brought the same happiness to her grandchildren. The pictures are large with generous use of soft, pastel-like colors, with words that even a little one could read.
It is a delightfully written story of how the Christmases in Lidia's childhood were celebrated; not with running around and buying and spending and stressing, as we tend to do in this present world, but in simpler more cherished time of understanding the essence of Christmas; in coming together as family and finding the simple stuffs around us to prepare for the birth of our Lord.
Joining together with artist Laura Logan, both pen and picture tell the story of how Lidia, her parents, her grandparents, and her brother, spent the Christmas season when she was a child, growing up during more sparse times. But times in which the simplicities of life were the most endearing. We join Lidia as she is recounting these stories to her own grandchildren, and the lesson and impact such closeness imparts to young children as the older generation passes on the memories of a era gone by and the joy that it brought to them.
Instead of the luxury of a big Christmas tree, she tells of a small juniper bush that held little blue berries on its branches, and was bedecked with homemade cookie wreaths and tangerines and pears and apples and figs and bay leaves and such, with ribbons to tie those special decorations. Candy was also placed on the bush but candy was quite a treat in those days, and whenever she and her brother would eat one of the candies, they would place small pebbles in the wrapper and place them back on the bush, so that no one would notice.
In telling this story to the children, they too wanted to have that same type of Christmas celebration, and in the earnestness that only children can evoke, carried out the same tradition through the same actions.
A gifted artist, Laura Logan has created darling caricatures of Lidia and her family, especially her grandchildren, and with color and imagination, brought the scenes to the pages of this book. As her grandchildren will someday cherish, this was a wonderful and touching way of being entwined in their grandmother's love and life.
At the end of the story, there is a grand caricatiure photo of the Bastianich family, including Lidia's mother, Erminia, along with Lidia's children, Tanya and her husband, and son Joseph and his wife, along with the grandchildren, gathered around the tree and fireplace, feeling once more the joy of her Christmas past.
Near the end, the book contains the recipes that make for a simple, yet memorable celebration such as Fruit Tea, Brutti Ma Buoni cookies, Fregolata (Cookie Crumbles), Crostoli (Fried Ribbon Cookies), Pignoli (Amaretii con Pignoli; these are delicious!), Biscotti ai Demi di Sesamo (Sesame Cookies), Crostata (Fruit Jam or Chocolate Tartlet Cookies), Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies, PB & J Cookies, Angel Food Cupcakes, Simple Sugar Cookies, Almond Apricot Butter Cookies, Almond Stuffed Figs, Chocolate Star Cookies, Royal Icing, and Palacinkes.
The last 2 pages of this wonderful book is called "Decorating the Tree" which was a short little essay of sorts desribing how the Christmas tree (or bush!) can be decorated by finding the right ribbons and fruits, and how to use them to bring that memory to life.
This reminded me very much of the books I read in my childhood, which made me want to read them over and over again because of how warm and happy they made me feel. It also reminds me of times shared with my own grandparents and the stories they told; those memories are priceless to me. Yes, I am very much in awe of what Lidia does, and the talent that she has, but one would be hardpressed to deny the delight that such a simple story can bring to the heart. Peace.

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In the Night Kitchen (Caldecott Collection) Review

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(More customer reviews)I didn't want to give this book five stars. I fought against it, because I don't particularly enjoy the book. The illustrations aren't that attractive to me and it took me a while to get used to the rhythm of the words.
Having said that, I give this book five stars because my daughter LOVES this book. I sometimes have to hide it at night because I'm so tired of reading the "Mickey" book. Apparently Sendak knows an awful lot about what children like and how their minds work, because my daughter seldom tires of the story. (Her favorite part is when Mickey takes the measuring cup and goes up and up over the Milky Way.)
I'm honestly a little surprised over the "nekkid" controversy. It's not like the boy is drawn in explicit detail! My daughter's seen boy babies getting their diapers changed, so the concept of a penis is HARDLY frightening/startling/damaging to her. Geez, lighten up people!
Also, for those who were complaining about the concept of cake for breakfast, why don't we consider how many American children get French toast, pancakes, donuts, poptarts, or sugar-coated cereals for breakfast? Hardly nutritionally superior to cake, so I'm not lying in bed at night obsessing about the poor nutritional messages this book is sending to my child. :-)

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1971 Caldecott Honor BookNotable Children's Books of 1940--1970 (ALA)Best Books of 1970 (SLJ)Outstanding Children's Books of 1970 (NYT)Best Illustrated Children's Books of 1970 (NYT)Children's Books of 1970 (Library of Congress)Carey-Thomas Award 1971--Honor CitationBrooklyn Art Books for Children 1973, 1975

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On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen Review

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(More customer reviews)This red `On Food and Cooking, The Science and Lore of the Kitchen' by Harold McGee is a new edition of what is the most widely quoted culinary work in English. It may be almost as influential on the thinking of culinary professionals as Julia Child's `Mastering the Art of French Cooking' was on attitudes of American home cooking. The testimonials from the likes of Thomas Keller, Paula Wolfert, Jacques Pepin, and Rose Levy Beranbaum just begins to tell you how important McGee's volume has become. I was immensely pleased to see the exchange of acknowledgments between McGee and Keller to see how much the academic can learn from the professional chef.
I can devote my thousand words on how good this book has been to the culinary world, but most of you already know that. What I will do is to list all the reasons one may wish to read this book.
First, the book is simply interesting to amateur foodies and culinary professionals. This is the serendipity principle. If you prospect in a rich land, you will invariably find something of value. The `lore' in the subtitle is not an afterthought. The book includes history, linguistics and cooking practice in addition to simple science. In over 800 pages of densely packed narrative, one will invariably find something of interest, especially since the book covers such a broad range of topics, including:
Milk and Dairy
Eggs
Meat
Fish and Shellfish
Fruits and Vegetables
Seeds, Cereals, and Doughs
Sauces
Sugars and Chocolate
Alcohol (Wine, Beer, and Distilled Spirits)
Cooking Methods
Cooking Utensil Materials
`The Four Basic Food Molecules'
Basic Chemistry
This is the perfect book in which to jump around to those subjects that interest you. I just wish the author would have put the last two subjects first so that more readers would stumble across them to gain a better understanding of what appears in the chapters on specific foods. A quick example of how this would help in practical terms is that the characteristics of alcohol, which stand halfway between water and oils explains why vodka is such a great flavor enhancing addition to pasta sauces.
Second, professional and amateur bakers should read all of the chapters on grains, doughs, chocolate, alcohol, basic molecules, and the chemistry primer, as this is the one area of culinary practice where knowledge of science can make the biggest difference between good and great results. Both Shirley Corriher and Alton Brown have books which include baking science and Rose Levy Beranbaum's books all cover practical baking science in depth, but McGee puts all of this is a broader context which, to use Alton Brown's great metaphor about science and cooking, gives a roadmap covering a much broader area, to a finer scale of detail.
Third, all culinary professionals who have anything whatsoever to do with teaching should read this book from cover to cover, twice. There is absolutely nothing more annoying than having a person in the role of teacher make a patently false statement in their area of expertise. The number of times a Food Network culinary celeb misuses the term `dissolve' when they really mean `emulsify' or simply `mix' would fill volumes. It is still a common mistake to say that searing protein seals in juices. There are many good reasons for searing. Preventing the escape of liquid is not one of them. Even Brown himself has made some gaffs in print and on `Good Eats' such as when he described a very corrosive compound as a strong acid rather than a strong base. He confused one end of the pH scale with the other.
Fourth, anyone who has ambitions to develop their own recipes should read those chapters which deal with the major foods such as dairy, meats, fish, fruits, and vegetables, with a premium on the material on milk and eggs. Two defining characteristics of science are that it explains things and it predicts things. Most people understand the first but may not appreciate the second. One can predict, for example, that if you use too little fat in a milk or cream based gratin, the dairy will curdle, so, if you are playing around with your favorite mac and cheese recipe, do not be so quick to reach for that skim milk, as you are likely to be very disappointed with the result. Similarly, if you crave some Saturday morning buttermilk biscuits and the nearest carton of buttermilk is a 30 minute drive away, AND, you have no vinegar, AND you have no citrus, there is just a chance that your aging cream of tartar dissolved in milk will save the day, since this is an acidic salt which will stand in for the acidity in the buttermilk. As a former professional chemist, I can assure you that pure inorganic salts like cream of tartar simply do not go bad.
I would have loved to hear the exchanges between author McGee and Thomas Keller, as Keller is probably the contemporary epitome of how the culinary professional uses experimental techniques in cooking. The constant tasting which every cook does is nothing more than a practical application of the chemical technique of titration, where materials are combined slowly until the desired result is achieved. What separates good from great cooks is using this technique to test raw materials. This is the truest marriage of science and cooking, following the maxim of Daniel Boulud who stated that to be really great, the journeyman cook must repeat the same procedure thousands of times to the point where the result is utterly reproducible and the cook can detect the desired endpoint easily by eye, nose, and mouth. Sounds like science to me.
The author's introduction presents an excellent case for rereading the book in its second edition as he cites the great changes in food culture over the last twenty years. This is also a great case for anyone who is interested in any aspect of food.
A very important book indeed.


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