Delia's How to Cook, Vol. 3
Author: Delia Smith
In part three of How to Cook, Delia continues and completes her journey through the fundamentals of cooking, revising traditional areas that are all too often overlooked, as well as exploring more contemporary concerns for the modern cook. As ever, the principles remain the same—to rediscover the simple pleasure of food, to take beginners through many of the basic techniques, and to offer inspiration to even the most accomplished cook. With stunning photographs to accompany each one of them, the recipes range from neglected classics like Old English Apple Hat and Smoked Collar of Bacon with Pease Pudding to exciting new flavors such as Teriyaki Grilled Marinated Salmon and Sea Bass with Puy Lentil Salsa. In Book Three, the reader can learn the techniques of pickling and preserving, how to equip their kitchen from scratch, and how to get the most out of food processors, bread machines, and ice-cream makers. Here, Delia also focuses on first courses (starters) and last courses (hot puddings), and introduces us to the wonderful world of pulses, from adzuki beans to pintos by way of many more familiar ones. How to Cook: Book Three contains over 120 great new recipes, written, as always, to inspire confidence in nervous cooks and to extend the repertoire of more experienced ones. Those who already have Books One and Two cannot afford to be without this one, and those who do not can start right here.
Book review: Complete Book of Vegetarian Recipes or Seasoned With Words a Cookbook
Are You Hungry Dear?
Author: Doris Roberts
Warm, funny episodes, each complete with the perfect recipe from the life of America’s favorite mother-in-law from the hit comedy Everybody Loves RaymondIn Are You Hungry, Dear?, Doris takes her signature line from the show and makes it her own in a program that pairs hilarious stories and dramatic turning points from her fascinating life with delicious recipes from her kitchen. She shares the lessons learned in two marriages and numerous love affairs, her struggles with her own family, and her heroic efforts to build a career and raise a son on her own. Those who love feisty, judgmental, opinionated Marie Barone will see how Doris is all that and more: tough, sweet, brave, direct, and vibrant. Listeners will embrace the unforgettable life of this very open star, and relate to the issues--like ageism in Hollywood, sex in the senior years, and her daughter-in-law’s imperfect meat sauce--that Doris cares about passionately.Are You Hungry, Dear? is for everyone who loves a laugh, a great recipe, and a true inside glimpse of a very approachable star.
Publishers Weekly
Roberts, who plays Marie Barone on the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, uses her TV character's preoccupation with food to underscore her own needs in this memoir. Her autobiography isn't a sexy tell-all, but it's honest and life-affirming. Roberts was desperate for love and attention. What she got was a hardscrabble childhood, two tough marriages and a career she adored. She repeats her mantra-"I am a survivor"-throughout the book, along with her recipes. These delectable treats-lasagna, chicken crepes, flourless chocolate cake-match moods or milestones in her life. It's a cute, though not innovative, way of breaking up her tale. Roberts's dad left at her birth, her indifferent grandparents raised her in the Bronx, and her mother never paid her a compliment. Still, by age 11, she decided to be an actress, and she got some terrific breaks, due as much to talent as tenacity. That she pursued her dreams while raising a son is laudable, especially with little help from her family. A hardworking actress fond of peppering her prose with homilies (e.g., "If you want life to surprise you, you've got to be open to it rather than defending against it"), Roberts saves the best part of her saga-the early years, the struggle, the triumphs-for the last third of the book. Still, readers will applaud her victories, even if the recounting is less than stellar. (May) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
Best known for her role as Marie Barone on the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, Emmy-winning actress Roberts gathers anecdotes from her life as an entertainer for this warm, revealing memoir. She recounts her childhood, being raised by undemonstrative grandparents in the Bronx while her mother tried to earn money after her husband left. Deciding at age 11 to become an actress, Roberts clung tenaciously to her dream until it came true. With a fortunate break she landed a role on Broadway (Last of the Red Hot Lovers), moved to film (A New Leaf), and then on to television (Remington Steel), all while raising her son alone. Having opinions on such topics as spaghetti sauce, ageism, getting along with daughters-in-law, and trying to lose weight, the author expresses herself with humor and enthusiasm that make up for the occasional platitude. Part of this memoir's charm comes from Roberts's reading; with her Bronx accent still evident, she sounds like a mother talking to her children. Her fans will love this book. Tape and CD quality are excellent. Recommended for large public libraries.-Nancy R. Ives, SUNY at Geneseo Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
With wry humor and good sense, the Emmy-winning Italian-American Mom of Everybody Loves Raymond offers advice, recipes, and reminiscences about personal and professional good and bad times. This is not one of those linear memoirs that proceed from humble birth to exalted present. Instead, Roberts sidetracks here, detours there, but cumulatively offers up a lively if discursive account of her life. She accompanies each chapter with an appropriate recipe, usually an example of good Italian home cooking like her potato salad or lasagna. Beginning with an assessment of Marie, the character she plays in the hit comedy, Roberts revisits particular times, experiences, and relationships. Now in her 70s, expected when young to marry early and stay home raising the children, she admits to loving Marie because if things had turned out differently she too could have been such an overbearing mother. In other chapters, Roberts describes the unusual annual Christmas party she throws for the cast ("the greed party, where guests scheme to get the gifts they want"), recalls how she landed the part; and expresses the satisfaction she gets from still being able to work. Without self-pity she describes a lonely childhood: her taciturn, critical, and divorced mother had to work, and Doris was left with grandparents who regarded her as imposition. Only an uncle gave her a sense of worth that enabled Roberts to survive her first marriage (to a man she supported while he went to law school) and difficult early attempts to become an actress. Her second husband was the love of her life, she has one son and three grandchildren, and she happily details the joys of motherhood. She seasons everything with insights shepicked up along the way: the value of perseverance, a positive attitude (think pink rather than angry red), and accepting who you are. An agreeable visit with a chatty old friend.
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