Average customer rating:
- Temptation's Kiss is every woman's dream come true
- a yo yo read
- YOU SHOULD AWAYS FOLLOW YOUR HEART
- Ho-Hum
- I've got mixed emotions about this one!
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Temptation's Kiss
Sandra Brown
Manufacturer: Grand Central Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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Love's Encore
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Love Beyond Reason
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ASIN: 0446616796 |
Customer Reviews:
Temptation's Kiss is every woman's dream come true.......2006-03-04
I loved this book! LOVED it!!! I can't say anything to spoil it, just read it..... I have still not recovered from its after effects.
a yo yo read.......2005-07-20
i don't know about this one. what man, in his right mind, would actually wait three years for a woman? why can't megan make up her mind about josh? does she want him or NOT? did she actually fall in love with him all those years ago after one little kiss? josh keeps telling her he loves her, but does he really KNOW her or has he just fallen for her beautiful bod? is this a relationship built on love or lust? these two characters can manage big business, but a real relationship? i have my doubts.
YOU SHOULD AWAYS FOLLOW YOUR HEART.......2004-09-30
I WISH SANDRA BROWN WOULD MAKE HER FEMALE CHARACTERS A LOT STRONGER. THEY ARE ALWAYS THINKING ABOUT RUNNING AWAY AND NOT FACING SOMETHING HEAD ON. SHE TRIED TO MAKE MEGAN SEEM VERY STRONG WHEN IT CAME TO HER JOB BUT THEN YOU THROW IN A MAN AND THEY JUST FALL APART. I GUESS IF YOU DIDNT HAVE THAT THE BOOK WOULD SEEM A LOT SHORTER. JUDGE FOR YOURSELF.
Ho-Hum.......2003-07-07
This book was okay. I picked it up because I was bored one day and it looked relatively short and it was by Sandra Brown so I figured I couldn't go too wrong. And I didn't. This book moved along pretty quickly, it wasn't a heavy read so I was able to put it down and do things as I went along.
The plot isn't too heavy. The characters were pretty interesting. This one I'd save for a slow day.
I've got mixed emotions about this one!.......2003-03-08
I have REAL mixed emotions!!! I am giving it a 3 but really I would like to give it a 2 1/2. It really bothered me how Josh practically stalked Megan during the first of the book- he was REAL pushy too-constantly sneeking kisses, forcing kisses. I kept thinking "where is the respect for her?" The sex is very explicit, too. It's constant. Megan was too silly at times for me, too. Like her thinking of ruining Josh's reputation? The story is sweet- love (or was it lust?) at first sight, though Megan was faithful to her first husband. I can see where other reviews would rate it high because of the story line- Josh loving Megan sooo much and it being a dream come true for him to have the opportunity to seek her due to the unfortunate death of his friend, Megan's husband. But I really don't think I feel comfortable in suggesting this book.
Average customer rating:
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The Kiss (Temptation Collection)
Hans-Jurgen Dopp
Manufacturer: Parkstone Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 1859958753 |
Book Description
The kiss remains the first touch for a couple and symbolizes a major step in a sexual relationship. For isn't a kiss the premise of the act or an act itself? What role do the lips and the tongue play in the lovers' encounter? What are its means and its uses throughout history and societies?
Such are the questions and analyses that Professor Döpp tackles in this book with both talent and intelligence. Richly illustrated with pieces from the author's illustrious collection, this work is a treat for the eyes and the mind
Average customer rating:
- Ick Factor Too High for Me
- A _very_ weird love story!
- Beauty & The Beast Romance Set In The Computer Age
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Kiss Of The Beast (Secret Fantasies) (Harlequin Temptation, No 558)
Mallory Rush
Manufacturer: harlequin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0373256582 |
Customer Reviews:
Ick Factor Too High for Me.......2001-09-12
I gave this book a three because it promised a red hot read and that was what Rush delivered. However, it also tended to make me go Eeeeuuuuwwwwww too often. I have a pretty high tolerance for nontraditional sex. I've enjoyed books where humans and nonhumans have relationships, even explicitly described sexual relationships, but this was a little too close to the bestiality edge for me to be completely comfortable with it. Which is odd because the hero is obviously sentient, and not an animal in the zoological sense at all. However, he certainly doesn't use his intelligence when it comes to sex-- apparently none of his species does.
As for the science fiction-- well, it's pretty hackneyed. Aliens who are last of their species and looking to propagate by kidnapping earthwomen used to be standard drive-in fare. Rush does not do anything to improve on that plot.
This book did not remind me of Beauty and the Beast-- not even-- (shudder) the Disney version. It reminded me more of the 3rd film of a triple feature in 1979 or maybe something that the MST3K cast would have enjoyed riffing on.
A _very_ weird love story!.......2000-04-30
OK, I've got a confession to make. I started this book with really low expectations. I was expecting to hate it or at least to dislike it. Why? I read this author's previous book LOVE GAME which was supposed to be erotic, hot and something special. I found it to be thin in plot and characterization and I didn't much care about the love scenes. I think I was expecting too much because it was so highly touted. I put off reading this one for a year and almost traded it in unread on the basis of that one disappointment. I am so glad I didn't!
Eva Campbell, a lonely virtual reality whiz, conjures up her perfect dream man. A man who lives to fulfill her every fantasy (whew, great premise, huh! ) She's been hurt deeply by her cheating snake of an ex-hubby and has very little self esteem. Her gorgeous creation, Urich, gives it back to her. But she fears he only worships her and thinks her beautiful because she's programmed him to think that way. Little does she know that he is not at all what he seems and his feelings come straight from the heart. He has secrets and an agenda all his own that could tear their fragile and forbidden love apart at the seams . . .
This book was a little hard to get into at first. The premise is a bit bizarre but once I got into the story and got to know the characters I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. I can't lie. There were a few things that bugged me a little bit; the heroine's personality went through a drastic change in a real short span of time, she changes from an insecure workaholic into a strong, woman confident of her sexuality in what seemed like a matter of days, she also acts immaturely in spots (especially when she's mad) and the hero holds a secret for too long. Usually these things will turn me off in a book but somehow they didn't bother me all that much and I know why. I absolutely loved the hero in this story. I don't want to say too much and spoil his secret but he was really original and loving, sweet, sensitive, not to mention beautiful, faithful, and best of all he shed tears! He really made the book for me.
I don't think this is a book for everyone though, it was a bit on the bizarre side and you really need to suspend disbelief to thoroughly enjoy it. Although the sexual tension was steamy with a capital S and the love scene really worked for me I don't think those who dislike paranormals would appreciate the oddness of it. But if you like your books hot, love sensitive heroes and are looking for a very different type of storyline this book should hit the spot.
KISS OF THE BEAST is a major fantasy and I recommend it but only for other weirdos like myself *g*.
Beauty & The Beast Romance Set In The Computer Age.......1997-07-16
Eva Campbell, a lonely virtual reality whiz, conjures up her perfect dream man. A man who lives to fulfill her every fantasy (whew, great premise, huh?!) She's been hurt deeply by her cheating snake of an ex-hubby and has very little self esteem. Her gorgeous creation, Urich, gives it back to her. But she fears he only worships her and thinks her beautiful because she's programmed him to think that way. Little does she know that he is not at all what he seems and his feelings come straight from the heart. He has secrets and an agenda all his own that could tear their fragile and forbidden love apart at the seams . . .
This book was a little hard to get into at first. The premise is a bit bizarre but once I got into the story and got to know the characters I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. I can't lie. There were a few things that bugged me a little bit; the heroine's personality went through a drastic change in a real short span of time, she changes from an insecure workaholic into a strong, woman confident of her sexuality in what seemed like a matter of days, she also acts immaturely in spots (especially when she's mad) and the hero holds a secret for too long. Usually these things will turn me off in a book but somehow they didn't bother me all that much and I know why. I absolutely loved the hero in this story. I don't want to say too much and spoil his secret but he was really original and loving, sweet, sensitive, not to mention beautiful, faithful, and best of all he shed tears! He really made the book for me.
I don't think this is a book for everyone though, it was a bit on the bizarre side and you really need to suspend disbelief to thoroughly enjoy it. Although the sexual tension was steamy with a capital S and the love scene really worked for me I don't think those who dislike paranormals would appreciate the oddness of it. But if you like your books hot, love sensitive heroes and are looking for a very different type of storyline this book should hit the spot.
KISS OF THE BEAST is a major fantasy and I recommend it but only for other weirdo's like myself
Average customer rating:
- Very Nice Read
- Funny, sexy and poignant story of an unlikely couple
- Kathleen O'Reilly knows how to write a sexy book!
- Fiery, daring and often humorous -- Very highly recommended
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Just Kiss Me (Harlequin Temptation, 889)
Kathleen O'Reilly
Manufacturer: harlequin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0373259891 |
Customer Reviews:
Very Nice Read.......2004-10-24
JUST KISS ME by Kathleen O'Reilly, Tempt #889
I enjoy the writing of the Temptations more and I tend to buy more of that series now in addition to my favorite Harlequin Presents. JUST KISS ME is bascially about opposites attract. A straight lace, neat freak, workaholic female lawyer who wants to walk on the wild side with a rough around the edges bad boy Airplane Mechanic. This story was more of a romantic comedy with some pretty funny lines. My most memberable moment, however, is this really hot steamy love scene during a New York City subway ride, in a crowded train in broad day light. It was hard to imagine nobody on the train not noticing the heroine enjoying her.........ahem ........moment when she wanted to scream on top of her lungs!
Funny, sexy and poignant story of an unlikely couple.......2003-05-11
My first introduction to Ms O'Reilly's work was her (so far only) historical "Touched by Fire" which I absolutely adored! The author has a knack for creating likeable leads that you really care about and displays a lot of humour in her stories.
Dr Avery Barrington III simply takes it for granted that he and lawyer Amanda Sedgewick belong together and will marry someday - much to Amanda's consternation! Fond as she is of Avery, he's just not what she's looking for. Though they're both well-educated, successful professionals, she yearns to break out of her proper, dull world. And when all attempts to let Avery down easy fail (he just doesn't get it!) she resorts to deception. She ropes Avery's younger brother Joe into a "pretend" relationship - all the while hoping it will become all too real since Joe is really hot and a fling with him could be lots of fun!
Joseph Matthias Barrington has always felt like second-best next to Avery. He never got into the posh private schools or worked toward a professional career. Instead he's gone his own way and is now an airline mechanic. He always figured Amanda and Avery made the perfect couple, with so much in common. So when Amanda recruits him for her plan, he initially balks. Not until he is convinced that Amanda is sincere and Avery really is oblivious does he reluctantly agree to participate. The forced intimacy of pretending to date starts to awaken confused feelings and a strong sexual attraction between Joe and Amanda. But Joe feels Amanda is way out of his league - she's on the fast track to a partnership. He figures he'll never measure up, so why try? His feelings of inadequacy will touch your heart. But should Amanda feel guilty about being successful? Is there anyway for these two make it work?
An enjoyable, often funny and poignant story of a couple struggling with career, income and lifestyle issues that could tear any couple apart. I know Ms O'Reilly has more contemporaries on the way, which I welcome, but I also hope that there are also more historicals in her future - which seems awfully bright!
Kathleen O'Reilly knows how to write a sexy book!.......2002-08-16
Amanda Sedgewick likes Avery Barrington, but she doesn't love him. But for as long as she can remember, Avery has assumed that they would get married and have a family together, even though Amanda has tried to tell him that it isn't going to happen. She is desperate as nothing she does seems to discourage Avery, and she begs Avery's brother Joe to help. She thinks that Avery will finally back away from her if his brother is the other man. Amanda is also attracted to Joe, and is hoping if they spend some time together, he will return her feelings and they can have an affair.
Joe doesn't want to step into his brother's territory with the ultra-perfect Amanda. He thinks that Amanda and Avery make the perfect couple. But when he realizes that Amanda truly isn't interested and Avery doesn't understand that, Joe decides to play the knight and rescue her. He has no intentions of falling for Amanda, but their forced closeness as they play pretend boyfriend/girlfriend, has Joe realizing that he wants to do more than pretend.
Kathleen O'Reilly knows how to pen sexual tension. The pages practically vibrate with Joe's and Amanda's sexual energy. I loved this story-two people learning about who they really are by falling in love with the person they least expect to. This was one of those perfect reads. I look forward to many more books from Ms. O'Reilly.
Fiery, daring and often humorous -- Very highly recommended.......2002-08-06
Amanda Sedgewick enlists Joe Barrington's aid to dissuade his brother Avery. For twenty-one years Avery has assumed that he and Amanda will wind up together and refuses to believe her blatant discouragement. So Amanda hopes that involvement with younger brother Joe will send Avery packing, and perhaps lead to a bit of wild fun. After all, Amanda is not looking for a commitment, although a passionate affair with Joe would certainly fill her fantasies.
Amanda's cool looks have never caught Joe's eye. He likes his women hot and passionate. But her harebrained scheme regarding brother Avery replaces his misconceptions with expectations that exceed his wildest fantasies. Suddenly he finds himself swept away by her playful sensuality, inspired to become more than just Dr Avery Barrington's airline mechanic younger brother. Unfortunately, that inspiration can also lead to his downfall.
A message on a cocktail napkin transforms lives in Kathleen O'Reilly's newest romance JUST KISS ME. But don't let lively romantic romp fool you; O'Reilly understands the insecurities created by conflicting careers and lifestyles. The strength of this fabulous tale is its confrontation with contemporary challenges and values, and its ability to find a resolution without compromising the strengths of the characters. On one hand, Joe's determination to blaze his own path flags when he does not believe he is worthy of a wealthy lawyer on the fast track to partnership. On the other hand, Amanda treasures the spontaneity and freshness Joe brings to her life, loosening her inhibitions and allowing her to reevaluate priorities. Together their romance is fiery, daring and often humorous. Readers will be watching for a sequel as the proper brother Avery seeks his path to love. Very highly recommended.
Product Description
Megan Lambert can deal with her high pressure job as sales manager for an Atlanta radio station. She just can't handle her antagonism toward Josh Bennett, a major advertiser. Now he wants a meeting with her, and she doesn't know why. Josh is many thingspowerful, handsome, and arrogant...but predictable isn't one of them. Suddenly, Josh makes a demand that puts Megan's career on the line and sets the emotional stakes so high they send her reeling. She's about to enter a world of limos and luxury, deception and false hope...and games of passion that can break a woman's heart when the wild card is love...
Product Description
5 massmarket paperbacks Romance Titles By Sandra Brown - Heaven's Price - Shadows of Yesterday - Temptation's Kiss - Tomorrow's Promise - Prime Time
Average customer rating:
- They need a divorce attorney
- Seducing a Married Man?
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Kiss & Run (Harlequin Temptation, No. 1018)(24 Hours: The Wedding)
Barbara Daly
Manufacturer: Harlequin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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ASIN: 0373692188 |
Customer Reviews:
They need a divorce attorney.......2005-07-10
This is the only book I read where I thought the characters would need a divorce attorney before the end of the year.
Seducing a Married Man?.......2005-04-18
According to the back of the book:
-Buy a silky dress
-Get some lacy lingerine
-Practice on a married man?
A brief trip to Dallas for a wedding offers a veterinarian, Cecily Connaught, a chance to break her sexual dry spell & seduce a man. When she bumps into gorgeous Wil Murchison, she's ecstatic. The hunk from her past would be a perfect one-night stand, she tinks - until Cecily learns he's taken. What she doesn't realize , though, is Will ISN'T MARRIED! But he's using the misunderstanding to ensure he's the guy who fulfills sexy Cecily's needs......
Average customer rating:
- It doesn't stay dark for long.
- Imaginative and sexy
- A romance for those who know dreams CAN come true.
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Kiss In The Dark (Harlequin Temptation, No 514)
Tiffany White
Manufacturer: Harlequin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0373256140 |
Customer Reviews:
It doesn't stay dark for long........2003-01-22
Back Cover description: Brittany Astor wanted three things: to be beautiful, to marry Ethan Moss and to own a cat. The rare, expensive Bengal kitten was a possibility. Which led to her unexpected encounter with to man of her dreams. To earn extra money, the struggling book editor answered an ad to read aloud. Her employer wasn't the sweet little old lady she'd imagined but nasty, sexy Ethan. Nor was the notorious playboy exactly what Brittany had been fantasizing about for years. Temporarily blinded, Ethan was hiding himself away from the world. For timid, plain Britt this was her chance to have a hot and torrid fling with Ethan. But what about when fantasy time was over?
First, Brittany doesn't really come across as plain and timid. Second, she might be struggling, but not much. Third, some of the dialogue was erotic, but I think the author could have used something other than the school girl/principal theme. That's my objection and why I only gave it 3 stars.
Imaginative and sexy.......2002-09-06
The heroine is a book editor who answers an ad in the paper looking for someone to read out loud. When she arrives for the interview, she discovers that-- instead of the elderly person she is expecting-- the person she would be reading to is the rich gorgeous man who she's secretly had a crush on for years who has been blinded-- hopefully temporarily-- in a horse riding accident. Since he doesn't remember her clearly, the heroine takes a few liberties when describing herself, which makes her bold enough to share some sexy fantasies with him. Her playfulness makes him feel better and encourages him to go out in the world and deal with his blindness. But how will he react if he gets his sight back?
This is a fun, sexy book that explores fantasies, dreams, and reality.
A romance for those who know dreams CAN come true........1999-03-13
Rather than most romance novels, which usually stick to the same basic guidelines of mostly a very physical relationship, White uses mind play and games to give the reader a sense of fun and surprise. For anyone tired of the same old drivel, I highly recomend this book. Tiffany White's lead women are always strong and intelligent, and know how to get what they want! A Kiss in the Dark features a woman who has fallen for a gorgeous polo player who is both rich and well known. When he is temporarily blinded, she finds the opening she's been looking for. Sensuous mind play ensues, keeping the reader smiling, and anticipating every next move. A story well worth the read. It's a breath of fresh air for anyone who is tired of the same damsel in distress story line.
Amazon.com
The Cook and the Gardener is Amanda Hesser's first book. From the opening lines of its introduction, her literary gifts are as evident as her passion for good food. Since this work combines recipes with her essays about Monsieur Milbert (the gardener at the Chateau du Fey in Burgundy, where Hesser worked as the cook), readers get to enjoy both of her talents.
Hesser worked hard to get M. Milbert to talk with her. She shares the careful, deliberate way she wooed him, sometimes by bringing freshly baked bread to his less mobile wife, sometimes by holding back questions she wanted to ask, just to win his tolerance of her presence. Crusty, surly, and tradition-bound, he is the quintessential French peasant. Fortunately, Hesser--who is respectful and patient even when M. Milbert's stubborn ways exasperated her--knows he is an almost-vanished breed. None of his children, or anyone else, is likely to work as he has, continuing to live mainly off the land for nearly 60 years.
Each chapter covers a month, starting with March, when the nearly 400-year-old walled garden comes to life. Hesser talks about the garden, how she used the bounty gathered by M. Milbert, and muses on life in and around Burgundy. In September, "the rains seemed to clean off and illuminate the plants' colors ... everything seemed to wake up, as after a hot, cranky nap." The final tomatoes are harvested, as are the green and butter beans, with Milbert sneakily keeping the best for himself. Hesser visits a neighbor's Portuguese-style garden, as exuberant and vivid as Milbert's is restrained and disciplined. She cooks sautéed red snapper with tomatoes, fennel, and vermouth; makes a profound Tomato Consommé; and slow roasts tomatoes into meltingly tender mounds.
Sepia drawings by Kate Gridley add to the low-key charm of this information-packed work. (It even includes a history of purslane going back to the Middle Ages.)
The knowledge and maturity of this work belie Hesser's youth. Not yet 30 at the time of writing, she's a wise cook worth following. --Dana Jacobi
Book Description
Winner of the Best Book on France by a Non-French Writer Award at the Versailles Cookbook Fair; finalist for the Julia Child Award, the Gourmet Magazine Award, and "Best Cookbook of the Year" sponsored by IACP; and nominated in the international category of the KitchenAid Book Awards of the James Beard Foundation Awards. The unique, award-winning cookbook--a collection of seasonal recipes from a traditional French garden. A unique blend of stylish cookbook and earthy garden story, here is a collection of 250 recipes derived from a centuries-old French kitchen garden. The stunning debut of a lively new culinary voice, The Cook and the Gardener chronicles a year in the life of the walled kitchen garden at Chateau du Fey and its taciturn, resourceful, charmingly sly peasant caretaker. Using the fruits and vegetables harvested from Monsieur Milbert's garden, Amanda Hesser creates four seasons of recipes tied ineluctably to the land and the all-but-forgotten practices upheld by Milbert. Hesser's sublimely simple recipes--each with accessible ingredients and clear notes and instructions--also tell a story. They are a month-by-month record of the ingredients available to her, so that this cookbook also serves as an almanac for cooks. Special "Basics" sections at the opening of each season lay the culinary groundwork for the recipes that follow. Tips on how to buy, store, and prepare particular vegetables, fruits, and herbs are presented in margin notes to recipes. By bringing the kitchen closer to the garden, The Cook and the Gardener gives home cooks a new understanding of the produce they have on hand, whether from the supermarket, the farmer's market, or their own gardens. At the same time, it captures the quirky customs and wily wisdom of a vanishing way of life in provincial France.
Customer Reviews:
A Cookbook you can Read.......2007-03-14
Amanda Hesser is well known for her excellent food columns in the NY Times. A few years ago she spent 12 months working as cook for Anne Willan at the Chateau du Fey, a seventeenth century estate located in Burgundy, France.
This book is a narrative cookbook - part novel, part cookbook, part local history. It revolves around a year in the chateau garden, lovingly tended by the elderly, reticent Monsieur Milbert. We learn of his traditional gardening methods and way of life, read interesting snippets of folk lore and get a feel for the surrounding countryside. As the produce is grown, the cook (Amanda) devises recipes that best use the fresh, seasonal ingredients she is so lucky to have at hand. For her too, it is a time of learning about the seasons in the garden and the origins of the food she uses.
'The Cook and the Gardener' is a nice big hardback, my edition has 632 pages. It's very attractively laid out in earth tones, decorated throughout with sepia illustrations on good quality smooth, creamy paper. There is a little seasonal fruit or vegetable drawing at the top of each page, which makes you feel that each page is special. There are no photos but there are a few blank end papers which you could use for jotting down notes.
The book is divided into seasons and then there is a chapter for each month, starting with spring and the month of March. Each chapter starts with a few pages telling us what is happening in the garden and what M. Milbert is up to. Following this are about 20 indexed recipes for each month, many with introductory notes. These notes include anecdotes about shopping in the local markets, stories about the ingredients used in the recipes, cooking tips, gardening lore, serving suggestions and information on buying, storing and preparing produce. Most of the recipes look enticing and there is a good mixture of simple, traditional and modern recipes as well as basics such as stocks, sauces and preserves. Many of the recipes use fresh herbs and are influenced by Hesser's experience cooking in other countries such as Italy - olive oil, for example, often replaces butter. The recipes are inspired by the produce she found in Burgundy, rather than being traditional Burgundian cuisine.
The recipe for pumpkin soup in this book is fantastic, and it is forever being requested by friends and family. The flavor base is a lovely reduction of white wine and leeks. Other recipes that caught my eye include asparagus with tarragon vinaigrette, baby potatoes in hazelnut oil, green beans with cracked black pepper, sweet chestnut soup, pancetta-rosemary rolls, roast duck, peach marmalade, apple-walnut batard, sautéed figs with honey cream and dark chocolate rosemary soufflé. There are recipe for everyday ingredients such as chard, brussel sprouts, zucchini and cabbage, as well as recipes using uncommon ingredients such as purslane, persimmon and gooseberries. Whether you already like using fruit and vegetables as a delicious focus for a meal, or are interested in doing so for health reasons, this book has a lot of appeal. There are about 240 recipes all up.
Because of the chatty style, the recipes often start in the middle of a page and go over several pages, which is not ideal for cooking, especially as the book is too thick to fit into an average cookbook stand. There are no pictures of any of the recipes - the illustrations are all of the produce, the garden, the people or the local surrounds.
On the negative side, I felt that the author was actually looking down on M. Milbert - not about his wonderful gardening knowledge, but in regard to his personal habits, personality, hygiene and lifestyle. I don't think she meant this to show through, but it did. What is more, she did this while simultaneously exploiting him as a marketable character. Without the Milberts, the book could not have been written. I have to say that was the one thing in this book that struck a discordant note to me. In all other ways I really enjoyed it.
If you are interested in the Willans and their culinary school, please note that although the book is set on their estate, they are never mentioned. This does not detract in any way from the book.
This book is recommended for anyone who enjoys food writing, gardening, has in interest in France or enjoys cooking with fresh produce.
three joys.......2006-10-12
I love this book- I love all things french, gardening, and cooking. This was delightful and has been the source of many wonderful seasonal meals. I love Hesser's style and sense of fun.
Great addition to a delightful Genre. A foodie must read........2004-04-09
`The Cook and the Gardner' by the young culinary journalist who has added a thoroughly enjoyable chronicle of seasonal cooking and gardening to that very small niche of books joining horticulture with gastronomy. The only other recent volume in this very small corner of culinary writing is `The Arrows Cookbook', a work dealing with the vegetable and herb garden attached to a three season Maine restaurant.
Like some other recent books on French life, this book develops a picture of a disappearing phenomenon, the chateau kitchen garden in rural France, tended by a dedicated gardener living on the premises. The chateau and garden is in Burgundy, owned by the renowned Anne Willen, the culinary schoolmistress of La Varenne Pratique. Oddly enough, Madame Willen never appears in this story and her works are cited less frequently than authors with a more historical bent, led by references to works by Elizabeth David. Willen appears primarily as the author's employer. The author's mentor, rather, is the Italian culinary authority, Nancy Harmon Jenkins. It is completely fitting with the antiquity of the context that most references in the book's exceptional bibliography are to works in French and Italian which were published in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
The cook of the book's title is the author, herself. The gardener of the book is the garrulous, elderly (mid seventies) Monsieur Milbert who, with his wife, occupies the chateau's gatehouse and who works the chateau's traditional walled garden which appears to be a square of 50 meters or more to a side. The author's story begins in early spring and spans four full seasons at the Burgundy chateau kitchen where her `day job' is responsibility for meals served at the chateau for up to sixteen people at a sitting.
Monsieur Milbert on the face of it is a stock Hollywood movie character. He is very slow to warm to the young American interloper, in spite of the fact that they are colleagues in the employ of the same house. Eventually, of course, he begins working with Ms. Hesser and shares with her his thinkings on horticultural matters as she helps him with various tasks to work her way into his good graces. Unlike the Hollywood character, Monsieur Milbert never really breaks from his very, very provincial mindset. The gardener's horticultural practice is the oddest mix of superstition and practical experience. Almost every aspect of planting is governed by phases of the moon. Almost every expectation about future weather is based on a totally unscientific observation of unconnected phenomena. On the other hand, planting, pruning, weeding, and cultivating is based on sound wisdom gained from personal observation and hundreds of years of accumulated experience.
The culinary material in the book is ordered entirely by the season and by the location. In spite of the culinary pedigree of the landlord, the style of cooking appears to be derived less from `haute cuisine' than from `la cuisine Regionale'. The first clue is that there are very few references to drinking wine in the book. The only references to wine are as traditional ingredients to soups and braises. A sure sign that we are in Burgundy and not Provence is the fact that there are simply no recipes or even any references to eggplant.
Each season has its own section and introduction. For each season, there are recipes that are distinctive of the entire season. One of the most novel sets of recipes within this schema is the four seasonal recipes for stock. Spring opens with a stock based on beef bones. Summer contributes a vegetable stock. Autumn weighs in with a poultry stock (with a strict warning to not mix duck parts with other fowl). Winter completes the year with a return to a stock based on beef bones. On the matter of stocks, I am really happy to see Ms. Hesser rail against the stockpot as garbage collector for any odd piece of leftover gristle.
Within each season are three chapters on the three months in that season. Each month is represented by about a dozen recipes. Appropriate to the garden at the center of the story, most recipes are vegetarian and many meat dishes are based on chicken, game fowl, and rabbit. There are virtually no recipes for seafood, although there is some North African influence in the appearance of salt preserved lemons. The chapters also spend a lot of time with the kind of culinary work you would expect in a rural farm kitchen. A lot of space is dedicated to making preserves, pickles, and comfits. True to the very provincial environment, space is also dedicated to unusual fruits such as medlar and persimmon.
This is a culinary work which is meant to be read from cover to cover. If you have your own kitchen garden in US horticultural zones four through seven, you are bound to find the suggestions doubly enriching. If you are tied to a city apartment, you will still find plenty to enjoy. There is much to learn about cooking, but the real gold is in the battle between the French gardener and his neophyte cook comrade against the elements, to harvest truly magnificent seasonal vegetables.
A classic culinary read. Some advanced methods, but lots to learn from.
heart warming and mouth watering.......2003-01-29
I loved the way Amanda paints her world in words. The intricate way the garden and the kitchen dance with the seasons. I lived in Europe and consider my creative outlet my cooking and learned in Europe that shopping is a daily thing to be looked forward to. Only then will you know what will be on the dinner table. Nowadays you can get anything anytime. If you do this you lose the rhythm of the season and the foods. And the anticipation that comes with waiting until your favorite veggies appear in their newness. So in winter it's roots and herbs that last the seasons, and slow braising of meats. Spring is the bright sprightly asapargus and new greens. The soul soars. Ok I'm going overboard. But if you love to cook and feel the rhythms of life this book is for you.
Rare & Very Special.......2003-01-25
This is one of those books that you can't put down until you near the end, and then you force yourself to ration the remainder in small morsels and stoically put it down again to savor and prolong it before it's inevitable end. Seasons in the garden and the kitchen are inextricably intertwined and evocatively presented. After finishing Ms Hesser's novel I stumbled upon another book by Anne Willan, owner of the Chateau where the Cook and Gardener meet and grow in friendship. Don't miss Willan's book either, "Anne Willan: My Chateau Kitchen" which continues our travels into this magical setting and the cooking school (La Varenne) she operates there. Enjoy! Kathryn
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