friederike's Reviews
Cookbook Reviews
Snowflakes and Schnapps
By Jane Lawson
Murdoch Books - 2010
I haven't cooked from this book yet, so I can't review it properly, but a few things have definitely caught my attention:
1. For most of the recipes, you will need lots and lots of time; for many recipes, you will need a big budget as well. Veal and lamb are all over the place; there are a lot of recipes for game; also truffles and foie gras have been featured.
2. It's a very impersonal book. I don't think the author directs a single word to the reader. Not a word where a recipes comes from or why she chose them. Basically, it's just a more or less random collection of recipes.
3. It's great as a coffee table book - the photos are beautiful!
4. The layout is less great for cooking, especially if you have difficulties reading under less than perfect circumstances - the text is light grey on a white background. Whoever came up with this idea must have forgotten that a cookbook needs to be used.
Edited 26 January 2014:
I've made four recipes since; nearly all of them were quite nice. But it has been very difficult to choose a recipe that is actually doable in both effort and budget.
In set-up, it's very comparable to Roast Figs, Sugar Snow. Both books are very nice, but if I had to choose, I'd choose Roast Figs, Sugar Snow, just because it has so many more useable recipes, it's more personal, and it's a lot easier to read! Unless you are actually looking for something fancy (ie. for Christmas dinner), then Snowflakes and Schnapps might be more what you're looking for - but expect to spend a lot of time in the kitchen!