Peter Rabbit's Cookery Book

This collection was ""suggested'' by foods mentioned in and pictures taken from the works of Beatrix Potter. Thus, among the 21 recipes are a good deal of tea-party fare, some porridges, four puddings (Hunca Munca's Rice Pudding, Tabitha Twitchit's Roly-Poly Pudding) and, of course, Peter Rabbit's salad. The recipes are clearly presented, with utensils in boldface, but as Emerson warns in her preface, the stove and knife work might be best accomplished by an adult. And in the recipes presented, there is workbeating egg whites and piping whipped cream, shredding cabbage and cutting lard into flour to make pastry. The British practice of designating ingredients by weight rather than by volume means a kitchen scale or a good translator is essential. Still, for those under the spell of the Peter Rabbit books, it's a fetching selection, if not the best primer. (58)