1 comments about Best of the Best: The Best Recipes From the 25 Best Cookbooks of the Year (Best of the Best: Best Recipes from the 25 Best Cookbooks of the Year).

1. I love these books so much I've bought 7 of them. Tremendous value - especially when you can buy this book series in near mint condition for < $1.00.
   
   This book has opened up exposure to a lot of new books, cooks and flavorings. Wonderful.

5 comments about Luscious Berry Desserts.

1. I've given all Lori Longbotham's Luscious books to my sister in North Carolina, who really likes to bake (and she's mad about lemons, so that's how our tradition got started). She made the blueberry cheescake first, and her whole family loves it. The berry title really appealed to me too because I love fruit, and berries seem to be the only kind of fruit I can really depend on anymore to be consistently tasty. I was glad to see this book includes recipes for frozen berries, too, which I have found to be quite good, easy to come by, and inexpensive. I tried the Strawberry crumble first, which uses fresh strawberries and hazelnuts--it was so easy to make and so good. Anybody, of any age, would love it. Next time I'm going to try adding the crystallized ginger Lori suggests. That's a great idea. The book is full of great ideas. (The banana whipped cream IS great on fresh strawberries.) This Luscious Berries book and the Luscious Chocolate book pair very well--MY two favorite dessert choices.



2. This book covers a wide variety of recipes using berries. The directions are simple and easy to follow and the three recipes I've tried so far all turned out very well. Whether you want to make berry ice cream, sauce or a crisp, you'll find what you want here.



3. Luscious Berry Desserts, as the title suggests, is full of tempting berry desserts. Most of the desserts feature strawberries, raspberries, or blueberries. A few feature blackberries or other more unusual berries, that even I have not heard of before this book.
   
   There is a rather lenghthy introduction that goes over different types of berries and other ingredients, tips on how to buy, store, and use berries in cooking, as well as equipment information and tips for other cooking methods used.
   
   The rest of the book is devoted to recipes, most with photos. The recipes are divided into seven chapters.
   
   In the first chapter, Cakes, there are only four recipes. Three of them are quite innovative, including a rosemary, rose, and blackberry cake.
   
   In the second chapter, Pies, Tarts, and A Cheesecake, there are seven recipes, four for tarts, two for pies, and as the title suggests, one for a cheesecake. These recipes are more traditional then the ones from the Cakes chapter, but just as yummy. Included are a innovative raspberry truffle tart and a more classical blueberry pie.
   
   Despite their being only four cake recipes, Ms. Longbothom has managed to devote an entire chapter to Shortcakes with eight recipes. Recipes include such temptations as hazelnut shortcake with caramel berries, which is photographed on the cover, blueberry ginger shortcake, and strawberry and basil shortcakes.
   
   The next chapter, entitled; A Crisp, Flummery, Cobbler, Grunt, Buckle, and Betty, has six recipes, once of each mentioned dish, including a strawberry-hazelnut crisp.
   
   The next chapter, which is one of my favorites, is Puddings and a Souffle. Nine recipes are included and include recipes such as English summer pudding and strawberry creme fraiche panna cotta.
   
   There is then Frozen Berry Desserts, which features five recepies, including two for ice cream, and a recipe for a blackberry and raspberry semifreddo.
   
   The final chapter is Sauces, Toppings, Creams and a Truffle. There are ninteen recipes for sauces, whipped creams, and other recipes neeeded throughout the book.
   
   The only reason I gave this book four stars is due to its size, which makes it difficult to use, and on a lesser scale,the script font used for each recipe name, which is difficult to read. Otherwise this is a fantastic cookbook.



4. I bought this book along with Luscious Lemon Desserts and couldn't be happier. Both have a nice range of ideas, and those ideas don't tend to call for exotic ingredients. Everything I've made so far has come out perfect.



5. I love the anticipation of berry season in Arkansas. As I flip through the pages of cook books and magazines for ideas, Luscious Berry is like visiting an old friend. The book automatically opens Double-Crust Blueberry pie I can't count the number of times I have made it the pages are stained with berry juice and sugar. I do admit I have used store bought crust more times than not, in an effort to whip up something in a pinch, but making your own crust definitely makes it that much more delicious. I'm such a fan of Lori's work, because she is passionate about developing consistent recipes that highlight quality ingredients, that are easily executed by the experienced home cooks.

5 comments about Buttercup Bakes at Home: More Than 75 New Recipes from Manhattan's Premier Bake Shop for Tempting Homemade Sweets.

1. As much as I love Buttercup's baked goods, the recipes here represent a different class of sweets that won't be found in their stores, with the exception of their chocolate cake recipe. And why wasn't that included in the first book?? I for one would have preferred the chocolate cake to that insulting recipe on how to make Rice Krispies Treats.
   
   Moving past this gross oversight, a lot of the cake recipes here focus on her favorite flavors: almonds, berries, bananas, and random liqueurs. Pumpkin and gingerbread make prominent appearances. Clearly she wrote this book in the fall. If you don't like a lot of these flavors, this is a book to skip for sure. For a person who claims to love chocolate at one point in the book, Appel sure is stingy on chocolate based recipes.
   
   There are a ton of quick breads, pound cakes, and pie/tart recipes. I just don't care about a lot of that stuff -- you'd think a bakery that sells mostly cakes and a few icebox pies would focus on their strengths. Instead, half of the book is filled with recipes that haven't been tested on her customers. Why would I trust her Cranberry Tea Loaf if she hasn't sold any of it? Does adding Lipton tea to a bread sound at all appetizing?
   
   There are a few true knockouts in this book that you can't get anywhere else. The Orange Almond cake in this book might be the best cake I've ever had -- you might consider buying this book on this recipe alone, it's that good. And those black and white cupcakes another reviewer mentioned are pretty tasty.
   
   If you're buying this book just because you like Buttercup's baked goods and want to make them at home, stick with the original book or Magnolia's. This book really doesn't supplant the original books that started the American cupcake craze.



2. I have only tried one recipe so far, the brownies on the cover. Everyone loved them. Anxious to try more.



3. All the receipes are decadent. I can't make anything and keep it around the house since I gravitate towards it constantly. I do like to make the receipes and take over to friends and family for potluck dinners or make a batch of something for a treat for my co-workers. So far everything prepared out of this cookbook has been a big hit.



4. I love baking and am rather obsessed with cook books - hence why I own over 80! I'm always on the look out for great books and the reason why I bought this one was because I know that the author was once a co-owner of the famous Magnolia Bakery in New York and thought that this book may contain their secret recipes..
   
   But after reading through it and attempted several cake and cookie recipes, I must admit that I feel rather disappointed with this book. Firstly, a lot of the recipes contained within this book (and the original Buttercup Bakeshop cook book) are, or almost, IDENTICAL to the ones found in the 2 Magnolia Cook books! I mean, no wonder.. if they both came up with the winning recipes together, why wouldn't Jennifer Appel (the author) use the recipes in her books too? So if you already own Magnolia cook books, I'd say don't bother buying this one because they're almost inter-changeable.
   
   Secondly, although there're some very interesting recipes in this book, I don't think that there're that many that I'd really like to try at home. And the ones that I have didn't really turn out that great. Don't get me wrong, the recipes DID work and the results looked good and they were all edible and ok, but it really didn't live up to my high expectation. To be honest, I don't think that their cupcakes or other yummy goodies are that amazing, I've tried other recipes from other books and they produced much more mouth-watering results.
   
   Also, note that all the measurements are American (US cups) but you can easily convert them into metric measurements by using the charts provided at the back of the book.
   
   In conclusion, this book will give you some good ideas and produce good (but not great!) results. The recipes are relatively easy to follow (if you stick CLOSELY to the book!) and doesn't call for many hard-to-find ingredients - although beware of the amount of sugar and butter that they ask for! It may not help you to produce the best cakes and desserts, but will surely keep you entertained if you want to bake but don't have too much time. A good addition to your cook book collection.



5. I LOVE TO BAKE AND THIS BOOK HAS SOME GREAT RECIPES. THE RECIPES ARE EASY TO FOLLOW, SO IF YOU HAVE SOME BASIC BAKING KNOWLEDGE, YOU'LL ENJOY THIS BOOK. MOST OF THE RECIPES CALL FOR INGREDIENTS THAT ONE WOULD NORMALLY HAVE ON HAND.

5 comments about The Art of the Cake: Modern French Baking and Decorating.

1. A very infromative and user friendly book giving ingredient measurements in volume, imperial and metric quantities.



2. I borrowed this book from the local library. One of the previous patrons must have been a religious nut because there is a picture of the cake Lucifer, with the following description and recipe. Yes, Lucifer. All the Lucifer words were crossed with a black pen. Some people....
   On the other hand, Lucifer is only one of the many excellent descriptions and recipes of French cakes. It is definitely ten times better than the American Devil's Food (I hope that religious nut got fat out of eating this!)



3. I purchased this book as a gift and it truly is a beautiful book indeed. The cakes are fantastic and recipes are understandable and easy to replicate. If you love to bake or know of an aspiring chef, this book is very worth while and is a great addition to any cookbook collection.



4. The pages are dull except the pictures. They need to be improved in term of the way they are written orf formatted.



5. I love this book! Not only are the recipes clearly written, but the pictures are beautiful. Just paging through the pictures reminds me of Saturday morning trips to the bakery in France with my dad (who still believes that eclairs are NOT for breakfast...WRONG). I want to go into the kitchen and start baking each time I open this book. Every year I make a buche de noel for Christmas; this year I may have to consider making one for Thanksgiving as well just to be able to try more variations. I'm sorry this has fallen out of print, as it's a great reference for really beautiful, classic, French style cakes.

No comments about A World of Cake: From honey cakes to flat cakes, fritters to chiffons, meringues to mooncakes, tartes to tortes, fruit cakes to spice cakes, 150 recipes ... traditions from cultures around the world.

3 comments about Mantra: The Rules of Indulgence.

1. this book takes an unusually ingredient-centric approach to cooking: each recipe is focused on a single ingredient, and the book itself is broken down into sections like "herbs," "flowers," and so on. i actually like this, because it helps you focus on the flavors and range of that ingredient. each recipe also features a short paragraph about the cultural history of the showcased ingredient; these make for good reading while waiting for the pot to boil. in all, the book is quite easy to read, and the few recipes i've tried were not that difficult to pull off. there's also a ton of really nice pictures, which is always a plus and takes the guesswork out of plating.



2. Chef and author Jehangir Mehta has created memorable desserts and dishes at his new Manhattan food and wine bar Graffiti, and here offers some of his original flavor fusions for readers interested in different variations on themes. From Turmeric Yorkshire Pudding to a Basil Cocktail and Fragrant Fennel Brittle, East meets West in a truly original pairing of tradition and modernity: perfect for collections specializing in international fusion cookbooks.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



3. the Mantra cookbook is innovative and creative in their use of ingrediants and preparation. Delightfully inspiring!

2 comments about I Love Dessert but NOT Sugar, Wheat, Milk, Gluten, Corn, Soy, Unhealthy Fat....

1. The Queen of the Rotation Diet has done it again! In her latest book, Nicolette Dumke has created many dessert options for those that struggle with food allergies, sensitivities, intolerance, and celiac disease. She begins by offering helpful tricks to make dessert-making easy, and explains all the of ingredients (she also includes a section to help you locate those ingredients that may be a bit unusual). The next 200+ pages are filled with treat after treat with many different variations provided to suit a combination of dietary restrictions. I own and use many special diet cookbooks, and I can honestly say that this one gave me many new ideas.
   
   I first tried the Traditional Apple Cobbler with Amaranth Topping. Sweetened with only apple juice concentrate, it was delicious and comforting...and it passed the test with my husband who does not have dietary restrictions! Then I made the Quinoa Chocolate Chip Cookies. Knowing that quinoa is a "super food" that can provide key nutrients to the GF diet, I wanted to see how it performs in a dessert recipe. These cookies also turned out great - I'm not saying they were exactly like "real" chocolate chip cookies, but they had a wonderful texture, great flavor, and satisfy a sweet tooth without refined sugar. My husband polished these off as well! My next experiment was the Banana Bread made with millet. YUM! This is absolutely fantastic in both taste and texture...I haven't shared it yet!
   
   I'm definitely not done trying creations from this book - I've got my eye on the no grain pie crust made with coconut, the buckwheat brownies, and the various frosting possibilities. There is a chapter dedicated to recipes "especially for guests," ie dishes that you could serve others because they likely won't be able to tell that they are made with alternative grains/seeds and sweeteners. I think this is a very nice touch.
   
   Although this cookbook does not contain pictures, I highly recommend it. Pictures would just take up space and probably jack the price way up. If you are interested in lots of different options, this book is for you. Dumke has clearly tested her recipes for taste and texture. She knows her stuff! As someone with celiac disease and multiple food sensitivities, I'm thrilled to be able to make great-tasting desserts, most of which have a decent amount of nutritional value.



2. Before Nicolette's book actually arrived, I made her Traditional Apple Cobbler with Amaranth Topping - I saw the recipe on a blog. If you've never had amaranth, it has a distinctly delicious earthy flavor. This was the first time I'd ever eaten amaranth. I took a bite, wasn't sure if I liked it, took another bite, and thought, hmm...this is good. It's different, but it's good. And I felt good after I ate it. I was, however, confused as to why she chose this particular flour given that it's flavor takes some getting used to.
   
   After spending some time with Nicolette's book, I could clearly see that her intention was to create not just one version of a recipe, but multiple versions so that regardless of your food allergy, you could find a recipe that works for you. She has not just one cobbler topping but ten - so if you can't eat buckwheat you have 9 other options for a delicious cobbler topping. Genius.
   
   This recipe is not just a cookbook - it educates the reader about flours, how to work with them, and even how to trouble-shoot some of the trickier issues when cooking for food allergies. Options abound in this book - including sweeteners. She uses variety of healthier products, including agave, juice concentrates, steiva, date sugar, and fruit sweet. She gives tips for eating well while maintaining a healthy weight, too, and discusses which sweeteners are best suited for certain goals or health conditions, such as diabetes.
   
   Not every recipe is gluten-free, as this book addresses the entire range of food sensitivities. I think it's what I love most about this book - if you have food sensitivities of any sort there is something in here that will work for you.
   
   More than anything, though, what struck me is how deeply Nicolette cares about helping others find the right foods for them and helping them to live a full life, including fabulous food that is nourishing and delicious.
   
   I've made her carrot cookies, which I find myself thinking about from time to time. I also love her Amaranth Carob Brownies. My husband, who has no need for dietary restrictions, came back for seconds and thirds. These don't taste like your traditional brownie - but they are oh-so-good.
   
   
   Also, she uses a loaf pan to bake these in so you can make a smaller amount at a time - which works for me because there's only two of us. I left them out for a couple of days and the leftovers went in the freezer, which after 20 seconds in the microwave taste like they're fresh out of the oven.
   
   I am happy to have Nicolette's book as a resource and guide in the kitchen.

3 comments about Ice Carving Made Easy (Hospitality, Travel & Tourism).

1. The author makes good use of templates and photographs, however the written instructions are very vague and not very helpful.(i.e. carve the head, shape the wing, etc.)



2. From a realistic point of view, the book doesn't help a whole lot. Unless you are a japanese master, you will struggle with the vague instructions. The pictures are very nice, but that's about it.



3. I am just thankfull that I personally didn't have to cough up the forty someodd bucks paid for this. The title should read "Money from an Ice Carving Book - Made Easy". Some nice pictures, but zero substance. Most of the template drawings are not even in the proper ratio for a 300lb carving block. And how about this for step by step instruction: 1. Prepare your graph 2. Lay the ice on a piece of Styrofoam. 3. With a saw, remove any ice not required. 4. Shape out the tail and wings. 5. Smooth out the detail. 6. Finish the base. That's it! No kidding! Real helpful eh?! I guess the best way to learn to carve ice is to just get ice and practice. This book certainly isn't going to give you any help, tips or secrets - that's for sure!

5 comments about The Weekend Baker: Irresistible Recipes, Simple Techniques, and Stress-Free Strategies for Busy People.

1. Abigail Dodge is a wonderful teacher and baker, and every recipe I've tried from this book has been wonderful and gotten rave reviews from all tasters. It happens to be a great favorite of mine, would recommend it to anyone wanting to treat friends and family with something delicious.



2. I like this book a lot because it tells how to make the recipes
   as time permits then put them together later. Useful for a busy person.



3. I love this book. I've tried several recipes from it and they all turned out great. First I borrowed it from the library, then quickly decided to purchase my own copy. What I like most about this book is the measurements by weight in addition to measurements by volume. This way I can use my digital scale which is faster than using measuring cups. I also find that baking with precise weight measurements more often yields successful baked goods than those recipes with volume measurements only. The author herself is a super nice lady. I have corresponded with her on numerous occasions and she has always been very helpful in lending help and advice. I give this book two thumbs up.



4. I love to bake, and spent 27 years as a SAHM, giving me plenty of time to whip up complicated recipes. Then I got a job, and baking suddenly became a luxury at best, a chore at worst. When I found the weekend baker I was so happy. Baking became doable again.
   
   The recipes are well laid out, clearly written, and I appreciate the measurements being in cups and spoons/oz/grams. I find when I get out the scale and use grams all my baking recipes turn out to be more reliable.
   
   The first part of the book gives a lot of good information on how to be a weekend baker, from timing to organization to needed equipment.
   
   Yeah yeah, that's all nice, but what about the recipes? I cook and bake for three guys, and myself.
   
   The prescription brownies are incredible, deeply chocolate, very satisfying.
   
   One pot chocolate chips are great cookies. They really use two pots, but they are so good the extra pot is worth it.
   
   Emergency blender cupcakes are fun and easy to whip up.
   
   My 24 year old son made the toffee nut wedges. Those were a huge hit.
   
   There hasn't been a failure yet, and I'm looking forward to making even more recipes on the weekend.



5. Abigail is the real deal--she's a fine writer and a wonderful baker. The recipes I've sampled from this book to date have all been superb. My 11-year old daughter made her angel food cake yesterday, and it was a hit. Though she had a bit of supervision from her Mom, most of the recipes in this book are not only straightforward, but supplemented with a good amount of extra guidance, virtually guaranteeing a perfect result. I thought I could do no better than her "Prescription Strength Brownies," which are the Platonic ideal of moistness combined with chocolatey richness...then I had her "Butterscotch Congos" and achieved a state of Zen-like ecstasy..Other faves have been the Classic Crumb Cake, Glazed Cinammon Rolls, and her Mousse Cake. I wish I could emulate "Julie" and go through this book, one recipe a day, but its already dangerous enough--I will tackle these amazing recipes at a slightly more reasonable pace!

5 comments about The Art of Chocolate: Techniques and Recipes for Simply Spectacular Desserts and Confections.

1. This book has a few simple recipes that are worth making for your family and friends. Some are a little more complex but it has great source of facts.



2. A good general-purpose book on chocolate truffles and cakes. Photography is great. Content covers chocolate tempering techniques in good detail. Very creative and inspirational book.



3. To be fair, I have not attempted any recipes in this book, but after going through it, I am very disappointed by the lack of pictures. I like my cookbooks to have a picture of each recipe so I can see what I am making and to ensure that the results are as intended. This book has some pretty complex sounding recipes (such as making birds out of chocolate) with no pictures to give you an idea what your finished product is supposed to look like. In my opinion there are many other chocolate cookbooks out there with the same types of recipes that do give you pictures of most every recipe.



4. During a candy show in Atlantic City,NJ, I met the author of this book. Her demos at the show were included in her book, so that was very special.
   As a newly graduate of the baking and pastry program at Atlantic Cape Community College, I am very interested in temperoring and molding chocolate. My daughter will be getting married this year and I can't wait to make many of the cakes and cookies for all the celebrations this year.



5. Love the book, is full of easy to follow techniques and good recipes, a good addition to a chocolate lover library.