4 comments about The Only Bake Sale Cookbook You'll Ever Need: 201 Mouthwatering, Kid-Pleasing Treats.

1. This cookbook has 23 recipes for rice krispie treats! I had no idea one could be so creative with rice krispies. There are sections for bars, brownies, breads, cupcakes, by the slice, candy and then holiday tables.
   
   There are suggestions for setting up tables for your bake sale, publicizing your bake sale, figuring out how much you need as well as transporting tips. There are no pictures so you'll have to know yourself what the final product should look like. All recipes are tried and true so you can't fail with this bake sale cookbook.
   
   Most are simple to make and don't require tons of fondant or almond paste so any home cook could make these recipes without a big investment. I would have liked to have seen a section on the frugal bake sale treats, you know those that could be made with minimal cash outlay. But you'll just have to figure out what you have on hand already and that's the cheapest way to go.
   
   Good luck and have a happy bake sale.



2. This book has some great recipes! Everything I've cooked so far has been a crowd pleaser. I got a copy for my Mother too.



3. Has many Recipes that are easy but I sure look fantastic when finished. I have made a few of them and they have all turned out well. I only wish there were pictures. Those are always a help.



4. I just tried the recipe for the Best Vanilla Cupcakes and I am extremely disappointed. I am an experienced enough baker to realize that some extra form of liquid was missing from this recipe, yet I forged ahead, wanting to try the recipe "as written". Well, "as written" produced a batter that was very much like cookie dough, and, scooped into cupcake tins, yielded 12 sugar-cookie-like globs of disappointment, not the 24 "light" and perfect cupcakes that were promised to me. Don't waste your money on this one...there are far better cookbooks of this type available.

No comments about Best Ever Three & Four Ingredient Cookbook: 400 Fuss-Free and Fast Recipes - Breakfasts, Appetizers, Lunches, Suppers and Desserts Using Only Four Ing.

1 comments about The Serendipity Cookbook: The Best from New York's Incredible Dessert Emporium.

1. Great Book! Love the original recipes and folklore. Had been searching for the original book (now I had all 3 this being the very first) for a long time in good condition. Gracious seller, great price, very patient, heard all my questions, made certain it was the right copy for me, more importantly for my gift recipient who is a big fan. We have all benefitted from my gifting of this book, trust me, yum!!

No comments about Cooking Light Desserts Cookbook.

5 comments about Making Great Gingerbread Houses: Delicious Designs from Cabins to Castles, from Lighthouses to Tree Houses.

1. Most gingerbread houses are though of as a few pieces of flat cookie glued together with a miracle morter, and decorated to suit the Christmas holiday only to last as long as the oooh!s and aaaah!s. You might have a few Hansel or Gretel types who dare to pick a small chunk off for tasting which inevitable tarnishes the entire effect that you worked so hard to acchieve.This book pushes the ideas beyond the four walls and wheat chex roof to a area that allow imagination to swell. Dare to be different! Add a windowbox, a corn flake tree or a pretzel fence. Go from hoping to get past beginner stage and start assembling like a pro and decorating like a designer. It'll be too pretty and fabulous to nibble on!



2. I checked this book out at the library after my first gingerbread house turned out just "okay", nothing stellar. The ideas and photographs so excited me that I after renewing it, then receiving a library overdue notice, I finally purchased it. The number of plans are limited, but for a house lover and frustrated would-be architect like me who would rather make original designs, this is perfect. Recipes are excellent. I have no regrets.



3. Gave this as a gift and the recipient's seemed to enjoy it. The true test will come next holiday season when they try to make a house!



4. I bought this book years ago in the hope of one day making my own house from scratch because I thought it would give me plenty of patterns to choose from. Unfortunately, now that I am ready to build a house from this book, I find that the patterns in the back are only partial patterns. For example, there is a cottage with a miller's wheel. The pattern in the back tells you only how to cut out the wheel - not the rest of the house. There is a wedding chapel. The pattern in the back tells you only how to make the bell tower. No dimensions anywhere so that you could figure out your own pattern. Just pictures. I'm very disappointed - if you want ideas for decorating, it's great, but if you want patterns, buy another book. This book contains only one complete pattern.



5. This book is great: full color photos of the houses, and good directions. Great for both first-time and experienced GB house makers. The cover makes it look like the book contains only non-traditional GB houses, but there are indeed several more traditional-style houses and decoration ideas in the book (as well as plenty of non-traditional/unique houses).

5 comments about The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern.

1. The publication is well designed and the recipes are easy to read and follow, however there aren't any dessrts that couldn't be found in any number of dessert books at a much cheaper price.



2. LOVE this cookbook. Fleming is a genius at marrying flavor and form. I've made the Cherry Cheesecake Tart with a Red Wine Glaze several times, substituting strawberries for cherries and other variations, and I just love it. I made it for my Wine Club when we tried Syrahs and I used one for the glaze. A knock-out. Such an elegant dish -- one of so many that really wow. The tart's texture is just beautiful and it carries the flavor perfectly.
   
   I'm dying to make the Tamarind-Glazed Mango Napoleons.
   
   This is a really innovative and imaginative cookbook. Delicious, modern combinations and techniques. Highly recommended. GREAT gift, because the recipient will have to make you something delicious!



3. I am a professional Italian pastry chef; this book is the one I use the most at work. I take recipes here and there and figure out if there is a way to make them Italian. This book is very valuable to me because every recipe works perfectly. In a restaurant, we don't have time to re-make something that doesn't come out correctly. I never have to worry about the recipes being off or having to adjust anything to make them come out right. The greatest thing about the book is that she wrote it in the order of the seasons, which comes in very handy for me. She explains everything in such an eloquent yet simple manner... I highly recommend this book to anyone that likes to make their own desserts. I have read a ton of dessert cookbooks and this one has impressed me the most. The buttermilk panna cotta is fantastic, along with the goat cheese mascarpone cheesecake.



4. Recipes work - including the citrus tuiles. Loved the espresso/orange panna cotta. Also the pernod-orange sorbet. Helps to have some knowledge of baking/cooking. The suggestions at the end of recipes add another dimension - also a plus in this book. So far every combination has the "wow" factor - and the recipes are not very complicated. I rarely buy retail, but this is one cookbook that is worth every penny.



5. Those who know Claudia and have had the pleasure of sampling her desserts know they're in for a treat when they purchase this cookbook. Not only is the book beautiful, it is very user-friendly and magnificently creative. I truly feel like an all-star chef when I make one of her creations. Although I think the book is worth spending the extra money on, $800 is ludicrous. I purchased it directly from Fleming's current restaurant in Southold, NY called The North Fork Table & Inn. It was only $50!!! IF you ever find yourself on Eastern Long Island you would be in culinary heaven dining there.

5 comments about Dessert Circus at Home: Fun, Fanciful, And Easy-To-make Desserts.

1. Despite the proliferation of photos of a professionally coiffed jacques Torres, this is not another ego book by a professional chef. This book is filled with wonderful recipes specifically selected because they are well-suited to the home cook. They range from fairly complex but doable creations to simple tips on how to improve common desserts. The instructions are easy to follow, and Torres is an entertaining and helpful author. Many of the recipes are designed to appeal to children, a real plus for parents who cook.



2. Cooking and baking is one of my passions and so it goes that watching cooking shows on TV instead of movies is the norm in my TV room. Jacques became one of my favorite chefs the moment I began watching his show during FoodTV's Chocolate week in February. I found myself watching with child-like delight as I watched him pour chocolate on the counter and into molds, making chocolate making look like child's play so I knew I had to order his books.

   Desert Circus at Home is my favorite baking book. The recipies are fun and easy, ranging from simple basics to fairly complex.
   Buy this book and I'll bet you'll have all the pages covered with chocolate finger prints in no time at all because you will want to make all the recipies as soon as you open the pages. The recipies are foolproof if you have any experience in the kitchen at all.




3. Well, I must have said that I bought this book mainly because of Jacques Torres. However, after reading through the book as well as baking some of the desserts in the book. I must have said that this is one of the best dessert books that won't disappoint any reader. The dessert comes out and tastes as good as the look of it. The crust of my pie is flaky. The sauces taste great. Even though some of the reviewers said that it is too basic, I think that basic is all there is to a great dessert. Once you have learned the basic, you can adapt the recipe to make something spatacular.



4. Torres is a force for pastry! His energy, creativity and enthusiasm for his passion is contagious!

   Here his goal is to provide home cooks with American desserts that are manageable both from technique and ingredient view.

   It begins with great basics section including terms, equipment, ingredients, and then basic building blocks e.g. pastry cream and apricot glaze.

   Then on to recipe sections on such as Tarts, Cakes, Breads, Holiday extraveganzes, etc.

   These are not too unusual of recipes, just good basics which most everyone can master given commitment to follow his well done instructions with many sketches and photos, and always a full-colored photo of the finished dish. There is even a whole section devoted to kids enjoying this type of baking, with recipes geared just for them to try with the folks help of course.

   I especially enjoyed "Paul Bocuse Papillotte", "Lemon Upside Down Cake", "9C Muffins", and the "Caramel Walnut Souffle."

   This is a good starting point for many into this arena of fun for one's own consumption and for giving.




5. I bought this book and haven't even started to really dig INTO it, but i just wanted to say that upon first glance, this book seems as down to earth as jacque himself. i had the opportunity to meet him last week in New York, and he's just opened his second bakery, in downtown manhattan. i've watched his shows, but i can't believe how friendly of a person he is - he is the same offscreen as he is onscreen! i'm going to start going through these recipes, and i can't wait!

No comments about Decorating Cupcakes, Cakes & Cookies.

4 comments about The Ultimate Cheesecake Cookbook.

1. I had high hopes when I bought this cookbook simply because it bills itself as THE ultimate cheesecake cookbook. Heck, I bought it without even browsing through it! It's easy enough to read: directions on how to make a perfect cheesecake, pointers to remember, etc. There are also sections for baked, non-baked and other people's favorite cheesecakes. The book's drawback is that it has NO PICTURES - not one (save for the one on the cover). For a cookbook especially, pictures are what urge and inspire the reader to try the recipe. Secondly, the recipes for the no-bake cheesecakes are (almost) the same as the baked ones. No fair! Do buy this book if you're just starting to make cheesecakes -the book will be a good guide. But if you're familiar with making cheesecakes, this book will only bore you with its lack of variety.



2. I listen to Joey Reynolds radio show out of Fresno (we live in the Sierras up north) and have heard him talk about cheescakse for months. And my family likes cheesecake, especially tofu and other lower fat types. Like Reviewer Lori Baltazar from Manila, Philippines it is surprising that a cook book lacks photos of what an item might at least look like.

   Thus this isn't a cheesecake cookbook that I would recommend for anyone other than a cook who knows their way around a kitchen and has some major self confidence and has made cheescakes from other recipes from other books.




3. I love to make desserts, especially cheesecake but before I bought this book I had only attempted 1. Now I can't stop making them. I thought the book provides good directions and has a lot of helpful hints on the right and wrong of cheescake making. The only negative is that there are only so many recipes and those are limited. But on the flip side I think this book provides a good foundation for branching out to try your own recipes.



4. Most of these recipes are not just unappealing...they are disgusting. A salmon cheesecake?..... Not what I would serve to guests. Not a single photograph between the covers. A lot of no skills no bake cheesecake, & muffins. Buy another book by another author.

1 comments about Coffee Cafe: 80 Delicious Recipes from Classic Cappuccinos to Dessert Coffees.

1. This book is Great! For coffee lovers, this book has a multitude of fun tasty recipes, ranging from a hot cup in the morning to cool nights, hot joe; from elegant to fun festive, adult cups. Do not miss this. This is greatness in a cup.