2 comments about Old-Fashioned Homemade Ice Cream: With 58 Original Recipes.

1. This is a very good book. it teaches u how to make ice cream in several differenet ways. some of them were so good i ate at least 10 of them. this book is also good 'cause its cheap.



2. This isn't a fancy book with color photos, in fact the only color photo is on the cover, but it does contain some good old fashioned recipes. There are many variations presented for chocolate and vanilla ice creams, some not requiring any cooking. There are exotic treats such as caramel, banana chocolate, maple walnut and even butterscotch royal ice cream. There's even ice cream recipes that are based on instant pudding and one on jello!

   The author covers a brief history of ice cream and covers each of the main ingredients as well as why they're needed.

   Negatives:

   All of the recipes make about a gallon so you'll have to size them down if your machine can't handle a full gallon. Luckily Ice Cream recipes can be successfully sized down.

   Many of the recipies do require cooking of some sort.

   Also some recipes use "rennet tablets" something that I'm not familiar with.

   ----------- Overall this is a good basic book with some unique ice creams at a fantastic price.

5 comments about Semi-Homemade Desserts.

1. What a great book - haven't tried any desserts yet but have checked out some recipes and they all seem fool-proor...perfect!



2. I am a big Sandra Lee fan. I now tape her show daily and try a lot of her recipes. I like her mainly because she caters to those of us that want great tasting food and desserts that don't take all day to make and don't have a lot of ingredients. This dessert book is really versatile, there are desserts for everyone. I have to say that the desserts that I like best are the ones that jazz up a plain old boxed cake mix, and the ones that use ice cream and frozen treats. I never imagined plain cake mix could taste so good! I have made some of these recipes for get-togethers and really WOWed people. They thought I bought the fancy cake, or ice-cream cake at a store! When I told them I made it at home they automatically assumed I slaved in the kitchen all day.
   
   I love the pictures in the book because they give you creative ideas about what you can do-even if you don't use that specific decoration she uses.
   
   I also like the fact that she gives so many ideas for using angel food cake. Angel food cake is easy to buy already made at the supermarket, and has no fat. For those of us trying to watch our figures (or entertaining others that are) it's a great treat. I have used these recipes in a pinch when I find out I have to make a dessert in a hurry and they've been a hit every time.



3. I added this one to my library on Food Network Star Sandra Lee's growing large stack of cookbooks I now have. I think it is fun and easy to use. I created over 6 new twists on baking which are useful & are now at the local deli. Easy, fun and delicious-all that I need.



4. All of Sandra Lee's books are beautifully done! I love how she has a picture of every recipe in the book, makes you want to get into the kitchen and start cooking.



5. There are a lot of great looking recipes in this book, I have never made any in the 4 years I have had the book, but the pictures look good.

5 comments about Paris Sweets: Great Desserts From the City's Best Pastry Shops.

1. Dorie Greenspan writes the best recipes. Over the past year, I've tried more than a dozen recipes from this book, and all are authentic and delicious. The recipes for madeleines, Anise Cookies, and the Pierre Herme's Korova cookies are especially noteworthy.
   
   Also, recipes in the cookies and simple cakes sections don't take very much time and are suitable for a beginning baker.



2. I ordered this book because it was the only cookbook I could find that included a recipe for Opera Cake. Opera Cake is my husband's favorite dessert, and so I thought I would make it for his birthday. Well, unfortunately, I learned that the recipe for Opera Cake actually has six (yes, SIX) subrecipes, and would probably take me about 3 days to make ... and with a new baby, I wouldn't have three days to spend on a dessert. So the Opera Cake, the original rationale for getting the book, never got made. But still, I found it somehow heartening that such a complicated recipe could be broken down into readable and comprehensible component parts ... something that a mere mortal could actually reproduce in her own American home kitchen - if she had three days and didn't happen to have a newborn to cater to, that is.
   
   One small disappointment was that Greenspan doesn't give a recipe for almond macaroons (macarons), which were my favorite treat when I spent a little time in France. She just gives a lengthy description of how wonderful they are and says they are hard for the home cook to reproduce. I know she is right in saying so, as I did try to make them once at home using the recipe in Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook, and they turned nothing like the ones I'd had in France and I considered that recipe a failure. Still, on Amazon.fr there are about 20 different single-subject cookbooks in French on making macarons at home, so I still hold out hope that it's actually possible and I'll find a good recipe someday (or get around to ordering one of the French-language macaron treatises).
   
   That said, this cookbook is a delight in every other way. The book is partly a travelogue describing the atmosphere and offerings at Paris's most famous patisseries, and her writing is so evocative, and so charmingly illustrated with line drawings, that you while reading you tend to feel as if you were standing in front of a gleaming case of sweetly scented pastries with a rotund pastry chef behind the counter sending up clouds of artisanal flour as you contemplate your order in line behind an elegant femme in couture high-heels leading a poodle on a leash.
   
   Along with the travelogue descriptions you get the occasional informative discourse on ingredients such as chocolate and flour and eggs and how the ones the French pastry chefs use are different from ours.
   
   And, of course, there are recipes, wonderful recipes. I made the choclate sables, and they were easy, and totally addictive as Greenspan warns. And I made the hot chocolate and it was so rich I had palpitations afterwards, but the taste was worth the risk of a heart attack. (And it was also easy peasy to make. I called my mom and gave her the recipe over the phone.)
   
   Ten stars for this wonderful book.



3. Dorie Greenspan's delightful, mouthwatering tour of Paris's patisseries in Paris Sweets: Great Desserts from the City's Best Pastry Shops is a gastronomic tour though the tempting varieties of French desserts, including cookies, simple cakes, tarts, pastries, more elaborate cakes, and base recipes.
   
   Illustrated with charming pen-and-ink drawings (no photos of finished desserts, unfortunately), Dorie's fascinating backstories on the numerous Parisian bakeries and their signature recipes make for an enjoyable read. Dorie's familiarity with these cafes really lends her an air of authority when discussing the finer points of pastries and ingredients, as does the fact that she's a resident of Paris and not merely a visitor.
   
   The selection of cookies includes delicate hints of citrus and spices such as anise, ground nuts, and classic cookies such as financiers and madeleines. For fans of chocolate, there are several chocolate cakes (pound cake, chocolate almond cake, Grandmother's creamy chocolate cake) and more unusual selections such as the Alsatian Kouglof (the original inspiration for the Bundt pan) and flan.
   
   When I think of Parisian desserts, my first vision is an elegant tart, and Paris Sweets doesn't disappoint. Included are several chocolate tarts, one garnished with apricot jam and ripe bananas, a baked apple tart, and an unusual tea-flavored Tarte Tatin from Mariage Freres. Also included are the custardy fruit tarts, originally from Limousin, known as clafoutis, a whole-lemon tart, a fig-and-citrus tart, and unusual variations such as coffee, strawberry and marshmallow, and darjeeling tarts.
   
   Perhaps the most emblematic of Paris's desserts are its pastries: creme brulee, chocolate mousse, chocolate bread pudding, ali-babas, coffee eclairs, and sumptuous hot chocolate thousands of miles above and beyond lame American Swiss Miss powder imitations. Simple yet elegant, these are described in exacting detail so that even a beginning home cook should feel confident enough to attempt them.
   
   The last section, grand gateaux, covers elaborate, time-consuming cake creations such as Bacchus (golden raisins soaked in rum, three moist, chewy almond and cocoa cake layers, slabs of mousse-like ganache, and a dark chocolate glaze), Opera cake (three layers of almond cake soaked in coffee syrup, a layer of espresso buttercream, a layer of bittersweet chocolate ganache, and topped with chocolate glaze), Chocolate Temptation (a layer cake made from cocoa cake saturated with chocolate syrup and spread with raspberry jam and covered with a bittersweet ganache), Blanc-manger, Kings' Cake (yes, this is probably the origin of the N'Awlins Mardis Gras King Cake since it was served at Epiphany and similarly contains a hidden trinket), and Mille-feuille (layered puff pastry filled with pastry cream).
   
   Base recipes include pastry creams (almond, vanilla), pate sucree (sweet tart dough), and puff pastry. Also included is a brief source guide (snail mail and URLs) and the addresses of all cafes and patisseries mentioned in Paris Sweets. Thoughtfully, recipes are given in Imperial and Metric measurements (supplies, ingredients, and oven temperatures). Most include ingredients that are easy enough to find if you happen to live near a well-stocked grocery store, or better yet, a Williams-Sonoma. Like with any dessert, you will want to use the best chocolate you can afford (Cluizel is always a solid choice), since baking won't improve the quality of the raw ingredients.
   
   The end result of Paris Sweets are deceptively simple desserts that will transport you to the narrow streets and aged facades of Paris's historic patisseries. Even if you never make a single recipe, Dorie's writing is a rewarding journey by itself, especially with a steaming bowl of cafe au lait as you flip through this gem of a cookbook.



4. Paris Sweets: Great Desserts From the City's Best Pastry Shops We have been searching and searching for a recipe for Parisian Flan, and in this book we finally found the taste and texture we had been searching for! What a great compilation of Paris delicacies, easy to make and so delicious. Thanks, Doris!!!



5. Being a big fan of Dorie Greenspan, I bought the book with great expectations. Dorie managed to tell great stories of these Parisian pastry creations at the same time tell her readers how to recreate those experiences.
   
   As usual, the recipes are very detailed with step by step instructions, with pointers following each recipe to make it more unique. I tried many of them, and I'm definitely happy with the end results.
   
   I only wish that there are pictures in the book, helping readers to envision how the end results would be. It'll also help giving pointers on judging whether the results are favorable. I mean, if I had not tasted a Madeleine in my entire life, how can I tell the difference between the real ones with a hump, and those flat ones from Starbucks?

No comments about Decadent Desserts: Recipes from Chateau Vaux-le-Vicomte.

3 comments about Sweet And Simple Party Cakes.

1. I think this is an incredible book. It helped me a lot. There's a lot of images and the recipes are clear. You must have it.



2. not worth it i actually wanted to send it back the cakes are so simple that you dont even need any imagination i guess if youve never done it before it would be good just change your frosting color and its considered a new cake,same design though



3. Out of all the books we have purchased on Cake Decorating, this one had the easiest to follow deisgns for beginners. Great Book

5 comments about Killer Pies: Delicious Recipes from North America's Favorite Restaurants (Killer (Chronicle Books)).

1. I already own a copy, and decided to purchase another as a gift for a family member who is a whiz in the kitchen and it was a smash hit!! There are so many different recipes you won't know where to start--and reading the story behind each pie is just as enjoyable as tasting the end product itself. Highly recommend!! A hip, quirky, fun pie cookbook.



2. This was purchased as one of the Christmas gifts for my wife. She is an accomplished baker of pies, but I felt that even if she knows 99% of what's included in the book, she might still pick up a hint or new idea by looking through the book. And, she did pick up new ideas as she skimmed through it on Christmas morning.



3. I wanted to like this book. Just look at the yummy pie featured on the cover!
   
   ....But wait, that pie is nowhere to be found in the book!
   
   And if you wondered what makes these pies the best in North America, keep on wondering -- it's never revealed what makes these restaurants/diners the "best" (and I doubt that they are). I looked forward to a tale of the author eating her way across the country, but instead the book begins with a tale about her pie-eating as a child, and the claim that people like to eat pie mostly for nostalgic reasons. Why doesn't anyone ever say that about cookies, muffins, or cakes, I wonder?
   
   Examining these pictures, and the somewhat anemic pies shown in them, I realized the unlikelihood that the photos were taken by the same person; many of the photos depict the pie whose recipe is on the page (from a variety of unflattering angles, and two of dark-colored berry pies are shown on blue plates, making it impossible to really see them), but some photos show the outside of the restaurant. Some show the seating area in the restaurant, or the pie case. One shows a waitress holding a pie. Several of the photos are blurry. I suspect the restaurants submitted their own photos; thus, there is a disjointed feel to the photography, leaving me wondering if the author of this book has eaten any of the pies shown in the book.
   
   The pies were mostly uninspired, and on close inspection, don't even look appetizing. I was disappointed to discover there is not a single recipe I wanted to eat, much less bake.



4. It has an appealing layout and is interesting to READ, but beware of some of the recipes if you are at all health conscious. For example, "Sour Cream Raisin Pie" on p. 37, which makes one 9-inch pie, has a filling made from 4 cups raisins, 1 cup cornstarch, 12 egg yolks, 5 cups packed brown sugar and 4 cups sour cream. Whew! Another example, "Johnny's Cafe Pecan Pie" on p. 45, also a 9-inch pie, has 12 eggs in the filling! Not all the recipes are as rich, but a good many are.
   I know that pies are not diet food but these are really over the limit. I was disappointed with this cookbook.



5. There are so many pie cookbooks on the market that one might wonder at the need for yet another - but you won't find most of these pie recipes in competing titles. They are compiled from some fifty expert bakers across the U.S. and Canada, and feature small color photos, clear directions, and introductions on the pie makers and recipe origins. From Plum-Strawberry Crumb Pie to Chocolate-Covered Cherry Pie, these are decadent dishes packed with flavor and appeal. Public lending libraries, even those with other pie cookbooks on their shelves, will find it filled with appeal.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch

5 comments about Bundt Cake Bliss: Delicious Desserts from Midwest Kitchens.

1. All recipes are excellent but I wish it had pictures! It's a very good recipe book



2. Bundt Cake Bliss is an appropriate title for this cookbook. So far, every recipe I've tried has come out deliciously. And friends and family are taken aback by the presentation itself.



3. I have only used the book once at this point, but the tunnel of fudge cake was delicous. I am planning a luncheon next month and will be making at least three cakes from the book. I am sure they will be great.



4. So far I've only made the Maple Corn Coffee Cake, it was truly delicious and easy to make. Most of the ingredients were already in my pantry, the only thing I had to buy was buttermilk. I made the cake to take to dinner, as dessert. It was so good that, instead of insisting that I take the leftover portion home, my niece offered to swap some of the leftover main course for the leftover cake.



5. Blame Bonny Wolf, author of EATING WITH MY MOUTHFUL, essays developed from her NPR reports. Her chapter on the Bundt pan was irresistible. I went to the back of the closet, retrieved mine and bought this book, largely on the basis that it is endorsed by Ms. Bundt (Dorothy Dalquist). With the exception of the chocolate mayonnaise cake that I must have screwed up somehow (I probably should have left it in the pan to cool longer before upending it on the rack--it arrived in pieces), what I have made thus far has worked. I am anti cake mix, so about half the recipes are not for me, but there are enough that are from scratch to make this worthwhile. I've served the low-fat chocolate cake without anyone guessing, so the recipes do work.
   
   Why I've nicked it a star: Where's the editor who would have caught the reference to pans, when only one pan is called for? Or the editor who would have noticed that one need not turn to page 136 for the peanut butter frosting recipe because it is also already on page 66 with the cake recipe that calls for it? Or that the two peanut butter frosting recipes are identical except for the amount of peanut butter? There are no photos to suggest how to decorate with frosting (really, I don't know, I only know how to do a Jackson Pollock effect with icing or a glaze). The homespun comments are cute but stop short of obnoxious. In fact, they can be enlightened (there's a "coming out" cake).

5 comments about The Twinkies Cookbook: An Inventive and Unexpected Recipe Collection from Hostess.

1. Wow, what a fun little book! This book contains a slue of fun and tasty recipes, all made with that quintessential American treat, the Twinkie! My favorite two were definitely the Chocolate Twinkie Trifle, and the Chocolate Twinkie Pops - two hits with the kids.
   
   So, if you want to really make a connection with the kids, get this book, and make one of the fun and easy recipes. I give this book my highest recommendations!



2. I got this for my boyfriend as a semi-gag Christmas gift, and we love it! I cook a lot and would have never thought to do some of the things that Hostess has come up with. There is a brief section about the history of the Hostess Twinkie, and then it gets right to the good stuff. I like the fried Twinkies and the Twinkie sushi. We don't have any kids, but for those of you that do, this is perfect! Everyone will love to make (and of course eat) these treats. I think the hardest part, oddly enough, has actually been finding Twinkies at the grocery store.



3. A very fun read! The recipes fall into three categories: the predictable (but yummy), the unpredictable but look like they'd be fun to make, and the downright bizarre. Most of the recipes in the book are of the more predictable recipe type, which uses Twinkies and some sort of pudding or ice cream or other binder to make things like trifles and cakes and sundaes, etc. The unpredictable but fun to make recipes include things like Twinkie Sushi, Twinkiehenge, and Twinkie Pancakes. The downright bizarre recipes include Pigs in a Twinkie, Twinkie Milkshake, and Twinkling Turkey (the Twinkie is part of the stuffing).
   
   The best part of this book is not so much the recipe collection, but rather the historical journey through Twinkiedom and all the little extra Twinkie factoids they throw in. And of course, the wordplay with substituting "Twinkie" for "Twinkling" in several of the recipes. This book is worth its price for the kitsch factor alone!



4. I gave this book to my brother for his birthday. Everyone had a few good laughs over the different recipes. I am worried that a Twinkie Salad or Twinkie Tiramasu may show up at the next family gathering.



5. The recipes in this book are not what one would try on a regular basis. I would not recommend this book for purchase

5 comments about Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Herme.

1. I've been furiously purchasing chocolate books to learn as much as possible about the food of the gods and Pierre Herme's book is the most spectacular, creative and amazing.
   
   Everything is in metric weight...which is great. Compared to Robert Linxe's book for La Maison du Chocolat, I gotta say Pierre's shines. Whilst La Maison was good...with nice pix, the recipes were horribly noted and one feels like Linxe is hiding the real recipe.
   
   Pierre's book gave inspiration, lots of ideas, and most importantly, lots of great recipes I can use.
   
   Amazing amazing amazing. Can't wait to try his creations at his stores in Tokyo.



2. I like this book very much. It is loaded with beautiful pictures as well as recipes for delicious desserts. I have tried several recipes with good results. The recipes are easy to make, but time consuming in some cases. Recipes are well explained with full details. The book has recipes for cakes, tarts, ice creams, cookies, plated desserts (like the fabulous pistachio waffle with chocolate cream) and confections.



3. Although I have no professional training this book is rather straight forward and there are some simple recipes. I've tried making the chocolate rice pudding, which was rich and delicious and am looking forward to trying other recipes soon!



4. This has become my favorite baking book. Whenever I need to impress, I make one of these desserts. Herme doesn't skip any steps or skimp on quality. As a result, the desserts are rich and satisfying. (My favorites are the black forest cake, the mousse, and the linzer torte. The black forest cake comes out better than that made at the local French bakery.)After you make the recipes a few times, you can easily adapt them to incorporate other flavors.
   
   It's not a beginner's book, by any means--simple things like the best way to separate eggs are not explained in this book (unusual procedures are explained, though), and most of the recipes are extremely time consuming. If you're serious about cooking, this book is well worth the effort.



5. If you (or people you know) enjoy chocolate desserts, especially those in which dark, bittersweet European chocolate is the key note, this book is a must-have. The lavish professional photography and the size of this book make it coffee-table-worthy. More importantly, it is a culinary love letter to chocolate in all its glorious and myriad textures and flavors, sometimes pairing chocolate with particularly compatible partners like pecans or fresh raspberries, sometimes letting it shine on its own.
   
   In Paris, Pierre Hermé is a legendary pastry chef, once dubbed the "Picasso of Pastry" by Vogue Magazine. He is 4th generation in his family to enter the profession, and the most renowned. His professional recipes were converted for the American home baker and tested by Dorie Greenspan, the best recipe writer I have ever encountered. Her directions are clear and detailed, and her measurements precise. Even if I have never baked from a particular recipe of hers before, I know I can make it for a dinner party, secure in the knowledge that it will always turn out and will likely impress me and my guests.
   
   There are a few simple recipes for the beginning baker in the book, and also many recipes to challenge the exprienced baker. Everything I've made from this book has been delicious and stunning, and to date I've made: (1) Moist and Nutty Brownies, (2) Chocolate Sparklers, (3) Chocolate Macaroons, (4) Warm Chocolate and Raspberry Tart, (5) Linzer Tart, (6) Grand Chocolate Tart, (7) Tarte Grenobloise, (8) Milk Chocolate and Walnut Tart, and (9) Nutella Tart. In particular, the Nutella tart is absolutely killer and easy to make as well. (Feel free to substitute trans-fat free "Hazelnut Chocolate Spread" from Whole Foods or Trader Joe's instead of using brand-name Nutella, which has hydrogenated oils in it.)
   
   If you use premium chocolate (such as Valrhona, Callebaut, Schraffen Berger, or Taza), your expense and shopping efforts will be rewarded. These recipes were meant to showcase the subtleties of the best dark chocolate.

5 comments about The Donut Book.

1. I thought this book would have more recipes in it that I could use. Well, it doesn't. It's a great coffee table book. It's lovely to look at and very informative. If you're looking for the history of donuts and something to read while munching on one, here ya go. If you're looking for a cook book - look elsewhere.



2. What a wonderfully entertaining and insightful book this is! Author Sally Levitt Steinberg writes so effortlessly, so breezily, that even readers like me (admittedly not a "foodie") won't be able to put the book down. Who would have guessed that a book about donuts could be so utterly fascinating?



3. This book gave more of a history of the donut than it did receipes. Needs more easy donut receipes.



4. This book is delightful. I ordered it after reading the reviews on it. I understood that it was not really considered a cookbook, however it has some good recipes in it. Reading the history behind donuts was very inspirational and interesting. It made me want to make donuts more than ever. It is a good coffee table book as previously stated.



5. HI! I bought this as a gift. As I looked through the book before wrapping it... I was not really happy about the contents. I hoped it would of showed a lot more pictures of donuts, design and recipes. It is really not what I would consider a cookbook/bakebook for donuts. So if that is what your looking for I am sure another book would be much better for you.
   The cover design is the only great thing about this book and really the reason I bought it. I thought if they showed that many donuts on the cover Well then there must be loads inside...NOT!.