How to Be a Domestic Goddess: Baking
and the Art of Comfort Cooking
by Nigella Lawson, Petrina Tinslay (Photographer)
While the title How to Be a Domestic Goddess may at
first make a modern woman bristle, the book itself is
just as likely to inspire the woman who brings home the
bacon to start baking cakes. And what's wrong with that?
"This isn't a dream," writes British cookery deity Nigella
Lawson in her preface. "What's more, it isn't even a nightmare."
Lawson--the author of How to Eat, food editor of British
Vogue, and star of her own TV cooking show, Nigella Bites--has
been suspected of upholding the woman-laboring-in-the-kitchen
paradigm, but there are lots of hard-working women out
there who derive great satisfaction from cooking, even
after a long day at the office. For those women, Lawson,
who looks more Elizabeth Hurley than Martha Stewart, is
the perfect guide to the wondrous world of baking. --
Amazon.com
The Cake Mix Doctor
by Anne Byrn, Anthony Loew (Photographer)
some cases, conceal questionable tastes. To prove her
point, Byrn offers more than 175 recipes for mix-based
cakes and other desserts, including formulas for frostings
that, Byrn maintains, must be made from scratch. The results
are convincing; readers interested in satisfying, dependable
desserts prepared quickly and with little fuss should
welcome the book. -- Amazon.com
Chocolate from the Cake Mix Doctor
by Anne Byrn
Ann Byrn is on to something. Her first book, The Cake
Mix Doctor, showed readers how to tweak store-bought cake
mixes to produce "like-homemade" treats. The sequel, Chocolate
from the Cake Mix Doctor repeats Byrn's foolproof approach,
focusing solely on chocolate. The strategy? Begin with
commercial mixes like chocolate cake, devil's food, and
chocolate brownie; alter them with ingredients that add
flavor, such as cocoa powder, or richness and moistness,
like sour cream; use homemade frostings (supermarket versions
won't cut it); and you're in business. "My mission," says
Byrn, "is to help busy cooks find the time to bake even
when company is not coming." If her sweets lack true homemade
quality, they nonetheless produce entirely creditable
desserts most bakers, and those they feed, will applaud.
-- Amazon.com
In The Sweet Kitchen: The Definitive
Baker's Kitchen
by Regan Daley
In the Sweet Kitchen truly is the definitive guide to
the baker's pantry. While many cookbooks include chapters
on tools and ingredients, Regan Daley's award-winning
tome begins with almost 400 pages of introductory information.
From her descriptions of ingredients to explanations of
food science, it's clear Daley's done her research, and
she offers a wealth of information as reference for both
the professional and the novice. She covers every ingredient
in a baker's pantry, from flours and sugars to eggs, fruits,
nuts, spices, and flavorings, in a way that is both interesting
and informative. She discusses how to choose them, use
them, and why they do the things they do. She's tested
tools and shopped around, and even recommends price points
for your purchases. She explains myriad techniques, such
as how to cook sugar and icing and assemble layer cakes.
The writing is clear and intelligent and the instructions
are easy to follow. -- Amazon.com
The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Master
the Art of Extraordinary Bread
by Peter Reinhart, Ron Manville (Photographer)
A bread baker, like any true artisan or craftsman, must
have the power to control outcomes," says Peter Reinhart,
author of The Bread Baker's Apprentice. "Mastery comes
with practice." As in many arts, you must know and understand
the rules before you can break them. Reinhart encourages
you to learn the science of bread making, but to never
forget that vision and experimentation, not formulas,
make transcendent loaves. The Bread Baker's Apprentice
is broken into three sections. The first is an amusing
tale of Reinhart's visit to France and his discovery of
pain à l'ancienne, a cold-fermented baguette. The second
section comprises a tutorial of bread-making basics and
Reinhart's "Twelve Stages of Bread." And finally, the
recipes: Ciabatta, Pane Siciliano, Potato Rosemary Bread,
New York Deli Rye, Kaiser Rolls, and Brioche, to name
a few. All recipes include bread profiles and ingredient
percentages. Reimagined for modern bakers, these mouthwatering
classic recipes are bound to inspire. -- Dana Van Nest,
Amazon.com
Gale Gand's Just a Bite: 125 Luscious,
Little Desserts
by Gale Gand, Julia Moskin, Tim Turner (Photographer)
Once upon a time there were petit fours--delicious morsels
to be enjoyed as, or after, dessert. Today, there are
minidesserts like Marshmallow Moons and Banana Brûlée
Spoonfuls, at least according to Gale Gand's Just a Bite.
Gale Gand and Julia Moskin's 125 accessible recipes provide
a captivating variety of cookie, cake, and candy nibbles.
Gand, whose recipes come from her Food Network show, Sweet
Dreams, and Chicago restaurant Tru, knows her stuff well
enough to have serious fun; readers will be delighted
by her bites, which can be served at or away from the
table. -- Arthur Boehm, Amazon.com
Somersize Desserts
by Suzanne Somers
Somers's earlier books on her Somersize weight-loss/fitness
program have literally sold millions. Her latest presents
30 dessert recipes made with a new natural sugar substitute
that she is introducing called SomerSweet. While sugar
and carbohydrates are a concern in her regimen, fat and
calories don't seem to be: even the recipes categorized
as "Level One" (for the weight-loss part of the program)
are filled with heavy cream, eggs, and cream cheese. Buy
for the demand there is sure to be. --Library Journal,
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
The All-America Cookie Book
by Nancy Baggett
Nancy Baggett went on a culinary journey in search of
the best American cookies. Amazed by the remarkable repertoire
of American bakers, Baggett spent several years researching
and baked nearly 30,000 cookies for The All-American Cookie
Book. Every American cookie you can think of is here--more
than 150 of them--from luscious Black Bottom Mini Brownie
Cups and chewy Chocolate Thumbprint Crackles to Classic
Chocolate Chip Cookies and crisp, spicy Old-Fashioned
Gingerbread Cookies. More-unusual regional favorites include
Savannah Chocolate Chewies, Chocolate Whoopie Pies from
Pennsylvania, and Floridian Ambrosia Cookies made with
coconut and pineapple. Avid bakers will appreciate the
bits of cookie lore and history in this brilliant collection.
Baggett also gives interesting insight into how American
cookies evolved, and how different ingredients and techniques
were introduced. Mouthwatering photographs tempt and delectable
descriptions convince you to try nutty, fruity, chocolaty
concoctions, every one of them made in America. -- Leora
Y. Bloom, Amazon.com
The Big Book of Casseroles: 250 Recipes
for Serious Comfort Food
by Maryana Vollstedt
You will find no canned soups in Maryana Vollstedt's
The Big Book of Casseroles. You will find 250 ways to
simplify your weekly meal planning. The properly deployed
casserole is economical of both time and money. Anyone
living on a family budget--with a family--but eating
according to a take-out lifestyle is going to love this
book.
The book covers a lot of ground. Chapters include those
on "Basics" (as in white sauce), "Seafood Casseroles,"
"Poultry Casseroles," "Meat Casseroles," "Vegetable
Casseroles," "Baked Pastas," "Grain and Legume Casseroles,"
"Gratins," and "Low-Fat Casseroles." There are no dessert
casseroles.
Vollstedt shows you where the casserole has been, and
where it is. Use The Big Book of Casseroles as a launching
pad for your own creative endeavors. -- Schuyler Ingle
, Amazon.com
Bread Machine Magic: 139 Exciting
New Recipes Created Especially for Use in All Types of
Bread Machines
by Linda Rehberg, Lois Conway (Contributor), Lois Simmons
(Illustrator)
Owners of an automatic bread machine know it's the hot
new kitchen appliance that takes the kneading, shaping,
proofing and frustration out of baking bread. Now the
authors, who tested thousands of loaves using all the
major brands of bread machines, offer more than 130 recipes
for making amazing homemade bread. -- Ingram
