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Baked Explorations

January 3, 2012 By + 76 Comments

Baked Explorations | From My Sweet HeartA GREAT KITCHEN READ and a GIVEAWAY!!!

BAKED EXPLORATIONS

“Classic AMERICAN DESSERTS Reinvented”

Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito

I really enjoy baking from this book.  Sometimes I am up for the challenge of certain recipes.  Other times I relish the simplicity of them. I loved and owned another book by these authors before I discovered Baked Sunday Mornings, the online group of wonderful people who bake every Sunday from this book. And I was so happy to have an excuse to purchase this book also.  I love it SO much, that I WANT TO GIVE YOU A COPY OF IT TOO!!!  Maybe when you receive this fabulous cookbook, you will consider joining in the fun of Baked Sunday Mornings, a creative and talented group of people who feel just as passionate about baking and about baking from this book in particular.  It’s a very laid back club that follows a schedule of recipes to be made and posted every  Sunday.  Participate when you can and share your finished product with the group.  But whether you decide to join this group or not, I am certain you will enjoy baking from this book.  To find out more about this book and how you may win a copy….read on…… [Read more...]

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Sweety Pies

November 2, 2011 By + 12 Comments

Sweety Pies | From My Sweet HeartA GREAT KITCHEN READ!!!

 

SWEETY PIES…..Patty Pinner

“An Uncommon Collection of Womanish Observations, With Pie”

 

 

The most fascinating cookbooks to me are those that give an insight into the life of the person writing it.  In this cookbook, you are served up so much more.  Patty Pinner shares her love of pie through the recipe and memoir contributions of her friends and family.  All of whom are women, with a story all their own to share.

Ms. Pinner writes, “In the same way that I enjoy collecting recipes, I take real pleasure in gathering the stories of the women the recipes belong to.  I am a firm believer that what a woman cooks is a window into her womanly personality – what she thinks, how she behaves, how she feels about herself, and the people she cooks for.”

While the culinary focus of this book is creating the perfect pie, you will not be able to help but smile as you read about each of the women offering their most seductive, sumptuous, and soulful dessert recipes.  To many, the all American Pie is the ultimate expression of comfort and goodness.  And in this book, clearly, these women share the same sense of pride and passion about pie and their own personal recipes.  But as you stir from chapter to chapter, you are pulled and kneaded and enfolded into what feels like such a sense of sisterhood, and friendship, and community.  And you find that you don’t know which pie you would like to make first.  Not because they all look incredibly delicious; but because when you make that pie, you feel like you will be taking on some of the character and personality of the woman who created it.  And these women are warm and witty, familiar and fascinating, sassy and spirited; and I don’t know who I want to emulate first!  I have tried many already, and while they all have been good,  one of my very favorites is the oatmeal nut pie.  Inside the 168 pages of this beautiful book you will find…. [Read more...]

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Desserts by the Yard

September 17, 2011 By + 13 Comments

Desserts By The Yard | From My Sweet HeartA GREAT KITCHEN READ!!!

DESSERTS BY THE YARD…..Sherry Yard

“From Brooklyn to Beverly Hills – Recipes from the Sweetest Life Ever”

I have a vast and growing collection of dessert cookbooks.  And this book is among my most favorites!  I love reading cookbooks and I mull through them daily!  But I especially enjoy reading cookbooks that offer more than just recipes and pictures.  And that’s one of the things that is so special about Desserts by the Yard.

Sherry Yard has been named Outstanding Pastry Chef by the James Beard Society as well as Bon Appetit.  She is the executive pastry chef for Wolfgang Puck Worldwide. 

This book is a dessert and recipe chronicle of Ms. Yard’s life, from her childhood memories growing up in Brooklyn to her years as head pastry chef at restaurants such as The Rainbow Room, Montrachet, The Tribecca Grill in New York City; to San Francisco’s Campton Place Restaurant and finally to the place in Los Angeles where she made her mark, Wolfgang Puck’s Spago.  This book contains . . . . . [Read more...]

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Yummy

August 23, 2011 By + 27 Comments

Yummy | From My Sweet HeartA GREAT KITCHEN READ!

YUMMY…..Caroline Brewester

“ Desserts you can make in 5 to 30 minutes”

I absolutely love this cookbook and refer to it quite often!  It is a great go to book for amazing recipes that take very little time.  This is particularly good when trying to whip up something special on a weeknight. 

The book has 157 pages and 176 recipes.  It is divided into 6 chapters…for recipes that take 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30 minutes each to compose.  Caroline Brewester was a finalist on a Britain hit show Master Chef.  Her recipes are straightforward and easy to follow.  Many of the ingredients you are likely to have on hand already in your pantry or fridge!  Her photography is wonderful and her pictures have great eye appeal.  Caroline’s desserts range from simple fruit pleasures to elegant souffles…..all in 30 minutes or less!

To give you just a few examples of the recipes you might find in each category:

5 minutes:  Lemon Possets, Crisp Cinnamon Puff

10 minutes:  Bananas Foster, Coppa di Zuccotto

15 minutes:  Blueberry & Lemon Brulees, Pecan Maple Moneybags

20 minutes:  Lemon Polenta Cupcakes, White Chocolate and Lime Mousses

25 minutes: Poires Belle Helene, Chocolate Souffles

30 minutes:  Rustic Apple Pie, Baby Baklavas 

This book also offers a wide variety of fresh fruit desserts such as orange-honey salad with toasted almonds, cinnamon glazed grapefruit, thai tropical fruit salad with sweet chili syrup, and watermelon gazpacho.

Ms. Brewester shows us that creating a great dessert, with the occasional help from good quality, store bought ingredients doesn’t need to take a lot of time.  But her recipes are so beautifully pulled together, no one would ever realize they aren’t always made completely from scratch.  This book has been a great resource for me, and I think you would find it just as helpful and fun!

P.S.  Please read my growing list in GREAT KITCHEN READS for more fabulous cookbooks!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Macarons Au Cafe-Creme

July 17, 2011 By + 31 Comments

“THOUGH THIS BE MADNESS, YET THERE IS A METHOD.”  William Shakespeare

Macarons au Cafe Creme | From My Sweet Heart

Well this is my first attempt at making macarons!  You know, for such a perfect little cookie, you hear so many horror stories about how difficult it is to make them!  But actually, it really wasn’t so difficult after all.  You simply must follow the instructions as exactly as you can.  I let my egg whites age for several days.  I measured everything (in grams)!  I even purchased thermometers for both ovens!  The only thing I would do differently is pipe them smaller.  (I know my piping skills are sorely lacking, so I should have measured here, too)!

But all the effort you will put forth will be worth it.  This delicately sweet, chewy cookie filled with rich coffee cream is like no other baked good in all this world!  While my first love is for cupcakes, I believe I am developing a passion for these amazing and special little cookies!  And I can see how some are inspired, by the most ordinary visual stimulus, to create these little sensations!  The possibilities are endless!  And here’s how you can be inspired, too…….. [Read more...]

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