|
Room For Dessert : 110 Recipes for Cakes, Custards, Souffles, Tarts, Pies, Cobblers, Sorbets, Sherbets, Ice Creams, Cookies, Candies, and Cordials
|
| Price: |
17 new or used available from $49.95
Average customer review:
Product Description
Always Save Room for Dessert
Especially if it's one of David Lebovitz's signature showstoppers. In his first cookbook, Room for Dessert, he offers more than 110 recipes for sweet everythings. You'll find sensational cakes, custards, soufflés, tarts, pies, cobblers, sorbets, ice creams, cookies, and candies, each designed to tempt the diner.
In the introduction David writes of one of his earliest dessert memories--a bowl of freshly picked blackberries, perfectly ripe, topped with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of sugar. "When you search out the best ingredients, do as little to them as possible, and serve them in a straightforward way, the presentation follows naturally," he writes. "A glossy custard looks best with a, swirl of whipped cream; a cool tapioca pudding looks enticing when it's accompanied by its natural complements--tropical fruits and shaved coconut."
With such an aesthetic, David eventually made his way to Berkeley's legendary Chez Panisse, establishing himself as a pastry cook under the tutelage of Alice Waters and founding pastry chef Lindsay Shere. He shares, the Chez Panisse commitment to fresh, seasonal exceptional ingredients, presented simply and unpretensiously, at their peak flavor. As Alice Waters writes in the books foreward: "David is one of those rare pastry chefs who knows that in desserts, as in all art, the cliché is true: sometimes less is more."
After leaving Chez Panisse, Lebovitz served as pastry chef at Bruce Cost's critically acclaimed Monsoon, experimenting with a wide variety of Asian ingredients and flavors to create more remarkable desserts. Home cooks as well as professionals have been clamoring for the Fresh Ginger Cake recipe, which, finally, is published here. It so often appears at Bay Area restaurants that it's frequently listed on menus as "Dave's Ginger Cake." Make it once and you'll immediately want to add it to your list of tried and true standbys. David offers comforting yet sophisticated versions of everyone's favorites, including Gingersnaps, Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Coconut Macaroons, surefire hits for people of all ages. For grown-ups, there are homemade liqueurs and cordials. Add to this delectable ice creams and frozen treats, as well as jams, preserves, and candied fruits, and you get an idea of the incredible scope of David Lebovitz's talents.
Beautifully illustrated with seventy-five full-color photographs by San Francisco's Michael Lamotte, Room for Dessert is as stunning to look at as it is to cook from. With this remarkable debut, David Lebovitz offers his expert hand to guide a new audience of readers and home dessert makers.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #210059 in Books
- Published on: 1999-11-01
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Hardcover
- 240 pages
Customer Reviews
A Five Star Cookbook!
This cookbook certainly gets 5 stars. My requirement for a cookbook is that the recipes should be doable by mortals and that there should be at least one recipe in the book worth keeping. This cookbook meets both requirements. I have tried only the passion fruit poundcake and the ginger cake. They get rave reviews because they are perfect recipes and easy to do. I came to the ginger cake with reluctance simply because I don't care much for either ginger or molasses in anything and am not into pepper as an ingredient in cakes. Since the author says that this recipe is the favorite of many people, I took the chance and, boy, am I glad I did. In this recipe what you get is a beautifull deep brown, moist cake with great texture and subtle flavors. Mr. Lebovitz suggests fresh peaches to accompany this cake. A glass of cold milk goes well with it too.
In addition to 110 dessert recipes, many of them beautifully photographed, Mr. Levobitz has a chapter called "Essentials" in which he discusses equipment, ingredients and fruits. In his introduction he gives his philosophy of dessert-making, that they be simple and that less is often more. In this instance I would say less is just right.
If you like to cook unusual desserts, you will love this cookbook.
Heaven can wait.....
Heaven can wait, until I make every dessert in David Lebovitz's "Room for Dessert" - a visual feast with great content. This is a small cookbook compared to some, but a perfect and practical size with 110 incredible desserts.
I have tried approx. 14 of the desserts so far ALL with excellent results. This book has inspired me to make desserts when before I would stop with the entrée and buy the dessert (IF I could find a 'decent' dessert to buy).....now it's in my own kitchen! If I can do this you can too.
David's comments and hints are very helpful. He sounds like a nice guy too with 'human' commentary that the average to advanced cook can relate to. The source guide in the back is useful for quality chocolate, spices etc. and don't skip the front where David explains a bit of his `philosophy' relating to baking. I am very pleased!
Simply Wonderful!
Beware when reading this book, it will cause anyone who is even slightly interested in cooking, to think that they could quit their day job and become a pastry chef. I have become completely inspired to bake. I have tried about six recipies from the book, and a few from a class I took at Draeger's in San Mateo given by Mr. Lebovitz. Everything has turned out perfect. My friends at work can't wait to see what I am going to bring in next for them to taste. If you want to taste some great desserts, not to mention impress your friends, then this book is for you. The chapter on Essentials, I found particularly helpful. Most of the items that he mentions in the book can be found at Draeger's. (Three stores in the Bay Area).
