4 replies to this topic

[ludja]

Dear Dorie,

While you mentioned in a previous response that your mother was definately not a baker, did you have favorite baked goods when you were growing up that may have come from other relatives or family friends or from bakeries?

If you had some favorite treats from bakeries, are they still available or have some of them disappeared or changed? I suspect that some of these desserts might also have found there way in to your new book!

Thank you!

Edited by ludja, 07 November 2006 - 08:53 AM.

[Dorie Greenspan]

I had lots of baked treats that I loved as I was growing up, just none that were baked in our home.

There were two good bakeries within walking distance of our house and, in addition to daily fresh bread from the bakery closest to us, we always had something sweet from one of the shops.

I would always be happy with butter cookies – just the smell of them could make me giddy. My favorites were rugelach and Linzer cookies, lightly spiced cookies sandwiched with raspberry jam, and, yes, you’re right, I have versions of them in my new book.

One of the great treats of childhood was to go to this funny corner bakery/sandwich take-out joint – it was more a stand than a store, as I remember it – and get a Charlotte Russe, a whipped cream and fruit extravaganza. While it’s structurally very different, the Berry Surprise Cake in my book was inspired by this rich, creamy, swirly sweet.

While you’ve got me thinking, I remember that my Aunt Bertie would make some kind of a puffy turnover usually filled with jam – I think the dough was made with cottage cheese or sour cream (when I had them, baking wasn’t even a glimmer in my eye, so I never asked about ingredients or recipes) – and I think that the Flakey Apple Turnovers in my book are like them, at least they are to me. (Those are the turnovers that Patrick S. made and photographed so beautifully on the Baking with … thread in the Pastry & Baking forum.)

Finally, and I know you’ll laugh, my Fluff-filled Chocolate Madeleines remind me of the packaged cakes called Devil Dogs that were an occasional treat when I was little.

[ludja]

Thank you for sharing some of your memories! I had some Devil Dogs as a kid as well; it would be fun to try your 'Madeleine version'.

[highchef]

my own mother was a first generation Irish American, as was my father, and there was always a sense of work..first to go to, then to do at home. these were the times of the new convience foods, and mom took full advantage of them. I learned to cook from cook books basically. I wonder, since it took so long for me to really 'read' or know a good cook book from a bad one (I've had several), what books you would recommend a new couple?

Edited by highchef, 08 November 2006 - 06:36 PM.

[Dorie Greenspan]

There are sooooooooooooo many great cookbooks available (so many not so great ones, too, I know) that it's hard to come up with titles for a good starter library for a new couple, but here are a few ideas for categories and some books within them:

A general how-to cookbook: I learned to cook from The New York Times Cookbook, but I don't think I'd recommend it to someone starting out today. I think there should be one weighty cookbook on the shelf that you can turn to to find out how to cut up a chicken, steam asparagus or zest an orange. Books that fall into this category are, among others, Joy of Cooking (I haven't seen the latest edition, but I'm sure the basic information is still very good) and The Good Housekeeping Cookbook. For a more pro look, there's the Cook's Book, in which the basics are covered by chefs with lots of how-to photos (I've looked through this book -- I've got it on my shelf -- but never cooked from it).

Maybe a food science book: If you choose one, I'd opt for Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking, or Shirley Corriher's CookWise.

A soup-to-nuts cookbook: If you're not going to invest in many cookbooks covering all parts of the meal, a really good general cookbook might be an important addition to a kitchen library. Yes, Joy and Good Housekeeping are general cookbooks, but if you want something with recipes that are a bit more stylish, you might turn to the new Bon Appetit Cookbook, The Gourmet Cookbook, a book by Pam Anderson, maybe The Perfect Recipe, or the very modern Tasty, by Roy Finamore.

An Italian cookbook: The classic is still Marcella Hazan's Classic Italian Cooking or you could go for the newer Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. I haven't looked at the new Silver Spoon cookbook, but many people I know are using it happily. And, I love the two books by Lynne Rossetto Kasper, The Splendid Table, which covers the cooking of Emilia Romagna, and The Italian Country Table, a very homey book.

A French book: This is a hard category. For learning traditional French cooking, there's still no one like Julia Child and her chef d'oeuvre, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, volumes I and II. For a different look at the classics and for classics with twists and modern updates, there's Jim Peterson's Glorious French Food. And for simpler French food with few explanations of techniques but with very good and reliable recipes, there's Bistro Cooking by Patricia Wells.

A baking book: Of course, I love my new book because it's really about home baking and just as much for newbies as old hands, but mine is hardly the only good starter book out there -- good books for beginners are Nick Malgieri's How to Bake and absolutely any book by Maida Heatter.

After our new couple has worked their way through these, there are lots more waiting to be explored -- all those special single subject books, like Barbara Kafka's Vegetable Love, Nina Simond's Asian cookbooks, Lorna Sass's new book, Whole Grains, and all those chocolate books.

You're right -- it's hard to choose.