Skill level: I am a decent cook. I run a synagogue kitchen, cater, take on "personal chef" gigs, and have worked as a cook in a domestic setting and as a cook in a vegetarian deli. I don't get to bake as much as I would like, so I keep my skills fresh baking for home and friends. I write a monthly food column and am at work on my first cookbook. Inspiration: If I had to choose one cookbook as an inspiration, it would probably be "Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet" by Jeffrey Alford & Naomi Duguid. I know I'm supposed to say Mastering the Art, which I loved, but this is the truth. It is both a beautiful book of pictures, taking the reader on a culinary tour of Southeast Asia and a collection of some of the best-written recipes I have found collected in one place. Every recipe I have made -- and I cook from it regularly -- has been exactly as expected. My only complaint is that the shape of it makes it difficult to handle. Category A: So many people have bemoned the lack of clear and illuminating instruction in pastry books. I think it is important to note that Baking With Julia is a perfect example of how things SHOULD be done. Illustrations are primarilly instructive, with a center-spread of color "sexy" shots. Technique is explained in detail -- making Danish pastry and croissants seem easy. (This I know -- having always been intimidated by laminates, I worked my way through them all last week... the Danish and croissants were spectacular!) Anyway -- Baking with Julia is probably so good because all of the wonderful, talented, energetic chefs DID NOT write it. Instead one professional food writer took the project from beginning to end. Category B: I don't know if anyone has read Bernard Clayton's book on Pastry -- I think it is his only book that is out of print, but it is a really wonderful read. If I were editing it today, I might ask him to figure out one method for each pastry and write about it, rather than set forth instructions for mixer, food processor, and hand-mixing, but I also realize the book was a product of its time, and it was important then to incorporate new machines in order to accomodate the modern kitchen. Clayton wrote what I think is the most illuminating puff pastry recipe I have ever read. I know that many will disagree, but for me the most frustrating trend in pastry is the "mine is bigger than yours" phenomenon. I remember having pastry in France which rocked my world -- a cornmeal cake with a simple apricot glaze served on a plate sauced with creme anglaise. I still dream about the crispy crust of the cake giving way to the moise crumb, the apricot scenting every bite, and the cool, silky richness of the creme anglaise. I was recently given a (VERY expensive) book of pastry recipes intended to recreate "restaurant" pastries in a home kitchen. While I was appreciative of such an extravagant gift, I was appauled by the contents. Most "desserts" requiring 6 to 10 components and, as I estimated with one recipe, three days of preparation. Absurd! (I knew right away that I would never prepare anything from the book. I exchanged the book for a copy of "Mr. Latte" and a hardcover of an M.F.K. Fisher I only had in paperback and still had enough money left over for a cappie and a crumb cake in the cafe.)
