From Pierre Herme to Home Baking

[Bond Girl]

Hi Dorie,

I absolutely adore your latest book, and am embarrassed to admit that my copy is already stained with all sorts of food splatters. While the directions are just carefully detailed as your previous works, the general feel of the latest book seemed a dramatic departure from the usualy high styled Parisienne desserts. Can you discuss what inspired you to take such a departure? And, what are some of the similarities or differences that you undergo to write and develop the recipes in this book.

Ya-Roo

[Dorie Greenspan]

Please, please, please Ya-Roo, don’t be embarrassed that your cookbook is stained with kitchen splatters. Hearing that is music to my ears. I’m so happy you’re enjoying the book.

I don’t really know how best to answer your question because, in essence, I worked on this book just as I worked on the books I did with recipes for what you rightly called more “highly styled Parisian desserts”. The big difference was that these were my recipes and that my personal style of baking is less formal than the styles of the Parisian chefs with whom I’ve worked.

While so many of the techniques, some of the flavor combinations and a few handfuls of recipes are decidedly influenced by my French experiences – okay, lots of them are outright French – my style is homier, more casual and more easy-going.

This is the most personal book I’ve ever written, probably the most selfish too – I was able to choose only the recipes that made me happiest. So, perhaps you can see informality in the kinds of recipes I’ve selected – all those chunky cookies, those creamy puddings, those rustic cobblers and 15 kinds of brownies! What I hope you won’t see is an informality in the way the recipes for these fun sweets were written. Since I worked on these recipes just the way I worked on the recipes for Pierre Herme and Julia Child, I really appreciate your saying that you found the directions as carefully detailed as in my previous books.

[Bond Girl]

I think it is precisely the personal style that makes this book so loveable. There seemed to be a lot of soul in the recipes, and certainly the precise and detailed instructions are a God send.