This is a wonderful book, my definitive book on breads.  I love it’s range, the quality of its recipes, and its vision – it even includes sauces and stews, chutneys and spreads that you would sop up with the regional breads.  Mushan Pork and five lentil stew, bean soup and tomatillo salsa, pomegranate and meatball soup – I could go on, and on, and on.  Fantastic.

The recipes are detailed, and in-depth; the authors thoroughly know their subject, and tell us about their travels around the world doing research, making this ring authentic on every page.  If you love ethnic foods this is a must – don’t take my word for it, the James Beard Awards picked it as Cookbook of the Year, and it truly deserves that award.

If you only own one book about bread, make sure it is this one.  Enthusiastically recommended.

Claudia Fleming apprenticed under the master himself, Pierre Herme, and now is Pastry Chef at the Gramercy Tavern in New York.  I can easily see Pierre Herme in her work, especially in her chocolate recipes; and she brings her own charming style to his technique and approach.

‘The Last Course’ was my constant companion during my tenure at Sooke Harbor House, where I tried every single idea – they all worked.  Everything is about components to her – intelligent flavor combinations with whispers of such ingredients as rose petals, chamomile, lavender – I love it.  She explains her recipes in smart introductions, and carefully walks through all the steps; the book is laid out well, making it easy to find your favorite, and there is a nice section matching dessert wines with dishes.

I have made all of them – ice creams, her cornmeal crepes and pound cake, doughnuts, panna cotta, pumpkin clafouti – all delicious.  It is hard for me to pick a favorite recipe – bay leaf flan? pine nut tart? All her compositions are clean and simple and pure and just dreamy…

Absolutely, totally recommended.

My copy is the 1996 first edition (it has since been reissued and updated), and I bought when it was unique for its excellent recipes.   Mainly about those nurturing comfort foods we all love, it jazzes up basic recipes, adding nice tweaks and embellishments to create really satisfying dishes.  I personally made and loved the Alva Double-Garlic Chicken with Overnight Tomatoes (incredibly delicious rich saucy garlic-drenched YUM!) and the wild mushroom minestrone with mascarpone dumplings – like I said, comfort food!

I don’t use this much anymore, specializing in pastry as I do.  It is somewhat inspirational, but mostly useful for a home cook, and guaranteed to garner compliments at the dinner table.

Currently Vancouver Magazine’s ‘Chef of the Year‘, Pino has created a beautiful and approachable work, featuring modern Italian with traditional – if you love Italian food, you must own this book. It is stuffed with amazing pasta recipes, risotto, seafoods; I was truly surprised to see that he was sharing so many of his great ideas!   The book is well-written, beautifully laid out with wonderful photographs of his remarkable dishes.

I worked for Pino as his Pastry Chef, and so have made all of the dessert recipes in this book (and then some!) I know they all work well, with very satisfying results – Creme Brule, Biscotti, Gorgonzola Cheesecake with Red Wine-poached figs and Port Syrup, Lemon Chiboust with Roasted Pineapple and Almond Milk Sorbet, Tiramisu, Chocolate Terrine with Espresso Caramel Sauce, Tuiles Nougatines, Okanagan Apple Tarte Tatin with Caramel Sauce and Vanilla Ice Cream, Macaroons, Organic Lemon Tart with Italian Merinque and Raspberry Compote, Organic Honey Semifreddo with Orange Sauce and Cassis Caramel – I can personally vouch for them all.  My personal favorite?  Warm Chestnut Cake with White Chocolate Sauce and Maple Syrup Ice Cream – yum!

Cioppino’s (the restaurant) is very expensive, a credit-card buster that is worth every penny; I only go on very special occasions!  If you can’t afford it, or can’t get to Vancouver, then this is the next best thing to being fed by Pino himself.  Recommended completely.

Sting and his wife Trudie, both born and raised in the city, had become gentleman farmers, moving to the Lake House manor with its sixty-acre organic farm, and were rhapsodic about their new connection with the earth.  I can just imagine Sting, coming home from a 50 city tour with his easy listening jazz band, putting on the overalls and going out to pull weeds… right.  Ok, so I am a pessimist about all that, but I did try to give the book the benefit of the doubt, and read it without too much bias..

Nah, that didn’t work.  This book is so obviously a vanity project, even the family chef couldn’t save it.  Both recipes and pictures are very average, with nothing special or even vaguely interesting.  I have cooked long enough to know this is a pile of poop that should be avoided…

bad dog!

Martha is very warm and personal in her early books, and this is one of the cheeriest, even including pictures from the christmas party in her home.  I have made many of these recipes, and they have all turned out good, from popcorn balls and lip-smacking condiments to crisp pickles and delicious cookies.  I had always wanted to bake a gingerbread house, so for my first I built her Gingerbread Mansion, which is very clearly explained; I made one of my own design every winter after that for years, inspired by Martha.

I guess this is my favorite Martha Stewart book (her ‘Pies and Tarts’ book is another that I return to), as every year I return to it for one of her good classic recipes; ‘Martha Stewart’s Christmas’ is a definitely a great baker for a home baker or professional.  Recommended.

Martha's step-by-step directions make this Gingerbread Mansion do-able!

Once I got over that disappointment, though, I discovered a pretty good book with lots of excellent recipes.  He covers the basics really well – as well as Pierre Herme – on florentines, cookies, macaroons, mousse, tarts, candies, pastries, cakes, frozen desserts, even souffles.  It is a pretty book, with excellent photographs, and the recipes I have tried have worked very well – tasty, rich, completely what you would expect them to be.

My default resource for chocolate desserts is Pierre Herme; I trust him, and so refer to his books far more often than Linxe.  But this is also a good book, with lots of great information, definitely worth your time and money; recommended.

That said, you won’t be surprised to hear that I have made every recipe in this book, and I am happy to report – they all work!  Emily’s style is all about focussing on one or two flavors, making simple and effective recipes – you don’t have to be a whiz in the kitchen to accomplish these delicious desserts.  Her directions are explicit and easy to follow, and there are many inviting photos of the results. With the exception of her puddings (not her strong suit), all of these recipes create straight-forward delicious delights -she has a fantastic touch with cookies, squares, and bars – the black & white brownie recipe is superb, her lemon squares simply unbelievable, and russian tea cakes – yum yum!  Another clever dish is gingerbread with warm apple and cider sauvignon – so tasty;  and her coconut macaroons are wonderful.

These are all restaurant quality, yet simple enough for a home baker.  It has been reliable and essential for me, and I think it will be for you too.  Recommended!

I use this book often; it is very readable with very useful step-by-step instructions, great pictures, everything I need.  I am a student of chocolate, and was thrilled to discover techniques that were completely new to me, that I am now able to use in my day to day work.  Just last week I wanted to build some chocolate nests atop a triple-chocolate mousse, a project that has perplexed me in past attempts – it always seemed to fail.  The step I was missing was clearly presented in this book, and my dessert was a success due to his clear laid-out directions – yay!

merci Jean-Pierre!

Although not particularly inspirational, this book is a well-written study of the craft and art of ‘Chocolate Decorations’, and most definitely a useful tool for a working pastry chef or an ambitious home cook.  Recommended.

‘The Advanced Professional Pastry Chef’ is a reference book – an advanced pastry textbook – and as such is a very handy book to have in your kitchen. It provides a wealth of quality information and a wide range of basic techniques with very practical applications, especially for a beginner without formal training in culinary arts. I have bought this book as a gift for friends who are just starting to cook.

It is a mini-encyclopedia of pastry, covering a wide array of topics: decorated cakes, frozen and plated desserts, weight and measurement conversions, how to temper chocolate, trace drawings for decorations, step-by-step tutorials, even contract templates and wedding cake techniques. And that is only scratching the surface.

The recipes all work, but they are not to my personal taste, as they are a bit old-fashioned. Quite often I will refer to this book as a reference, as a starting point, and I will adapt the recipe for my own use.

Every cook should have a book like this on their shelf, as it is very useful – I could go back to it a hundred times and always find something new, as it covers such a wide range of material. While it is not particularly inspirational, it has lots of value, especially to newer cooks, and as such is recommendable.