Dessert Circus at Home: Fun, Fanciful, And and 29 similar items

Dessert Circus at Home: Fun, Fanciful, And Easy-To-make Desserts Hardcover by Jacques Torres This beautifully-illustrated and imaginative cookbook spans an unusually broad range of culinary treats, with recipes for candy (homemade lollipops, marshmallows, chocolate truffles, caramel-dipped fruit, fruit leather), breads (pizza dough, brioche, scones, Danish), appetizers, fruit-based desserts, elaborate cakes, and intriguing reinterpretations of classic American desserts (apple pie, strawberry shortcake, banana cream pie, rice pudding, cheesecake). The authors clearly put a lot of thought into how to write a good cookbook, and the result is impressive-- recipes that wonderfully illustrate how to master both the art and the science of fine cooking. The cookbook begins with a detailed discussion of necessary cooking equipment, followed by an alphabetical listing of the ingredients used in the book's recipes; each ingredient is defined and, when appropriate, the author gives specific suggestions on what to look for when shopping. The idea behind all of this detail is clearly to ensure "success" the first time you try to make any of Torres' desserts at home. Dessert Circus at Home is written with a unique and charming style that obviously reflects the personality of the chef/author. Torres' wit and sense of whimsy come through on every page, making the book just plain fun to read, even if you never cook anything from its pages. Each recipe is remarkably detailed in its instructions. Torres has an obvious passion for his work, and his recipes are written in an almost conversational tone, giving you the sense that he is there standing next to you, teaching, while you are cooking. Potential pitfalls or problems are specifically identified at various points in different recipes, along with suggestions on how to avoid any difficulties (this is particularly comforting with challenging recipes like the one for Puff Pastry). I've looked at many of the recently-published cookbooks that showcase "fancy" desserts from famous chefs, and I can tell you that although these pretty books might be nice to have on your coffee table, you probably wouldn't want them in your kitchen. Lots of these cookbooks have recipes that appear to serve mostly as filler between the photographs of beautiful desserts. Many of the recipes from this kind of book seem like one would need a degree from a culinary school to pull them off, and it is clear that the authors who wrote them were more interested in selling cookbooks than in creating recipes feasible for the home cook. Dessert Circus at Home stands out in sharp contrast to this type of cookbook: Torres may be the executive pastry chef at a four-star New York City restaurant, but he knows how to bring his recipes down to the level of the serious home cook. Although this is clearly not a cookbook for beginners, the dedicated home cook will have a lot of fun making Torres' fanciful desserts!