Book Review: The Christmas Cookie Cookbook by Ann Pearlman

It's coming time for the big Cookie Confab – though once again this year it is going to be downsized. Gail, Debbie and I have no days off in common anymore. It's sad. I love getting together to bake cookies and chew the fat. And drink. And bitch. And eat.

I have been pouring over my cookie books and even asked to review one. So yes – being the cheap chiseling food whore that I am - I got another free book.

The book I requested was The Christmas Cookie Cookbook, from Atria Books. This book is written by Ann Pearlman,  who also authored The Christmas Cookie Club, a book about a group of women who get together every year to trade cookies and share their lives.

Now ya know me – I am not a chick lit kinda gal. My family was filled with evil harridans who smiled nicely at each other in public and cut each other to ribbons with their razor sharp tongues behind closed doors. Family gatherings were not the sappy sweet female bonding experiences that you find in so many books aimed at women. So needless to say I haven't read the novel The Christmas Cookie Club.

But I do love cookies and have been running The Cookie Confab for almost 10 yrs now so I was very intrigued by the premise for this book.

All that being said – I really enjoyed reading The Christmas Cookie Cookbook. Ann talks about how the club got started, about the women involved, and the deep bonds that have developed over the last 20 years – yes 20 years. That is some stamina right there!! Plus, you get concrete advice on how to start your own club, hints on how to make the event a success from setting the date to passing out the goodies.

There are recipes too. Now, do not expect any ground shattering breakthroughs in cookie baking technology. Many of these recipes have seen print elsewhere – including the recipe that I made as a test batch. (In fact, the Ultimate Double Chocolate Cookie is from the Ghiridelli website, modified to make the dough a little easier to handle when shaping into log. I, and my boss, have made a couple other changes which I will share below.)

Other recipes are included for appetizers and buffet dishes to keep everyone on the edge of sobriety, plus cookie making tips.

Oh yeah – and then there are the Rules. The Rules are brilliant. The Rules are awesome. They are the work of someone who understands how to organize and maintain.

This is my snarky non-chick lit interpretations of the rules. If you want the nice friendly PC version, then you will just have to go and buy the book.

1. Cookie variety – no chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin – it's freakin' Christmas so act like it whydoncha?
2. No Goo – cuz too messy is no good...
3. Exclusive membership – No one wants to bake 20 dozen cookies for a party, so no – you don't get to come!
4. Commitment - what?! You came one time and now you wanna back out!!!?? Bitch!
5. Life Membership- well if we can put up with you, you can put up with us every year... or in other words the only way to leave the cookie club is feet first!
6. Packaging – Thou shalt invest in something pretty to hold your cookies – no paper plates ya lazy ho!
7. Share a dish – we need some food to soak up all this booze!
8. Charity – spread the love – and calories – around!
9. More Fun – do things that will be memorable - memorable enough to cut through the alcohol-induced haze.

I think the one thing I would have like to see with the cookie recipes were “keeping instructions” - a consistent addendum to each recipe talking about how long the product would keep, and the proper way to store them. One would assume that these recipes have been made and tested by the ladies who submitted them and those ladies would have some idea of how long these different types of cookies keep. Maybe that is kinda nit-picky but I'm just sayin'...woulda been nice.

Overall, I would say buy this book, especially if you have ever dreamed of running a cookie exchange or even another seasonal event every year. The advice is sound, the tone supportive and if you are lucky enough to have friends and family who actually like each other then I say give it a try!

Now your reward for putting up with my ramblings – the recipe!!!

Here is the recipe for Ultimate Double Chocolate Cookies. They demand something like milk or, even better, the slight bitterness of black coffee.

Here is the recipe as it is written in the book.

Ultimate Double Chocolate Cookies Yield: 24 cookies 12 ounces Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips 11 1/2 ounces 60% Bittersweet Chocolate Chips 6 tablespoon unsalted butter 3 eggs 1 cup sugar 1/3 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1 cup chopped walnuts Directions In double boiler over hot water, melt bittersweet chocolate chips and butter. In large bowl, beat eggs and sugar with an electric mixer until thick. Stir in chocolate mixture. Set aside. In small bowl, stir together flour and baking powder. Stir in chocolate mixture. Gently mix in semi-sweet chocolate chips and walnuts (dough will be gooey). Chill for 30 minutes to firm up. On a sheet of plastic wrap, form dough into two logs, each 2 inches in diameter and about 8 inches long. Wrap tightly. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or until firm. Shinny Shiny cookies...yummmy.... Pre-heat oven to 375°F. With sharp knife, cut into 3/4-inch slices and place on greased or parchment-lined cookie sheet. Bake 14 minutes or until shiny crust forms. Cookies should be soft inside. Transfer cookies to rack to cool. Differences from the original recipe on the Ghiridelli sight: The original recipe does not call for the 30 minute chill before shaping. This does make it easier to handle when shaping. The shape of the logs is 2” in diameter and 12” long. Even though the recipe in the book says 8” - the logs did come out about 12” during the test. The original recipe stipulates that you unwrap the logs before cutting. Duh. The original recipe kept the cookies on the pan until cool. These are kinda delicate and I would cut the difference between the two recipes and let the cookies cool for a few minutes before removing them to the rack. The original recipe called for 12-14 minutes. 12 minutes did the trick for me. The original recipe states that these will keep up to one week. I hid a cookie and just pulled it out. A week is kinda pushing it – they were much better the first couple of days, but I still would not turn my nose up at one of these that was a week old. Changes that I made to the recipe: I would say chop the walnuts into medium to small pieces. Larger pieces taste good but are a bitch to cut. Use a serrated knife when cutting the log. This is for two reasons: first, the sawing motion means you do not have to press down as hard on the log so you do not flatten it out or cause the dough to crumble. The second is it will cut through the chocolate chips when they are cold. I also froze one of the logs of dough, then thawed it in the fridge overnight before baking. Turned out just as awesome as the non-frozen dough. Lastly – this can easily be made gluten free! My boss, Melissa, substituted ½ cup of commercial gluten free flour and they turned out fantastic.

A reminder! - a free stuff!!!

Forking Fantastic hits the bookstores today!!! Yeah Zora!! Yeah Tamra!! You guys need to pick up a copy asap so you can get started on all your parties...

In case you didn't hear about it - the FTC is now saying all bloggers have to tell you when they get swag for doing reviews. Well, not only did I get some swag for reviewing this book- you can too!!!

Starting today, the person who sends me the best "party tip" will be in line to receive his/her very own copy of Forking Fantastic. You have until Sunday night (that is October 11th). So get crackin' by crackie!

To start you off - here is one of my rules: If a off duty stripper shows up and starts flashing everyone, snap pictures before you toss her out!

A new tome for the archives: Forking Fantastic by Zora O'Neill and Tamara Reynolds

It's not often that I will tell you I have laughed out loud while reading a cookbook. Occasionally a chuckle, or a snort of derision, but rarely because it is over-the-top had to read it out loud to the hubby "oh my gawd - this is awesome you gotta hear this" funny. I can't say that anymore. Enter into my life Forking Fantastic. (Yes, I snuck a preview copy in when you weren't looking!)

Forking Fantastic is a book about hosting dinner parties. We are not talking about those old fashioned granny parties with the good china, better posture, fancy duds and Miss Manners glaring over your shoulder. This book is about inviting people into your life, cooking for them, getting drunk with them and having a great time while doing it all . The best part is that the authors of Forking Fantastic, Zora O'Niell and Tamara Reynolds are experts at doing just that.

I could go into extended detail about their food pedigree - how they meet while working at Prune and had an intense bonding moment over dinner one night -how they started cooking together, how they invited friends over to eat and eventually became the organizers of a Sunday Night Cooking Club dedicated to food, wine, laughter and song. It sounds pretty damn awesome doesn't it? The good news is - Zora and Tamara (can I be on a first name basis here ladies?) actually tell you all about the history of their love of food, how the party got started and how they keep it going - and they are much better at telling their story than I could ever be.

So the writing - My bout of hysterics were brought about by two factors.

First: this book is brilliantly written. Engaging, witty, naughty, down-to-earth, sassy...ummmm where is that thesaurus? A couple lines that tickeled me.

On vegetarians: "Our vision of vegetarianism, at least, includes a bacon exemption..."

In the intro to Spanish tortilla with saffron: "... Zora learned the technique from a Spaniard, as payback for teaching him the invaluable idiom booty call." (Zora, sweetie, we need to hear more about that! Where should I bring the wine?)

The second reason: These ladies are on the ball. Long time readers will know that once to twice a month I cook for anywhere from 10-20 people and speaking from experience, I can tell these women know how to rock large scale cooking in the home kitchen.

And they don't just talk recipes - they hit on logistics, organization, prep work, where and how to wrangle supplies so you don't break the budget - oh, and how to get people to "feed the kitty" AND bring a bottle of wine to boot. They are willing to tell you why something worked - and why some things things don't or can't or simple won't. The first part of this book is there so you don't have to make their mistakes - and you get to laugh with (yes, with...be nice...) them while they tell you about their misadventures.

Now on to the recipes...

I will confess I have not had the opportunity to test any recipes yet. (The better part of my kitchen is in boxes - you all will find out why in about a month...) I want to - oh boy, how I want to. Zora and Tamara ease you into the game with a few iron clad winners like roast chicken and pot roast. They include side dishes that work with the main course - not just because of the flavors, but logistically as well. At the beginning of each menu there is a action plan that gives you marching orders on how to execute your feast so that you don't rend your garments and lament openly on your front lawn because you were the victim of your own poor planning. After you try a few of their fool proofed menus - there is even more...

Feeling spunky? How about fried chicken for 30 people? Or a whole spit-roasted lamb? No kidding folks - there are even instructions on how to truss up the lamb to the spit so it doesn't descend into the flames of the fire pit you built (once again - instructions included).

When I finally get my kitchen back I am going for the "Fall Means Ham" menu. (A whole on the bone ham is one of the great party foods - there is something primal about bringing out a hunk of roast beast and putting it on the table with a nice big knife...then getting everyone likkered up.) In addition to the ham with a bourbon-brown sugar glaze, the menu includes sides such as potato and turnip casserole, roasted fennel with black olives, bitter green salad and apple spice cake for dessert. Seasonal, affordable and tasty.

Forking Fantastic hasn't been unleashed upon the unsuspecting yet. It will take the world by storm on October 6th, but you can pre-order it on Amazon or from you friendly local book purveyor. It's only $20!! It is cheap at twice the price!! What are you waiting for?!!

In the meantime to get your appetites whetted while you are waiting for your copy to arrive, you can check out the porn on Tamara's blog or watch the YouTube video of them cooking some fantastic looking mole. Oh...and they are going to have a website that will go live on October 6th - so make sure you head over and check it out...

Book Review: Eat Feed Autumn Winter

I've been a bad girl for the last few months...I've been sitting on a copy of the wonderful Eat Feed Autumn Winter by Anne Bramley , published by Stewart, Tabori and Chang (who always publish rockin' cookbooks!). It's not that I didn't want to share, but merely that I was distracted by other things. Plus I really didn't want to share. There I said it! It's mine! You can't have any of these wonderful recipes!!

As we know, eating seasonally is easy in the summer, when we have lots of top quality produce just laying around at the markets, but what about fall and winter? If you have to ask that question, then this is the book for you! Anne uses focuses on what is in season during the various cold months, and ties those items in with holidays and events. And we are not just talking about American holidays like Valentine's day or Christmas. There are menus for events such as Burns' Night from Scotland or Twelfth Night , which we generally don't celebrate here. However, with these new recipes in hand, I may just have to start celebrating these holidays just so I have an excuse to make this food.

One of the things I liked best about this cookbook was the use of all different types of ingredients in a variety of new and different ways. For example, most of us don't think of beets except as pickled or roasted. How about beet fries? With blue cheese dressing on the side? What about pumpkin seeds? What if I told you that they were used in a stuffing for chicken breasts? Intrigued? I was! If you are timid, don't let things like beet fries scare you away. There are still good solid fare for the less adventurous as well, such as a beef and ale pie, puddings and roast beef.

And the desserts are not forgotten either. With dishes ranging from items such as traditional English puddings to the sinfully decadent triple chocolate stuffed mocha cupcakes (OMG, the photos for those made me swoon!)

Criteria number one: Food porn - Lots of porn action here. However, the book isn't just about looking good. There is a depth of content here which ensures that this book will be staying in my collection, and will be come out again and again whenever there is a nip in the air..

Criteria number two: Ingredients - Most of the ingredients are readily available - the right time of year. Remember, this is a "seasonal" cookbook. Plan on plonking down some cash for things like lamb, caviar or lobster but there are still plenty of other recipes with ingredients that are cheap in season, like mushrooms, apples, pears and citrus fruits.

Also, a couple recipes call for specialized equipment like a pudding mold. If you have one, great. If not - it would have been nice to have explicit instructions on an acceptable substitute along with photo illustrations. Sometimes a picture can be all the encouragement that's needed to try out something new.

Criteria number three: Difficulty - This book would be accessible from an intermediate beginner on up. There are not a lot of fiddly recipes that require a degree from the CIA to accomplish. I love looking in a cook book and the recipe is only half a column long - I am more likely to try something that I don't have to sweat over in the kitchen - especially when I am entertaining (IE eating like the glutinous pigs we are).

Criteria number four: Recipes - Anne covers the gambit from appetizers to desserts to drinks. I have quite a few tagged for future investigation, mostly in the main dish category, like pasty pie and chili lime shrimp. Most of the recipes are straight forward - nothing ground breaking with recipes like roasted root vegetables - but still a nice mix when pared with the holidays she details in the side notes.

Criteria number five: Author - I will confess, I had not heard of the author before receiving this book. Anne Bramley is co-founder and host of Eat Feed, a podcast that focuses on eating seasonally, no matter the time of year. She is a professional foodie - she obviously loves her craft. The books shows a certain flair for understanding the day to day workings of a home kitchen, something often lacking in other "pretty" cookbooks.

So in celebration of St. Patty's day, I decided to make the "Irish" dinner - the last menu in the book. The other reasons I decided on that was 1) the lamb shoulder chops were on sale because they were *gasp* seasonal, and 2) the recipes were easy and I had all the other ingredients on hand. (And yes - I do keep Guinness in the house at all times. It's that kinda house, baby!)

I will tell you - the hubby LOVED these lamb chops. He has been talking about paying full price for more chops just so he can have them again. That is pretty high praise in this cheap-ass household.

If you get a chance this week - please make this dish. You will not regret it one bit!




Here is the recipe for

Stout-Glazed Lamb Chops with Colcannan

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

4 lamb shoulder chops (6 to 8 ounces each)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup stout, such as Guinness

3 tablespoons packed brown sugar

Generously salt and pepper the lamb chops. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add the chops to the skillet and brown 3 minutes on each side. Remove the chops to a platter. Deglaze the pan with the stout, scraping up any browned bits. Stir in the brown sugar until it
dissolves. Re­turn the chops to the sauce. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Turn and cook, covered, for another 15 minutes. Remove the lid and turn the heat to medium-high. Cook the sauce and chops for a final 8-10 minutes until the sauce is thick and syrupy and the chops are tender. Turn the chops to coat in the glaze every 2 minutes or so. Serve the chops on a bed of colcannon (recipe follows) and drizzle with the sauce.

Serves 4

Colcannan

(I will admit to cheating a little bit on this recipe. I did not use two pots. I put the potatoes in a large pot of water and when they were done enough, I simply added the cabbage in with them and cooked them the last . Such a cheater - I know! - R)

2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut in quarters

6 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup warm milk

3 cups cabbage, thinly sliced

Salt

White pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil Add the potatoes and cook until soft, about 20 minutes. Drain. While the potatoes are cooking, bring a medium pot of salted water to boil and cook cabbage for 5 minutes Drain. Mash potatoes with the butter. Stir in the milk and cabbage. Salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 4

Book Review: The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry

I love a good adventure story. I love putting myself into the shoes of the protagonist - filleting fish, breaking sauces and struggling with the local lingo...

What kind of adventure story is this you ask?

It a tale of a American gal in London who, finding herself without a viable means of support, runs off to Paris to attend the Cordon Blue cooking school. There is love, intrigue, passion, pain, suffering, great food and best of all - its a true story .

Yup - It's for real! Kathleen Harris takes the reader along for the ride as her story unfolds in The Sharper Your Knife the Less You Cry: Love, Laughter, and Tears in Paris at the World’s Most Famous Cooking School (Penguin Books).

After my last book review experience, I was a little reluctant to plunge into another book - even if this was a autobiography, one of my favorite things in the whole world. So consequently, the paperback sat on my nightstand for about two months before I worked up the nerve to dive in.

I am really sorry I waited that long. Kathleen has a nice clean writing style. Her story moves along without getting bogged down in self-pity or false modesty. I love the way she talks about her fellow students, her professors and the shopkeepers she meets during her tenure in Paris. My envy was aroused by her descriptions shopping for food in Paris - the wine shop near on of her apartments where the owner chats with her and makes recommendations to go with her dinners, the bakeries where she picked up fresh bread every day and the other small shops that clustered along a street close to her house.

However, her description of the Parisian branch of the Cordon Blue made me quake in my shoes. The description of her struggles with puff pastry was enough to give me a case of the nerves. I think if you plan on attending culinary school, you should read this book first. True - you may not have to master French to attend the school of your choice - however, the books gives you a very good look at the types of curriculum that you would be following. Personally, I know that I would crap out during the sauces - my Hollandaise usually breaks.

And just in case you like interactive storytelling, Kathleen also includes recipes, so you can eat along with the story. I personally would like to try the rabbit in mustard sauce since I recently located a source for fresh rabbit.

So my recommendation is to grab a copy of The Sharper Your Knife the Less You Cry. It will make a good read while you are curled up on the couch this winter drinking you hot tea and dreaming of your own personal rebirth.

Book Review:The Sweet Melissa Baking Book

Before our most recent warm spell, I got into baking frenzie. Not only did I accomplish the May Daring Baker's Challenge, but I decided to explore a new book called The Sweet Melissa Baking Book by Melissa Murphy.

I will confess that I was sent this book by Penguin Books for review. But those of you who are my regular readers know that getting something for free does not mean I will give it a favorable review. My last foray into book reviews was not a pleasant experience, so once bitten, twice shy I say.

One of the things that gave me hope for this book from the beginning was the picture on the front cover. I believe the recipe is of the Fallen Chocolate Soufflé Cake. It looks like something I could serve at home. It's not perfect looking - it's no Ace of Cakes creation but it looks like something you would make for a family gathering were all the old hen aunts would criticize the way the cake was all "cracked up" then cluck at you for the recipe once they had tasted it. Them's the kinda recipes I like.

And it's the kind of recipes that Melissa likes too. In her forward, Melissa stated she wanted to use her training to infuse home style baked goods with a French pastry flair - thereby "making every one's favorite desserts better than they've had them before". An admirable cause in the advancement of baking if you ask me. Nothing like burning down the house. And thankfully, she decided to spill the beans so that people like me - out in the heart of the Midwest - could learn make her recipes.

Just to give you a little bit of background, Melissa started her bakery Sweet Melissa Patisserie ten years ago. It was the culmination of her culinary training that started at her mother's knee. She received her formal training at the French Culinary Institute then went out into the big wide world and worked her way up to owning her own store. Personally I am a little jealous of those who live within driving distance of her locations Brooklyn.

Her bakeries are all full service offering everything from those highly decorated fondant covered creations that set the standard for special occasion cakes these days to the homey desserts featured in this book. Some of those recipes include Toasted Almond Lemon Bars, Double Dark Chocolate Cherry cookies, and Caramel Apple Turnovers.

So why should you buy this book? You already have a million cookbooks - and they have recipes for things like Toasted Almond Lemon Bars, Double Dark Chocolate Cherry cookies, and Caramel Apple Turnovers. Yeah me too. I can't help myself. I love buying cookbooks. However, I have set some pretty high standards because otherwise I would be pushed out of house and home by my book collection. So how do I judge whether a book will be added to my collection? I am glad you asked!

First - It is long on food porn and short on text? There are a lot of cookbooks that rely on how pretty their food looks to sell copies. You know the ones I am talking about - Big color picture on the left page, two paragraph recipe on the right. I am not saying that these books are bad, but I like detailed instructions with my recipes. As a baker I am a little above the "hold my hand through every step" level, but if it is something I never baked before I like to have visual and tactile cues included to help guide my judgment. Examples would be to bake cookies until they are "golden around the edges" or "stir constantly over medium heat until the mixture just begins to thicken".

Second - Ingredients. Am I going to have to take out a second mortgage to purchase the items to make the recipes out of this book? Yeah 25 year old Basalmic may be freaking fantastic over fresh ripe melon and prosciutto. It may be freaking organismic. But my checkbook will never get to find out, as I refuse to spend that much on one ingredient. So what it comes down to is - do I already have the ingredients? If not, are they readily available and easy on the pocketbook?

Third - Difficulty level. Even though I am a member of Daring Bakers, I will admit that I am not the world's most accomplished cook when it comes to certain things - I can't make a good meringue (much to my great shame). I would say I am a intermediate cook - maybe just about ready to go into advanced stuff if I had the time to focus. So when I pick up a book, I look for things that I can either a) whip up with out any problems or b) are just enough of a challenge to advance my culinary skills without overwhelming me.

Fourth -Recipes. Well that is the whole reason huh? I've picked up cookbooks and didn't see anything that got my juices going. Too exotic :"Nope - nope - just can't see myself making anchovy and lemon biscotti." or too overdone: "Do I really need another recipe for Fettucini Alfredo?" I kinda think of most cookbooks as being like a wedding: Something old, something new, something borrowed and something that will make the salivary glands moisten up. (Hey, blue food is scary!) Also, are the recipes well written. Can I read them over and get a pretty good idea of what the whole procedure is? Are the ingredients listed clearly? Are there instructions on how to store the finished product and do they tell me how long this thing is gonna last (if it makes it that far)? If it is a "healthy" book, does it give me a nutrition breakdown?

Lastly - who wrote the book? Yeah it can be important. I am not a fame snob - just because you are famous doesn't mean that you can write a cookbook or more likely have one written for you under your supervision (Like a certain celeb chef who initials are RR). So does this person have the chops to write a book? How many years experience does the person have in the kitchen? Did she have formal training? Is he an experienced writer and/or have good editors? (A good publishing house can go a long way to making what could have been a mediocre book into a good one - an experienced editor is worth their weight in dark chocolate.) One of my favorite cookie books is by Richard Sax. (Most folks aren't familiar with his work. Sadly, Richard passed away back in 1995.) It looks like a tiny little toss away paperback book. The cover is really kitzy, it has no pictures of the food but the moment I read the recipes, I knew this guy had chops. I still make recipes from that book twenty years after I first purchased it. Quality will show itself when you read enough crap.

So - enough of my soap box - on to the main event.

So how did The Sweet Melissa Baking Book measure up under my critical eye?

Pretty darned good actually. (Yeah I know you were all waiting for me to trash it - HA!)

Criteria number one: Food porn - There is some. Just a slim section of full color pages. I like it best when you have a centerfold. A little "cheesecake" goes a long way.

Criteria number two: Ingredients - Nothing here that is too exotic, nothing you would have to order from the Internet if you lived in the wilds of rural Ohio. True, there are some things you would have to lay out some $$$ for such good chocolate or fresh raspberries (unless you have a line on that kinda thing), but nothing that will make you take out a second mortgage on the house.

Criteria number three: Difficulty - This book would be accessible from an intermediate beginner on up. I say "intermediate beginner" (is that an oxymoron?) because if you don't know what creaming, sifting and folding is - you need a book with some training wheels on it before you get to this book. Would this book challenge an advanced cook or professional? Most likely not.

Criteria number four: Recipes - The mixture of recipes is good. It fulfills all the requirements for a good marriage - old (ginger snaps and butterscotch pudding), new (Bee Stings), borrowed (black bottom brownies) and mouthwatering (ummm - almost everything is the book made my mouth water...)

Criteria number five: Author - Until I got this book, I had never heard of The Sweet Melissa Patisserie. I had never heard of Melissa Murphy. While she has never published a book before, I do like the fact that she is a working pro and that the recipes are from her personal collection. It means the recipes were tested on real people before she published them; and that she has been in business ten years tells me she understand what people like. The way the book is written has a quiet confidence without tooting too much horn. The whole product is very welcoming and accessible.

Verdict: If you like to bake and need some solid recipes to add to your repertoire, then this is a book you need add to your collection. I know there are several other items that I want to make when autumn rolls around - and once the folks at work tasted my trial recipe, they wanted to borrow the book too. The Sweet Melissa Baking Book is definitely a keeper.

So all the being said: what the hell did I make out of the book you ask? (That was a long way to go for just a recipe and a crappy picture of some food wasn't it?)

Sweet Potato Bread with Cinnamon-Rum-Orange Glaze

I picked this recipe for several reasons:

1. This recipe seemed to be tailor made for my pantry - except for the canned sweet potatoes. I like my sweet potatoes fresh and oven roasted. (And yes - I did have rum in my pantry. I always have rum in my pantry!)
2. I have a real soft spot for home-style baked goods. This is one of those cakes that would show up at a ladies' bible study or something like that.
3. If the author is to be believed, the fact this is a staff favorite was a good sign that it would be a winner.
4. And last - it seemed really quick. I need quick at this point in my life. I don't have the time to make multiple layered pastries with homemade icings and glazes on a regular basis - and I am betting most people don't either. I figured that this recipe is one that would get used again and again. (I was right too - the hubby has been begging me to make it again.)

The cake turned out rich, moist and flavorful. The glaze gave it a little bit of a crunchy surface. It was easy to make and it didn't last long enough for me to find out of it would get stale. So here ya go - I hope you give it a try.

SWEET POTATO BREAD WITH CINNAMON-RUM-ORANGE GLAZE

Every Friday Jessie, one of my top bakers at Sweet Melissa’s, makes quick breads and loaf cakes for those customers getting ready to go out of town for the weekend. They stop in on their way out to the Hamptons on Long Island or the Jersey Shore and pick up a stash of Sweet Melissa's treats to nibble on. I love the thought of my cakes and cookies in their beautiful kitchens with ocean views.

This quick bread has "home sweet home" written all over it. One of the many things I like about this recipe, which is based on a recipe by my all-time favorite pastry chef, Andrea Lekberg, is that it is so inexpensive to make and is one of the best things you'll ever eat.

The staff at Sweet Melissa's goes crazy for sweet potato bread. We make an extra one just for slicing so we can all get our fill (which is very good for morale!).

Makes one Bundt pan

FOR THE BREAD

Two 15-ounce cans sweet potatoes, drained

2 cups sugar

2/3 cup vegetable or canola oil

2 large eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

2/3 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

FOR THE CINNAMON-RUM-ORANGE GLAZE

1/4 cup fresh orange juice

1/4 cup rum

1/2 cup sugar

2 cinnamon sticks

BEFORE YOU START

Position a rack in the center of your oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 10-cup Bundt pan.

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on low speed, mash the sweet potatoes until smooth (this will make about 2 cups). Add the sugar and oil and mix to combine. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each ad­dition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt. Add the flour mixture into the sweet potato mixture in three batches, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Do not over mix. Stir in the pecans.

3. Pour the batter into the prepared Bundt pan. Spin the pan to level the batter. Bake for about 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove to a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes before inverting onto the rack for glazing.

4. For the glaze: Combine the orange juice, rum, sugar, and cinnamon sticks in a small nonreactive saucepan. Bring to a simmer over low heat and reduce by half. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly before glazing.

5. Using a pastry brush, brush the glaze generously over the still-warm bread. Wait for 10 minutes and glaze again.

Serve at room temperature. Sweet potato bread keeps well wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 3 days. For longer storage, freeze wrapped in plastic wrap and then in aluminum foil for up to 3 weeks. Defrost still wrapped at room temperature.

The foregoing is excerpted from The Sweet Melissa Baking Book by Melissa Murphy. All rights reserved. Copyright © Melissa Murphy, 2008.

Book Review: Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs

A while back Penguin Books emailed me asking if I would like to review a book. I like to read books and I said "Sure - send it!"

The premise behind Comfort Food is that "Gus" Simpson, an aging star of a cable food network, hits a big hiccup in her life and career - her ratings are slipping, her two daughters are in the midst of turmoil - and to make matters worse, the network has saddled her with a younger, glamorous co-host who is constantly trying to upstage her. Sounds like a pretty good premise right? I thought so too when I cracked the cover.

After spending two days reading this book, I felt as though I was never going to be done soon enough. The problem was that poor execution really kept this book from reaching its potential. The first half of the book is more of an expose on all the characters - even minor ones - that went on and on. Did I really need to know that much about the contest winner that was introduced about halfway through the book? And what real purpose did she even serve? The character really didn't further the plot and kind left me feeling as if I had been cheated in the way she was kind of swept under the rug after the big build up.

The whole thing smacked of soap opera at its cheesiest. What was the next big drama?! The daughter who has been engaged 5 thousand times is engaged again - and it might stick this time! Gasp! Wait wait - Gus's best friend has a terrible secret from her past that caused her to become a recluse and it's about to be revealed!! Double Gasp! The whole crew is sent to a "bonding weekend" - watch the fur fly!!! Triple Gasp!! Ummmmm...not really...

So what was it that I wanted? More, that's what I wanted. If you are going to go for the soap opera approach - let's just go over the top. The co-host should have been a uber-bitch who would stop at nothing. Gus should have had some personal earth shattering event - like her uterus falling out during the taping of her new show. Yes, I wanted pure unadulterated over-the-top melodrama. As it was, what happened to the characters was just plain dull - and the wrap up even duller.

Once the "introductions" were over the book was pleasant enough. Just think "Chick Flick" and you would be dead on. If you can get past the bad plotting, the two dimensional characters, slow pacing of the book, and the "everybody is happy" ending, then this book is for you. God help ya if you can't find anything else better to read. I've got an extra copy of Valley of the Dolls if you want some dirt for your summer reading list.

Yeah yeah yeah you say - so what did you expect? I should have known better I tell ya! You always pay for the things you get for free!