October 17, 2011
In this beautifully designed cookbook, veteran cookbook author Segan presents more than 100 recipes for Italian desserts broken down by “Cakes and Sweet Breads,” “Pies,” “Freezer Desserts,” “Spoon Sweets,” as well as chapters on “Holiday Traditions” and “Dessert Basics,” comprising essential dessert components including pie crusts and pastry cream. The author culled recipes from various regions in Italy, providing cultural notes and crediting chefs, restaurateurs, and historical cookbooks for their origins. Even those with a shelf of Italian cookbooks will delight in the chapter featuring dolci particuloari, a collection of “Weird and Wonderful, Unique and Unusual Desserts,” including a sweet spinach pie from Tuscany, packed with a ground almond “spinach” filling; chocolate eggplant from Campania, comprising layers of eggplant with ricotta and chocolate; and angel hair pasta pie from Emilia-Romagna. Traditional dishes, including tiramisù, panettone, and cannoli, balance out this substantial title. Full-page color photos and an elegant design make this a great contender for a gift book. A swoon-worthy title for those with a sweet tooth and open to expanding their dessert repertoire.
October 15, 2011
Segan (Opera Lover's Cookbook) has created a scrumptious new cookbook based on the sweet treats of Italy. Her background as a food historian shows in the information on food customs, festivals, and important Italian bakers. These interesting sidebars add just the right amount of authority to recipes--accessible, traditional, and perfect for contemporary tastes--for cookies, cakes, pies, frozen and refrigerator cakes, spoon sweets, holiday traditions, and even after-dinner drinks. Also included are the weird and wonderful, e.g., Sicilian Pasta Crisps and Chocolate Eggplant. Segan scoured Italy for recipes, drawing on everyone from food bloggers to grandmothers, pastry manufacturers, chefs, historical cookbooks, and food journalists. The result is an authentic collection of recipes, each with regional information and easy-to-follow instructions. Lovely photographs provide a tempting guide to presentation. VERDICT A wonderful addition. As well as offering great recipes, this is a cookbook you will read for pleasure.--Melissa Stearns, Franklin Pierce Univ. Lib., Rindge, NH
Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
October 15, 2011
Put aside Segan's previous book (The Opera Lover's Cookbook, 2006). Anyone who demonstrates the how-to's at Eataly, Mario Batali's New York City food emporium, has more than enough credentials to gather a recipe collection of more than 100 Italian sweets. Her new cookbook (well photographed, thanks to Ellen Silverman) amazes in several ways. One, that most dolci aren't time-consuming to fashion. Who could resist a no-bake pandoro lager cake or no-fuss chocolate-pear tart. (Many, in fact, rely heavily on already-baked items, like amaretti and ladyfingers.) Many myths surrounding the classics, such as tiramisu, for instance, are gently busted (the popular pick-me-up dessert was actually invented in the 1960s near Venice). The exquisite color photographs and practical instructions guide even the most novice of bakers to prepare and serve, say, an edible candy dish or an instant chocolate cake with flair. Many sidebars (for instance, on different varieties of chocolate candies) and VHH, or Very Helpful Hints, capture the best in baking know-how (try using white cotton canvas, not flour, as the foundation for dough formation).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)