The Weekend Baker: Irresistible Recipes, Simple Techniques, and Stress Free Strategies for Busy People
- Book Review,
by Abigail Johnson Dodge
Amazon.com
What's a weekend baker? "Anyone who loves to bake, but gets tripped up feeling that it's too time consuming," writes Abigail Johnson Dodge in The Weekend Baker, her collection of 100-plus recipes for a wide range of sweet and savory baked goods. Formulas for the likes of Gingered Shortcakes with Jumbled Fruit, Soft Chocolate-Almond Oatmeal Cookies, and Chocolate-Banana Swirl Cake are immediately attractive, but the great value of Dodge's book lies in its organization, which takes readers from the simplest and quickest projects--"Baker's Express"--through "Baking in Stages," and finally "Productions," fuller-dress items like Four-Layer Carrot Cake and Overnight Brioche Braid; these are, nevertheless, well within the average baker's skill. In a world of baking books that offer the simplest and most traditional recipes only, or assume that readers have the time and technique to create multi-element extravaganzas, The Weekend Baker stands apart. Its approach is realistic without sacrificing good taste or recipe integrity. Dodge includes tips that cover familiar ground--get to know your oven, and the lik--but also offers, for example, "Bake It and Stow It," a detailed guide to storing sweets. Features like "Do-Aheads," and "Got Extra Time?," usefully further Dodge's quick-and-delicious approach. (She's also pleasingly droll; a really rich brownie is dubbed "prescription-strength."). With color photos, the book is a real addition to the harried baker's library. --Arthur Boehm
From Publishers Weekly
Dodge believes that when it comes to the often-intimidating world of baking, one need not sacrifice quality for simplicity. Chocolate-Glazed Ricotta Cake, Old-Fashioned Berry Ice-Box Cake, Jalapeño Corn Bread Wedges—all are within reach, with a little planning. The author honed her skills at La Varenne in Paris, specializing in pastry, but despite her serious experience, her approach is relaxed and realistic. To Dodge, the weekend baker is the dinner party host who wants to accompany the meal with homemade focaccia, but doesn't get home from work until six; the mom who finds out her son needs cupcakes for Cub Scouts in an hour; or the low-maintenance sweet tooth who's ready to embark on a baking "production" on a Saturday afternoon, but doesn't know where to start. Supremely efficient, the book will help readers in any number of situations, whether they have a few days (Ready-When-You-Are-Chocolate-Raspberry Soufflés can be prepared and refrigerated for up to a day or frozen for up to two weeks before baking) or less than an hour (Nutty Cinnamon Elephant Ears use frozen puff pastry). Encompassing cookies and bars, cakes, breads, custards and pies, and sharing time-saving tips on everything from using the microwave to soften butter to keeping a well-stocked pantry, this is an excellent resource for cooks of all levels. Photos. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Alice Medrich, winner of the 2004 IACP Cookbook of the Year award for Bittersweet: Recipes and Tales from a Life in Chocolate
An approachable and cleverly organized book written by a born cheerleader and excellent teacher.
Maggie Glezer, author of A Blessing of Breads and Artisan Baking Across America
Every recipe has my mouth watering. And I know that with Abby each one will come out perfectly.
Flo Braker, author of The Simple Art of Perfect Baking and Sweet Miniatures
Weekends will be filled with delicious fun now that we have Abby's collection of spectacular recipes.
Janet Fletcher, author of The Cheese Course and Fresh from the Farmers' Market
Cooking from her book is like having a dessert coach at your elbow, offering all the tips and encouragement.
Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page, co-authors, Becoming a Chef, Culinary Artistry and The New American Chef
Abigail Dodge has written a new classic....This book is a treasure.
Book Description
The first baking book written exclusively for active people. More than a collection of scrumptious recipes, The Weekend Baker also provides professional tips, techniques, and plans of attack for hectic lifestyles. Abigail Johnson Dodge has organized her recipes by the time they take—and she guides the baker through the steps to a mouthwatering success every time. Her key concept is an enticing blend of elements not found in any other single book: great-looking and great-tasting breads, puddings, cookies, cupcakes, cakes, and pies, ranging from fast and simple projects, like the "emergency" cupcakes that can be mixed up in minutes, to more ambitious undertakings, like a lattice-topped apple pie that can be put together in stages. With 24 pages of color photographs of the finished dishes, The Weekend Baker promises to lure time-pressed bakers into the kitchen. 24 pages of color illustrations.
About the Author
Abigail Johnson Dodge is a contributing editor to Fine Cooking and a founder of its test kitchen. She lives in Southport, Connecticut.
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