Date: Fri 12-Jan-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Illustration: C

Location: A-9

Quick Words:

cookbooks-blizzard-Valenta

Full Text:

(cookbooks rev for Enjoy cover, 1/12/96)

Blizzard Weather Is Perfect For Staying In & Cooking

By Kaaren Valenta

If there can be a bright side to this winter weather, it is that cold, snowy

days are perfect for staying home and baking. Following are some books to help

you get started.

How to Bake , by Nick Malgiere; HarperCollins Publishers, 1995, hardcover,

$35, 457 pp.

Sub-titled "The Complete Guide to Perfect Cakes, Cookies, Pies, Tarts, Breads,

Pizzas, Muffins, Sweet and Savory," this book is sure to become a classic

reference. It is packed as tightly as a cup of brown sugar with more than 400

recipes and lots of terrific advice. It distills years of Nick Malgiere's

teaching and experience (he is director of the baking program at Peter Kump's

Cooking School in New York City) into detailed recipes for virtually every

savory or sweet yeast bread, quick bread, muffin, pastry, dough and batter.

Recipes are thorough and include descriptions of how batters and dough are

supposed to appear at each stage of preparation. Master recipes explain all

the steps to making a classic dish. They are frequently followed by creative

variations so that the baker's palate and skills will always be accommodated

and challenged.

Advice on stocking the baker's pantry, lists of mail-order sources for such

ingredients as pizza yeast and an index finish off this collection of more

than 400 recipes.

Cocoa Quick Bread

This rich, chocolate-flavored quick bread is a good tea or afternoon bread

with a spread of tart raspberry jam, butter or cream cheese.

1‹ cups bleached all-purpose flour

¬ cup cocoa powder, non-alkalized preferred

« tsp baking powder

« tsp baking soda

« tsp salt

« tsp cinnamon

¬ tsp ground cloves

2 lg eggs

‹ cup light brown sugar

4 Tbs unsalted butter, melted, or mild vegetable oil

‹ cup sour cream

Butter and flour a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. Set a rack in the middle level of the

oven and preheat to 375 degrees.

Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder and soda, salt, and spices together into a

mixing bowl; stir well to combine.

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and whisk in the sugar. Continue whisking

until light, a minute or two. Whisk in the butter or oil and the sour cream.

Stir the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients, being careful not to

overmix.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the loaf for 45-55 minutes,

until it is well risen and a skewer or thin knife inserted in the thickest

part of the bread emerges clean.

Cool on a rack for five minutes, then unmold and finish cooling.

Storage: Keep well wrapped at room temperature for a day or two. For longer

storage, refrigerate, tightly wrapped in plastic, or freeze. Defrost and bring

to room temperature before serving.

A Country Baking Treasury: Pies, Cakes, Cookies , by Lisa Yockelson;

HarperCollins Publishers, 1995, hardcover, $25, 414 pp.

Ace baker and food writer Lisa Yockelson has carved a favorite spots in the

hearts of American bakers with her delightful little cookbooks. Now

HarperCollins has published a collection of three of her best-selling

favorites - Country Pies , Country Cakes and Country Cookies - in one volume.

With the easy-to-follow recipes are serving suggestions and tips on

ingredients, equipment and methods. Those whose individual copies are

dog-eared and ingredient-stained will appreciate this tidy, new book, as will

those who are just discovering the joys of country baking.

Maple Cream Pie

This hearty pie is wonderful to make in the dead of winter when you want a

satisfying and smooth-textured sweet. A narrow ring of chopped, lightly

toasted walnuts may be sprinkled around the edge of the baked pie, if you

like, for crunch.

1 cup heavy cream

« cup light cream

Pinch salt

4 extra-large eggs plus 2 extra-large yolks, at room temperature

¬ cup firmly packed light brown sugar

¬ cup plus 2 Tbs good-quality pure maple syrup

2 tsp pure maple extract

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 fully baked 9-inch pie shell

Put the heavy cream, light cream and pinch of salt into a heavy, medium-size

saucepan. Place over moderate heat, bring to the scalding point, remove from

heat and set aside.

Beat the eggs and egg yolks in a large mixing bowl until combined. Beat in the

brown sugar and maple syrup. Blend in the maple and vanilla extracts. Stir ¬

cup of the scalded cream into the egg yolk mixture. Slowly add the remaining

scalded cream to the egg yolk mixture in a thin, steady stream, whisking all

the while.

Pour filling into the baked pie shell. Bake in a preheated 400-degree oven for

10 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees, and continue baking

for about 35 minutes longer, or until the filling has set. The filling will

wiggle ever so faintly like a baked custard does and a knife inserted 2 inches

from the center will withdraw clean.

Transfer to a cooling rack. Serve barely warm or at room temperature.

Cobblers, Crisps and Deep-Dish Pies , by Lisa Yockelson; HarperCollins

Publishers, 1995, hardcover, $15, 86 pp.

The latest addition to Lisa Yockelson's American Baking Classics series, this

is a collection of tempting recipes for fruit-and-topping treats. The author

begins by distinguishing the differences between cobblers - a layer of

sweetened fruit covered by a topping of biscuit dough; crips - a crunchy cover

over a few inches of fruit, and deep-dish pies - fruit hidden beneath a flaky

crust.

These explanations are followed by recipes for delicous treats such as

Blueberry-Peach Cobbler, Deep-Dish Cherry Pie, Apricot-Almond Crisp, Gingered

Nectarine Cobbler, and Deep-Dish Red Plum Pie, all served fresh from the oven,

accompanied by ice cream, yogurt sauce, heavy cream or simply a hearty

appetite.

Apple Cobbler With

Raisins And Walnuts

5 cooking apples (about 1 Πlbs), peeled, cored and sliced

1 Tbs lemon juice

« cup superfine sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

« tsp freshly grated nutmeg

Pinch of ground allspice

2 Tbs dark raisins

3 Tbs chopped walnuts

Vanilla-Scented Biscuit Topping (recipe follows)

About 2 tsp granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Butter 9- to 10-inch oval oven-proof baking dish

that is 3 inches deep. Mix the « cup superfine sugar with the cinnamon, nutmeg

and allspice and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, toss the apples with the lemon juice. Sprinkle over the

superfine sugar-spice blend, mix well, and let stand 5 minutes. Fold the

raisins and walnuts through this. Spoon the fruit and nut mixture into the

baking dish.

Drop heaping tablespoons of the biscuit topping (recipe follows) over the

fruit. Sprinkle the granulated sugar over the biscuit topping.

Bake the cobbler 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees and

continue baking 40 minutes, or until the apples are tender and the topping is

golden.

Variations: Substitute 3 Tbs coarsely chopped sweet dried cherries for the

raisins.

Vanilla-Scented Biscuit Topping:

1« cups unsifted, all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

Ô tsp salt

3 Tbs cold unsalted butter, cubed

3 Tbs shortening

2 Tbs granulated sugar

‹ cup milk, blended with 1« tsp vanilla extract

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add

the cubes of butter and shortening and, using two table knives, cut the butter

into small dime-size bits. Crumble the flour and butter mixture between your

fingertips until the texture resembles coarse-cut oatmeal, leaving the fat in

small pearl-size lumps. Stir in the granulated sugar. Stir in the milk-vanilla

blend. The consistency of the dough should be medium-firm and soft, slightly

fluffy and sticky, and, when scooped up in a spoon, should hold its shape.

Drop heaping tablespoons of the dough (there will be about 10 to 12 total)

over the prepared fruit, leaving gaps here and there. The mounds will puff up

slightly on baking, sometimes melding together in spots, and that is what

makes the look of the cobbler so appealing.

Great Breads , by Martha Rose Shulman; Chapters Publishing Ltd, 1995,

$29.95/hardcover, $19.95/softcover, 272 pp.

Searching for great bread recipes when traveling abroad may seem a bit odd to

many, but to breadmaker extraordinaire Martha Rose Shulman, it is a natural

part of her frequent journeys around the world. In this book, the well-known

vegetarian cook presents home-baked favorites from Europe, the British Isles

and North America.

Varied international influences are displayed in her rendition of Fougasse, a

speciality of southern France that incorporates whole wheat flour and yields a

nutty flavor, and Naans with Sweet Pine Nut and Raisin Topping, a recipe which

offers a sweet anise paste to spread over warmed yeasted Indian flatbread.

Several versatile starter recipes allow bakers to create such delicous

sourdough breads as Whole Wheat Sourdough Country Bread and Sourdough Country

Bread with Sun-Dried Tomatoes. There are also quick breads and sweet breads;

pizzas, calzones and foccace; biscuits, scones, muffins and popovers; griddle

cakes, pancakes, crepes and ideas for using "yesterday's bread."

Cheese Muffins With

Sweet Red Pepper

‹ cup whole wheat flour

‹ cup unbleached white flour

« tsp salt

2« tsp baking powder

1 cup milk

2 lg eggs

¬ cup sunflower, safflower or canola oil

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F, with rack in the middle. Oil or butter 10

muffin cups.

Sift together the flours, salt and baking powder in a large bowl.

Beat together the milk, eggs and oil in a medium bowl. Stir in the cheese.

Quickly fold the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients. Fold in the bell

pepper.

Spoon into the muffin cups, filling each two-thirds full.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let cool for a few minutes in

the cups. Remove from the cups and cool on a rack.

Muffins A to Z and Bar Cookies A to Z , by Marie Simmons; Chapters Publishers,

1995, hardcover, $14.95, 95 pp.

With Muffins A to Z, Marie Simmons has produced the second in her A to Z

series. In the first, she brought to bar cookies the same creativity and flair

that distinguished her monthly column in Bon Appetit and her previous

best-selling books. Recipes like Applesauce Bars with Pecan Praline Topping,

Kahlua Cheesecake, Tropical Rain Forest Crunch or Zebra Bars are virtually

foolproof for the casual cook and experienced baker alike. They are simpler

and less time-consuming that individual cookies and they taste great, often

richer than traditional cookies and even improving with age.

Muffins A to Z features recipes that are quick to mix and even quicker to

bake, requiring few ingredients and no special equipment. They run the gamut

from breakfast favorites like Cinnamon-Ripple Coffee Cake Muffins to snacks

like Peanut Peanut-Butter Muffins to dinner accompaniments like Savory

Scallion Muffins. Muffins that are perfect for dessert include choices like

Lemon-Drizzled Lemon Muffins and Espresso Chip Muffins.

Peanut Peanut-Butter

Muffins

« cup smooth peanut butter

‹ cup packed light brown sugar

2 lg eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2« cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1« tsp baking soda, sieved

« tsp salt

1« cups buttermilk

« cup chopped dry-roasted unsalted peanuts

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly batter 12 muffin cups or coat with

non-stick cooking spray.

With a mixer, beat the peanut butter and brown sugar in a large bowl until

well blended. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each

addition. Beat in the vanilla.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir until blended.

Fold the dry ingredients and the buttermilk alternately into the peanut butter

mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingedients. Do not overmix.

Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Sprinkle each muffin with 1

heaping tsp of the chopped peanuts. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the

centers comes out clean, 20-22 minutes. Cool on a wire rack before moving from

the pan.

Book of Tarts: Form, Function and Flavor at The City Bakery , by Maury Rubin;

William Morrow & Company, 1995, hardcover, $25, 173 pp.

This book showcases 40 of the seductive creations by pastry chef Maury Rubin,

owner of New York's widely-acclaimed City Bakery. With uncomplicated

instructions and contagious enthusiasm, Mr Rubin invites dessert afficionados

and bakers alike to indulge in the art and craft of tart making.

Mr Rubin begins with master recipes for a variety of standard tart doughs,

stressing that once you learn these you can make every tart in the book.

Helpful baking tips and lists of baking tools preface the tart recipes and

each are accompanied by a color photograph.

Pillsbury Healthy Baking ; Viking Publishers, December 1994, hardcover,

$23.95, 256 pp.

Designed to strike a balance between nutritional responsibility and sheer

eating pleasure, this book modifies and perfects more than 200 favorite

American desserts, keeping the texture and flavor while trimming fat, sugar

and salt and using whole grains or cereals whenever possible. The book is

divided into five comprehensive chapters (cookies and bars, quick breads and

muffins, yeast breads, desserts and cakes, pies and tarts). All of the recipes

are accompanied by complete nutritional analysis, including dietary exchanges.