Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Madison (Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone) reinvigorates the possibilities of dessert by putting fruit center stage in this mouth-watering collection of recipes: apple crisp with cinnamon cream; berry and peach cobbler; nectarine and plum upside-down cake; and cherry tart with crushed amaretti. But it also ventures off the beaten path. The wild rice pudding with maple syrup and wine-soaked cherries is a marvelous twist on traditional dessert puddings, as is the sweet potato-coconut pudding. The various sauces and creams (sabayon, frangipane, raspberry coulis with muscat wine) are easy to make. Some of the most elegant recipes in the book are simple plates; they combine fruits with nuts and sauces (for example, figs with mascarpone and pine nuts); or pair fruits with cheeses (Teleme with dried fruit compote). Lovely sidebars and inserts offer a wonderful amount of information on fruit, fruit varieties, and cooking and baking with fruit to further enhance this book. Madison has a lovely writing style-clear, entertaining, and knowledgeable-and with her commentary it's as if she's in your kitchen discussing every recipe. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
James Beard Award winner and founding chef of Greens in San Francisco, Madison (Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone) was an enthusiast of seasonal and local produce long ago. Here, inspired by visits to farmer's markets, she focuses on fresh and dried fruits in simple desserts (many of which could act as appetizers). A large number of the recipes are simple instructions for cut fruit drizzled with honey, served with cheese or cream, or cooked with liqueur. Even so, the attractive layout and stunning color photos combined with Madison's informative, conversational writing style create a book that is browsable and appealing. The primary drawback is the lack of a seasonal index; the recipes are not arranged by kind of fruit or season. Verdict Madison's fans will undoubtedly be drawn to this title, though avid bakers looking for stunning, refined, new dessert recipes may be disappointed.-Pauline Baughman, Multnomah Cty. Lib., Portland, OR (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
