All-American Desserts

September 1, 2003
Fertig (Prairie Home Cooking) claims that she has taken American recipes (defined as American, or Americanized recipes developed by Americans and made with American ingredients) and improved upon them—just a smidge. Fertig's Carrot Cake is tricolor and calls for yellow squash, green zucchini and carrots. Her recipes for crumbles or fruit crisps always include a squeeze of lemon juice to accent the flavors. Divided into sections that focus, in order, on fruit preserves and desserts, cookies, cake, pie, custards and puddings, ice cream, candy and beverages, the book is unarguably comprehensive. What's more, it's a convenient resource to have on hand. The recipes are modified classics, and Fertig has included some surprising ones, including Green Tomato and Apple Mincemeat, and Sweet Potato Pone with Kentucky Bourbon Pouring Custard. But among the most successful are the tried-and-true cornerstones of American dessert cuisine: Wisconsin Cheddar-Custard Apple Pie and Classic Angel Food Cake with Minted Berries. For the cook whose shelves are rife with books on contemporary cuisine, this book—think of it as an enhanced Betty Crocker recipe cookbook—is well worth adding to the shelf.

October 15, 2003
Cohost of the Food Network's Melting Pot, Brachman is a New York City pastry chef and author. Though his previous books (especially Retro Desserts) were full of corny puns and jokes, here he takes a rather more serious approach. He presents 150 recipes for favorite all-American desserts, from Pecan Pie to New York Cheesecake to Funnel Cakes; in addition to the classics, he includes rediscovered recipes for sweets that he thinks have been unfairly forgotten, such as Molasses "Cry Baby" Lace Cookies. Baker's tips accompany most recipes, and historical tidbits are scattered throughout the text. For most collections. Fertig, who has written other "all-American" cookbooks, including Prairie Home Cooking, takes a more ambitious approach to the same topic, and her readable text reflects her exhaustive research on the history of our American desserts. She delved into old "receipt books," diaries, and other primary sources, and includes hundreds of recipes for both the beloved standards Brachman includes and lesser-known old-fashioned desserts. There are also many variations on a theme, with nine cheesecake recipes alone, for example. Detailed boxes throughout focus on American ingredients-from cranberries to Jell-O, baking techniques, culinary traditions and history, and more. For all baking collections.

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