Fourth Thrifty Week of 2015 #4 ~ BAKE! and Gourmet Meals in Minutes

Bake - Essential Techniques for Perfect Baking, published in 2010. There are 30 techniques and recipes that enable the reader to master the essentials of baking. The book contains 20 chapters in all, each offering a master recipe or technique with helpful step by step photos. Also included are numerous tips and variations for each dish for a grand total of 125 recipes. So MANY amazing photos, I will be reviewing this book and brushing up on my pie crust making and bread baking when the weather gets a bit warmer!

To begin, we must first tackle the sweet pastry dough & tarts (there is a yummy looking Citrus Scented Chocolate Tart in this section) then move onto the flaky pastry dough & tarts (both fruity and savory), up next is the chapter on cookie dough & tarts (another tasty looking dish was the French Raspberry Tart) and finally we end with quick puff pastry.

Moving on, bread is the next topic with one step breads & rolls, pan breads, two step & whole grain breads (ciabatta), followed by flat breads (focaccia & pizza) and brioche. Before we delve into cakes, there is a chapter on danish pastries with a super quick and easy Apple Strudel.

Now we start with cakes - chapters include butter cakes, oil based cakes (with the "Best" carrot cake recipe....), pound & coffee cakes, sponge & meringue layers and finishing with layers and molded cakes (i.e. cheesecake).

As we near the end, there are recipes for baking powder biscuits & scones, plus quick breads and muffins. Lastly, the three remaining sections discuss cookies: bars & brownies, piped & drop and rolled/sandwich.


Gourmet Meals in Minutes, published in 2004.  Published by other CIA (Culinary Institute of America) there are 200 recipes and 125 photos of elegantly simple menus and dishes perfect for weekend nights and entertaining. The recipes are straight forward and help cooks master the fundamentals of food preparation with step by step photos of techniques employed in each dish. Many suggestions and tips for streamlining and organizing the kitchen, equipment and work areas are given, along with hints to reduce clean up and even a few pointers on seasonings to enhance the flavor of meals.

There are 10 chapters and we start with - Prior to Cooking - which begins with a discourse on "Mise en Place" (I am a FIRM believer) then offers lists of  recommended staples along with suggestions for stocking an ethnic pantry. Equipment hints and tips, plus time saving advice for shopping, freezing ingredients for later use, general cooking terms, and a few notes on seasoning, rubs and marinades are also discussed.

The recipes begin with the second chapter, and feature Appetizers consisting of salsa, hummus, guacamole, roasted nuts and several crostini choices, followed by Soups ~ both and hot and cold, including borscht, broths, bisque and chowder (both Manhattan and New England styles). Of course Salads are next and in addition to the usual basics like spinach, Cobb and Cesar there are recipes that utilize lentils, roasted beets, fruit, soba noodles, lobster and steak.

The Meats portion explores various ways to prepare beef, veal, chops and tenderloins (both beef & pork), while Poultry examines chicken, turkey and duck in curries, jerked, and stir fried. There were two recipes that garnered my attention - a Moroccan Lemon chicken and a chicken breast stuffed with pesto.  Seafood tackles the usual fish plus scallops, oysters (in a Po Boy sandwich), mussels, and shrimp with a few seared recipes (tuna & scallops) and two recipes prepared en papillote (in paper).

Vegetarian Meals contain stews, quesadillas, stir fries & sautes, sandwiches, a vegetable tagine and a recipe for homemade veggie burgers that I definitely will be making for future meals since the burgers (frozen) I usually purchase from Publix are no longer available. In Side Dishes we have slaws, sautees, pan steamed, braised & grilled options for many a vegetable, plus a potato salad, polenta and rice dishes (pilaf and couscous).

Closing out the book as always is the Dessert section with a few fancy sauces, fondue, tiramisu, cookies, a simple but elegant strudel, baklava, a gallette, mousse and cheesecake.