Thursday, January 1, 2009

Party Cakes for Children or Damon Lee Fowlers New Southern Baking

Party Cakes for Children: Over 20 Fun Cakes

Author: Carol Deacon

These fantastic cakes are alive with cute and cuddly, sporty and adventurous, scary and spooky characters that will delight kids of all ages. Even beginning bakers will be encouraged and inspired by Carol Deacon’s simple introduction, with its easy-to-follow question-and-answer approach that takes the angst out of decorating with sugarpaste. Choose from irresistible, child-appealing designs that range from Sketchbook, Computer, and Racing Car to Horrible Bug, Princess, Fishing Pond, and Fairy Town. There are even microwave cakes that cook in four minutes, designs that start with store-bought cakes, and ones specially created so that kids can get in on the fun and help decorate, too.



New interesting book: Your Thyroid or Veterinary Herbal Medicine

Damon Lee Fowler's New Southern Baking: Classic Flavors for Today's Cook

Author: Damon Lee Fowler

They are the stuff of Southern legend: fresh-from-the-oven biscuits, skillet-baked cornbread, and melt-in-your-mouth cookies. Whether you remember these heavenly treats from childhood or are creating them for the first time, Damon Lee Fowler's New Southern Baking is a tantalizing collection of Southern baking recipes, balancing the timeless appeal of rural Southern flavors and the modern sensibilities of today's baker.

The history of Southern baking is as rich and varied as its culinary offerings. Writer, teacher, and food historian Damon Lee Fowler is immersed in the traditions of classic Southern baking, and each recipe is infused with memorable Southern flavors that are just as irresistible today. From the warm flavor of Sage and Olive Oil Biscuits to moist, dense Brown Velvet Cake with Dark Fudge Frosting to luscious Bourbon Pecan Squares, this book is both a celebration of traditional baking techniques and an up-to-date guide for delicious and innovative creations.

For the experienced baker or a first-time home cook, Damon Lee Fowler's New Southern Baking is the ideal kitchen companion. With easy-to-follow instructions and baking tips, these essential recipes will effortlessly find their way to your table. The richly satisfying Classic Old-Style Pound Cake is easy to master, and the Plain or 1, 2, 3, 4 Cake is a Southern standard with endless variations. Classics such as Savory Virginia Ham Muffins, Coconut Tea Cakes, and Sweet Potato Waffles are perfect for any occasion, and the Southern ingredients in Sour Cream Cheddar Drop Biscuits, Spicy Cheese Straws, and Lemon Pepper Benne Cocktail Bits add a contemporary twist to any social gathering. And of course,there is a delectable lineup of pies, from Lemon Buttermilk Chess Pie to Gingered Apple Custard Tart to Kentucky Chocolate Chip Bourbon Pie. There are also wonderful new recipes for legendary Southern favorites like Savannah Flatbread and Herbed Skillet Rice Bread, and real old-fashioned yeast breads, including Creole Brioche and Carolina Rice Bread.

In addition to the delightful recipes, Damon Lee Fowler's New Southern Baking is an engaging and informative look at Southern baking heritage, tracing the evolution of our favorite foods and flavors to the welcome table of today. Complete with comprehensive resource lists, Damon Lee Fowler's New Southern Baking brings the warm graciousness of the South to any kitchen.

Publishers Weekly

Cookbook author and food historian Fowler believes "each recipe tells a story." Happily for readers, the author of Classical Southern Cooking and New Southern Kitchen is an excellent storyteller. With focused intensity and depth of knowledge, Fowler presents a rich, colorful and amusing overview of Southern baking from historical, cultural and social perspectives. In engaging prose, Damon traces the influences of Southern mamas; African-American domestic workers and cooks; English, German and French settlers; and Native Americans in his introduction, while his chapter openers delve deeper into specifics, distinguishing between, say, soft winter wheat and red summer wheat and the different flours derived from them. Educational and enticing recipes for quick breads, cookies, cakes, pies, pastries and breads include detailed instructions and tips. The stories, appearing mostly in the recipes' head notes, range from personal to technical, detailing, for example, the origins of Mrs. Hill's Crumpets, small, airy, yeast-leavened buns derived from an 1867 cookbook; Pecan Upside-Down Cake, a cross between upside-down cakes (derived from French tarte tatin) and monkey bread (a sweet, pecan-studded biscuit); and the secret to MaMa's moist Coconut Cake (from Fowler's maternal grandmother). This cookbook is a treat, equally satisfying to cook from or to read. Photos. Agent, Goodman Associates. (Oct.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

An authority on both traditional and contemporary Southern food, Fowler (Classical Southern Cooking) wrote his latest book out of a desire to preserve "mama's bread," the home baking that is in danger of becoming little more than a distant memory, if that, for most Southerners today. He includes almost-forgotten historical recipes, lesser-known regional specialties, and some classics (though he has not included overly familiar recipes such as lemon meringue pie, easily found in other good cookbooks). The first chapter is on quick breads ("the Southern staple"), the last one on yeast baking, and in between are sweet baked goods from Coconut Tea Cakes to Bourbon Brown Sugar Pound Cake to Chocolate Fudge Chess Tart. Fowler's thoroughly researched and informative text offers a readable history of Southern baking, and the recipes are clearly written and enticing. Essential for all baking collections. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.



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