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I am a buyer of books in Amazon and for weeks, I have noticed that the book “Cake Pops: Tips, Tricks, and Recipes for More Than 40 Irresistible Mini Treats” by Angie Dudley has been in the bestseller list for quite some time now. So, I decided to check out the book, read a few reviews and even visited Bakeralla, the author’s website. Needless to say, I was quite intrigue by what I’ve read, so I decided to get the book and check it out myself. So, did I like it? No, as a chef, I can honestly say that I didn’t like it. I, however, loved it! So, what is it about?
The book is all about Cake Pops!
That’s not something you hear everyday – or eat every day. Oh, sure, you have probably eaten your fair share of cakes, but if you have not tried cake pops, then you are definitely in for a treat! Not everyone, however, is familiar with cake pops; although the name quite speaks for itself. In fact, not all chefs – even Michelin-starred ones – have actually tried baking or preparing cake pops.
If you are familiar with cake pops, however, then you are probably familiar with Bakeralla, the website of an Atlanta-based pastry maker, Angie Dudley. It was in this site that Ms. Dudley first introduced the cake pops to her readers. She first started creating cake balls. A cake ball is actually a candy-coated mixture of cake and frosting. She stuck these balls onto a lollipop sticks and effectively created what she calls cake pops! Since then, she has developed even more interesting and equally delicious ideas to further improve her cake pops. She has different molding ideas which allow her to create all kinds of cake pops. She has cake pops for Halloween or weddings. She even has fun cake pops like her Sesame Street cake pops.
If you would like to try your hand at creating cake pops and you would like a few awesome recipes that you can start with, you should definitely check out Angie Dudley’s book “Cake Pops: Tips, Tricks, and Recipes for More Than 40 Irresistible Mini Treats”
The book has turned Angie Dudley’s cake pops into an international sensation. Her book offers an alternative to traditional cake usually prepared for parties or get-togethers. In fact, Martha Stewart loved her book so much that she even invited Ms. Dudley to appear o her show just so the baker/blogger/writer can demonstrate how to make the cake pops. With this book, you can have access to the step-by-step clear instructions on how to create these amazing treats. Chefs, despite our experience and training, can still benefit from opening ourselves to new experiences. Cake pops are fun – and we can definitely benefit from fun cooking or baking every now and then.
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Nowadays, only bills come through the mail. Handwritten letters from friends or relatives are things of the past. The art of writing letter is positively archaic.. This is probably why the book “As Always, Julia: The Letters of Julia Child and Avis DeVoto
Long before Julia Child became a friend to every person who bought her book, she was a friend to Avis DeVoto. DeVoto was another person to contend with. Oh, no, she was definitely not a wallflower. She was actually a superwoman. Long before you’ve probably heard of the term “soccer mommies or mommies who can do about anything”, there was DeVoto. She was the wife and secretary to Bernardo DeVoto, a writer. She was a mother to two sons, an avid fundraiser, a cook, a book reviewer and the manager of the stately Cambridge home..
Interested in cooking, her interest in Julia Child (who was then a mere unknown American woman living in France) was piqued when Child wrote her husband, praising the latter for his 1951 Harper’s article on the importance of decent cooking knives. With her interest piqued, Avis wrote Julia back. Thereafter, she received a French paring knife from Child when the latter responded. This was the start of an amazing friendship that lasted until Avis death. This was the friendship that was chronicled in the book, “As Always, Julia”.
Generally, books of letters are viewed as dull and yes, boring even. That is not the case, however, with this book. With Child’s and DeVoto’s engaging and outgoing personalities, it would be quite impossible to create a boring book even if the editor tries! More of Avis letters survive than Julia’s, but because DeVoto’s letters are infinitely delightful, the reader would not even mind the absence of Julia’s letters in some of the pages.
Avis was a good writer – a fine one even. Ironically, she didn’t even know this. At one point, she wrote, that she wished that she were a better writer so that she could help Julia with the latter’s book. But she was quite good at playing with words. In fact, she was quite poetic. At one point, she wrote, “I have done the blanquette. The sauce was a poem – like gold velvet.”
Julia and Avis did not just talk about food. They talked about everything! The letters covered just about any topic – spouses, mutual acquaintances, career, politics and possibly everything about their respective lives. Often, however, they talked of recipes, food, ingredients and cooking.
Their letters reveal of curious skills. On May 30, 1952, Avis wrote to Julia, “I used olive oil instead of butter. I like to do vegetables in olive oil, too.” People may easily shrug off her statement today, but this was a curious feat in her time. It was not easy to get hold of quality olive oil.
Both women talked about their respective spouses. DeVoto admitted that her husband was a tyrant who had no sense of adventure. She confided that Bernard has “barbaric” tastes. He abhorred lamb or asparagus, preferring solid spicy foods. Avis speaks of her longing to visit Europe; but her husband’s idea of travel was to travel to the Western United States.
Julia, however, did not find it hard to win his respect. While visiting the DeVoto’s, Julia had Bernard inviting her to have a Martini. She gamely downed three with no ill effects. She won the respect of Bernard who was initially resentful of Julia and Paul’s visit.
Julia also admitted that her husband was a “bit barbaric too”. She wrote, “I think that is very American male. If there is anything he loathes, it is something that is white. He adores highly spiced and garlicked food.” Child spoke of a lot of things, but her letters main theme is often always the agonizingly slow progress of the book, “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”.
Avis was more than just a friend to Julia. The two women were practically sisters. Some would say that they were soul mates. The book, As Always, Julia, is more than a book about food. In fact, you do not have to be a foodie, a chef or a cook in order to enjoy this book. The book is a journey back to a lost era – an era when people actually look forward to receiving mails. It is also the era when a 6-foot woman could actually change the culinary culture of an entire country. It is also the era when writing letters was an art form. The book is definitely a great read. It is a revelation of the Julia Child that wasn’t revealed in her cookbook.. There is simply nothing like this out there…
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Have you read Anthony Bourdain’s first book, the Kitchen Confidential? That book established Chef Bourdain as the James Dean of the culinary world. His old book was positively screaming “rebel without cause”. The old book was quite controversial. He talks of amphetamines and dope. He talked about all the crazy stuffs that chefs do in the kitchen. Oh, no, he wasn’t at all boring! He assailed the food establishment and he portrayed chefs as sexual athletes. And yes, if you haven’t read the book yet, you should.
Kitchen Confidential was written and published ten years ago. A decade made a lot of difference in the life of Chef Bourdain – and apparently, it also made a lot of change on his writing as well. The James Dean of the culinary world has changed. No, this time, the book reveals a man who knows his worth. He is at the height of his power in the culinary world. His photograph shows a man, with piercing eyes, in a dark suit. This man knows his worth. This man is older – as he repeatedly emphasized in his book..
In the years after the release of Kitchen Confidential, Chef Bourdain went through the toughest moments of his life. He spoke of his failed marriage – and how he ruined it. He spoke of his depression. He spoke of his television program “No Reservations”. He also talked about how he has settled and how he has seemingly found peace. The former heroin addict and “pot head” is now remarried. He is enjoying the sybaritic delights of the life in New York’s Upper East Side.
Does this mean he has lost his chops for writing? Has he lost all the chutzpah he showed in Kitchen Confidential? If you’re a fan and you haven’t read Anthony Bourdain’s Medium Raw yet, you would be pleased to know that he is as unrestrained here as he was in this other book. Of course, he can probably get away with pretty much anything now. He is not just snarky, no definitely not. He has effortlessly mastered the use of profanity, vulgarity, obscenity and sexual imagery – and ironically, all these things make his book even more interesting. This makes him even more interesting!
Chef Bourdain seemingly sees himself as someone who has “sold out”. Of course, after his tirade against the “system”, he would see his celebrity status as a proof of his “selling out”. At one point, he admits that he would have “given Oprah a back rub and a bikini wax, had she asked me when her people called.” Of course, Oprah can sell books. You can expect to have thousands of copies of your book sold for every minute that she’s talking about it.
When talking about his celebrity status in the book, he does so with a slightly self-deprecating tone. He comes across as someone guilty about this. It’s amusing, however, the way he actually attempts to put himself down. With a slightly tongue-in-cheek attitude, he described himself as someone loud and egotistical. Needless to say, with Bourdain, it’s hard to know what will happen next. It’s definitely even harder to guess what he will write or say next. He can be wild or quiet or he can be both.
Bourdain is not afraid to let you in. He makes everything he writes personal. He can be curiously humorous at times. Like when he relates in his book, his ongoing campaign against poor Ronald McDonald. To dissuade her daughter from eating in this famous fast food joint, he – in not so subtle terms – insinuated that Ronald McDonald has cooties!
Medium Raw offers a lot of things – service pieces where he made a plea that we use real meat for hamburgers, a tour of his favorite cuisine, attacks against Alan Richman, a piece on David Chang, a look at Alice Walters and a lot of other things that show how complicated Bourdain can get.
If you are going to buy this book, you will not just read about restaurants, chefs or the culinary arts. You will get to know Chef Bourdain, ten years after his Kitchen Confidential. You will devour his book like you would devour your Christmas dinner. It’s a book pack with surprises. All you can do is hold on for your dear life and enjoy the ride!
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The book “My Life in France” written by Alex Prud’homme is the charming account of the life of Julia Child while she was living in France – as the title of the book aptly suggests.
With her size 12 feet and her fluty voice, Julia Child explored France and fell in-love with the country – and of course, as everyone knows, she also fell in love with the food. She was completely clueless at first. Newly married, she was bored and she was looking for something to occupy her time.
She was far from being a cook or a chef. In fact, she didn’t know how to cook at all! Amazingly enough she soon thereafter became an authority in French cooking especially in the United States. Being the principal author of the book, “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”, she changed the culinary culture in the United States. She also became a much loved star of her cooking show, “The French Chef”.
“My Life in France” is an exuberant account of Child’s life in France. The book chronicles every delicious experience, the people, the culture, and of course, the food! Oh, the food! Her journey to becoming an awesome chef started with her love for the French food markets. It was these food markets that eventually sparked her interest in French cooking. It was also the catalyst for all things French.
The book also gave a heart warming account of Child’s life and relationship with her beloved husband, Paul. Paul adored her wife and he cheered her on every step of her journey. He loved her cooking and he was always the first person to taste her experiments. He contributed greatly to her craft by imparting his knowledge on French wine. They were partners who loved each other greatly. They were a great team.
The book tells of her journey to knowledge because she really didn’t know anything. She had a lot to learn – a whole lot. She had a positive attitude towards her ignorance. In truth, it is this ignorance that fuelled her determination to learn everything she can about the French culture and cooking. She worked hard. Although she was emotional at times, she was methodical in her approach to learning. This was the same attitude that helped her when she eventually codified her knowledge of French cuisine.
She was completely fascinated with every ingredient used in French cooking. Armed with her cheerful and outgoing personality, she would go around her place, peppering French chefs and market stall vendors with questions about French cooking and ingredients. Aside from learning about the cuisine, she also greatly improved her grasp of the language.
Chef Max Bugnard influenced her greatly with his “fun” view of cooking. He insisted on the pleasure principle in cooking. He would often tell her to “have fun” or to find joy in cooking. Madame Brassart of the Cordon Bleu did not make it easy for her to learn, but she thrived under the tutelage of Chef Bugnard.
The story of Julia Child’s rise to fame is generally well known. The book, “My Life in France” basically offers the back story – the ingredients to her fame. It tells of her outtakes, her adventures and the personality that helped her rise above the difficulties to eventually become one of America’s well loved chefs. It tells about the story of the woman behind the culture-changing book, “Mastering the Art of French cooking”. The book is generously bombarded with Paul Child’s photographs of their time in France..
In 1969, Child toyed with the idea of writing a memoir when Paul Child started sifting through letters he exchanged with his twin brother, Charles. Charles’ grandson, Mr. Prud’home eventually suggested collaborating with Julia. Stitching together hundreds of letters and interviews, they were able to create this book. Much of the narrative was edited by Julia,, stamping the book with her personality. For a short length of time, Julia Child and her lively exuberant personality was America’s gift to France.
Needless to say, if you are a fan of Julia Child – this is a book that should be in your collection. It is a book definitely worth reading.
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Australian Chef- Matthew J. Goudge is the mastermind behind the formation of the ProChef360 platform.