The Book of Desserts

Seven years ago my husband Dub and I sailed into Whangarai Harbour in New Zealand. On our way in I spied some friends or ours, Gayle and John, who we'd met in Tahiti. They were Kiwis and they were ending their five year circumnavigation, home at last. We anchored close to their boat and later dinghied over for sundowners (usually Coke and Rum). That evening, as usual, we told tall tales of our adventures at sea and we congratulated ourselves on being in this wonderful place at this wonderful time. Later, as we were saying our goodbyes, Gayle gave me her set of the Salamandar Book of Series Cookbooks. They are sold by HP Books in the States as paperbacks. Gayle carried these books around the planet and now she was giving them to me, complete with her notes (written in the books) on the recipes, how well she and John liked certain dishes, which were their favorites, how hard they were to prepare. She knew I was a cook and she thought I'd appreciate them. She was right. Like all the books in the series "The Book of Desserts" is about five inches wide and about a foot tall, making them kind of unique among cookbooks. But one should not be put off because of the odd shape, these are real books and you can find mighty darned good recipes in them. It appears that John and Gayle liked the Carmel Rice on Page 26, because according to Gayle's notes, they had it all the time. They also appeared to like the Queen of Puddings on the opposite page. Dub and I have had both and both are divine, but our personal fave are the Crunchy Maraschino Peaches on Page 64, though sadly you have to wait four hours with the liqueur covered peaches in the fridge before you can finish preparing them. That's a long time to wait for this mouth watering dessert. But don't worry if you don't have half a working day to wait, there are plenty of delicious delights in this book that you can whip up in a jiffy. Review Submitted by Captain Katie Osborne

Ever wonder how that batter is supposed to look? How stiff does the peak have to be after beating the egg whites? When they said 'lemon colored', do they have any idea how neon yellow the sunkist lemons look at the grocery store?! Yes? Well, you won't have any of those problems if you use this cookbook.I can't help but give this book 5 stars. I enjoy cooking and baking as a hobby and even more since I found a couple of the HP Cookbooks at a used book store in Chicago. Not only do the recipes make for some delicious meals but they have exquisite photographs side by side with step by step instructions. These series are a must-have resource for those who enjoy cooking and culinary art, both photographic and gastronomic!