Rose's Celebrations

`Rose's Celebrations' by noted author of authoritative `Bibles' on baking cakes, pastries, and bread, Rose Levy Beranbaum has all the appearances of a `throwaway book, given its picture laden cover, oversized format, and the author's aforementioned expertise in baking rather than in savory cooking. While the book has some limitations as a source of savory recipes, it has many virtues that should appeal to most foodies and amateur cooks. The very first virtue is Ms. Beranbaum's enthusiasm for cooking and baking of all sorts. Her genuine love of culinary arts and her ability to communicate this passion in words is unmatched, in my opinion, by all but Julia Child, Rick Bayless (see `Rick and Lanie's Excellent Kitchen Adventures'), and Grace Young (see `Breath of a Wok'). I'm not saying there are not lots of great cookbook writers, it's just that Ms. Beranbaum seems to be able to draw one into her culinary world with an unrivaled attraction. For starters, she has one of the very best descriptions of the differences between baking and savory cooking. Everyone who has read a book on baking knows that measurements are much more important in baking than in savory cooking. What is less evident is that this doesn't mean savory cooking is easier. It means that the skills of constant triage needed to monitor the progress of savory cooking require just as much, if not more practical experience to get right. Add to this the variability of meats and vegetables when compared to the high level of uniformity among flours, sugars, butter, and eggs and you start to see that there is more to expert savory cooking than may meet the eye. And this from a baker. The ability to share her enthusiasm is oddly paired with a highly technical approach to recipes, both savory and baked. As with her baking recipes, many measurements are given in multiple units, by volume, by metric weight, and by Imperial units' weight. This means that the units most familiar to the average amateur are here, but if you happen to be in a position where you have to multiply a recipe by two or four or eight, the weights make this very easy. I also give Ms. Beranbaum high marks for admitting to rounding off the Imperial to metric conversions. I have seen very good cookbook writers have close to 20% discrepancies between Imperial and metric weights or volumes with nary a word of warning. This level of detail in various units means that this is an excellent book for a caterer. As it happens to be a series of recipes for holidays, the utility to caterers and large-scale entertainers is doubled. This is the only book other than Martha Stewart's classic `Entertaining' which gives good resources for cooking for a crowd of any size. That is, this is the only non-baking book for the amateur that fits this bill. I have seen expensive books for professionals which do this, but they are expensive and not friendly to a non-professional reader. This book is divided into the four seasons and within each seas

The photography is spectacular as always with Roses books. I just made my first recipe from the book: Lavender Ice Cream on pg 93 and came across a discrepancy that I hope does not echo throughout the entire tome. The first one is the fact that you're to use a SMALL saucepan and stir the yolks (5.25 ozs), part of the sugar and salt and add 32 ozs. of hot cream/milk to this mixture. A small saucepan is usually 1 qt to 1-1/2 qts and too small for a recipe this size. In addition, the lavender does not get strained as is shown in the photo. In terms of visuals and texture, it doesn't get high marks, although the flavor is absolutely heavenly. I would suggest steeping the lavender in the hot cream/milk, making the creme anglaise and then straining the entire thing. Since this is my first recipe, it would be unfair to rate all the recipes as problematic. The recipes do seem very good.

This is a colorful, well-illustrated cookbook with recipes for many kinds of celebrations. The recipes I've tried work well and are delicious, and the author's obsessively detailed style makes it easy to follow her recipes. It is worth trying to find this book.

I love Rose Levy Beranbaum's cookbooks, but this one is one of her best! The recipes are explained in full detail, with tips on how to avoid the most common problems. There are gorgeous full color photos and well thought out serving ideas. The recipes are all wonderful, especially the chocolate orange cheesecake, lamb osso buco, graavlax, cookies, and of course her beautifully decorated cakes. The book also includes staple recipes, and listings of where to buy some of the more exotic ingredients and suggestions for those that are less daring. An all around wonderful cookbook