Rating: 
Summary: Sehr gut!
Review: I've recently read a number of books that attempted to capture the special appeal of the French café, and merge culture study, attractive photography, and enticing recipes into one volume. None of those attempts succeeded nearly as well as Rick Rodgers has done with his look at the classic Kaffeehäuser of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.An experienced, and expert, cooking teacher and cookbook author, Rick Rodgers also has ancestral connections to bakeries in the old Austro-Hungarian Empire. He gives us a fascinating look at the coffee houses and their place in Central European culture, and explains how the recipes he's selected fir into the cultural and historical context (Rodgers explains that this cultural context is something the Austrians, in particular, especially value). The recipes themselves are enticing and interesting, with a nice combination of the familiar and the more exotic. Beautiful photography -- both of food and of cafés -- and insightful mini-essays on a variety of topics enhance the very attractive *mélange,* which is rounded out by the author's personal guide to Central European coffeehouses, a glossary of Viennese, Czech, and Hungarian coffee terms, and a useful list of resources and links. There's even a full bibliography of historical and culinary sources. I've always been eager to visit Vienna and the other cities of the Empire. Until I get there, this book will keep my culinary, as well as my historical, interests fired up.
Rating: 
Summary: Kaffehaus by Rick Rodgers
Review: Kaffeehaus is a small sized book with a somewhat cramped font. At close to [money] bucks, this little book is overpriced. I was hoping to learn how to make Viennese strudels which is a tough dessert to make from scratch. I believe the author could have been much more helpful in explaining this complicated dish by using detailed photographs. There are many pictures in the book but almost half is non food-related which I found disappointing. It's got many cake recipies if you favor made from scratch cakes. This book also contained stories about the recipies which was interesting to read. ** 1/2 stars
Rating:
Summary: Kaffehaus by Rick Rodgers
Review: Kaffeehaus is a small sized book with a somewhat cramped font. At close to [money] bucks, this little book is overpriced. I was hoping to learn how to make Viennese strudels which is a tough dessert to make from scratch. I believe the author could have been much more helpful in explaining this complicated dish by using detailed photographs. There are many pictures in the book but almost half is non food-related which I found disappointing. It's got many cake recipies if you favor made from scratch cakes. This book also contained stories about the recipies which was interesting to read. ** 1/2 stars
Rating:
Summary: Mostly Viennese baking and interesting culinary tales..
Review: Lovely book, and great recipes. My only gripe is the lack of good pictures. I think when you are introducing a new cuisine such as Viennese, Hungarian, and some Czech recipes, it is important to have lots of pictures so the reader will have some idea of what the end product is going to be like. Some of Mr.Rodger's pictures are people sitting in a cafe, dogs with their owners, and others that are unrelated to food. (I did appreciate the old cafe interior shots -those made sense). He also chose not to add caption to any of his pictures which forced you keep flipping back to a photo credits page at the beginning of the book. Also some of the food pictures were not taken professionally. The fonts used in the book are fairly small even though I have no problem seeing, it wasn't a comfortable read especially first few pages. He changes the font once he gets to the recipes to a slightly larger print. The size of the book (8x11 and 1/2" thick) was also smallish considering the price I paid.... Recipes? Sachertorte, Dobas Torte, a variety of coffee cakes including one with apricots, interestingly there was no Apple Kuchens (Don't Austrians eat a lot of apple cakes?); a very nice section on Strudels, he explains the technique and gives you a historical background (unfortunately only 2 pics here); Linzertorte is only one recipe, he gives the dark version with cocoa instead of traditional version, pudding section, and even a small section on coffees. Pictured is Eiskaffee, Maria Theresa, and Turkischer. The author talks about Maria Theresa in length (wonderful recipe with orange liquoer) but leaves recipes for EisKaffee (meaning coffee with ice cream and whipped cream -yummm) and Turkischer (Turkish coffee) out. Maybe next time?? Overall a good book you should check out.
Rating:
Summary: Exquisite Recipes & Writings
Review: Millions of thanks to Rick Rodgers for bringing exquisite Austrian and Hungarian recipes to America. This is one very rare book since in America, it's very difficult to locate recipes like the ones Rick Rodgers presents to us...you can certainly count on Rick Rodgers.. he is one of the most demanded and best cooking teachers in the country. His recipes are famous for being "fool proof". I have tried numerous cookie recipes. The walnut crescents are simply sublime...they go perfectly with coffee. The thumbprint cookies are too pretty that I decided not to dust them with powdered sugar. The chocolate-almond macaroons are crispy, like meringue and they disappeared by nighttime. The cherry-almond coffee cake is out of the world and my neighbor already requested it for her birthday! Rick Rodgers' book is very resourceful..many interesting historical writings...I never knew the odd mystery behind Sachertorte! I have never seen a book like Kaffeehaus...and I'm quite sure there will not be another book like it for a long time if not never. Get it while it's available!
Rating:
Summary: Bravo!
Review: My wife & I are not pastry chefs; however, we enjoy good pastry. We were on a trip to Budapest and had some Ishler at the art museum and tried to get the recipe, but could not. Today, we received our book and tried the Ishler and all I can say is that it was so easy! So much better than the sugar-filled cookies we Americans are fed from birth. When I first found this book on this website, I wanted to read an excerpt and when I clicked on that button - Rigo Jancsi popped up. Now this is significant because we have tried this one from other recipies, but one thing or another did not work out. We are anxious to try this out next. My wife is Hungarian and she spotted all the familiar pastries she has known all of her life. We had books from Hungary but could not really translate the specifics. This book takes the guess work out of recreating the deserts because it is in english - this is a little easier than translating terms and temperatures. Step-by-step it is well written. The photos are great for two reasons. First, they are realistic. When you look at the Ishler, someone has taken a bite out of it. When you look at others, you can see little imperfections like a corner missing from the cake slice. You can see the crumbs on the plate. This may seem small, but this impressed my wife and offered encouragement that we could do these deserts. Some books show "picture-perfect" deserts that look as though they are waxed. The second reason we like the photos is that they give a feel for the cafe environment. I can; however, understand others complaints about not enough food pictures. We are lucky, I guess, because she knows what the pastry is supposed to look like. The directions seem to be easy enough to follow. The historical references are very interesting. Also, the information about what chocolate to buy was very helpful. We will read other parts of this book before we shop for ingredients. We saved over [a bit] buying this book used, (over our local Borders store), the shipping was quick, and the book was in good condition. Our hats are off to Rick Rodgers and Kelly Bugden. Great job! Where else would you find a book like this?
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, unique desserts, that aren't too sweet
Review: Rick Rodger's latest book, Kaffeehaus, is a charmingly beautiful cookbook, that has interesting stories about the Cafe's of Vienna, etc., but also has some great recipes from the four I have made and sampled. A great brunch dish is the Milchrahmstrudel (warm cheese strudel with vanilla sauce). Varying textures and flavors, a very different dessert/brunch item. One of my favorties was the Berry Meringue Slices. The blueberries stay so plump and firm, and the meringue melts in your mouth. Easy and delicious. The Chocolate Cake (Renrucken) was definately a dessert that can serve a large crowd, and worth the search for Red Currant Jelly. The next recipe I am going to try is the Ischl Tartlets. I'll let you know how those turn out!
And as for the font, frankly I can't read any cookbook lately without my reading glasses....I have a pair in everypart of my house, and two in the kitchen. Unfortunately I am not 20/20 anymore.....
Sue in New Jersey
Rating:
Summary: Sweet Memories of Austria
Review: Rick Rodger's new book is the genuine article. It presents a wide variety of exquisitely authentic recipes from the justly famous coffee houses and pastry bakeries of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. All basic techniques are genuinely Mitteleuropean and not French or American adaptations of these techniques. As such, the book is a valuable contribution to popular culinary history, as important to the foodie interented in such things as the dozens of books on regional Italian and French cuisine. The chapters cover: Basic batters, doughs, and glazes 14 recipes such as puff pastry
Simple Cakes 19 recipes such as gugelhupf and roulades
Fancy Cakes 14 recipes such as Sachertorte and Linzertorte
Strudels 7 recipes such as apple strudel
Sweet Yeast Breads 11 recipes such as brioche
Sliced desserts 14 recipes such as berry meringue squares
Cookies and doughnuts 10 recipes such as vanilla cresents
Pancakes and sweet omlets 8 recipes such as crepes
Sweet dumplings and noodles 4 recipes such as prune pockets
Puddings 7 recipes such as chocolate pudding
Hot and Cold beverages 6 recipes such as coffees, wine, and tea
Glossary of ingredients, equipment, and techniques Coffeehouse guide to Vienna, Prague, and Budapest
Mail Order Sources
Bibliography Coming from paternal grandparents who were born 40 miles east of Vienna, this book made my eyes misty in rememberance of my grandmother's baking. The book does not rely on store-bought puff pastry and does not hold back on liquer flavorings. The book does give excellent recipe for strudel dough, but it does not go so far as to have you make your own filo dough. I guess that will be in his book on Greek or Turkish baking. A sidebar on properly handling filo sheets is invaluable. The glossary of techniques is excellent. My only wish was that the author would have made some mention of chocolate sold by specific weight of cocoa butter, as Vahlrona and, I believe, high end American producers such as Sharfenberger and Jacques Torres do. This is so much easier than troubling over imprecise terms like semi-sweet and bittersweet. One concession to American home bakers is the exclusive use of measurements by volume rather than by weight. I really feel that if you are about to take the trouble to make strudel and make your own strudel dough, the effort needed to accurately weigh ingredients is of little consequence and may improve the results. The photographs of old Austrian coffee house interiors are gorgeous. I would have really appreciated captions. One has simply no idea whether the room is in Vienna, Prague, Budapest, or Brooklyn. I'm sorry the editors at Clarkson Potter wouldn't have thought of this. This book deserves a place in the serious cookbook library for both it fabulous recipes and it's historical perspective.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful book could use a better editor
Review: Rick Rodgers' sumptuous cookery book travels through the history, romance and elegance of the coffee houses of Vienna, Budapest and Prague. His writing is both fluid and descriptive; the pictures a delight. The basic methods and detailed execution of the pastry, cake and bread recipes are easy to follow, as written. That being said, the "descriptive" part of the book is very hard to read. This is because the editor has chosen a very stylized font in what I would estimate is approximately 8 point. The recipes, while in the more conventional Times New Roman, are also in a point size not conducive to reading across a kitchen counter. I bought this book as a gift for my elderly mother, who lived in Vienna during her youth, but did not give it to her as I knew she would never be able to read such small print. Even with 20/40 vision and "relatively" young eyes, the book is difficult for me to read. The other problem is the layout of the recipes on the pages. For example, the recipe for Sachertorte begins on the bottom of page 59 and resumes on the top of page 62. The recipe for Viennese Crescent Rolls begins on page 96 and resumes on page 98. Not a problem for someone reading this book as entertainment in an easy chair in the den, but definitely a problem for the cook who has the book in a book holder on a crowded kitchen counter.
Rating:
Summary: Gateway to Another World of Dessert & Conversation
Review: Rodgers brings his interest and family background of Austrian-Hungarian pastry to the rest of the world. It's a world that not many of us experience in the magnitude and charm that this delightfully done cookbook brings. The format is rich with words and photos which endure the context of the desserts in their cultural setting. There is much text on the pages, but the font is bold and clear enough that the interested can easily read, and even read to the elderly who would like to hear of this delightful European tradition of Vienna, Budapest and Prague. The infamous strudel is here, along with additional categories of tarts and puddings and dumplings, all done in the tradition, nothing reductionist or fused with modernity. I'm caught by this tradition and will continue to tread my way through this, delighting in such discoveries as: Farmer's Cheese and Strawberry Dumplings; Gerbeaud; Berry Meringue Slices; and these two have become favorites: Dobos Torte and Walnut Torte with Walnut-Custard Buttercream. These are rich dishes and an equally rich presentation in this cookbook. I will continue to treasure the exploration of this great cuisine, and most who like to create great desserts will too. For the discriminating cook/baker.
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