Description:
Once upon a time there were petit fours--delicious morsels to be enjoyed as, or after, dessert. Today, there are minidesserts like Marshmallow Moons and Banana Brûlée Spoonfuls, at least according to Gale Gand's Just a Bite. Gale Gand and Julia Moskin's 125 accessible recipes provide a captivating variety of cookie, cake, and candy nibbles. Gand, whose recipes come from her Food Network show, Sweet Dreams, and Chicago restaurant Tru, knows her stuff well enough to have serious fun; readers will be delighted by her bites, which can be served at or away from the table. The recipes range from reborn childhood classics, such as Caramel-Orange Rice Crisps, and animal crackers made with five-spice powder to traditional grown-up favorites such as Orange Tuiles and the extraordinary, custardy cake Cannelés. Present also are inventive extravaganzas, including Chocolate-Almond Fondue with Cake Cubes and Bite-Size Cheesecakes on Lemon-Pepper-Cornmeal Crusts. Candy lovers will be particularly excited by Gand's Chocolate-Caramel Cigarillos and Peppermint Stick-White Chocolate Bark, which take candy in a sophisticated yet approachable direction. (You can leave the candy thermometer in the drawer.) With a succinctly useful section on basics, and color photos, the book is both innovative and tempting. --Arthur Boehm
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