Mary Cech

It’s not always la dolce vita

Can I just say, “Yum”? I love to bake, and I love baked goods, but I’m not actually a huge fan of sweets. At least, not all the time. Savory Baking: Warm and Inspiring Recipes for Crisp, Crumbly, Flaky Pastries is an absolutely terrific recipe collection! Chapter headings are Quick Breads, Flaky Pastries, Rustic, Pastries with Puff, Cookies, and The Side Show.

What’s so savory about cookies? Here are a few of the recipes: Thyme, Lemon, and Sea-Salt Shortbread; Five-Spice Black-and-White Sesame Wafers; and Tarragon-Tomato Stripes. Actually, some of them are sweet and savory like Sour Cream Fig Spirals or Rosemary Fruit Biscotti.

What’s Rustic? How about Creamy Sweet Corn and Proscuitto Crisp or Stilton Cheesecake on a Candied Walnut Crust. Recipes in other chapters run the gamut from Deep Dish Curried Vegetable Pot Pies with Dried Fruits to Seafood Strudel, from Potato and Scallion Biscuits to Sesame Éclairs with Honey-Soy Asparagus.

I realize that these sort of recipes won’t replace a traditional baking book in every cook’s heart, but really it’s comparing apples to oranges. Savory Baking is an excellent addition to my extensive cookbook library. Personally, I’m thrilled with this sophisticated recipe collection.… (meer)