Making Artisan Gelato by Torrance Kopfer

Making Artisan GelatoGelato. If you’ve ever been to Italy, you know how special it is. Elizabeth Gilbert talks about eating it at least once a day during her stay in Italy in Eat, Pray, Love. It’s a bit exotic and deliciously decadent but now, thanks to Making Artisan Gelato by Torrance Kopfer, you can make it at home as easily as ice cream. If you’re concerned about details, gelato is similar to ice cream, but contains less butterfat and has more air whipped into it. The important thing to know is that it’s sweet and incredibly delicious.

The first half of this beautifully photographed book covers all the basics – history, how to choose the best ingredients, equipment (gelato can be made in your ice cream maker), techniques and ideas for combining flavors. Then comes the fun part – recipes! They range from easy (raspberry, pistachio, French vanilla) to moderate (macadamia nut, dark chocolate-orange, espresso) to challenging (caramel, peanut butter cup, chocolate-cinnamon) There are familiar flavors – cookies and creme – and there are more exotic flavors – blueberry lavender. There are also recipes for sorbets and granitas and several decadent toppings and toppings. Through it all Kopfer guides you with a steady hand and friendly voice. Go ahead and treat yourself!

Rustic Fruit Desserts by Cory Schreiber

Rustic fruit dessertsTart, cobbler, grunt, slump, crisp, crumble, betty, pandowdy, buckle, teacake, galette, fool, trifle and pie – all of the evocative names (some unique to different parts of the country), all meant for one thing – delicious fruit desserts. Rustic Fruit Desserts by Cory Schreiber collects some of the best of these simple and satisfying dishes in this charming book.

Recipes are arranged by season, so you can take advantage of the beautiful peaches, nectarines and apricots that are available now, open it again in the fall when the pears, apples and figs arrive and then again in the spring for ideas for strawberries, rhubarb and cherries. In addition to recipes for the more common fruits from blueberries to raspberries, some lesser-known fruits – huckleberries, currants, marionberries, plumcots and pluots – are also represented. Recipes are straightforward and unintimadating – even the beginner will find success. And what better way to take advantage of the changing seasons than with fresh fruit desserts?