The White House pastry chef for 25 years teaches home cooks the art of creating the perfect dessert. "At once an indispensable guide to preparing desserts and fascinating armchair reading."--"Publishers Weekly." 300+ recipes. of color photos. 50 line drawings. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Thanks to Mesnier's tremendous dessert reference, everyday home cooks can now whip up the very sweets the author has been serving to the First Family and White House visitors for the past 25 years. French-born Mesnier, who was hired by Rosalyn Carter in 1979, is honorary president of the World Cup of Pastry, but his culinary know-how stretches far beyond the intricacies of croissants and brioche. After all, he's been working in America and serving international heads of state for a quarter century, so he's well versed in classics like Cheesecake, Baked Alaska, Brownies, All-American Apple Pie, Oatmeal Cookies and Rum Raisin Ice Cream. His cookbook isn't to be taken lightly, however; there aren't a ton of speed-saving shortcuts, nor are there revised, easier versions of detailed dishes. That said, the recipes, for the most part, call for basic supermarket ingredients, with the occasional trip to the greenmarket for fresh fruit. (In fact, Mesnier is a huge fan of fruit desserts, and he offers a wide variety of options for low-calorie sweets that don't sacrifice flavor for calories, like Mango Tropico Soufflé.) With advice on techniques and short but revealing asides on Mesnier's interesting career, the book is at once an indispensable guide to preparing desserts and fascinating armchair reading. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

White House pastry chef for 25 years, Mesnier writes that although he certainly spent much of his career preparing desserts for elaborate state banquets, he was also making everyday desserts for an American family at home. A cooking teacher as well as a chef he designed the curriculum for a professional program at L'Academie de Cuisine in Maryland he had long wanted to write a dessert book for home cooks. With Chattman (Mom's Big Book of Baking), he has done just that. His encouraging, engaging style makes the book approachable for even novices, but accomplished bakers will also learn from this impressively detailed compendium. Although Mesnier was trained in France, and many of these desserts are French classics, he updates or streamlines traditional techniques as he thinks necessary and he includes a selection of all-American desserts. He provides a vast amount of information on ingredients and other culinary matters. Highly recommended. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

White House Pastry Chef Mesnier shares his considerable talent and skill with those Americans who have never had the privilege of dining at the Executive Mansion. Mesnier's book amply documents the state of dessert cookery at the dawn of the twenty-first century. He begins with fruit desserts, newly fashionable for their simplicity and lack of excessive fats. His emphasis on mousses and Bavarian creams further illustrates the current trend toward using fewer egg yolks and toward use of gelatin as a stabilizer and thickener. He makes use of newly universally available, assertively flavored tropical fruits, such as mango and passion fruit. The chef also offers lucid explanations of the different types and various uses of meringues that comprise so central a part of the pastry chef's world. Mesnier still works with traditional desserts, and he has plenty of attractive recipes for cookies, cakes, and pies that are still in great demand. His simple icebox cookies are sure to win kudos at any sweet table. MarkKnoblauch. From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Introduction: Devoted to Dessert
The Secrets of Simply Wonderful Fruit Desserts
Light and Silky Puddings, Custards, and Soufflés
Versatile Mousses and Bavarians
Frozen Desserts from Simple to Spectacular
Magical Meringues
Delicate Crêpes and Delectable Fillings
Memorable Breakfast Pastries and Perfect Pastry Doughs
Cookies You Can Count On
Favorite Tarts and Pies
Perfect Cakes for All Occasions
Chocolate Candy and Decorations at Home
Sugar Decorations for Passionate Cooks
Syrups, Sauces, Glazes, and Other Dessert Essentials
Appendix: Mail-Order Resources
Metric Equivalencies
Index

Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.