Moosewood Restaurant Book of Desserts

September 29, 1997
Devotees of desserts and of other Moosewood Collective books (Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites; Moosewood Restaurant Cooks for a Crowd; etc.) will relish the more than 250 recipes here, many of which are served in the collective's Ithaca, N.Y., eatery. Some desserts are fruit-based and simple: Sauteed Apples; Ginger Pear Puffs; Apple Dumplings. Others are elegant, simple and suitable for parties and special events: Raspberry Chocolate Cheesecake; Texas Italian Cream Cake with coconut and pecans; and Prune and Armagnac Cake. Calorie-watching cooks can savor trimmed-down treats such as Melon Midori Slush, Low-fat Sweet Potato Pudding, Fat-free Carrot Cake or Low-fat Blueberry Buttermilk Ice. Those uninterested in fat content can indulge in Greek Custard Pastry, Mocha Grappa Truffles and Chocolate Date Walnut Baklava. This reader-friendly volume offers tips on techniques and charts listing which desserts are easy-to-make, quickly prepared, good for a crowd, etc. There's a down to earth glossary of ingredients, and a list of desserts for vegans.

November 15, 1997
One of the Moosewood pastry chefs coauthored her own low-fat dessert book last year (Kip Wilcox's Sweetness and Light, LJ 8/96); now here are more than 250 desserts from the whole cooperative. The well-known restaurant in Ithaca, New York, has always specialized in homey desserts like Cherry Almond Crumble and Old-Fashioned Apple Cake; there are also some more elaborate creations for special occasions as well as recipes inspired by the different international cuisines served at the restaurant each Sunday and a chapter of "classics" that have remained favorites over the years. For most collections.

September 15, 1997
The vegetarian Moosewood Restaurant in Ithaca, New York, has produced yet another cookbook, this one focusing on the restaurant's desserts. Except for the traditional piecrust's lard, virtually all desserts qualify for a vegetarian label. The Moosewood Collective addresses the vegetarian sweet tooth with a satisfying variety of desserts that covers cakes, cookies, pies, candies, and frozen and fruit desserts. Recipes are clear and generally easily re-created in the home kitchen. Although recipes eschew white sugar and substitute brown where possible, the book doesn't arbitrarily bar the use of refined sugar. Many ethnic traditions appear, from the decidedly French "coeur ala creme" to colonial America's Indian pudding. But, as one expects from a vegetarian emphasis, the best recipes use seasonally fresh fruits and berries to create the most satisfying desserts. Each recipe has an appended analysis of calorie and fat values. ((Reviewed September 15, 1997))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1997, American Library Association.)