THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 26, 1995 TAG: 9510250050
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F1 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: MORSELS
SOURCE: RUTH FANTASIA
LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
THE BEST cookbooks are technically correct, entertaining and a feast for the eyes.
Those elements help make Marcel Desaulniers' books exceptional. The winner of James Beard awards for ``Death By Chocolate: The Art of a Consuming Passion'' (Rizzoli, 1992) and ``The Burgermeisters'' (Simon & Schuster, 1994), Desaulniers' easy explanations of techniques lead a home cook from intricate recipes to delicious results.
His latest offering, ``Desserts to Die For'' (Simon & Schuster), is no exception.
Desaulniers' conversational style makes it seem as if the Trellis restaurant co-owner, executive chef, author and television personality is standing in the kitchen with you.
``Don't even consider preparing this recipe if you are thinking about using store-bought bread,'' Desaulniers slips into the text for Whiskey-Soaked Raisin Bread Pudding.
And he talks us through each dish, one step at a time, so failures are less likely.
The only detraction: Desaulniers doesn't let us know when he's splitting measurements in the ingredients list. For example, the recipe may call for 1 1/2 cups flour, then we find its use divided into 1 1/4 cup now and 1/4 cup later. Reading the recipes before we started didn't always help, especially when keeping track of three or four split ingredients.
With each recipe is a box called ``The Chef's Touch,'' with helpful hints, a beverage suggestion (generally alcoholic) and a little story about the origin of the dish. Here, as well as in the introduction, Desaulniers' humor and respect for tradition shine through.
Of course, good chefs don't rise to popularity without help. Desaulniers' assistant, Jon Pierre Peavy, tested recipes and helped create the desserts as they were photographed for the book. Photographer Michael Grand composed the desserts into mouth-watering portraits.
Some recipes, such as the Pillars of Chocolate With Cocoa Thunderheads, are incredibly intricate and may take days to prepare. Others, like Mrs. D's Chocolate Caramels, are simple.
Most recipes, including the bread pudding and a Cranberry and Toasted Walnut Crostata, fall somewhere in between. But if you take the time to attempt them, the results will surely satisfy. AROUND TOWN
Farm Fresh has reopened its stores on 21st Street in Norfolk and Independence Boulevard in Virginia Beach. The Colonial Avenue store in Norfolk has closed, and Farm Fresh has provided its former neighbors - the senior citizens at John Knox Towers - with shuttle service to 21st Street, so they can buy groceries at Farm Fresh or Gene Walters' Marketplace. . . . Bakers' Crust, the European-style bread market at Hilltop North in Virginia Beach, is expanding to Ghent. The store will open at 21st and Llewellyn, across from Decorum, in early December. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
The style of Marcel Desaulniers' books nearly guarantees success.
by CNB