Upper Crusts (Capital Lifestyles) [Paperback]

Sheilah Kaufman (Author)

Book Description

Series: Capital Lifestyles | Publication Date: April 5, 2007

BREAD IS BACK! (Did it ever really go away?) Popular cookbook author, food editor, and cooking instructor Sheilah Kaufman presents a new collection of scrumptious, easy-to-prepare recipes that use bread as an ingredient in everything from appetizers to desserts for festive celebrations and intimate family meals. In UPPER CRUSTS, Sheilah has put her recipes for timeless classics and comfort foods like bread pudding and French toast (with daring new spins on these perennial crowd pleasers) as well as innovative entrées, soups, appetizers, salads, vegetables, and desserts, all with an international flair. Also featured are favorite recipes (all made with bread, of course) from renowned chefs like Patrick O'Connell of the Inn at Little Washington, Michel Richard of Washington, DC's Citronelle, Henry Haller of White House fame, and Aulie Bunyarataphan of Bangkok Joe's, to name a few. Dust off your hands and put the flour away - this is NOT a bread-baking book. Most of these delectable recipes: · use store-bought bread to create quick and delicious dishes for everyday dining or special occasions · can be assembled in less than 30 minutes · can be made ahead and frozen, a necessity for today's busy cooks · feature creative ways to use leftover and fresh bread · provide dozens of cooking tips, plus fun tidbits on the history of the world's staff of life.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This book reminds me of my mom, she'd never throw away a piece of bread. Thank you very much for the respect you have for the main ingredient - a wonderful collection --Michel Richard; Chef & Owner - Citronelle, Washington DC

About the Author

Sheilah Kaufman is a nationally recognized culinary expert and author of twenty-four cookbooks, including the acclaimed Simply Irresistible: Easy, Elegant, Fearless, Fussless Cooking. She is renowned for her user-friendly style and fresh, innovative recipes. She lives in Potomac, Maryland.

Product Details

• Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: Capital Books; 1st Printing edition (April 5, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 193310239X
• ISBN-13: 978-1933102399
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,392,147 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A unique recipe collection, May 12, 2007

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Upper Crusts (Capital Lifestyles) (Paperback)

The author of many popular and successful cookbooks, culinary expert Sheilah Kaufman draws upon her many years of experience and expertise in "Upper Crusts: Fabulous Ways To Use Bread" to compile recipes that incorporate a variety of different breads into wonderful appetizers, soups, salads, main courses, and deserts. These unique and gourmet level dishes range from Cherry and Goat Cheese Strudel; Creamy Garlic Soup; Etta's Cornbread Pudding; and Chocolate-Chocolate Bread Pudding with White Chocolate Sauce; to Baked French Toast with Blueberries; Apple Charlotte with Apricot Sauce, from the White House; Parmesan Cheese Sticks; and Chickpeas with Toasted Bread and Hummus. "Upper Crusts" is a unique recipe collection that can be confidently recommended for any kitchen cook wanting to expand the menu for daily family meals as well as elegant dining occasions.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Super Book!, May 17, 2007

By 

Holly Rudin Braschi (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Upper Crusts (Capital Lifestyles) (Paperback)

Sheilah Kaufman has done it again! I own and continue to enjoy many of her well written books, and "Upper Crusts" is the most unique and creative yet. All of the recipes one would ever want to prepare with baked bread are offered under one cover. From bread crumbs to a stunning variety of savory and sweet bread puddings, Sheilah has covered them all by combining her own delicious recipes with those of the most respected culinary authors, chefs, and cooking instructors from the US and around the globe. Make this book part of you cookbook library and it will become your year-round reference for finding the perfect made-with-bread recipe for holidays, dinner parties and everyday meals. Holly Rudin-Braschi, Author "Grill Power" [...]

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Chaotic Organization, More Limited Range of Recipes than It Would Seem, May 2, 2008

By 

H. Laack - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Upper Crusts (Capital Lifestyles) (Paperback)

The idea for this book, lots of recipes using bread crumbs, cubes, etc., as ingredients, is an interesting concept, but it falls flat. First of all, the recipes are poorly organized. An example from the first chapter: A recipe for Chicken and Pistachio Balls is followed by one for Hazelnut Caramel Cake, then Heady Bread Pudding with Madeira Sauce and then back to Lemon-baked Fish with Cranberry-Lemon Sauce. Not only are the desserts and main dishes mixed, but the "Heady Bread Pudding" is here instead of in another chapter devoted to just bread puddings.

Some of the recipes use barely a quarter cup of bread crumbs, more as garnish than a basic part of the dish, but I guess the author needed to include these to find enough recipes to fill a book. That, however, is merely a quibble compared to the disappointingly limited number of real recipe differences, with many entries hardly varying one from the next. Yes, part of this arises from her invitation to friends to submit their own bread-using recipes, but it weakens the overall usefulness of the book.

My primary concern, however, is this: while it seems as though the author has written this to help find ways to use up stale bread, a rather frugal goal, the recipes repeatedly include ingredients like Brie, phyllo, and artichokes. Will those who keep these other ingredients on hand really want to be saving up stale bread crusts? And will those looking for ways to cut costs in this day of rising food prices really be interested in trying any of these often expensive dishes? A muddled purpose weakened by minimal real content does not make for a book I'd want to add to my library. (Full disclosure: I checked this out of the library before buying and have definitely decided not to purchase my own copy.)

There are a few good recipes scattered throughout, and the author does have a few interesting pages regarding the history of puddings, but these really aren't enough to carry this book into even a three star rating. I think you could do as well in finding "fabulous ways to use bread" by just using an online search engine--and the results would probably be at least as well organized.