Customer Reviews

Savory Baking

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I love this book of savory baking recipes! It arrived in the last week, and I immediately sat down to read through it, as I always do with cookbooks, before I actually make something! The format is typical: An introduction, with a discussion on tools and ingredients, along with a much needed comment on the natural variations on recipes. An experienced cook knows that not all ovens cook in the same amount of time, and not all altitudes allow for the same flour/water etc. So, with those caveats in mind, I picked two recipes to try.

I made the portobellow mushroom, rosemary, and shallot cream clafouti last night. It is meant to be a side dish, and I served it as such. The vegetarian (not vegan) part of my family was thrilled. It could easily serve as a central piece for a nice veggie meal. And it was absolutely delicious, and not difficult to prepare.

The day before, I made caprese salad-filled profiteroles. OMG! These are perfect! Again, don't be shy about the recipe. It is not difficult. These will be a permanent part of my recipe list!

Honestly, I don't know what to say in response to anyone who says these recipes aren't for beginners. I would think any adventurous cook would enjoy these. The strong point is that they are laid out very well in step-by-step instructions, as should be recipes in any good cookbook.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves cooking, and loves to present new dishes. It seems that so often, the new dish is a sweet. This book of savories is just delightful.

Jung was right, there is synchronicity. Mary Cech's new cookbook: Savory Baking, couldn't have arrived at a better time, as I have been experimenting with savory waffles for the past few months (combinations like cornmeal carrot, cheddar dill, and others).

Historically, there has been a bit of a schism between those who love to cook and those who bake. Many years ago, chefs were prejudiced against bakers, believing that "real" cooks couldn't bake, and implying bakers were a step, or two, below chefs. As someone who has always loved all the culinary arts, I found this annoying, to say the least. Ms. Cech has bridged the gap with an interesting collection of savory items to tempt the most baking-averse soul.

Some of her offerings include Peppered Pear and Goat Cheese Scones, Sour Cream Fig Spiral Cookies, Onion, Fennel, and Orange Upside Down Shortcake, and a slew of other creative concoctions to surprise your senses. The photographs are accurate looking, not over-the-top visuals you'll never achieve at home; and, there are plenty of them to inspire you.

Confetti Corn Bread Crusted Creole Shrimp is another little beauty that looked fairly easy to make. Her Fingerling Potato and Crispy Bacon Pizzas use phyllo dough to simplify things. Sharp Cheddar and Cherry Muffins were just lovely and quick to put together.

There's something here for everyone who likes savory food, including a whole section on fillings, spreads, dips, relishes, sauces, and chutney.

I was really excited to receive this book. My habit with new cookbooks is to go through and tag the ones I want to make and I tagged so many in this book before I even hit the kitchen. I would call myself an intermediate baker and a beginner (though an adventurous one) cook.
A notable plus to most of the recipes is that with the exception of a handful ingredients in every recipe, most of the recipes are made with ingredients that you would find in any well stocked kitchen, which makes shopping for dinner easier.

One down side to some of these recipes is that some call for a food processor. I have not gotten around to acquiring one yet, though the recipes that do require one look good enough that I'm tempted to make that purchase just to make those.

I've made one recipe from this cookbook - the cauliflower and pancetta puffed crepes. It took bloody forever, but it was broken down nicely into separate sections and she notes that to save time you could do the crepes and the roasted cauliflower combination beforehand. It wasn't my favorite crepe recipe - but I've been making crepes since I was 10 - but it was a tasty, not-too-eggy combination that might have been worth the hours worth of effort to make it happen.
Anyway. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves to bake or cook and I remain excited to try the other recipes in this book!

This is a fun cookbook to look at--the food photographer who worked on this book did a great job! But, once I got past the pictures and began searching for recipes I wanted to try, I was saddened. The shrimp fritters recipe caught my eye, but then I got stymied by it. It wasn't what I would call a simple recipe. But, what stumped me was whether I should use raw or cooked shrimp. I searched through the cookbook back and forth and found another recipe that specifically called for raw shrimp. So, my assumption then is that the Shrimp fritters need cooked shrimp, not raw--even though she doesn't specify.

I kept perusing the cookbook to find a recipe I could make with what I have in the house. I don't buy many prepared foods, so my home is well stocked with basics and many unusual ingredients. But, there were very few recipes that seemed very simple or that I could make with what I have in my home. I ended up trying the Lemon Thyme Shortbread. I think it's misleading to call it a cookie. It tastes like a cracker, rather than a cookie. It would be well suited to being served with vegetables and dip as an appetizer. It was hard to get past it being called a cookie. I tried to enjoy it, but the flavor was so unusual that it was hard for me to get used to as a stand alone. It really needed dip and some smooth white cheese.

When I requested this cookbook, I was hoping to try my hand at making crackers or some other simple savory baking treats. Unfortunately, I really wouldn't say that the recipes in this cookbook are simple. The author is a CIA pastry chef. Years ago, a good friend gave me a cookbook from some CIA folks--and I struggled to find recipes I wanted to cook in that book as well. I prefer simple, flavorful recipes. James Peterson's cookbooks are good examples of that. He definitely covers gourmet recipes and flavors in his recipes, but they aren't hard to prepare in general.

I am still hoping to try the Salmon Crepe Pie and I will make a note if it turns out to be one of those recipes you shouldn't miss.

This is an interesting cookbook. It caught me by surprise because I expected "savory" to mean "not sweet" (i.e. deserts). I was expecting baking that would be part of main dishes or appetizers. It was surprising to find so many cookies and deserts...

A lot of the recipes look (and work out) great, however many of them seem very odd. Sometimes it seems ingredients are forced with each other and I found a lot of recipes that I would never try (not being close-minded but... no (check out some of the odd combinations)).

Serving sizes are odd as well for example recipes for muffins make 8 as opposed to 6 or 12. Also some garnishes are not listed in the ingredients.

Because of this I highly encourage people to look at the table of contents (you can do this on Amazon) before buying the book.

This cookbook takes baking to a new level by offering savory options for baked goods as appetizers or meals. They no longer have to be the fattening and sweet finale that we're sometimes better without. This book has meats, cheeses, vegetables and fruits baked in to hearty, unique and sometimes daring combinations.

There is a short introduction followed by information about key ingredients and important equipment used in this cookbook. There are also several pages explaining techniques when making the recipes. Contents include: Quick Breads (muffins, scones, biscuits, pancakes, waffles, crepes and loaves), Flaky Pastry (short dough, puff pastry, flaky pie pastry, and phyllo dough), Rustic (cobblers, crumbles, betties, bread puddings, shortcakes, dumplings, and cheesecakes), Pastries With Puff (soufflés, pate a choux, and popovers), Cookies (soft, crispy, chewy, and flaky), and The Side Show (sauces, spreads, chutneys, and salads). It finishes with a glossary, an index and a table of U.S. and metric equivalents.

I've tried about 25 of the recipes so far. Ingredients are easy to find at my local stores and instructions are clear. Some of my favorites have been Fingerling Potato and Crispy Bacon Pizzas, Portobello Mushroom, Rosemary and Shallot Cream Clafouti, Spicy Tomato Crumble and Grilled-Vegetable Galette. Many recipes have beautiful pictures of the finished product. While I always like more photos in cookbooks, this book is beautifully done. I'm sure I will continue to use it whenever I want to make delicious and unique foods for my family.

Even with the holidays over, I've been making a real effort to bake more rather than buying those pre-packaged supermarket bakery goods, like cookies and muffins, that are full of processed ingredients like hydrogenated oils.
But Mary Cech's Savory Baking has kicked my repertoire up several notches. A very unique cookbook that's devoted entirely to savory-as opposed to traditionally sweet--baked goods. While you'll find mouth-watering recipes for turnovers, strudels, shortcakes and cheesecakes, these aren't your grandma's versions. Instead, think Onion and Sherry Cream Turnovers, Seafood Strudel, Onion, Fennel and Orange Upside-Down Shortcake or Stilton Cheesecake on a Candied-Walnut Crust. As exotic as these recipes all sound (and as amazing as they look in the gorgeous photographs), they're really not all that complicated. Cech, a former pastry chef at Chicago's Charlie Trotter's, keeps her ingredient lists compact and unintimidatingly easy to follow, often relying on time savers like prepared puff pastry and phyllo doughs. So far, the results have been incredible combining that savory/sweet combination that makes something like that devil kettle corn so irresistible. Or Hazelnut Waffles...or Cambozola Pear Cream Tart...or...

This cookbook has a lot of interesting and well throughout recipes aimed at restoring the place of savory baking in the home. There was a time where there was far more savory than sweet baking done in the home, but with the advent of cheap sugar that's largely been turned on it head. On most levels it succeeds, but for me the real test is how much I can integrate into everyday cooking: on that score it falls a little short. On the plus side I've tried some of the quick breads and they've turned out great with the ham studded drop biscuits turning into an instant classic in our home. However most of the "Rustic" recipes I've tried, while good, are not exactly weekday dinner fare.

In generally I'd describe this more of a weekend/special occasion cookbook. That's not to say you won't find a few recopies that can become staples, but overall this book is about providing inspiration. Extra points for providing lots of details in the recipes (I hate cookbooks that are all pretty pictures and no substance). Despite my minor quibbles this is a great cookbook and I look forward to learning more from it.

Savory Baking is a beautiful book, with tempting photos and an elegant design. The recipes are meticulously laid out: the ingredients are set into columns for the crust, the filling, etc.; the directions are sorted out into logical steps; and the choice of fonts and colors for the words make it easy to find your place in the recipe without becoming distracting.

The result is that you can make classic pastries fearlessly.

The recipes themselves are different and intriguing, as well as healthy and delicious. Savory cookies flavored with vegetables and herbs and non-sweet cheesecakes and crumbles add surprising elements to the more predictable quiches, biscuits,and vegetable pies. Tartlets with crusts incorporating poppy seeds, garlic, and nuts are filled with ricotta fillings and toppings of roasted vegetables, or with fresh vegetable salads. These, along with profiteroles filled with mozzarella and tomato, will be standbys at cocktail parties. Biscuits with ham and vegetable quick breads make a savory change of pace for breakfast. Heartier quiches and pies are great for lunches and brunches, and things like the Yukon Gold Brown Betty or the Winter Squash Souffles can be lush side dishes or vegetarian (not vegan)dinner entrees. Some of these recipes will even make a nice change for a dessert course: the Sour Cream Fig Spirals with a nice cheese or two give a wholesome finish to a meal.

These are not generally quick things; I'll make them for special occasions and entertaining more than for daily use. But if you're looking to expand your repertoire of baking recipes, to replace sweets with equally delicious things, or to find creative ways to bring more vegetables to the table, you may find this a good everyday cookbook, too.

The explanations of ingredients, equipment, and techniques are very clear and up to date. I was sorry that so many of the recipes specify a food processor without giving alternate instructions, but that's really the only negative comment I can make about this book.

This is a great cookbook for gardeners. Thanks to Mary Cech I now have new ways to use my wintered over garden vegetables. Top on my list of favorite recipes are the winter squash and tomato basil souffles. I also appreciate the small but delectable servings for healthier eating. For future printings I would recommend a change in the font style & color used in the text of recipe ingredients. The variation of light colors used for the measurements and ingredients may be attractive but makes it difficult to read the recipe at a glance. Not enough contrast for easy visualization while cooking. Still a great cookbook!