Sweet Simplicity: Jacques Pepins Fruit Desserts [Hardcover]

Jacques Pepin (Author, Illustrator), Penina (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1999

Desserts have always been the most adored course on the modern menu--and the most maligned: one person's "sweet, rich and decadent" treat is another's "fattening, calorific, and overindulgent: sin. Jacques Pepin, culinary superstar, comes to the rescue with "Sweet Simplicity, proving that simple and healthy can also be part of the definition of a great dessert. With more than 155 recipes organized alphabetically by fruit, "Sweet Simplicity runs the gamut from fresh seasonal fruit presentations to guest-pleasers like Apricot and Gif Souffle. Both simple and inspiring, recipes such as Blackberries in Creamy Honey Sauce, a classic baked Apple Tart, Top-Crust Cherry Pie, and Raspberry Trifle with Nectarine Sauce are infused with Pepin's sophisticated sensibility and delicate touch.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

There's no reason to deny yourself the pleasures of dessert when you're cooking with Jacques Pépin, for he's assembled a delicious assortment of fruit desserts in Sweet Simplicity. From summer's Fragrant Melon Soup (with one scant gram of fat per serving) to the winter warmer Grapefruit Gratin, Pépin serves up swift and sweet endings suitable for every season of the year. Organized by type of fruit, the beautifully photographed book offers more than 115 recipes for old favorites such as Nectarine Crisp and Banana Fritters, as well as fanciful new dishes, including Grapes, Oranges, and Currants in Lime Cookie Cones and Pinwheels of Peaches with Strawberry Coulis. Nutritional information accompanies each easy-to-read entry, and as one might expect from Claudine's father and instructor, the directions are clear and informative (heating a lime in a microwave oven yields more juice than just pressing it on the counter before slicing, for example). Nearly all of the desserts in the book are low in fat and light in calories, and even the heartiest, such as Warm Raspberry Gratin with Sour Cream, have only about as much fat as a Snickers bar. To achieve this level of healthfulness in a dessert cookbook, Pépin doesn't rely on silly low-cal substitutes, but instead on the rich, sweet, ripe fruits themselves--and he's careful to note that the ripeness of the fruit usually determines the quality of the dish. --Rebecca A. Staffel

Review

...it contains about 150 recipes organized by type of fruit, and the operating philosophy here is simplicity of technique and flavor. It is not uncommon to see recipes with only two or three steps (an obvious blessing), and, for the most part, the recipes are refreshing both in taste and concept...Pepin has come up with new techniques that are both simple and often dazzling...One tester wrote, "If I had the time, I would systematically make every recipe." -- Cook's Illustrated magazine, July/Aug 1999

Take Pepin's "Sweet Simplicity." These are straightforward recipes for the home cook, with roots in French country cooking...Pepin's recipes enhance the natural goodness of fruit, adding simple touches of preserves for sweetening and almonds for crunch. It's so refreshing to rediscover the quintessential flavors of fruit without the masks of heavy, overdone preparations. An experienced cook might be tempted to gussy up the recipes, but don't mess with the master. Try them as printed first. For instance, there are no eggs in the Cherry Bread Pudding. Could this be a mistake? Nope. The dish set up beautifully...One tester asked for the recipe "right now." This book is also lovely to look at. Each fruit is given its own chapter, with handsome black and white photos complementing the short text describing seasonal availability, varieties and uses. -- Seattle Times, July 21, 1999

The book is well-organized, and each chapter offers information about particular fruits...As for the recipes, there are some fabulous no-bake offerings that would be perfect to make right now: mangoes with cognac, for instance, takes 10 minutes to prepare and couldn't be more elegant...Especially enjoyable is the chapter on uncommon fruits such as guava, papayas and quinces. And health-conscious cooks will welcome the nutrition information provided with each recipe. -- New York Daily News, July 21, 1999

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Bay Books & Tapes (June 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0912333987
• ISBN-13: 978-0912333984
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #433,393 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jacques Pepin is the author of twenty-one cookbooks, including the best-selling The Apprentice and the award-winning Jacques Pepin Celebrates and Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home (with Julia Child). He has appeared regularly on PBS programs for more than a decade, hosting over three hundred cooking shows. A contributing editor for Food & Wine, he is the dean of special programs at the French Culinary Institute in New York City. Before coming to the United States, he served as personal chef to three French heads of state.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent dessert cookbook for any level of cook!, June 8, 1999

By 

Garnett Williams Bow ([e-mail]) (California, Maryland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sweet Simplicity: Jacques Pepins Fruit Desserts (Hardcover)

Jacques has done it again! Each fruit has its own chapter with descriptions of varities of each fruit, ripeness tests, many color pictures of the finished results along with the uncomplicated recipes.

Fresh fruit season is beginning, so the big decision is where to start. There are great sounding recipes for all seasons, plus preparation time and nutritional analysis for all of them.

Jacques' PBS shows are always special as are his cookbooks. Keep them coming. A great read!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect Endings, December 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Sweet Simplicity: Jacques Pepins Fruit Desserts (Hardcover)

Looking for something different to cap off a dinner party, I was loaned this book by a friend. I've tried several recipes - all work just as described. I especially like the many 'easy' recipes that take little time, and the fact that many recipes are light on fat. It's a lovely book.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a user-friendly cookbook by the master, June 26, 2001

By 

audrey (white mtns) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sweet Simplicity: Jacques Pepins Fruit Desserts (Hardcover)

Jacques Pepin is a joy to watch on television. He is a natural teacher with a flair for beautiful yet simple little masterpieces in the kitchen.

This is my first book by Pepin, and those same talents shine through. Sections are divided into various fruits, and a one to three page introduction to each section gives information about the history, origin and uses for the fruits (including apples, apricots, bananas, berries, cherries, citrus, grapes, dates, mangoes, melons, peaches, pears, pineapples, plums and mixed fruits) as well as Mr. Pepin's personal anecdotes. There are about 120 recipes and they are generally easy and not too time-consuming. Simple yet elegant. Each recipe contains information about yield, preparation time, and calories, protein, carbs, fat, cholesterol and sodium per serving.

The recipes I have tried have been well-explained and have come out as planned. Most, but not all, dishes are shown in color pictures. The index includes many ingredients so if you want to make something with, for example, red wine, you will easily find the eight recipes which use it.