The Olives Dessert Table: Spectacular Restaurant Desserts You Can Make at Home (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Paige Retus (Author), (Author) "Debbie Merriam, Olives' first baker, and Todd came up with this one together..." (more)
Key Phrases: Chantilly Cream, Boozy Caramel Sauce, Vanilla Anglaise (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Be forewarned: Once you present a dessert from this book--say, Black-Bottomed Crème Brûlée with Chewy Chocolate-Chip Cookies and Chocolate Sauce or maybe Blueberry Lime Tart with Sweet Coconut Crumble and Blueberry Sorbet--you will earn a reputation as a fabulous dessert chef and will be required, for the rest of your life, to serve amazing after-dinner treats. Luckily, The Olives Dessert Cart has 140 more recipes from which to choose.

This is not a cookbook for those fearful of fat or short on time. It's for those who love the challenge and the sweet, rich reward of homemade butterscotch pudding or a double chocolate soufflé. A popular and respected restaurant originating in Boston, Olives has gained a well-deserved reputation across the country. Chef-owner Todd English and pastry chef Paige Retus have produced The Olives Dessert Cart with cowriter Sally Sampson to bring their incredible creations to the public (no reservations needed). The secret to their desserts, says English, is to "take very simple, often very common things and layer them together to compose a more complex dish." Apple-Topped Gingerbread with Hot Applesauce and Cinnamon Ice Cream is an example of a dessert that's homey, comforting, and yet fancy enough to serve at a dinner party.

These desserts, assembled from one anchoring item with several complementing layers, are striking both in their flavor combinations and in their presentations. Plenty of photos adorn the recipes so you can see what the finished product should look like. But don't worry: You can also make simple Old-Fashioned Sour Cream Chocolate Cake and skip the accompaniments. Throughout the book, several recipes are repeated so you don't have to flip back and forth searching for a crème anglaise recipe or how to make raspberry crush--an innovation other cookbooks should adopt. --Dana Van Nest

From Publishers Weekly

The dessert names alone can run almost as long as the average list of ingredients for those traditional "country" recipes that English either enhances or overdoes, depending on your palate. The chef-owner of Figs and Olives, two Boston-area restaurants, English isn't shy about piling on the flavors or texturesAwhether he's taking on custards, souffl?s, tarts, ice cream or cakes. Sometimes it seems as if all categories are present and accounted for in a single concoction (e.g., Double Chocolate Souffl? with Deep, Dark Chocolate Ice Cream and Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Cookies and Chocolate Anglaise), but not all the 43 desserts presented here are as involved. Nectarine-Blueberry Crisp with Oatmeal Crumble and Buttermilk "Ice Cream" sounds positively low-key, while Apricot and Goat Cheese Tart in a Pistachio Shell brings a continental luster to the table. The food is sumptuously described, while the recipes themselves are given somewhat briskly (perhaps too briskly for the casual baker). Best of all, however, is the compartmentalized approach the authors (Retus is the Olives pastry chef; Sampson co-authored The Olives Table) have taken to dessert making, where certain simpler components of more elaborate concoctions, such as the oatmeal shortbread shell in the Silky Chocolate Cream Pie, can stand alone, in this instance as a delectable cookie. (Nov.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (November 8, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684823357
• ISBN-13: 978-0684823355
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #185,257 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You can Make at Home, November 4, 2000

By	Ted Daniels (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

After eating at Olives many times, I have always wanted to know who the pasrty chef is and some of the great recipes. Now I have them! I tried the Ginger Crinkles and they were as good as I remember them when I had them at Olives. Butterscotch pudding dessert and served it last night, what a hit. Thank you for such a great book.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Yes, you can make them at home if you have all day, January 28, 2001

By A Customer

I love Olives Restaurant, and own two other cookbooks by Todd English. I guess you could call me a foodie--I love to keep up with the local food scene. I received this book as a Christmas gift, and was delighted by the delicious sounding recipes, and gorgeous photographs. Most of the recipes are rather involved, however,so be prepared to spend some time in the kitchen. Todd English does explain that many of these recipes can be made without the accompanying sauces, tuiles, etc, and he puts a star after the components that are good enough to stand on their own. I made the lemon cake(it took me all afternoon) but the result was delicious! I would save this recipe for a special occasion because the amount of butter, eggs, and lemons that this recipe calls for is astonishing. Not for the cholesterol concious!

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars spectacular, November 9, 2000

By A Customer

I found this cookbook to be intriguing. There are recipes that are simple enough for everyday fare and then there are those that are complex and perfect for the ooh aah desserts. The pictures are wonderful and help in visualizing what the finished product will look like. The recipes are concise and easy to follow even those like the chocolate bombe and all its steps.