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A letter from the Editor: Recipes Are Addictive


Recipes are addictive. I guess that goes without saying, but since my first recipe magazine clipping in high school, I have become addicted to the "sport" and have literally thousands of recipes in about every category you can imagine that have been collected over the years. While cookbooks can be compilations of recipes with specific themes, the wonderful thing about clipping recipes from newspapers or magazines is that you never know what kind of recipe you will read until the pages are turned and the column is read. Recipes given to you have special meaning in that there is usually a story behind it. Having worked in the food biz for my entire adult life and the past decade with the Ritz-Carlton, I've known chefs that are quiet and unassuming, others that make coming into work truly a delight, and still others that have been known to throw a few pots and pans around the kitchen in an attempt to scare off anyone in a waitstaff uniform. So, while 'chef' is a term that may be generic, each definately has his or her own personality. It's the same with recipes; a recipe titled "Chocolate Pudding Cake" can have a very different theme coming from the West Coast as it does coming from the East. I've had the opportunity to see the differences in recipes having lived in the Pacific Northwest, Southern California, and currently in the South. My favorite recipes, though, come from those old community cookbooks that seem to pop-up everywhere from every organization or church in the country, because they always seem to have the most unusual combinations of common ingredients (like pineapple in cookies). I've included some of my favorites over the years that I've used at home on this website. Some of these recipes come from my own recipe box, some have been given to me by friends, family or fellow chefs, some are from beloved old cookbooks and still others adapted from the many, many clippings that I have. Some of the recipes are professional recipes when I worked most recently for the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel, where I created wedding cakes for the hotel joyfully for six years until the birth of our first daughter. Not all of them have been tested, the majority have though, but each recipe is unique and lovely in its own way, and those that have not will one day undoubtedly find its way into my kitchen when I find the time to try it out. Add a few to your "sporting" collection. If you try one that you especially like, write recipes@pastrysampler.com. We would love to hear from you, and add yours as well. We'll credit your name, as we give a souce to all the recipes (they all came from somewhere, even if they're from our imaginations or experimentations...) if we add it to our list. Enjoy!

Renee Shelton

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