Tuesday, October 26, 2010

The Clinton St. Baking Company cookbook (review)



Book Description

The Clinton St. Baking Company is one of the hottest brunch spots in a city obsessed with brunch. A tiny thirty-two-seat eatery on Manhattans trendy Lower East Side, the restaurant draws long lines of customers who come from far and wide to sample fresh-baked goods, hearty omelets, sugar-cured bacon, and light-as-air pancakes with maple butter. In the Clinton St. Baking Company Cookbook, owners DeDe Lahman and Neil Kleinberg share more than 100 treasured recipes that have made their restaurant a sensation. Learn the secret to their house-made buttermilk biscuits and tomato jam, irresistible muffins and scones, delicious soups and sandwiches, and their decadent, eye-catching desserts. Helpful techniques, like Neils patented omelet flip and tuck, and gorgeous color photographs throughout will have readers cooking like pros in no time, and sharing the delicious results.

Author Bios:
DeDe Lahman is co-owner of the Clinton St. Baking Company and Community Food & Juice. She began her career as an editor and advice columnist at Seventeen magazine. She has worked as a book researcher, freelance writer, brand consultant, and cook.
Neil Kleinberg was raised in Brooklyn, and opened his first restaurant, Simon's, at the age of 22. After four years at The Water Club under Rick Moonen, he returned to his native Flatbush to reopen the legendary seafood star, Lundy's. Neil co-authored The Lundy's Cookbook (Harper Collins, 1998), and is a distinguished member of The James Beard Foundation. 

My Review

I have had the chance to try out their pancake recipes. I am not a pancake person but boy oh boy are their pancakes yummy.
There are a few recipes I want to try. This is one of them:


Pumpkin Cheesecake

Ingredients
GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST:
2 cups graham-cracker crumbs
¼ cup sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
CHEESECAKE BATTER:

1½ cups (three 8-ounce packages) cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sour cream, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1½ teaspoons cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon allspice
Pinch of ground ginger
Pinch of ground cloves
1 cup pumpkin puree, room temperature
2 tablespoons heavy cream
3 large eggs
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350. Coat a 10-inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Make the crust: Mix the graham-cracker crumbs, sugar and vanilla in a small bowl. Stir in the melted butter until all the ingredients are well mixed.

3. Turn the crust mixture into the prepared pan and spread evenly over the bottom (but not the sides). Press down firmly to form a crust.

4. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the crust from the oven and, let cool, while you start on the cheesecake batter. Turn down the oven temperature to 325.

5. Make the batter: In the bowl of an electric mixer, blend the cream cheese, sour cream, vanilla and spices until smooth. Add the pumpkin puree and heavy cream and mix until combined.

6. Add the eggs one at a time, until the mixture is smooth. Do not over mix.

7. Assemble the cheesecake: Pour the batter over the baked crust.

8. Bake for 1 hour in the water bath (see note, below).

9. Turn off the oven, prop open the oven door, and allow cake to cool for 10 minutes. Remove cake from oven and cool completely in fridge overnight.

10. Cut with a hot knife and serve.

Note: To make a water bath, use any roasting pan that is large enough to hold the pan in which you are baking. Try a roasting pan with two handles. It’s a good idea to wrap your springform pan in heavy-duty foil before adding water to the roasting pan. Use hot tap water for the bath and make sure the water lever is at least 1 inch up the sides of the pan but not so high that water will splash into the springform.

If you want to buy this cookbook you can do so at Amazon.com
I give this cookbook at 3 1/2 out of 5. I would give it a 4 but some of the recipes required some ingredients I don't know if we can get out here.
Disclosure: I received a copy of the book in exchange for my honest opinions. The book copy information and cover image were provided by Hachette Book Group. I did not receive any monetary compensation. All opinions and thoughts expressed in this post are my own, and different people may have different outcomes. Please see disclosure policy below for more information pertaining to this site.

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