Having lived in Europe at various points in my life, I find myself craving a European pastries and cakes on occasion. Are there any quintessential books that folks can recommend with French, Italian and/or Swiss-German recipes/techniques?
Thanks in advance.
http://www.amazon.com/Special-Decorative-Breads-Professional-French/dp/0442319541/ref=cm_syf_dtl_pl_2_rlrsrs0
Try this book. I don't own it, but i've been thinking about buying it for a while. The whole series looks to be top notch, though the price is prohibitive.
I have had the same dilemma. I wound up finding out a lot of info at the local library, because a lot of the good books are out of print. Searching the web was rather futile. Because sites like cooks.com etc rank so high, you go there and find very watered down recipes that are nothing even close to the European counterparts.
On one web research spree I was tring to research Vienna Cream Cakes and kept coming across a site that had mostly burritos and enchaladas. Very discouraging. I do have the following titles on my wish list at Amazon though
http://www.amazon.com/Paris-Boulangerie-Patisserie-Thirteen-Outstanding-Bakeries/dp/0517224909/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233994678&sr=1-2
http://www.amazon.com/Kaffeehaus-Exquisite-Desserts-Classic-Budapest/dp/0609604538/ref=wl_itt_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=IZWFLKF6GE74O&colid=1B6STQESZPEH7
http://www.amazon.com/Tartine-Elisabeth-Prueitt/dp/0811851508/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=I3JVMVTCJNR1LK&colid=1B6STQESZPEH7
Hope these help you out.
Thanks all. I agree with the google page ranking of some cooking sites. Finding authentic European recipes online can be a bit of a challenge. I gave in and went to the local library this past weekend. I came out of the stacks with a copy of Cocolat and Kaffeehaus. My lucky day. Now, unfortunately, I'm spoiled for choice! Both have great appendices describing the required techniques. I'm heading to France in a few months so I may take a look at what I can find in some of the used shops.