cover image ALL-AMERICAN DESSERTS: 400 Star-Spangled, Razzle-Dazzle Recipes for America's Best Loved Desserts

ALL-AMERICAN DESSERTS: 400 Star-Spangled, Razzle-Dazzle Recipes for America's Best Loved Desserts

Judith Fertig, . . Harvard Common, $32.95 (512pp) ISBN 978-1-55832-191-5

Fertig (Prairie Home Cooking) claims that she has taken American recipes (defined as American, or Americanized recipes developed by Americans and made with American ingredients) and improved upon them—just a smidge. Fertig's Carrot Cake is tricolor and calls for yellow squash, green zucchini and carrots. Her recipes for crumbles or fruit crisps always include a squeeze of lemon juice to accent the flavors. Divided into sections that focus, in order, on fruit preserves and desserts, cookies, cake, pie, custards and puddings, ice cream, candy and beverages, the book is unarguably comprehensive. What's more, it's a convenient resource to have on hand. The recipes are modified classics, and Fertig has included some surprising ones, including Green Tomato and Apple Mincemeat, and Sweet Potato Pone with Kentucky Bourbon Pouring Custard. But among the most successful are the tried-and-true cornerstones of American dessert cuisine: Wisconsin Cheddar-Custard Apple Pie and Classic Angel Food Cake with Minted Berries. For the cook whose shelves are rife with books on contemporary cuisine, this book—think of it as an enhanced Betty Crocker recipe cookbook—is well worth adding to the shelf. (Oct.)