Classic Stars Desserts: Favorite Recipes

by Emily Luchetti

Renowned pastry chef Emily Luchetti has updated and compiled 150 of the best recipes from her hugely popular (and out of print) treasures Stars Desserts and Four-Star Desserts into one delectable cookbook. Those familiar with Emily's irresistible recipes will be thrilled to rediscover their favorites in a new, indispensable collection. And for those who have yet to enjoy these timeless treats, here's the chance to taste such unforgettable...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0811847039
• ISBN13: 9780811847032
• Release Date: April 2007
• Publisher: Chronicle Books (CA)
• Length: 312 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 8.3" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Amazing Dishes

I bought this as a gift for my boyfriend who is in culinary studies. The pictures are amazing and the recipes are great. They are easy to follow instructions and taste great.

Public libraries strong in culinary guides will find this appealing.

Pastry chef Emily Luchetti provides a fine collection of over a hundred of her own creations from her best-selling Stars Desserts and Four-Star Desserts, making this a fine 'best of' collection for any cookbook collection and for newcomers in particular. From a traditional Apple Pandowdy to Cranberry Linzertorte and Drunken Chocolate Cake, these are favorites packed with flavor and innovation, with a peppering of color photos throughout adding interest. Public libraries strong in culinary guides will find this appealing. Diane C. Donovan California Bookwatch

Useful

This book includes many eye-catching, and great tasting desert. It also offers recipes or substitute recipes such as Double cream which cannot be found in the US.

Great Book, Great Recipes,

I have been a fan of Emily Luchetti for years. Her recipes work. The plates are approachable. No crazy architectural do-dads that invariably break or take a high degree of skill to make. Just beautifully and tastefully prepared desserts and cakes that say wow. The book has great photographs as wells.

Very Good Source for Entertaining Desserts.

`Classic Stars Desserts' is `Favorite Recipes by Emily Luchetti'. An important thing to know about the book is that it is a digest of two earlier books by Madame Luchetti, `Star Desserts' and `Four-Star Desserts', both presenting recipes from Jeremiah Tower's San Francisco restaurant `Stars' and the companion `Stars Café'. So, if you own one or both of these earlier books, you may have second thoughts about getting this re-presentation. The high-end restaurant dessert menu book field is a just a bit crowded and includes some outstanding offerings. The two best I've seen in the last few years are `The Secrets of Baking' by Sherry Yard of Spago, Los Angles and `This Sweet Life' by Kate Zuckerman of New York City's Chanterelle. Both books distinguish themselves by digging deep into the mysteries of baking technique, making themselves very valuable to the ambitious but unschooled amateur bakers. What makes this field even narrower is the fact that while the home cook may get worthy ideas for everyday meals from a restaurant book with recipes from The French Laundry, Chez Panisse, Babbo, Commander's Palace or Nobu, it is highly unlikely that elaborate dessert recipes will be used for anything except entertaining, or to inspire the really dedicated baking hobbyist. To address this concern, the book's recipes are labeled `deceptively simple'. This phrase hides the possibility that what is being hidden is a complexity mastered only by professional pastry chefs. Let's explore this, shall we. For starters, we find desserts and wine pairings in this book which is not commonly found in other dessert books, certainly not in those from Yard and Zuckerman or the great standard texts by Maida Heatter, Nick Malgieri, Flo Brakker, and Rose Levy Beranbaum. Score one for Luchetti as an entertainment source. Another consideration is that this book is about the entire range of desserts, not just baked goods. So, it includes much on non-baked dishes, such as puddings, ice creams, and compotes. If you happen to own Ms. Luchetti's book on Ice Cream, which I have not yet seen, it may diminish the value of this book for you by just a smidge. Ms. Emily begins with `Things That Make a Difference', a primer on baking equipment and techniques. The best news in this chapter is the fact that none of her recipes will require one to temper chocolate, a black art if I've ever seen one. The `Sweets and Stickies' chapter is written by the Farallon wine director, Peter Palmer and lists dessert recipes by the wine with which they are best paired. This has the nice feature that you can choose (or find yourself left with) a wine, and wish to match a dessert to it. `Puddings, Custards, Mousses & Trifles' covers an excellent variety of entertaining dessert, which can easily be made a day ahead and is virtually certain NOT to be mistaken for something you bought at your local Patisserie. The `Chocolate Desserts' chapter may seem like the home of famous baked goods; however, it is a