Rating: 
Summary: What else needs to be said except for Chocolatier magazine?
Review: This cookbook is to die for. I have been a subscriber to chocolatier magazine for years and every time I make something from the magazine, people think I've had it catered. The recipes are not as difficult as people might imagine and the photos make your mouth water to the point that you can barely contain yourself until you try every single recipe!
Rating:
Summary: A chocolate lover's dream book...
Review: When even someone whose idea of "difficult" cooking is cake and brownies from a box picks up a cookbook and says "I have *got* to have this book", you know it is a great book.Granted, this person is a chocoholic, not a reformed cook who will consider tackling these challenging recipes. And the recipes are challenging. This book does offer some excellent recipes, and we tested quite a few of them with excellent results...but they are very time and labor intensive. The vast majority of the recipes in the book require over an hour of active preparation. The book is still worth buying however, even if you couldn't possibly imagine taking 4 hours (plus chilling, cooling, etc. time) to make the decadent caramel rum kisses. The very generously sized book is filled with useful information about chocolate, chocolate history, suppliers, and cooking with chocolate. The book is very well written, and while some recipes span over six or more pages, the recipes are written in exquisite detail making it easy for the inexperienced cook to tackle even the most complex of recipes. But the real reason you should buy this book? Definitely the photos. I occasionally use this book as a coffee table book and to quote a guest the photos themselves are "orgasmic". Her word, not mine. They are incredibly styled and just brimming with chocolate. Be careful though, they have been known to launch chocolate cravings of gastronomical proportions. If you do purchase the book, there are some recipes you *must* try. The Peanut Butter Milk Chocolate Pie is relatively easy to prepare and is by far the best version of this common restaurant staple. If you make only one dessert this year, their Flourless Bittersweet Chocolate Cake with Milk Chocolate Drizzle should definitely be the one. It is incomparable. Will most people actually use this book? Well, it depends on what you mean by "use". I actually have friends who come over to visit this book...and just happen to see me while they are at it. Just reading the book makes you feel decadent and pampered...like you are eating the best chocolate in the world. Any chocoholic will enjoy this book immensely, probably more than any other book on chocolate on the market. If you want to know how many of the recipes you will use...to be honest, the average cook probably will not use many. There is a lot of useful information and ideas for the average cook, especially when it comes to decorating ideas and techniques that you can apply to many other recipes. You may even be inspired to use some of the unique combinations of ingredients in other recipes, such as white chocolate, citrus juices, and tequila or dark chocolate and ginger. It would take a pretty confident cook or entertainer to try most of the recipes in this book. But it would definitely be worth it!
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