Delectable: Sweet & Savory Baking
by Claudia Fleming with Catherine Young
In Claudia's first cookbook, a culinary classic, she shared recipes from the menus at Gramercy Tavern that introduced home cooks to her sophisticated, classically inspired seasonal desserts and pastries and established a standard in pastry kitchens across the country. Now Claudia is offering a new collection of recipes all developed and tweaked in her own small kitchen. Baking at home, Claudia brings her characteristic style and skilled approach to every sweet and treat, along with an ease with culinary history, and a growing connection to her own family traditions. A mix of classic favorites and new explorations, including her first foray into savory recipes for savory baking, each delicious dish is the work of a master in her prime.
Claudia's knowledge and facility, refined over a storied career in pastry, mark these more casual, desserts and savory bites. Her thoughtful essays on subject ranging from working with yeast to a professional’s approach to frosting a layer cake, reflect her intention to share all she knows. With more than 140 recipes, the book is organized into chapters including:
• Breakfast & Breads: Blueberry Muffins; Rhubarb Scones
• Doughnuts & Cakes: Cider Doughnuts; Devil's Food with Earl Grey Cream
• Cookies: Grapefruit Rugelach; Pizzelles; Maple Shortbread
• Pies: Nectarine and Fig Tart; Plum Cobbler; Kumquat Tatin
• Savories: Eggplant Caponata Tart; Chickpea Crackers; Tomato Crostata
Making simple preparations truly delicious is a challenge Claudia Fleming has always embraced. With Delectable, she continues to set the standard for pastry chefs and home bakers alike.
About the Author: Claudia Fleming is a pastry chef, restaurateur, and author. She has worked in New York restaurants such as Union Square Cafe, Montrachet, TriBeCa Grill, and Gramercy Tavern, and at Fauchon in Paris. Fleming and her husband, chef Gerry Hayden, opened The North Fork Table & Inn in Southold, New York. She is currently the executive culinary director for Daily Provisions, Union Square Hospitality Group’s collection of all-day neighborhood kitchens. Fleming has been named Outstanding Pastry Chef by the James Beard Foundation, and her recipes have appeared in publications such as Town & Country, Martha Stewart Living, and Vogue. Fleming has appeared on Barefoot Contessa and Beat Bobby Flay and served as a judge on Chopped and Top Chef: Just Desserts. She lives in New York City and Long Island’s North Fork.
Catherine Young is an author who has collaborated on critically acclaimed and James Beard Foundation Award–winning cookbooks including The Beetlebung Farm Cookbook with Chris Fisher; Salt to Taste with Marco Canora; Anatomy of a Dish with Diane Forley; and Think Like a Chef and The Craft of Cooking, both with Tom Colicchio. Catherine started her culinary career after leaving the practice of law. She cooked at leading New York restaurants beginning at Tribeca Grill (where she first met Claudia Fleming) then at Union Square Café, Lespinasse, and Gramercy Tavern. She began food writing as an editor at Saveur. Catherine lives in New York City.