There are lots of delicious ways to spend a morning. For some it is remaining in bed with the covers pulled over their head, a loved one snuggled up close. For others it is the morning ritual of coffee making. Pouring the water in the electric kettle and turning it on. Grinding the coffee beans. Putting away the clean dinner dishes while the kettle heats up. For a lucky few it means throwing on a fleece jacket and heading down the street to TARTINE BAKERY. The light streams in the front windows. The counter is brimming full of just out of the oven delicacies. Are the scones out of the oven yet? What about the croissants? Morning buns? A quiet hum pervades. All is good in the world....And if you can’t get to Tartine every morning? The next best thing is TARTINE COOKBOOK just published by Chronicle Books.
The foreward is written by Alice Waters and successfully sets the tone for what follows. Tartine is a special place, a set piece of beautiful and delicious food tableaus that go beyond your ordinary neighborhood bakery. The artist/baker’s point of view is apparent in every item on display. Croissants are baked dangerously dark brown. The baking pan of bread pudding is at least six inches deep and topped with well cooked seasonal fruits. A single pink rose petal sets on a drift of snow white whipped cream to garnish a lemon tart. The elegance is breathtaking. And while everything looks familiar, none of it looks mass produced. The baker’s hand is always present but not in an overly done, fussy way. More like the touch of a master painter whose one deft stroke of paint on the canvas says all that needs to be said. The Robert Motherwell of the food world.
And the cookbook itself? It too feels familiar. Its sturdy design has the durable heft and feel of your mother’s red and white Betty Crocker Cookbook. And the recipes that we tried all work and faithfully replicate what we have enjoyed at the bakery. The scone recipe is easy. The chocolate brownie recipe has this chocolate lover swooning.
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