The Seasonal Baker: Easy Recipes from My Home Kitchen to Make Year-Round: A Baking Book

by John Barricelli

Overview

Known for his delicious and gorgeous baked goods, John Barricelli of the SoNo Baking Company in Norwalk, Connecticut, has become a local celebrity. In The Seasonal Baker, he brings everyday baking with fruits and vegetables within reach for home cooks, offering 135 sweet and savory recipes for all seasons.
           
John patiently walks readers through his recipes for breakfast treats, quick breads, poached fruits, cookies, pies, cakes, quiches, pizzas, and more. He shares his Pears “Belle Hélène,” using the fall’s bounty and including suggestions for how best to submerge fruit for poaching. His Strawberries Romanoff—perfect for summertime—comes with tips on how to gently clean the berries so they retain their beautiful shape. The Blueberry Cheesecake in Glass Jars offers a delightful, picnic-style presentation for company. He presents Joan’s Carrot Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting and Spiced Pecans for a cozy winter treat.  Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Cinnamon Cream are a hit with all ages, perfect for Thanksgiving when pumpkin harvest is in full swing. He steeps and softens sun-dried tomatoes for Cheese Focaccia with Summer Squash, and guides you through making Grilled Pizza with Figs and Ricotta, great from summer through early fall, and which can be made in the oven.
           
In his follow-up to his acclaimed The SoNo Baking Company Cookbook, John showcases the diversity of the produce, keeping us connected to the seasons. He also includes a definitive shopping guide on how to buy and prepare fruits and vegetables, and how best to store them for later use. This rich collection of recipes, great for beginning bakers and pros alike, is accompanied by gorgeous four-color photography, as well as Barricelli’s family stories.

These are the recipes that he makes at home with his children, and they will inspire you to add his seasonal family favorites to your own standbys. Often simple enough for anyone to make, these dishes are mouthwateringly beautiful and approachable enough to make during the week.

Through fall, winter, spring, and summer, this is the book you’ll turn to again and again for recipes that feel like home.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780307951885
Publisher:	Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed
Publication date:	08/21/2012
Sold by:	Random House
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
File size:	29 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

JOHN BARRICELLI is the owner and chef of the SoNo Baking Company in South Norwalk, Connecticut, which opened in 2005, and a new location in nearby Westport. For many years he worked at Martha Stewart’s magazines and television and radio shows. He was also the host of the PBS show Everyday Baking. A third-generation baker with thirty years of experience, he worked at River Café, Le Bernardin, and Four Seasons before opening his own bakeries. He is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and author of The SoNo Baking Company Cookbook.

Read an Excerpt

Peach-Raspberry Crisp
Serves 8
 
Topping
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
½ teaspoon coarse salt
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into ¼-inch cubes
½ cup old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant)
2 pounds fresh peaches, halved, pitted, and sliced into ½-inch-thick wedges
2 (6-ounce) baskets raspberries
1⁄3 to ½ cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
1 teaspoon coarse salt
 
1. Set the oven rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Set a 12 by 9-inch or 14 by 10-inch oval baking dish on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a nonstick silicone baking mat.
 
2. To make the topping: In a medium bowl, use a fork to stir together the flour, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Add the butter and, using your fingertips, quickly work it into the dry ingredients until pea-size crumbs form. Add the oats and toss gently. Set aside in the refrigerator.
 
3. In a medium bowl, toss together the peaches, raspberries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and salt. Transfer to the gratin dish. Sprinkle the topping mixture evenly over the top.
 
4. Bake, rotating the baking sheet about two-thirds of the way through the baking time, until the juices bubble up and the topping is golden brown and very crisp, 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.
 

Table of Contents

Introduction 8

Ingredient Checklist 15

Equipment Checklist 16

Shopping Guide to Fruits and Vegetables 18

1 Muffins, Quick Breads, Buns, and Other Breakfast Treats 32

2 Just Fruit, Poached and Otherwise 56

3 Cookies and Bars 76

4 Fruit Pies and Tarts 108

5 Cupcakes and Cakes 146

6 Crisps, Cobblers, and Other Fruit Spoon Desserts 196

7 Frozen Fruit Desserts 216

8 Tarts, Quiches, Pastas, and More 232

9 Focaccia and Pizza on the Grill 256

Acknowledgments 280

Sources 281

Index 282

Editorial Reviews

A follow-up to his SoNo Baking Company Cookbook, Barricelli’s latest was “conceived with family—mine and yours—in mind” and includes photographs of his children and encouragement to bring children into the kitchen. Dedicated to “All single parents,” the single father of two keeps the title sophisticated with recipes such as warm figs and prosciutto and bruschetta, poached pears in red wine, and sweet corn ice cream, yet accessible to the whole family with Better-than-store-bought Fig Newtons, trail mix cookies, and chocolate-cherry cupcakes. With the “majority of recipes for everyday baking” and extensive preliminary pages, including a well-thought-out shopping guide, this collection is a fit for new and experienced bakers alike. Savory recipes, including a variety of pizzas and focaccia, highlight seasonal ingredients, as do the sweets throughout the title. A special bonus for all bakers: Mrs. Kostyra’s (as in Martha Stewart’s mom) date squares. Agent, Coleen O’Shea.(Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

John has the uncanny ability to create recipes that all of us can make and enjoy. In this collection there are many sweet and savory dishes that are certain to become family favorites.
–MARTHA STEWART
 
 
“So many chefs talk about recipes that can be made at home simply, easily, and successfully, but John Barricelli delivers. His sweets are just the kind you want to bake for family and friends, and just the kind that even beginning bakers can turn out. You will make these recipes year-round, and you’ll make them over and over again.”
–DORIE GREENSPAN
 
 
“The Seasonal Baker is a dessert book you want to hug. It will actually become part of your kitchen (flour- and chocolate-stained) and not your library. John’s pastry is always straightforward delicious. And if you don't make his Banana–Chocolate Chip Kugelhopf, you are simply missing out on one of the things that makes life worth getting out of bed for.”
 --MATT LEWIS & RENATO POLIAFITO
 
 
"I enjoyed getting to know John and his family through his heartfelt mix of savory and sweet recipes. He takes care to keep instructions clear and approachable; perfect for the home baker. I can't wait to try some of these with my family."
–KAREN DEMASCO
 
 
“My introduction to John was over his Lemon Daisy Cake at Martha Stewart’s studio.  It was so light and airy and at the same time tart and sweet. This perfect dessert is a reflection of John’s background—a unique combination of family and professional cooking and baking, with his philosophy of using the best ingredients, that results in no-fail recipes.  From simple Poached Pineapple or Grilled Peaches to Ratatouille Hand Pies, there is something here for everyone. I’m going to start with the Gingerbread-Pineapple Upside-Down Cake.”
--SARA FOSTER

From the Publisher

Don't let conventional categories—e.g., "Muffins, Quick Breads, Buns and Other Breakfast Treats," "Cookies and Bars," "Frozen Fruit Desserts"—make you think this is a generic baking book. Innovations in flavor and presentation abound in these 135 sweet and savory recipes from Connecticut-based bakery owner Barricelli, who has worked for Martha Stewart and Le Bernardin and other kitchens of note. He offers Cherry-Almond Crisp instead of apple, and his Blueberry Cheesecakes are cleverly baked in individual jars. Note that Barricelli's definition of seasonal caters more to supermarket shoppers than locavores (the shopping guide includes international imports). VERDICT A solid follow-up to The SoNo Baking Company Cookbook, suitable for easy everyday baking.

Library Journal