Oh, there can be little doubt about early life impressions. Gale Gand recalls her fourth birthday party when her grandmother made lemon butter cookies using a thimble as a cookie cutter. Miniature desserts have been a passion for her ever since. Gale is a nationally acclaimed pastry chef, restaurateur, cookbook author, and TV personality. You can see her now on Craftsy. Oh, she’s a mom, too. And, and, an expert root beer maker.
In 2001, Gale put her love for miniature desserts into print. Just a Bite is a compendium of 125 little but powerful desserts. Desserts of all kinds:
- Cookie Bites
- Cakes Bites
- Creamy Bites
- Candy Bites
- Frozen Bites
- Chocolate Bites
- Fruity Bites
- Cheese Bites
The word “bites” is important because these really are small desserts. One large bite for man, one giant step towards satisfaction. That explains, too, why there is no pie chapter. Empanadas aside, pies come in big, thick, gooey slices. Even I cannot do a slice of pie in just one bite. [Yes, I have tried.]
Not to worry about those pies, for there are many ideas here for your enjoyment. Although pastry chef is her first self-title, Gale has included those chapters for candy, fruity and cheesy bites here to offer you multiple end points for your meal. Dessert is that final plate on the table, perhaps the very thing that your family or guests will remember as the signature element of the meal. Dessert is important.
Here’s a sample of recipes from the book, the ones I’ve tagged to slowly being making with Suzi:
Best Cheese Cracker with Walnut Stuffed Figs
Buttermilk Key Lime Sherbet in Roasted Pineapple Sleeves
Cinnamon Peanut Brittle
Cranberry Walnut Crumb Cakes
Extra Spicy Ginger Snappers
Frozen Creamy Dark Chocolate Sandwiches
Fudge Tartlets with Peanut Butter Ice Cream and Cabernet Caramel
Hot Chocolate Turtle Soup
Maytag Blue Grapes with Nuts
Reblochon Toasts with Cinnamon Champagne Apricots
Tiny Honey Biscuits with Crème Fraiche and Berries
White Pepper Shortbread Cups
Gale was the James Beard Pastry Chef of the Year in 2001, the year this book was published. These recipe ideas are testimony to her creative power. While these desserts are miniature, there is nothing slight about their composition or complexity. That next to last idea, the honey biscuits with berries, was my recipe post yesterday [here’s a link!]. It’s the prototype for the desserts in this book: multiple, complementary flavor elements assembled in tiny packages that look like gifts for your mouth. Well, actually, that’s exactly what they are.
Sometimes you just don’t want a “big” dessert, a lemon meringue pie ten inches high, or a four layer cake surrounded by an inch of frosting. Sometimes, you want “small” and everyone around your table will love the personal, even private, delight of the treats in Just a Bite. Take just a bite yourself, and you will understand.