Title: The Happy Baker
Author: Erin Bolger
Publisher: Harlequin
Release Date: 10/01/2010
ISBN: 9780373892419
Dating rule #2: Do not show me the engine of your car, no matter how cool you think it is. Unless you are storing a box of chocolates under the hood, I just don't care.
If you have ever dated, you've had a broken heart or two. If you haven't then you'll still laugh at what is quite possibly the most unique cookbook I've ever read. The dating life is never easy & just about everyone's had that one horrible breakup that caused them to blow that diet or buy so many cookies that they could own stock in Nabisco.
One part diary & one part cookbook, Bolger isn't afraid to air all of the skeletons in her dating closet, regaling us with dating flubs such as "Green Eyes" & near misses such as "The Big One". Each chapter is filled to the brim not only with dating stories that just about all of us can relate to, but hand-drawn pictures as well as an endless display of mouth wateringly delicious looking recipes.
Each recipe is accompanied with a cute title such as 'My Mother Didn't Like You Anyway' cupcakes as well as a beautifully shot photography. Also included in the book are several wonderful pictures that while not displaying a yummy treat listed in the book, are absolutely gorgeous to behold. (My personal favorite was a elaborately laid out cracked chocolate heart surrounded with various colored sugars.)
And for those of us who aren't so talented in the kitchen, no worries. This cookbook is incredibly friendly to us kitchen klutzes, most having very simplistic instructions & easy to find ingredients. No blankly staring at the cookbook wondering where the chef expects us to find ingredients for this reviewer!
The cookbook ends on a hopeful note with Bolger wrapping up with an upbeat vacation romance story & several equally upbeat & delicious recipes. Girls, guys, whomever... this cookbook is a "must have" for anyone who loves baking delicious treats for happy or not so happy occasions!
(ARC provided by NetGalley)
On a side note, the titles for the various recipes reminded me of the wonderful indie movie 'Waitress', with how the main character would give her pies incredibly quirky names!
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