Sweet

345 Pages·2013·22.229 MB·English

by  Gordon, Valery

SWEET
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SWEET
VALERIE GORDON
PHOTOGRAPHS BY PEDEN + MUNK
new york
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Copyright © 2013 by Valerie Gordon
Photographs copyright © 2013 by Peden + Munk
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be
reproduced—mechanically, electronically, or by any
other means, including photocopying—without writ-
ten permission of the publisher.
Published by Artisan
A division of Workman Publishing Company, Inc.
225 Varick Street
New York, NY 10014-4381
artisanbooks.com
Published simultaneously in Canada by Thomas
Allen & Son, Limited
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gordon, Valerie.
Sweet / Valerie Gordon.
pages cm
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-57965-468-9
1. Desserts. 2. Confectionery. I. Title.
TX773.G65 2013
641.86—dc23 2013006288
Design by Michelle Ishay-Cohen
Printed in China
First printing, September 2013
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for stanley
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CONTENTS
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INTRODUCTION > 9
PEDESTAL
CELEBRATION DESSERTS > 27
PLATE
EVERYDAY CAKES > 70
TIN
PIES AND TARTS > 115
BOX
CHOCOLATES AND CONFECTIONS > 169
BOWL
DESSERTS TO EAT WITH A SPOON > 213
JAR
COOKIES AND BARS > 243
LARDER
JAMS AND MARMALADES > 271
HAND
BREAKFAST AND SNACKS TO EAT ON THE GO > 304
RESOURCES > 335
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS > 337
INDEX > 339
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INTRODUCTION
It’s 2 a.m. on a night in the middle of July, and my partner, Stan, and I are talking
about Christmas.
“I finalized the new holiday collection today,” I say. “How are we going to work the
new items into the holiday production schedule? What did we run out of last year?
How many people do we need to hire this year? Have we ordered enough boxes?”
Every year it’s the same thing, yet somehow each new pre-holiday season seems
even more frenetic. A few short years ago, we were making fifteen different choco-
lates, all by hand, and it felt very complicated. Today we also make more than a
hundred other products: preserves, petits fours, chocolate bars, cakes, pastries,
cookies, and pies. It’s no longer just complicated—it’s controlled chaos.
When we started our company nine years ago, our motto was “For gifts and per-
sonal indulgence.” Valerie Confections has evolved so much since then, but the
same intention remains behind everything we make. Each chocolate is made by
hand, dipped by hand, and packed by hand in boxes finished with hand-tied ribbons.
I believe in making all of our products this way. For me, it is the same idea as pre-
paring a home-cooked meal. There is true intimacy in a box of chocolates that are
all slightly different because human hands, thankfully, cannot replicate the robotic
movements of a machine. Handmade gifts and desserts create a special moment for
the person on the receiving end. The next time you need to give a birthday present
or a hostess gift, present a box of homemade cookies or a pie—the response will
undoubtedly be surprise and gleeful anticipation.
introduction • 9
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