Pastry Queen Christmas: Big-Hearted Holiday Entertaining, Texas Style »

A pastry chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author, native Texan REBECCA RATHER has been proprietor of the Rather Sweet Bakery and Café since 1999. Open for breakfast and lunch daily, Rather Sweet has a fiercely loyal cadre of regulars who populate the café's sunlit tables each day. In 2007, Rebecca opened her eponymous restaurant, serving dinner nightly, just a few blocks from the café. Rebecca is the author of The Pastry Queen, and has been featured in Texas Monthly, Gourmet, Ladies' Home Journal, Food & Wine, Southern Living, Chocolatier, Saveur, and O, The Oprah Magazine. When she isn't in the bakery or on horseback, Rebecca enjoys the sweet life in Fredericksburg, where she tends to her beloved backyard garden and menagerie, and eagerly awaits visits from her college-age daughter, Frances.
 
ALISON ORESMAN has worked as a journalist for more than twenty years. She has written and edited for newspapers in Wyoming, Florida, and Washington State. As an entertainment editor for the Miami Herald, she oversaw the paper's restaurant coverage and wrote a weekly column as a restaurant critic. After settling in Washington State, she also covered restaurants in the greater Seattle area as a critic with a weekly column. A dedicated home baker, Alison is often in the kitchen when she isn't writing. The Pastry Queen Christmas is her second book with Rebecca Rather. Alison lives in Bellevue, Washington, with her husband, Warren, and their children, Danny and Callie.

It's Christmastime at the Best Little Bakery in Texas

The annual Fredericksburg Christmas parade marks the beginning of the Texas Hill Country's holiday season, which means the Pastry Queen is kicking into high gear at her Rather Sweet Bakery and Café. As party invitations pile up in the mailbox, Rebecca Rather is up to her elbows in sticky meringue, creamy chocolate, and a sleigh full of savory treats to meet the entertaining needs of her neighbors.

In The Pastry Queen Christmas, Rebecca shares nearly 100 traditional recipes reflecting her made-with-love-from-scratch philosophy and the tastes of small-town Texas. Show-off desserts such as Chocolate Cookie Crusted Eggnog Cheesecake, Sticky Toffee Pudding with Brandy Butterscotch Sauce, and Warm Pear Ginger Upside-Down Cake with Amaretto Whipped Cream are the perfect toppers to a family-style feast of Texas Spice-Rubbed Roast Pork, Baked Apple Pear Chutney, Brown Sugar Bacon, and No-Peeking Popovers. Still hungry the next morning? No problem-this country girl does an impressive breakfast, too: Bite-Sized Sticky Buns, Sweet Potato Scones, Cast-Iron Skillet Potatoes, and Mexican Ranch Chilaquiles ought to fill you up.

And if you're still looking for excuses to entertain this season, you'll find ooey-gooey baked goods wrapped up as gifts, homemade craft and décor ideas to make your home sparkle, and holiday-worthy menus guaranteed to make your gathering a Texas-sized success. Tree-trimming, cookie decorating, and Santas running down Main Street . . . Christmastime is here.

Publishers Weekly

Though Rather is kno with Alison Oresmanwn as the Pastry Queen, the author and baker-owner of the Rather Sweet Bakery and Café in Fredericksburg, Tex., covers a lot more than baked goods in this comprehensive collection of holiday recipes from her native state. Organized by event (holiday open house, brunch, Christmas Eve, etc.), Rather offers an array of ideas sure to keep table legs groaning and belts loosening. Red velvet cupcakes get a jolt of sour sweetness from mascarpone cream cheese icing, and a delicious Wild Mushroom and Goat Cheese Quesadilla is topped with a colorful pecan and cranberry salsa laced with orange zest, balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard and jalapeno. Decadent Creamy Chicken Lasagna, Oysters Rockefeller Soup and Chocolate Cookie-Crusted Eggnog Cheesecake each guarantee a memorable event, and Rather's Texas roots shine through in a duo of holiday martinis featuring prickly pear syrup, tamales with a tomatillo sauce, and a corn bread dressing (Mother's Best) so loaded with flavor that diners will forget any other kind exists. Helpful advice on advance preparations and clever variations abound; rounded out with packaging ideas for edible gifts and complete instructions on baking, assembling and decorating a gingerbread house (including templates), this is sure to become a holiday favorite. (Oct.)

Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information

Acknowledgments - xi Introduction - 1
 
chapter one
Holiday Open House - 7
Old-Fashioned Eggnog -  9
Sweet Potato Scones - 10
Cranberry-Walnut Scones - 13
Savory Rice Balls - 16
Mustard Baked Ham - 19
Mamie's Marinated Green Bean and Artichoke Salad - 20
Split Pea Soup - 21
Green Chile and Cheddar Baking Powder Biscuits - 22
Creamy Chicken Lasagna - 24
Pear and Apricot Jam Bars - 26
Aunt Milbry's Fruitcake - 28
Red Velvet Cupcakes with Mascarpone Cream Cheese Icing - 30
King-Sized Key Lime Pie - 35
Tiny Whiskey-Glazed Eggnog Cakes - 37
Panna Cotta Parfaits with Hibiscus-Berry Compote - 38
Mr. Vallone's Italian Cookies - 40
 
Outdoor Tree Trimming - 43
In-the-Bag Chili Frito Pie - 44
Rather Minty Brownies - 46
Coconut Snowballs - 48
My Mistake Cookies - 49
 
chapter two
Ranch Barn Brunch - 51
Larry Doll's Famous Cranberry Margaritas - 52
Texas Antipasto Platter: Sea Salt Roasted Almonds, Shrimp Rémoulade, Focaccia Bruschetta - 54
Seasonal Fruit Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing - 58
Brown Sugar Bacon - 61
Cherry Tomatoes with Tequila-Lime Vinaigrette - 62
Mexican Ranch Chilaquiles - 65
Pan de Campo (Mexican Camp Bread) - 68
Cast-Iron Skillet Potatoes - 71
Apple-Spice Layer Cake with Caramel Swirl Icing - 72
Earthquake Cake - 75
Cowboy Cookies - 78
Bite-Sized Sticky Buns - 79
Sopaipillas - 80
Cowboy Coffee Straight - 83
 
Making Gingerbread Houses - 85
Gingerbread house - 87
Sour Cream and Chicken Enchiladas - 92
Guacamole with Pico de Gallo - 93
Torched S'mores - 94
Chocolate-Dipped Peanut Butter Sandwich Bites - 96
 
chapter three
Christmas Eve - 99
LBJ Ranch Crown Roast of Lamb with Rice Stuffing and Jalapeño-Mint Sauce - 101
Zucchini Timbales - 104
Ensalada de Noche Buena (Christmas Eve Salad) - 105
Oysters Rockefeller Soup - 106
Blue Corn Blinis with Crab and Avocado Crema - 108
Mascarpone Grits Cakes - 111
Holiday Martinis: Prickly in Pink Martini, Texas Sunset - 112
Martha's Best-Ever Rolls - 114
Green Olive Beef Tenderloin - 117
Sticky Toffee Pudding with Brandy Butterscotch Sauce - 118
Apple Dumplings - 120
Christmas Coconut Cake - 123
Hot Mocha Cakes - 126
Warm Pear Ginger Upside-Down Cake with Amaretto Whipped Cream - 128
Mini Bourbon–Macadamia Nut Pies - 130
 
Cookie Decorating - 133
Rebecca's Homemade Lollipops - 134
Chicken and Egg Checkerboard Club Sandwiches - 135
Fresh Veggies with Rather Sweet Ranch Dressing - 138
Grandma's Sugar Cookies - 139
 
chapter four
Christmas Day - 143
Hot Spiced Citrus Claret - 145
Crab in Ramekins - 146
Green Bean Bundles - 147
Baked Apple Pear Chutney - 149
Texas Spice-Rubbed Roast Pork - 150
Fresh Pear and Candied-Walnut Salad with Pomegranate Vinaigrette - 152
Cajun Roast Turkey - 154
My Mother's Best Corn Bread Dressing - 156
Day-after-Christmas Cajun Turkey Gumbo - 158
My Sister-in-Law's Candied Sweet Potato Casserole - 160
Margie's Christmas Squash - 161
Grandma Wyche's Gingerbread - 162
Chocolate Cookie Crusted Eggnog Cheesecake - 165
Carlton's Chocolate Chewies - 166
 
Wrapping Up the Holidays with Edible Gifts - 169
Rosa's Tamales with Tomatillo Sauce - 172
Butter Meringue Nuts - 176
Cheese Crispies - 177
Denise's Vanilla Caramels - 178
Lola's Sunday Fudge - 179
Chocolate Sauce - 180
 
chapter five
New Year's Eve - 183
Alice Lon's Champagne Punch - 185
Wild Mushroom and Goat Cheese Quesadillas with Cranberry-Pecan Salsa - 186
Paula's Scallop, Pancetta, and Radicchio Salad - 189
Mother's Lobster Bisque - 190
Black-Eyed Peas with Bacon, Onions, and Garlic - 191
Shrimp 'n' Grits - 193
Ken Hall's Standing Rib Roast - 195
No-Peeking Popovers - 197
Glazed Chocolate Pavé - 198
Frances's Bread and Jam Pudding - 200
Caramel Pie with Meringue Topping - 203
Good Luck Truffles -  206
 
Appendix: Gingerbread House Templates - 208
Index - 217