cover image Mes Tartes: The Sweet and Savory Tarts of Christine Ferber

Mes Tartes: The Sweet and Savory Tarts of Christine Ferber

Christine Ferber. Michigan State University Press, $34.95 (336pp) ISBN 978-0-87013-688-7

This cookbook by famed French pastry artiste Ferber contains recipes for dozens of appealing quiches and tarts, like a sweet Fig Tart with Caramel and a rich old-fashioned Quiche Lorraine. However, as tempting as the recipes are, they will prove frustrating for the American home cook who is instructed to find ingredients like""pear quinces,""""Gariguette strawberries"" and""Beaufort cheese,"" a creamy cheese that is admittedly""not readily available here."" Suitable substitutions are infrequently provided, and although the local ingredients may pique the interest of expert pastry chefs, the culinary novice may be intimidated by the apparent need for several different kinds of sugar, flour and butter (it's not a matter of salted or unsalted for the latter--the question is Plugra, Charentes or Normandy butter) and other specialty ingredients. The prose can be awkward, which may have something to do with the translation: e.g., creams coat tarts""with their creamy softness and are melting and sweet in the mouth"" and""the finish coat makes the tart even more glistening."" Complicated directions make several of these tarts difficult for the American chef to create at home. In short, there's wonderful stuff in here, but it's only for the dedicated tart-maker.