Someone near and dear (and extremely overwhelmingly generous!) found a list of cookbooks scribbled on some scratch paper I’d used as a bookmark and accidentally left in the book when I lent it to them:
(Bonus photo of photobombing cat)
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One tip from her/book:
Never use a microplane grater for grating Parmesan, always use the smallest section of a box grater. She says the microplane makes it too fluffy and with the box grater you will get a more accurate amount.
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Wow, what an excellent haul! Fabulous friend.
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I think I’m liking this cooking more and more. I’ve been wanting to make Chicken Schnitzel and she has a recipe for thighs but gives instructions for breasts too (I only like to eat white meat so I’ll use breasts). Instead of AP flour, she uses potato starch (which I happen to have) and Panko but she makes the panko finer. She specifies using a 12" cast iron pan … Mine is too heavy for me and I have small hands so maybe I’ll just use SS pan.
Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia, and A-Gong’s Table: Vegan Recipes from a Taiwanese Home are both on sale for $1.99 on amazon.ca
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Today I received my pre-ordered signed copy of Ready for Dessert. I love David and at my advanced age of “39” I now have my first signed cookbook.
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The Talisman of Happiness by Ada Boni.
On my wish-list (available for pre-order, but at $60, I haven’t pulled the trigger).
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I am in Paris right now and have eaten at both Mokoloco and Mokonuts and will eventually be adding the book to my collection but it is too heavy to tote home with me. If anyone has it, I would love the fig tart recipe. I had it for dessert today and it is def worth the price of the book for that one recipe. So nuanced. I must have it again.
Not sure which book you mean- is it the Mokonuts Cookbook?
It is on Kindle ($8.99) but I don’t see a fig tart in the index.
I found this on google (there’s another one from David Lebovitz):
Fig and hazelnut frangipane tart
This recipe is inspired by the style of baked goods at Mokonuts, with a rich frangipane filling that pairs beautifully with fresh figs.
Ingredients
For the sweet tart dough (Pâte Sucrée):
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup powdered sugar
½ tsp kosher salt
1 large egg, whisked
10 Tbsp unsalted butter, cold and cubed
1 tsp vanilla extract
For the hazelnut frangipane filling:
1 cup hazelnuts, toasted and ground
½ cup granulated sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
For the topping:
6–8 fresh figs, quartered
1 Tbsp honey, for glazing
Instructions
Make the dough:
In a food processor, combine the flour, powdered sugar, and salt. Pulse briefly to combine.
Add the cold, cubed butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse sand.
Add the egg and vanilla and pulse just until the dough comes together. Do not overmix.
Form the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic, and chill for at least 30 minutes.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough and press it into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Trim the edges and refrigerate again for 30 minutes.
Pre-bake the crust:
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
Line the chilled tart shell with parchment paper and fill it with pie weights or dried beans.
Bake for 20–25 minutes. Remove the weights and parchment and bake for another 5–10 minutes, or until the crust is a light golden color.
Remove from the oven and let the shell cool completely.
Make the filling:
In a food processor, pulse the toasted hazelnuts until they are finely ground, being careful not to over-process into hazelnut butter.
Add the sugar, vanilla extract, egg, and softened butter to the processor and pulse until almost smooth.
Assemble and bake the tart:
Spread the hazelnut frangipane evenly into the cooled, pre-baked tart shell.
Arrange the fig quarters decoratively on top of the frangipane.
Bake for about 30 minutes, then reduce the heat to 325°F (160°C) and bake for another hour, or until the frangipane is set and dark golden-brown.
Remove the tart from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack.
Just before serving, warm the honey slightly and brush it over the figs to create a beautiful glaze.
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Got some welcomed personal news, so I indulged in a couple of cookbook purchases.
I’m not a pasta person, but I accept that it’s a useful skill to have for entertaining. Plus, I heard the author on the Splendid Table podcast (which is one of only two or three podcasts I regularly listen to) and liked what I heard.
Six Seasons - A New Way with Vegetables - same author
I mean, why not?
Baking and the Meaning of Life - Helen Goh
I was considering a whole pile of baking books. When I randomly thumbed through this one, I kept finding things I wanted to bake, so I figured that was a sign.
Gateau - Wanted this one for a while.
Bake from Scratch - Holiday Cookies 2025. I have a love-love relationship with holiday cookie compilations; my personal Xmas cookie baking saga begins with a trio of Martha Stewart holiday cookie compilations starting in 2001 that I still have and use to this day. Even though so many of the recipes are online, I love sitting in an easy chair with a big pile of cookie mags, planning my yearly holiday box.
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I don’t see an online recipe but it’s in the book
https://www.eatyourbooks.com/library/recipes/3459093/fig-tart
Lol. Gateau. I’ve made more recipes from that book since any since Joy of Cooking (my first cookbook ever). Start getting more exercise in now, or plan to let that belt out a notch or two…
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Why do you think that book really did it for you? Just curious.
Aside from being my first broad introduction to cakes, what appealed to me was the approachability, simplicity, practicality, and scalability of the recipes. Using seasonal fruit? Measuring your ingredients with a yogurt cup? I’m there! I’m not big on haute cuisine, but am wild for traditional and simple formulas and methods for the home cook.
As a back note, my intro to baking was sourdough. I never dreamed (at the time) I’d be interested in cakes, pastries, lamination, yeasty things, and the what-not. Yet, here we are…
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Your gateway baking book. I had no idea 
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Here’s our own 200-plus post thread on Gateau.
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What a wonderful treat!
Six Seasons of Pasta is definitely on my wish list. Looking forward to recipe reviews on Helen Goh’s book. Many years ago I did a lot of cookie baking at Christmas. One of my good sources were the little Pillsbury books they sold at the check stand. I always looked forward to the Holiday editions, when they were still from-scratch recipes. Cookie books still grab my attention.
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I have the Martha Stewart holiday cookie magazine from 2005, a little battered at this point, but definitely not going anywhere.
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I have so many things I had bookmarked and didn’t get to – have to go back through!
