Grandma Rose's Book of Sinfully Delicious Cakes, Cookies, Pies, Cheese Cakes, Cake Rolls and Pastries

by Rose Naftalin

Over two hundred timeand taste-proven recipes for an extensive range of plain and fancy dessert pastries from the baking kitchen of a famous restauranteur and baker

Genres: Cookbooks, Nonfiction, Food and Drink

255 pages, Hardcover

First published March 12, 1975

Reviews

[Donna Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful collection for those who know their way around the kitchen and who entertain enough to make use of it...or for those who just enjoy a bit of food porn.

Rose Naftalin owned and ran a bakery and restaurant in Portland, Oregon in the 1960's and 1970's when I lived there, and long before. The restaurant was down home and unpretentious; the desserts were unforgettable.

At one point I had a cookbook collection large enough to fill a full size bookcase, and I had to make the hard choice to whittle it down when moving across country on a shoestring. This book and the one that partners it (desserts, what else?) were impossible to part with, though I don't think I used more than one recipe in each. I read the introductions as a young cook and learned from them, though.

For those who are just getting started but want to dream big, and for serious foodies looking to branch out.

[Donna Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many years before the 21st century, when cooks who remembered the Depression considered the use of cooking oil and margarine a clever way to save money rather than use butter ("It'll taste the same anyway," I heard older women say, "They'll never know the difference, so why spend extra?") Rose Naftalin counseled young bakers to use fresh, natural ingredients. Use the freshest eggs possible, and when a recipe calls for butter...use butter.

Before her restaurant became the hit success, before Rose Naftalin became the premier baker of Portland, Oregon, she sacrificed and slaved, making incredible cakes and pastries in the tiny apartment she shared with her husband. Even then, she understood the difference quality made in the outcome of her baking, even before the health implications were known and factored in. So in many ways, she was before her time.

Rose's bakery made my first wedding cake. It was divine. I moved away after I married, and to my dismay, when I returned after many years away, the place had closed. I am so glad I got the books, though I seldom use them. They are a treasure.

[Mckenzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best cookie recipe ever: a variation on Mexican/Russian/wedding/tea cookies with peppermint cream cheese filling. It's great when you can flip through a cookbook and realize that most of the recipes can be accomplished using pantry staples. Even better when you find the recipe for a long lost favorite treat. This is that kind of book. The presentation is generally straightforward and easy to follow if you already know your way around the kitchen. Some of the recipes can get a little vague though, especially for a novice cook. In a few instances she lists off measurements and tools that aren't exactly self explanatory. This can be overcome without too much trouble by having a good baking reference handy.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent baking guide, well-written and easy to follow. As a baker, Rose was extremely creative and humorous. Therefore, it is a good reference guide for the more "haphazard" type such as myself.

[Belle Meade School]

641.86

[Sunny Welker · Rating 4 out of 5]

So excited to have this book. The coveted recipes from Roses Deli. I only wish there were pictures.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

An elderly friend gave me this cookbook from her library and I really wanted to love it. However, though I am an experienced baker, the recipes had lengthy instructions and steps, and usually didn't turn out without a lot of tinkering. There was one cookie I could never get edible. I didn't care when the book was lost in a move.

[Karen Nichols · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of THE BEST desserts ever.