Nancy has a lot of experience with writing cookbooks! Find out which ones she recommends for you. She also gives us a few tips on how to make the perfect pastries. Read on to find out what she says!
Wow, you’ve written so many cookbooks! Which ones would you especially recommend for moms to read?
I’ve authored or co-authored 18 cookbooks, some large 200-recipe tomes, others with 70 or so recipes. I think moms would especially enjoy my latest book, Simply Sensational Cookies, because it is really geared to make family cookie baking as fun and easy as possible. I specifically included chapters of no-bake, semi-homemade and extra-easy cookies and provided practical time-saving tips throughout, all ideal for those who are super busy or baking with children. Because I am particularly interested in skipping iffy food dyes when baking with my own grandchildren, I also devised a whole set of optional frostings, fillings, and even homemade sprinkles recipes for the book that get their beautiful color (and flavor) from fruits, berries and other all-natural ingredients. These recipes now make it possible to have fun decorating and turn out cookies as pretty as ever but keep them completely dye-free .
Two other cookbooks moms might especially like are my Kneadlessly Simple: Fabulous, Fuss-Free No-Knead Breads and my All-American Dessert Book. The bread book is designed for those who dearly love good homemade bread but are new to (or intimidated by) yeast baking or who just don’t have time for all the usual muss and fuss of dough kneading and shaping. The American Dessert Book features all kinds of sweets—from cakes, pies, puddings, ice creams, cookies and even candies—but is unique in that it also includes lots of fun culinary history and lore that explains what’s American about each recipe.
On your site, you’ve said that you went through a training program taught by Roland Mesnier, the former White House Executive Pastry Chef. What did you learn from the experience?
I learned from Roland that a fine pastry chef is an artist as well as a chef—pastry creations need to be beautiful (his were always stunning), as well as delectable and based on reliable recipes. Roland’s work was inspiring and his various “homework” assignments helped me tap into and develop my own artistic, artsy-craftsy side, an exciting experience. Also, I greatly enjoyed polishing my presentation and technical skills; now when I create recipes I’m confident that I’m using and passing along sound techniques to my readers. Perhaps surprisingly, a lot of the tips I learned from him about decorating and presentation are ones that, with some modifications, home bakers can use as well. Being a home cook with pastry chef training, I’m able to bridge the gap and, where necessary, translate from what’s possible in the professional kitchen to what’s readily doable in the home kitchen—for example with the simplified cookie decorating technique and recipe here.
Do you have any signature dishes you can share with us?
Yes, of course! Here are several of my favorites:
Dye-Free Painted Daisies Sugar Cookies
Daisies Sugar Cookies
Dye-Free Pastel Buttercream Frostings for Cupcakes and Cookies
Old-Timey Hot Fudge Sauce
Hot Fudge Sauce
Easy No-Oat Bread (from my Kneadlessly Simple cookbook)
Easy No-Oat Bread
How did you learn how to cook? What motivated you to learn?
My mother encouraged me to help her in the kitchen from the time I was very little, and I just took to it, especially the baking. We made a lot of cookies, candies, sweet rolls, and other gifts from the kitchen for the holidays, and, often, it was a multi-generational activity. My mother, aunt, and grandmother would all gather at our house to get ready for Christmas and Easter. It made me feel important and grown up to be there helping, too, and I also learned a lot of skills that I could use later. My mom actually put me in charge of making and decorating our rolled sugar cookies when I was about 11-years-old, a task I’ve loved doing ever since.
It makes me happy to carry on the tradition and bake and decorate holiday cut-out cookies with my two grandchildren today! One of the first sentences my grandson ever said was, “Nana bake cookies?” Besides being fun, it’s a way to bond and stay close; I started baking with them when they were toddlers, and I hope they will carry on the habit with their own children someday.
What is your favorite part about cooking?
I find cooking and baking relaxing and creative. I’m continually learning new ways to make familiar dishes tastier, and like to come up with appealing brand new flavor combinations I hadn’t tasted before. Lately I’ve been delving into how to use fresh herbs and edible flowers to add taste and eye-appeal to dishes. And, of course, there is always great satisfaction in making and serving a meal that my family really enjoys.
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Meet the blogger:
I’ve loved baking, cooking, and being in the kitchen my whole life and have countless fond memories of spending time with my family and friends there. There is a special warm, comfortable feeling about gathering in the kitchen to eat, ready a meal, chat or make cookies. This is the reason I named my website Kitchenlane. My kitchen looks out on woods, and I try to convey a sense of the fun and good food we have here. All the recipes I post there have been created in the kitchen, and tested at least three times to be sure readers will have success.
From the time I could read, I also loved cookbooks and practically memorized all the recipes in my mother’s little dog-eared collection. I always knew I wanted to be a writer and was an English major in college, but it didn’t occur to me until after my son was born to write about food. I discovered I could fit freelance writing in with being a stay-at-home mom and soon realized that creating recipes and food and gardening stories was my calling. Eventually, when I decided to focus more on sweets and various baked goods, I took a year-long professional pastry chef training program to hone my skills.
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