Sweet and Vicious: Baking with Attitude
Author Libbie Summers, Photographs by Chia Chong
- Publish Date: March 25, 2014
- Format: Hardcover
- Category: Cooking - Methods - Baking
- Publisher: Rizzoli
- Trim Size: 7-3/4 x 9-3/4
- Pages: 224
- US Price: $37.50
- CDN Price: $37.50
- ISBN: 978-0-8478-4104-2
Reviews
“Summers calls it baking with attitude–fearless and fun. Make your guests giggle and sigh as they slice into chocolate Post-Coital Pie or reach for another of Bob’s Fried Firecrackers. This is the only baking book I’ve ever seen that encourages you to change the recipes–”and make them more personal, more provocative.” And a provocative creativity is Summers’ main ingredient in chapters on cakes, sweet and savory breads and pastries, pies, cookies, even dog treats. But to break the rules, you need to learn them and Summers includes good basic skills and recipes. By the way, this stuff works. I took those Side Slap and Tickle Cookies to a party and made a new friend who fell for the malt and chocolate flavors. And the Pull-Apart Boy Bread flavored with garlic, olive oil, and grated Parmesan? It was pulled apart–fast–and devoured. When you need to make a statement or get some attention–make it Sweet & Vicious.” -Appetite for Books
"Rich in butter, sugar and spice, these recipes are not for the dieter or the faint of heart. With 100 recipes to choose from, it'll be hard for readers to decide where to start, but try the "Wahini Pie," a macadamia nut version of the traditional pecan pie, and there'll be no going back to your old recipes. Discover: Interesting new flavors blended together turn conventional desserts upside down." -Shelf Awareness
“Bake with attitude using blogger and style-maven Libbie Summer’s outrageously fun cookbook, Sweet & Vicious.” –Southern Living
"...I absolutely loved it! Infused with Libbie Summers' humor and peppered with wonderful personal anecdotes, Sweet & Vicious offers recipes that take you a little out of your comfort zone - that make you a little less timid, a little more adventurous. They beg you to test your limits just ever so slightly - or sweetly... These recipes dare you to have fun, to enjoy, to be a little risky -or risque... It's a book you not only want to look at, but you will want to read - the back stories to many of these recipes are wonderful." -The Entertaining House
“…challenges and charms our taste buds with daring delectables...Sweet & Vicious, the follow-up to her Whole Hog cookbook, dares us to take chances with fearless flavor combos in whimsical recipes with names that would make your grandmother blush…The cookbook is artfully rendered and tactile, just like the recipes inside, filled with stories that are, by turns, funny…” –Savannah Magazine
"This highly anticipated followup focuses on baking, using the same fun and creative outlook as its predecessor. Libbie's hilarious stories are still prevalent throughout the book, as are the outstanding photos...As expected, I can wholeheartedly recommend this lovely and edgy cookbook. Both recipes I've tried so far (and I guarantee there will be more soon) have hit the mark on all levels. If you love to bake and you're looking for some new and inventive ways to heat up your kitchen, Sweet and Vicious is the book for you." -MissionFood
"Libbie Summers expertly breaks down the inhibitions that we bring to baking (that notoriously finicky frontier for home cooks) and leads us to a freer, more creative place, where playfulness is paramount--and where the buttercream, flour and sugar boogie/breakdance together! "Sweet & Vicious" is an insanely colorful, energizing read, as well as a practical guide to creating more showstopping sweets." –Matt Lee and Ted Lee, authors of The Lee Bros. Charleston Kitchen
“Wow! Be prepared to be inspired, enlightened, and delighted with these wonderfully diverse desserts, from Libbie Summers. Smoky, savory, salty, fruity, and fiery flavors come together in this collection of anything-but-ordinary cakes, breads, cookies…and more!” –David Lebovitz, author of My Paris Kitchen and Ready for Dessert
“What a gorgeous, divine, beautiful, sweet and saucy cook book. Not only do I want to make and eat everything in the book, I want to EAT the BOOK!” –Carson Kressley, Emmy Award winning television personality
"Miss Libbie never misses: she's a vicious talent who just happens to be a sweetheart, too...I can't wait to make every single one of these fantastic and fun-filled fabulous recipes!" –Alex Hitz, creator of The Beverly Hills Kitchen, author of My Beverly Hills Kitchen: Classic Southern Cooking with a French Twist, Food Editor at House Beautiful
“Libbie is a woman who knows how to have a fabulous time, both in and out of the kitchen. As an antidote to sourpuss bakers who take themselves and their "kwee-zeen" a little too seriously, dig into this hunger-inducing book. Open to any page, and I dare you not to blurt out (as I did), "OMG. I need to make that NOW." –Rick Rodgers, The James Beard Foundation and IACP Award-winning author of over 40 cookbooks including The Chelsea Market Cookbook
“Sweet and Vicious is brilliant! Libbie is unstoppable, she has created a book full of surprises. Fun, inspired, full of flavor and most importantly delicious! Thank you Libbie my dogs and I applaud you'' –Grant Harold, royal etiquette consultant and former royal butler to HRH The Prince of Wales
"...I devoured this book cover to cover, laughing at her sometimes-bawdy wit and salivating at one enticing concoction after another. Test: If you can read the recipe for Salty Pumpkin Spice Cake and resist the urge to preheat your oven, you might not be from this planet.” –Joe Yonan, food and travel editor of The Washington Post, author of Eat Your Vegetables
"The book is more than just gorgeously frosted cakes — there are plenty of quirky cookies, quick breads, and dog treats (yes, dog treats) that even apprentice-level bakers can tackle with confidence. It's also worth paging through this book just for the ideas alone. I love the flavor combinations and surprise ingredients..." -TheKitchn
Author Bookshelf: Libbie Summers
