Review of "The Braces Cookbook 2 -- Comfort Food With a Gourmet Touch"

The momentum created by her first orthodontic cookbook, The Braces Cookbook -- Recipes You (and Your Orthodontist) Will Love, inspired author Pamela Waterman to co-author round two with Chef Amee Hoge; a graduate from the French Culinary Institute of New York City. Nominated for an Indie Book Award, The Braces Cookbook 2 focuses on the gourmet side of eating, keeping the orthodontic patient in mind along the way.

The Braces Cookbook 2 is a "grown-up" version of the original cookbook; which isn't a bad thing at all. The cookbook appeals to adults that have braces, by offering recipe suggestions for a more mature palate.

Before getting right into the recipes, Ms. Waterman includes helpful, every day suggestions such as "Soothing Tips for Difficult Days", "Easy Eating" food selections, and "Dining Out is Do-able". Keeping the focus on the adult orthodontic patient, Ms. Waterman has included a section called "Braces in the Business World-- Coping Techniques". Here you will find practical advice for managing your braces in the professional world. Lastly, a handy section titled "Pantry and Tool Suggestions" provides the reader with a selection of "handy food items" and a list of kitchen tools intended to help you prepare some of the recipes with ease.

The Braces Cookbook 2 entices the reader with an eclectic mix of recipes from categories such as "Braces-Loving Breakfasts", "Ever-Soft Appetizers", "Marvelous Main Dishes", "Vegetarian Ventures", and "Delicate Desserts". When I first began skimming through the recipe titles, I must admit that I was expecting an array of obscure meal suggestions, something I tend to encounter when exploring gourmet recipes. Strangely enough, the recipes appeared to be very achievable, even for an amateur like myself. What I really loved, is at the bottom of each recipe you will find "Chef Amee's Gourmet Touch". Here, you will find one or two ingredient variations that will add that special "gourmet touch" to the recipe, or offer a challenge to the more experienced chef.

I tend to rely heavily on the photograph of the dish that I am trying to create, so I was very impressed to see that every recipe is accompanied by a beautifully captured image of how the recipes should turn out.

My heart loves to bake, however the end result of one of my typical baking session is often dreadful enough for me to vow never to bake again. That being said, I was immediately drawn to the "Lemon Raspberry Muffin" recipe.
I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I was only missing two of the ingredients required to successfully create these muffins. I chose to use fat-free yogurt, and sugar-free raspberry jam. I also chose to use "Chef Amee's Gourmet Touch" by using whole-wheat pastry flour.

Preparing the muffin batter was simple. The instructions are very easy to follow. The only problem I ran into was losing my page between each step. I did miss the coiled spine from the first cookbook. It allowed you to lay the book flat, so you didn't need to continually flip through the book to retrieve your recipe.

So, how did they turn out? I made the mistake of adding more than the recommended amount of raspberry jam; my fault. This caused the muffins tops to sink in. My second batch turned out beautifully, just like the picture.
And how do they taste? The flavor combination between the sweet raspberry jam and the subtle lemon flavor was delightful. The whole-wheat flour added that extra ounce of nutritional value, and unlike most whole-wheat muffins, they stayed very moist. Would a person wearing braces enjoy these muffins? Again, the moist texture is what makes these muffins bracket and band friendly. I have no doubt that any ortho patient would have difficulty biting into one of these delicious muffins. All-in-all, I will make these muffins again soon!