Dessert without cheese is like a beauty with only one eye. ― Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin My husband and I were recently invited to dinner at friend’s house. My friend D., a Cuban-American, made wonderful guava pastries, also known as pastelitos de guayaba, for dessert. My husband and I enjoyed them so much that I had to make… Read More
When I first saw these little gems in La Cucina Italiana, the Italian kitchen magazine, I knew I was destined to try them in my own kitchen. French for “windblown,” a vol-au-vent is a small, very light and hollow pastry. They’re essentially made by cutting puff pastry into shapes, then cutting a hole in one… Read More
Happiness does not come automatically. It is not a gift that good fortune bestows upon us and a reversal of fortune takes back. It depends on us alone.One does not become happy overnight, but with patient labor, day after day. Happiness is constructed, and that requires effort and time. In order to become happy, we… Read More
In celebration of Epiphany, at the beginning of the New Year French bakeries and pastry shops are filled with special pastries called les Galettes des Rois. After writing about the importance of family traditions, this new year I wanted to follow an interesting, adorable and beloved French tradition surrounding the Epiphany, a Catholic festival or day… Read More
Chocolate lovers, rejoice! This cake is loaded with chocolate! This chocolate cake has often been the climax of many special evening meals I’ve shared with family and friends. It’s lusciously coated with two layers of a decadent ganache and topped with a mountain of semisweet chocolate curls! To take you to the dreamy land of chocolate-hazelnut bliss, the cake… Read More
Put “eat chocolate” at the top of your list of things to do today. That way, at least you’ll get one thing done. — Anonymous For the Thanksgiving holiday I contemplated making one of several different kinds of fabulous desserts—a pumpkin cheesecake, a cranberry and walnut tart, a pecan praline pie, and a fruit galette.… Read More
PETIT WORLD CITIZEN 