Category: Miniature Pastries
-
Lenten Dessert Dumplings
In the late 90’s, there was a series on PBS called ‘Great Chefs’. This series of cooking shows was so popular that they began a franchise dedicated to highlight talented Chefs from all over the USA. It began with Great Chefs of San Francisco, then Chicago, then New Orleans…well, you get the idea. When the…
-
How To Make Petit Palmiers
I was 14 and my best friend Mireya was 16. She had just passed her driver’s test and became the designated driver for our huge group. She spent half of her time driving around in her red impala picking everyone up so that we could all hang out together. No more begging my father to…
-
Profiteroles With Vanilla Bean Semifreddo
Just imagine that you’ve just finished dinner and there’s a knock at the door…standing before you are 3 unexpected guests who are dropping by for coffee….what do you do? Well, the first thing to do is let the people in for goodness sake, exchange all of the appropriate greetings, hugs and kisses then quickly wipe…
-
Petite Parmesan Gougeres
During the course of my culinary career, I have had the great fortune of studying and working with some of the giants in the food industry. In the 1990’s, there were only a handful of really high end hotels in Baltimore City and the Peabody Court Hotel was one of them. The swanky restaurant on…
-
Bring On The Bacon Donuts (loukoumades with crispy bacon)
It’s not often that I come across people who don’t like donuts. So, on one recent occasion where I knew I was going to have a captive audience, I decided to test a new recipe for some Greek honey donuts that I had been experimenting with. It actually all began with one of my Facebook…
-
Glistening Chocolate Eclairs
This dessert is near and dear to my heart…not only is it easy to make but also very versatile. There are both sweet and savory varieties that run the gamut of unique possibilities for the batter itself and the fillings to go with it. Some of the more traditional fillings used are the custard- like…
-
Chocolate Rum Balls
When I think of the Holiday season, I can almost smell the spices wafting in the air from all of the baked goods we know and love during this time of the year. From gingerbread cakes and cookies to gingerbread houses, pumpkin pies, or swiss type pumpkin rolls filled with cream or even pumpkin cookies…
-
Singing The Praises of Opera Torte
If you have never had opera torte, I encourage you to find a great European bakery and try it…just once. This is one of my absolute favorite desserts and for good reason. It is usually a square or rectangular shaped cake made of many layers of a sponge cake called jaconde (pronounced ja-kond). The jaconde…
-
Fabulous Triple Chocolate Brownies
This week, I have been preparing the menu for some friends who will be coming over for the big game on Sunday. Of course, the food has to be center stage but the desserts and snacks need to be equally delicious. I am planning to make a batch of those delicious union square nuts, sweet…