I swear I almost choked to death the first time I had Pastelillos de Guayaba (pahs-tay-LEE-yos de gwa-YA-bah). Bakeries in Puerto Rico and NYC love to douse these guava turnovers with an obscene amount of powdered sugar. You’re bound to inhale it and choke. It’s so amazing. And it’s worth choking on because the taste-reward…
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Puff Pastry Dough from Scratch
My most stressful class in culinary school was Classical Pastries. Chef Jan Bandula was the instructor and he was also a Certified Master Pastry Chef. And he was European. Failure was not an option in any of his courses. But Chef Bandula also wanted us to win. He never made us feel like idiots if…
Zucchini Bread- Easy and Freezer-Friendly
My children humble me on an almost daily basis. Case in point: my son told me this past weekend, “I really love zucchini.” Me, being the humble person I am, thought, “Well, clearly I’m an amazing mother. He loves vegetables and has a love of healthy food. He takes after me.” Come to find out,…
Mardi Gras King Cake Filled with Fun
I was recently away on a work trip to California. Long story short: I loved it, I learned a lot, and now I’m pining for luxury. None of that matters, and the only luxury I’m getting is this Mardi Gras King Cake. It was inspired after seeing a guy lug a three foot box onto…
Pumpkin-Pecan Babka with Cinnamon-Maple Glaze
I’ve decided that I’m not going to overdo it on pumpkin this year- well, maybe a little. While pumpkin seems to be the highlight of the fall season; apple, maple, and cranberries deserve some props, too. But, those are for other posts. This Pumpkin-Pecan Babka with Cinnamon-Maple Glaze is something that I love to prepare…
Brioche: The Bread of All Breads (according to me)
Look at that. That brioche is sitting there like a cherubic little baby in its blanket. It’s the most precious sight in the whole world, I tell ya. In my cookbook, I mention(in great detail, I might add) how much I thoroughly enjoyed my first taste of a French brioche on a visit to Paris. Sitting in…
Pan Sobao: Soft, Chewy Puerto Rican Bread
Never have I had so hard a time naming a recipe as I had with this one. Pan Sobao has no English translation that makes sense. For starters, sobao is good Puerto Rican Spanish for sobar (or knead). So, directly translated, it means “Kneaded Bread”. Obviously I’m not going to name it “Kneaded Bread” because that’s an alliteration. Nearly all breads…
Apple Orchard French Toast Bake
Yesterday was a no good, horrible, rotten day. My twins were perfect angels…well, except when the boy-child tried to argue with me about solstices and equinoxes…other than that, they were little cherubs. The Soldier was home early enough for us to eat dinner before heading out to the kids’ troop meetings. I was alive. So, why…
Fruit and Grain Pumpkin Bread
Truth be told, I don’t like it when my husband likes anything of anyone else’s better than he likes mine. I don’t care if it’s a car, a dress, or a meal. If he’s fawning over how amazing it is, I’m probably looking for the closest bat to bash it with. This is how so…
Nutella and Almond Brioche: Cooking for Mom
Mother’s Day has snuck up on me faster than I’d like to admit, Friend. During a separation, your internal calendar tends to get a little out of whack. Holidays come and go in a flurry. So it is with this Mother’s Day. There are too many heartaches associated with Mother’s Day, for me, so I’ve…
