Desserts and Pastries: A Foodie's Secret Pleasure

The entree plates are cleared, the bottle is empty, the table has been wiped down, and, hopefully, the seated people are grinning from the meal. And now, to close the evening, there is but one part of the show still to come.

"Would you like to see the dessert menu?"

Desserts and pastries are a cook's greatest pleasure. The challenge to pack in so much flavor into little bites and tastes is among one of the most difficult in all the arts. At the same time, it is the most pleasing. Diners, friends, and family groan with delight at the taste of a superior dessert, and it's just the thing you want people to have in their minds after a meal of your creation.

I discovered this at a young age. In high school, each of us brought food to various student group meetings, and one time, my mother pulled out a recipe for brownies from a book called "Stars Desserts" by Emily Luchetti. Entitled "Black and White" brownies, they were a favorite at the bakery outside of Stars, a once legendary San Francisco restaurant.

They were an immediate hit, and seeing the pleasure on the faces of my fellow students, especially the female ones, I knew this was something I should get into.

I pored through more of the book. Black and White brownies gave way to Macaroons and Lemon Squares, all favorites of the bakery. When my family moved to a new house, our next door neighbor had two huge lemon trees in her yard, and the same day we took the lemons off the tree, they made it into decadent lemon squares. Just like that, I became one of Emily's fans. At the new house, we had a dream kitchen, and I spent hours in there practicing technique and baking for my mom's co-workers, my brother's co-workers and fellow law students, and my own colleagues and friends.

When I dined with my parents, it always came down to me to order the chocolate dessert. So when I stumbled upon Emily's recipe for Chocolate Silk, I had to try it. It is the ultimate chocolate-lover's dessert. After visiting San Francisco's Scharffenberger Chocolate Factory, I had to use their bittersweet chocolate in the recipe. Trust me, it's like nothing you've ever tasted before, even if you think you're the biggest chocolate-lover you know.

(As an aside, a memo to all you fellas out there with women who love chocolate to impress. There is nothing that shows you are clueless about chocolate quite like giving her Russell Stover's. You'd be better off giver her radishes)

So I enthusiastically recommend Emily's books, which you can purchase in the webstore. Start baking, share with me what you find out, and enjoy one of the richest pleasures food has to offer.

The art of the Macaroon: