parfait

Since her engagement party was such a hit, Ronda's maid of honor asked me to help plan the bridal shower. The event will be an elegant classic brunch.

Guests are invited to help themselves to slices of baked asparagus and yellow pepper frittata. A smoked salmon platter with cream cheese and toasted bagels is a welcome companion. Those looking for a lighter breakfast can opt for a lemon-cherry yogurt parfait.

These homemade dishes will be supplemented with an assortment of toasts from a local bakery and store bought jams and granola. An easy buffet of make-ahead dishes served at room temperature, this versatile and vegetarian menu also works well for Mother's Day. Get the recipes: read more

Folks, we've got a lemon problem around here. Last night I was up late looking (make that drooling) at lemon desserts and today, there's talk of of lemon tarts over in The Kitchen Goddess group. I guess it's not so much of a problem as it is a craving. Since the KG girls have us covered on the decadent baking side of things, I thought I'd share this super simple lemon truffle parfait - and by simple I mean buy your ingredients ahead of time and throw them all together! It's an easy make ahead dessert that will be perfect at an afternoon luncheon, or while sitting on the couch in front of the tv... To check out the recipe, read more

In my opinion parfaits are a totally underrated and overlooked dessert. They can be made hundreds of ways with just as many ingredients, yet when do you ever have one? When and why did they go out of style? Think about it: when was the last time you had a delicious parfait that wasn't some generic concoction from Dairy Queen or TCBY? If you answered never to this question, then you must make this divine dessert in the very near future. In fact drop what you are doing and make it now - this way it will be nice and chilled for after dinner. Layers of chilled creamy chocolate, softly whipped cream, and crispy praline. I'm merely writing about it and my mouth is watering. The splash of bourbon gives it a New Orleans-ish underlying flavor. This recipe is a great one for a party or dinner because it can be made up to 2 days ahead of your event. For the heavenly recipe, read more