So much love was poured into our family wedding. My step daughter Sammie, whom I’ve loved and cherished in my life since she was 2 and a half, and Bret, whom is the best son in law, friend and incredible man we could ever hope to join our family, were married on March 30, 2019, just down the road from were Sammie grew up.
Green. You will not lose hope with green.
My mom likes to say this phrase when she sees a lot of green. It’s so sweet, and she learned it as a little girl, growing up in Italy: “Verde. La speranza non se perde, con il verde.” Translated: “Green….
how Mili’s Sweets started
This was originally posted in January 2015. I thought I’d bump up the date and re-post on my 9th anniversary of doing business as Mili’s Sweets. My business and life have definitely changed since then! MiaBella has closed, so my business that was…
heaven, by flourless chocolate and ganache
I’m a huge fan of chocolate – the more decadent, deep and rich, the better. For a while, “Heaven, by Flourless Chocolate Cake” has been my favorite chocolate dessert and I’m so happy to share my simple recipe for this…
one shortbread recipe, 3 cookies: sugar, iced and milano
I’m sharing my recipes for the three wonderful ways to enjoy shortbread: as classic sugar cookies, iced cookies, and the “Milano” (a decadent take on the Pepperidge Farm, store bought cookie) – taking firm-set ganache filling and piping it into a shortbread cookie-sandwich.
citrus-orchard reception
This is a re-post from 2014. It’s fun to look back and celebrate the wonderful couples I have serviced over the years. I also like to reminisce about how little my daughter/assistant was at this time when we worked on…
baby shower for Hana Grace
Yesterday I had the honor of catering and setting a sweet baby shower dessert table in San Marcos. My daughter was there to help me and it made for an easy-breezy set up. Unfortunately, I forgot the battery to my “good camera,”…
raspberry-lime shortbread tart or raspberry-lime bars
Raspberry-Lime or Lime-Raspberry. Tart or Bars. You choose either one or use both curd recipes, to pour onto shortbread for a beautiful tart, or cut into bars, for a burst of bright natural fruit flavor onto a classic dessert.
knowing and understanding ingredients
Over the years, I’ve made it my business to know and understand food and ingredients. This is not just about being a professional with a small business and caring a lot about the end result of my products for my…
authentic-Italian sponge cake
This recipe takes me back to my childhood. Being raised as a first-generation American in a great big Italian family, meant there were many old-country recipes being cooked and baked around me at all times. If it’s possible to duplicate or…
Italian hands make frittelle: traditional fry-bread
I’m sharing an all-time favorite recipe post: making Frittelle. Here, I document my mom making a traditional Italian treat from her hometown, typically enjoyed special occasions like Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve.
There are many versions of frittelle. Most of them found and scattered all over Italy are small and served as a donut or a fritter. This is the original. I’m sharing the recipe from the tiny town of Tricarico, Italy, where my mom was born and raised. It’s actually known for inventing this food which is a fry-bread and peasant-food, made as the best that could be done to celebrate on Christmas Eve for many families. It was so delicious that it caught on and neighboring towns would develop their own takes on the treat. Generations of Italians have made their own versions of frittelle, based on where and how their family was raised. I’m so happy to share this with my small world.
our little tea party birthday
A lot of change happens in seven years! Little girls grow from having sweet little tea party celebrations for their 7th birthday, to being full-blown teenagers! This was a very sweet little party for my once-girly girl, back in 2010. It’s…