Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year!!! We spent our last New Years' in Europe going out with friends and finally found a decent dessert! Let me back up: dinner started with brotchen and pumpkin soup - luscious! Then we enjoyed steak and rinderouladen - tender! And for dessert, a trio of chocolate consisting of mousse in an edible chocolate box, chocolate souffle, and chocolate sorbet - the BEST dessert yet! I say that because dessert isn't sweet over here - not like us Americans are used to. They use much less sugar - for example, a fruit tart would just be a shortbread like crust, non-sweetened cream, topped with unsweetened fruit - such as peaches or apples, coated with a semi-sweet glaze. Most cake is dry, only moistened with a type of liquor such as brandy or cognac, and frosted with a semi-sweet ganache. My traditional cake would put them in sugar overload!! It has taken some flavor adjustment and most of the time we avoid it all together - it can look awesome, but the taste never delivers! I say that, but France....mmmmmmm.....the French do know how to make a FABULOUS pastry :)