Life's Uncertain, Eat Dessert First!

When my friend Stephanie got married, the theme for her bridal shower was “Eat Dessert First!”, so each of us brought along our favorite dessert and gorged ourselves on cakes, cookies, gingerbread, and homemade fudge. Yum! It is this spirit that shines forth in the Sweet Addition Cooking Series. Located at the foot of the Cascade Mountains in Gilman Village outside of Seattle, the Sweet Addition Bakery, Candy Store & Restaurant is well-known for its pastries and desserts. In this program, Sweet Addition chef Dannielle Myxter prepares intimidating-sounding delicacies such as "Margarita White Chocolate Mousse," "Warm Gingerbread Spice Cakes with Port Poached Pears and Caramel Sauce," and "Chocolate Caramel Bread Pudding." Although these sound like gourmet fare, I'm pleased to report that all off these are easy to make--at least when Dannielle teaches them (she is unpretentious and down-to-earth, so it was more like cooking with a girlfriend than watching one of the more over-the-top cooking shows). The DVD format makes it easy to hit pause while you're cooking, something I needed to do frequently as I'm a very slow cook, but I was able to handle the instructions just fine and made a "Berry Shortcake" that didn't last long enough to be served as leftovers. The other titles in the series (series price: $112.95) are: Cookies & Bars, Simply Salmon, Breakfast Pastries, Classic Desserts, and A Few of Our Favorite Things. Highly recommended. Aud: P. (J. Asala)