LIFESTYLE: Yummy Desserts

Desert is the best part of any meal, don’t you agree? For those brave enough to try these at home, Richard Leach--executive pastry chef of the Park Avenue Café and a James Beard Foundation Pastry Chef of the Year—has a new book, titled Sweet Seasons, where he aims to bring his masterful recipes to home kitchens everywhere.

These delectable deserts are good enough to make you want to lick the pages, but while Leach states in the book's introduction that he would never be able to make his phenomenal desserts without the help of his staff, he still expects home cook to make these masterpieces in their own kitchens. Come on, how many of us have the time, the patience, or the chutzpah to attempt dishes like Leach's Citrus Panna Cotta with Warm Poppyseed Cake and Citrus Sorbet?

We suggest sticking to the chapter on "Basic Recipes" which offers sauces and syrups, cookies, and other garnishes that make any desert look elegant. Mix and match these with Leach's sophisticated cakes, tarts, ice creams, and fritters, and you'll be the hit of the dinner party circuit.

But for us amateur cooks, the book should carry a warning sticker “Do Not Attempt These at Home!”