Visits to coffee houses were a frequent indulgence when I live in Vienna in my early twenties – my drink of choice was velvety hot chocolate slathered with just-whipped heavy cream, dusted with cocoa powder.

My other indulgence? Pastries.

Eclairs, steamed cakes, moussed slices, meringues, puff pastries – the coffee house cases always seemed stocked with some new-to-me delicacy just waiting to be sampled.

Recipe for Viennese Vanilla Crescents at the end!

One of our family's very favorite Japanese recipes is an adaptation of Tonkatsu (pork cutlets), which we make with Chicken. I first had these while I was living in Japan, and after that, had them several times a week!

It is a very easy recipe, and is so very tasty!

In my family, Snow Pudding is a must. It’s a tradition… and a very good one, in my opinion! What can go wrong with lemony, custardy, sugary goodness? This year, I actually joined in on making it (instead of watching my nana from the sidelines, impatiently waiting for it to be done).