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Lisa Taverna grew up ten minutes west of Boston, where her big Italian family consumed delicious food and desserts every Sunday. One of her earliest memories was of the long table in her grandparents' basement. At Christmastime, Nanna would stack trays cookies and other goodies on this table, creating wonderful layers of sweets and magic, and her home would become a veritable bakery.
When Lisa was at the University of Chicago, she found she had her beloved Nanna's knack for baking. This, combined with a love for chocolate, led her to attempt to develop the perfect brownie recipe. After many trial batches - and many late nights putting off writing her English papers - she had done it. Using only the finest, freshest ingredients, she had made a fudgy, rich, sweet square of goodness that was to-die-for. Once she set up shop in Brooklyn, she started experimenting with different fillings and decided to use some of her favorite ingredients to create a more sophisticated, yet still fun, dessert. From goat cheese to chili pepper, from rum-soaked cherries to caramel, these strange bits of unexpected taste were a hit among her friends and family. Lisa named each brownie after a special girl in her life - her mom, Katherine (classic), her sister Maria (chili pepper, cinnamon, and Mexican vanilla), and her best friends. And, of course, she didn't forget Nanna - the Nellie (orange zest) brownie is as sweet and effervescent as the woman who inspired it. We hope you enjoy eating girl next door brownies as much as we enjoy making them. Here's to chocolate! |
