A Thousand Sheets (June 11, 2025)

From left to right: Nutella pie from Mille Feuille Café; a Japanese mille feuille; kohlrabi; enjoying matcha in Bryant Park.

This morning it started to rain very suddenly. I was scheduled to meet Mr. Cosmo as his garage so that we could go grocery shopping, but having arrived very early my mother and I decided that we would go to my favorite bakery café, Millefeuille. Although it wasn’t raining when I went in, it was pouring later, which took my mind off the wonderful peach and Nutella pies I had enjoyed there.

The phrase mille feuille is French for “a thousand sheets” and includes a number of pastry variations like Napoleons in France, rogel in Argentina and Uruguay, or tompouce in Belgium and The Netherlands.  There is even a Japanese version of this kind of pastry!

The rain today brought back a lot of memories for me, and reminders of how much I love water. I enjoy being in the ocean in summer, and even the snow in the winter.

The trip today to the Maywood market was both interesting and fun as we bought kohlrabi, which is a vegetable similar to kale or broccoli. It is also available in Japan. I have never tried it, so I am looking forward to it. We also bought fusilli pasta, which takes both thin and thick sauces very well.

Now that my concerts in New York are finished, I am getting ready for the concerts I will have in Japan in July. Today I worked on the Chopin sonatas I will be playing there, as well as the Liszt La Campanella.

After practice I went to Cha Cha Matcha in Bryant Park for matcha tea. When I am in Japan I often drink matcha tea in my tatami room at home.  It relaxes me, and I enjoy it a great deal.

So tell me. What is your favorite French pastry, and why? Do you like Napoleons? Croissants? Macaroons? Éclairs? Madeleines? 

Let me know in the comments. Thanks!