You might remember Denise Nassif as the woman with impeccable taste from our January 2026

issue. You’ve seen her recipes spotlighted in our magazine on the regular. Maybe you recall

Denise’s most foundational memory: rising before the break of dawn, sharing a tiny, allotted cup

of strong espresso (she was only five or six years old) with her great-grandmother, and learning

how to cook Arabic staples, sweet and savory, by her side. This foundation has never left her.

Perhaps because she and her husband don’t have any extended family close by, Denise theorizes,

they both prioritize connection with friends. Denise also prioritizes her faith. Every Easter, she

holds a baking party, where friends come to cook a Lebanese Easter bread in Denise’s kitchen.

She and her guests bake 200 to 300 of these delectable sweetbreads. “Everybody comes in,

they’ll bring appetizers, wine, stand around, drink, or have coffee and tea…they enjoy eating the

bread hot out of the oven and everybody gets to take home a beautiful bag full of them.”

Denise curates beauty. She counts Martha Stewart and Ralph Lauren as key influences, as well as

British food writer, Mary Berry. An avid interior designer who has her own jewelry brand,

Denise does the seasonal décor for her church, and graciously decorates the homes of close

friends just for fun. Denise grew up surrounded by women with refined taste. “My mother and

both of my aunts were absolutely exquisite interior designers,” she shared. Add to this that

Denise grew up in Tucson, Arizona, where one of the largest gem shows in the country happens

every year, another serendipitous influence on her own tastes and aspirations.

Denise’s baklava, which she teaches to women who are interested, is award-winning. It won the

blue ribbon – twice – at the Orange County Fair. First place for the dessert category and first

place for Best of Show. “We carry on these food traditions,” Denise says of her family, which

includes her daughter, Kristen. At Christmastime, Denise and Kristen invite their girlfriends to a

gingerbread house-making party. They also do a cookies and gift exchange. Denise’s husband is

also a firm believer in the importance of social connection. “We’ve relied on church community

and have built strong relationships with friends over the years,” Denise told us.

Through these traditions, Denise, her husband, and her family foster belonging. These types of

activities help bind a community, one group of friends at a time. And community is something

that all of the women in this month’s magazine treasure and nurture in one way or another.

Denise’s voice grows even fonder when she speaks of her daughter. They have “a million.”

mother-daughter traditions, she said. Her advice to Kristen, also, could probably fill a book, but

the Good Book provides her with one special suggestion from Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the lord

with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him,

and he will make your paths straight.”