Adventures in Macarons

Macarons have been on my radar recently, as I'm sure many other foodies will agree.  I've even heard it said that macarons are the new cupcakes.  Having never tasted one, I've been quite intrigued by the excitement surrounding these little delicacies.  Apparently they can be quite finicky to bake, but I have to admit that the first articles I read about making them, on BraveTart, really took the mystery out of it all: among others, there's one about how to make them, and even better, one that busts so many of the myths about how difficult they are.  They were pretty much a perfect introduction to macarons, since it made them accessible to me, right away, while taking away the intimidation of attempting them.

Over the past few days, I've read and reread those articles, along with some others, like the ones at Food Nouveau, and I gathered everything I needed, so I'd be able to take a crack at it tonight.

In the end, the only equipment I was missing is my oven thermometer, which means that I am a bit unsure how accurate my oven temperature is (apparently a serious issue in making successful macarons.)  I learned with the first batch that my oven is far too hot on the left, since that pan cracked completely.  The second pan was all right, perhaps a bit overdone.  For the last pan, I turned the temperature down juuuust a touch, and they turned out oh-so-beautiful.  Look at those little frilly feet and round tops.  As you can see, I went the "imperfection is adorable" route, and left the little nipples on top of the cookies.  If I had wanted to, I could have flattened those out before baking.

The recipe for Swiss Buttercream on BraveTart is a large one - it calls for two pounds of butter, if that gives you some idea of the volume of it - but it makes enough for several batches of macarons.  After filling these ones, I put the rest of the buttercream into the freezer for another day.

I ate a couple of the halves while assembling (a chef has to test her work, after all) but mostly I just filled and assembled them and stored them in the fridge, since I'm told that they are better after a day (or two) of resting. They were pretty lovely and crunchy and meringuey today - hopefully they will be even more heavenly tomorrow.

I Also Eat

I realize I've mostly been showing off my finished knits and not much else, for a while. I've been doing lots of baking and cooking, as well, but just haven't put up photos. Here are a few beauty shots for you to enjoy.

Scones I made ages ago, when I was in search of the perfect scone recipe. These were truly delectable. In fact, I think I should make these again soon.


One day I had a craving for a grilled cheese sandwich with smoked gouda and caramelized onions. Then I made it a reality.


Lastly, what self-respecting foodie hasn't yet made Prince William's Groom's cake? I altered the recipe by using a ganache for "icing", rather than just plain melted chocolate, which seemed to me like more than a little bit of a cop out. The ganache includes a bit of my tequila vanilla, and in my opinion is the best part of what is, ultimately, a really yummy chocolate cake.


Superb straight out of the fridge, but even better if it comes back up to room temperature, which softens the ganache a bit and really brings out the flavour and texture.


Cookielicious.

Mise en Place

I am feeling really good about my crafty accomplishments this week. I am this close to finishing a quilt, even closer to finishing Girlie Friday, and making good progress on yet another lacy shawl (or two) that I haven't even shown you, yet. I even wound a warp for a sweet weaving project that I'm going to put on the loom, tomorrow.


But tonight, I'm going to take a crack at some Indian cooking. Look at that, all ready to go. There will be leftovers, if you want to pop over, tomorrow.

A Happy Discovery

I made a discovery at work, recently, and completely by accident. I was in need of some basic sunflower oil for cooking, and I was drawn to a lovely looking bottle by a Canadian company called Maison Orphee. Once I got it home and opened it, I was delighted to find it had a beautiful sunflower seed aroma. Bear in mind that I have used a lot of sunflower oils in my day and I have never had one that was fragrant like that. Of course I tasted it, and it also has a lovely strong sunflower taste. What a perfect oil for salads or vegetables! Needless to say, I have been using it ever since. I made some cinnamon buns with it and while the dough was deliciously scented with sunflower as it rose, the scent and taste were not noticeable once the buns were baked, perhaps because of the overriding cinnamon flavour.


The other night I decided to make a carrot cake. I gathered a lovely bunch of organic carrots and set some cream cheese out to soften, and opened my precious bottle of sunflower oil.

I was happy to discover that there is a subtle nutty sunflower flavour in the finished cake. I left out any walnuts or pineapple or icky raisins or anything else people dump into carrot cake, so the texture is relatively smooth and the flavour really comes through. Even better is a big thick slice with cream cheese icing and a scattering of fresh raw walnuts on top. Bliss.

Chicken, Cheesecake, Octopus

I have definitely gotten back into my cooking groove, lately. It may have been sparked by the great Thanksgiving meal my HLM and I made last week (with not only pumpkin pie, but also accompanied by my favourite delicious banana bread.) My groove was certainly helped along with some excellent garlic-marinated barbequed pork chops with some homemade porcini mushroom sauce, a few nights ago. Sorry, no photos -- that food is all long gone, now.


Autumn appears to be in full swing, here, so tonight I decided I wanted some comfort food to warm myself up. I saw a recipe somewhere today for a chicken pot pie with leeks and mushrooms, and decided that I didn't really need a recipe to make it, so I came home and improvised this one. It didn't take that long, and I think it's going to be something I revisit again and again this winter.

I did wuss out and use a frozen pie crust. Don't judge me -- I made one from scratch for the pumpkin pie last week, I promise.


It looks a bit messier on the plate, but it still tasted pretty great. Just a hint of thyme and sage really fill out the flavours. Yum.

Then, last week I got a craving for cheesecake, so I pulled out a recipe for Vanilla Bean Cheesecake, taken from Junior's Deli in NYC. I have wanted to go there and eat their cheesecake ever since I learned of them in Tom Robbins' Still Life With Woodpecker:

Who knows how to make love stay?

1. Tell love you are going to Junior's Deli on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn to pick up a cheesecake, and if love stays, it can have half. It will stay.
2. Tell love you want a momento of it and obtain a lock of its hair. Burn the hair in a dime-store incense burner with yin/yang symbols on three sides. Face southwest. Talk fast over the burning hair in a convincingly exotic language. Remove the ashes of the burnt hair and use them to paint a mustache on your face. Find love. Tell it you are someone new. It will stay.
3. Wake love up in the middle of the night. Tell it the world is on fire. Dash to the bedroom window and pee out of it. Casually return to bed and assure love that everything is going to be all right. Fall asleep. Love will be there in the morning.

But I digress. The main difference with a Junior's cheesecake is the crust -- you will find no graham wafers, here (and good riddance!) Junior's makes a very thin sponge cake for the crust, and then loads a bunch of delicious fluffy cheesecake on top. I have to admit that I was skeptical at every stage of this cheesecake. I wasn't sure that the crust turned out right, and then I wasn't sure that the cheesecake batter baked properly, and basically I just made it and crossed my fingers and stored it in the fridge overnight. The next day I cut myself a slice, and as the knife went through, I could tell it was going to be fluffy and perfect. I wish you could taste it. I am definitely a convert to the Junior's way of doing things.


Lastly, in knitting news, I have made an octopus. Okay, not quite -- only five arms, I know. I have finished knitting the main part of Girlie Friday, and have sewn the sleeve seams already (and tried it on, I will admit. I didn't want to take it off; the sleeves alone were so warm and cozy.) Tonight I will sew the side seams and then wet block it. Tomorrow I will pick up the stitches for the collar/front bands and see how that goes. On the home stretch!

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

The weather today was sorta cool, sorta warm, sorta cloudy, sorta rainy. In other words, a perfect day for some roast chicken. Having recently watched a great video for a recipe on skillet-cooked chicken with a lovely herb sauce, I decided that today was the day to try it out.

Verdict: easy & delicious.

Nom Nom Noms

I tried a new recipe last night -- the magazine I found it in calls it Oh My God Chicken, and I can't say I disagree with that. There are several whole heads of roasted garlic nestled in there amongst that saucy chicken, and some white wine and red pepper and onion and kalamata olives, not to mention that crunchy bacon crumbled on top, people. Deadly good.

Thanks to the informative internet, I also discovered that I've been making cinnamon toast the wrong way, lo these many years. I always thought (misguidedly) that the various flavour components were all that mattered. Thank you, Ree Drummond, for setting me straight. I sang you many hallelujahs, this morning. I sang them with crumbs flying from my mouth as I devoured the best cinnamon toast ever. If you are a cinnamon toast lover (I am talking to you, Mom) you should really give it a go. And don't leave out the vanilla, either. You will thank her.

The Alleged Apron

So if you came across a fabric like this, with cute little fishies that reminded you of koi and yin yang and sushi, obviously you couldn't resist buying some, either. Especially if the colours just happen to be almost the exact ones from the quilt you just made. And if you had a fabric like this, obviously you would make an apron with it. A cute little gathered smock-type of apron, with big roomy pockets and a tie in back.


And if you made an apron from this fabric, obviously you (and your HLM) would make a pizza. The pizza to end all pizzas. With homemade beer-batter dough and prosciutto and hungarian salami and two cheeses and lots of garlic and fresh mushrooms. It's in the oven now. Can you tell I'm hungry?