Chocolate Macarons

What do I do when I have an excess of egg whites? I make macarons of course! These are so tricky to make. I could make 3 perfect batches and then the next batch will be a complete flop. Since I haven't made any in a couple of months, I thought I better not get too rusty so I hunkered down to make a couple of batches. I also thought they would make nice little favors to give to friends I will be seeing this weekend.
I churned out some chocolate macarons and filled them with a peanut butter concoction (recipe is courtesy of Aran Goyoaga of Cannelle et Vanille) http://cannelle-vanille.blogspot.com/2008/08/chocolate-macarons-and-tropical-storm.html. My next batch will be coffee macarons filled with milk chocolate ganache...pictures to come!

Spring Break & JC Dinner #3

After this harsh winter, I was desperate to escape to somewhere warm during spring break. Since my friend C is leaving the hot Florida weather soon for a bigger city with brighter lights, I thought it appropriate to visit her in Miami one last time where we like to indulge in the hot weather and our favorite Taiwanese restaurant (Mr. Chu's in Coral Gables). I literally counted the minutes until I could run onto the beach.  The sand between my toes did not disappoint!

We did venture out onto Ocean drive a couple of times where we enjoyed dinner and music....and a couple of mojitos...

When we returned home, we had the third JC dinner to look forward to at S and M's lovely abode. I made a cream of mushroom soup with garlic croutons, parsley, and a dash of brandy; our gracious hosts made a pork loin with sauerkraut and potatoes (my FIRST encounter with sauerkraut and it was delish); N had the kid friendly dish of chicken and rice, healthy veggies, and chocolate graham crackers; and R topped it off with Pastry Cream enhanced with fresh strawberries and sugared almonds. The nite was topped off with beautiful easter decorations, hide and seek, lots of laughter, really good czech beer, and a champagne that is parenting friendly! We had so much fun we all lost track of time and rolled out of there way past our bedtimes. Thank you S and M for a wonderful meal and for hosting!

Lemon Cream Scones and a Jam Fetish

Anyone who knows me knows I have a thing for jam. If I were to ever be known for having a fetish of any kind, it would be a jam one. No matter where I travel--Rome, Madrid, San Francisco, New York, I always have jam on my mind--always on the lookout for a different or exotic flavor I haven't tasted before.  My luggage is always packed with jam finds (this is where extra underwear comes in handy). The picture depicts my latest batch of jams that I must try.  Among the flavors include champagne, green tea, red bean, strawberry with violet, mango lime (my open jar right now which is DA-licious), apricot lavendar (my other open jar right now--also DA-licious), pluot, and passion fruit.  I get giddy thinking of different ways to incorporate some of these flavors into my desserts.  But at the end of the day, the way I enjoy them most is with a scone and a cup of tea.  I am constantly on the lookout for great scones and great scone recipes.  Most of the time, the scone is too sweet for me and doesn't require jam.  That's why I'm so excited to share this scone recipe. They are so light, not overly sweet, and a great vehicle to carry any jam. They're also good on their own too.  The other thing that is so great about this recipe is that there's no butter!  Well, almost none. Only a little butter brushed on the top before baking (yes there is some whipping cream in the recipe but somehow, that doesn't feel as bad). The lemon zest is the key to happiness in this recipe--do NOT omit it!! I also substituted in dried cherries and they were fantastic. Lastly, be sure to serve this with your favorite jam. Sitting down to some afternoon tea as I write....

Lemon Cream Scones
Bon Appetit, 1996

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup chopped dried apricots (about 4 1/2 ounces)
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 1/4 cups whipping cream

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 425°F. Mix 2 cups flour, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt in large bowl. Stir in apricots and 1 tablespoon lemon peel. Add whipping cream and stir just until dough forms. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Knead gently just until dough holds together. Form dough into 10-inch-diameter, 1/2-inch-thick round. Cut into 12 wedges.
Transfer wedges to large baking sheet, spacing evenly. Combine remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon lemon peel in small bowl. Brush scones with melted butter. Sprinkle with sugar mixture. Bake scones until light golden brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool slightly. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cool completely. Wrap in foil; store at room temperature.) Serve scones warm or at room temperature.

A longing for spring and Meyer Lemon petit fours

Apologies for my lack of posting recently. This dreary winter weather saps a lot of motivation out of one's mind and soul. Everything can become quite gray if you let it.  Well, I'm fighting back this gloom by filling myself up with thoughts of spring, thoughts of the colors and fruits I'll soon be seeing at the farmers markets, thoughts of life.

Another rainy day called for A and I to spend a Saturday in the museum.  A loved the miniature collection that featured miniature furniture, miniature wall furnishings, even miniature table settings. He kept saying "it's so cute, it's so cute!" So I decided to surprise him by making miniature desserts tonight--desserts that I wanted to fill with spring flavors and spring thoughts. Tart shells that I filled with lemon cream and fruit. He loved the way they looked and couldn't wait to pop one in his little mouth. (The big tart was for me). With a dessert like this on the table, spring is already here.

Julia Child Dinner #2

Another wonderful dinner tonite with my JC conspirators. S made a kick-ass chicken foie with homemade aspic (yes, I said homemade). She also whipped up a delightful garlic butter and served both with a rosemary bread. Heavenly to say the least. I made beef short ribs braised in red wine, served with roasted vegetables and mashed potatoes. R made the kid friendly dish of chicken meatballs with pasta that the kids went crazy for. N completed the nite with a beautiful dessert composed of layered meringue with layers of almond and kirsch buttercream and topped with chocolate buttercream. To top it all off, there was an amazing show hosted by all the children that involved singing, music, camping/fishing scenes, a limbo line, and a tent.

               S's Foie de Volaille en Aspic (Chicken Livers in Aspic) and garlic butter

                                                      N's dessert!

Going to bed happy and full!

Maida Heatter's Palm Beach Brownies

We are still snowed in and spending lots of time in front of the fireplace.  After looking through my pantry, I decided to bake up some brownies to satisfy my sweet tooth--my need to have a little something something after meals. I took out my go-to brownie recipe and decided to try something new on second thought. I had been doing some research on Maida Heatter and apparently she became famous on brownies; specifically, her Palm Beach Brownies. So I decided to give her recipe a try. The result: sinfully fudgy, almondy brownies that don't disappoint. I had to give most of them away so I wouldn't eat them all because with a glass of milk, one can do a lot of damage. I'm not a brownie connoiseur but these particular brownies taste the best the next day or after having several hours of rest after they come out of the oven. The almond extract comes through in every bite. The walnuts are of course optional but highly recommended.

Recipe adapted from Maida Heatter's Palm Beach Brownies

Preheat oven to 425F.

13 x 9 inch pan

8 oz. unsweetened chocolate

2 sticks unsalted butter

2 generous cups of walnuts

5 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract

1/4 tsp salt

1 TBSP + 1 tsp instant espresso powder

3 3/4 Cup sugar

1 2/3 cup flour

Melt the chocolate and butter in the top of a large double boiler over hot water on moderate heat or in a small, heavy saucepan on low heat, stirring occasionally. When combined, remove from heat and set aside.

Break the walnuts into pieces if necessary, trying to keep them fairly large. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the eggs with the vanilla and almond extract, salt, espresso and sugar at high speed for 10 minutes. On low speed, add the chocolate mixture and beat only until mixed. Remove the bowl from the mixer and stir in the nuts.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 35 minutes, reversing the pan from front to back once to ensure even baking. At the end of 35 minutes, the cake will have a firm crust and the edges may be very dark.  MUST cool or refrigerated for several hours before serving.

Pistachio Cherry Tart

I love reminiscing about friends--especially lifelong ones. So when I was recently going through my photo stack, I couldn't help but think about my friend B who I went to pastry school with in Paris. We loved this tea house I lived close to called Mamie Gateaux that had the most amazing desserts and ambiance. Among my favorites was a Pistachio Cherry Tart that was out of this world. I couldn't resist trying to replicate it today. For the crust, I used a sweet pastry dough. For the filling, I made an almond cream with pistachio paste and dried cherries. Such a great flavor combination. Such good memories!