Oh, the adventure that is macaron-making.  I’m not sure what makes them so elusive, but they are little devils of patisserie-making, and I cannot resist a challenge. So here goes.

It all began with Helen.  I’d followed her RSS feed for a while, ogling the most amazing photos of food (turns out she’s not only a pastry chef, but a food stylist and photographer!), thinking these macarons she was posting pictures of were the coconutty things I liked but didn’t love. And besides, why were hers so smooth and neat and perfect? Where was the coconut fringe?  So ok, I’ve been properly schooled now, and understand the French macaron vs. the coconut macaroon.

The challenge is mostly in the fickle-ness of meringue. And this meringue must take ground almonds into its house, welcome it with open arms, and not collapse around it. When it does what it’s supposed to, it’s gorgeous stuff. When it doesn’t work out so well, it’s still super-tasty, albeit ugly.

Once the meringue-mixing and baking are conquered, and you manage to get your little precious coins off the parchment (no wax paper, EVER!), then you have to think about fillings.  Oh yes, the fillings. Ganache, buttercream, caramel, whipped cream, your choice. Personally, I think the chocolate ganache and salted caramel on vanilla macarons are just about the best thing I’ve ever tasted, ever.

See this, it’s an excellent tutorial, and what I use as my guide.

The recipe itself is stunningly simple:

step 1:
110 g. almond flour or ground almonds
200 g. Powdered sugar
blend these together to mix (along with any spices you’d like to add to the cookies)

step 2:
100 g. egg whites
50 g. granulated sugar
Whip into a frenzy — a shiny meringue, but not super stiff, dry peaks.  You can also add food coloring, but go easy, the meringue is delicate.

Fold the almond mixture into the meringue.  Quickly at the first several strokes, then easing up.  Just do it quickly, it’s not as painful.  Spoon it into a piping bag with a tip large enough so that any stray dry almond stuff doesn’t get stuck (a 14″ is a nice size for holding all the batter at once).

Pipe into small circles on parchment, let rest about 40 minutes, and bake at 300 for 10-12 minutes.

See, simple!  Now go, bake, post pictures!

p.s. this is what happens when you don’t use a template, and your last two macarons are wildly different sizes 

I know that most of you are already home for the holidays and in search of some entertainment, so I’m going to have an after-holiday giveaway! See below for the details.

I read about this book first on Eat Me Daily (Yes, I like stylish shoes and attractive food) and thought “hmmm… this might be the perfect dessert/cookie cookbook for me.”

Since, according to…well, a crapload of sources (that’s a scientific measurement…”Crapload”) say french macarons are the new cupcake.

And if I hear one more “something is the new something else” I will lose my mind…

Back to the book!

Now, after purchasing The Pioneer Woman’s cookbook with its step-by-step photos of the cooking/baking process (think of it as a “cooking-for-dummies-like-Cher-who-can’t-cook guide”) I was sure that the I Love Macarons book, with its step-by-step guide, would be just as simple and fun!

Boy, was I wrong.

I think I know where I went wrong (it was when I decided to rent an apartment with a kick-ass tricked-out kitchen instead of a studio with only a mini-fridge and a microwave.) so I will try to do better next time. This book also gives explanations as to why your macarons didn’t work the first time (because, I promise you, they will not be perfect the first time out.) Some of the directions are slightly confusing, but if you read through the book BEFORE you start cooking (unlike me) then you should be fine. And the end result is DELICIOUS!!!!

So, while I try to figure out why my macarons were paper thin, hard as rocks ,and why the buttercream had sharp, glass-like fragments in it, I’m giving away a copy of I Love Macarons!

All you have to do to win is to leave a comment on this post with what color macarons you would prefer to make.  I personally like to super-bright pink ones.

No entries after 11:00 Eastern Time on Christmas, and I’ll chose a winner on Saturday.  Now, it’s time for me to re-watch the tape of SyFy’s Alice my sister left me (oh Hatter, you’ve stolen my heart)

Good luck!

This weekend was so busy!

There were cookies to eat…

And cookies to make…

Luckily for lazy me, my houseguest is doing posts of what we did. Head over to Miss Vinyl Ahoy for many, many recaps!

There was an ugly sweater party too!

Having a great weekend, I hope.  Little Dude has the sniffles and ran a fever last night.  We didn’t get to leave for San Diego as planned.  We’re missing The Little Mermaid’s birthday party.

Ah, I’m writing without a photo of new macaron creations.  I just wanted to share my macaron experience at Strawberry.  It was terrible.  I can’t even eat it.  I was scared to take another bite.  It was so dry, and the taste was just terrible.  Are these macarons satisfying a good population sample here in Marin where I live?  OMG, we need another shop to offer better versions of these mini delights.  The Parisian Macaron Police should be alerted.

I paid $1.50 for each macaron.  Vanilla was as disappointing as their Coffee version.  $3.00 wasted.  Could have fed a family of four in Tanzania.

Although my posting on this blog has been somewhat limited, it has already been made evident that I LOVE macrons.

Food is so much more fun to make when the end result is just lovely to look at.

My current favourites (yet to be made) are Helen’s candy cane macarons, they’re beautiful!

My most recent attempts have been happily successful! I thought the previous time I made them (the orange and poppy seed ones) I had done a pretty good job, but then I made them again and they were marvelous!

I made David Lebovitz’s chocolate macarons and used a ganache with butterscotch schnapps for the filling, and then I made pink berry macarons and green lime macarons. I think the chocolate ones tasted the best and the green ones looked the best.

Here’s a lovely picture Bec took of my macarons.

Alrighty here’s the post on the macaron class, as promised.

So Tangs organized this macaron class by Clara Lee. It was 7pm on Tuesday at The Kitchen in Tangs Vivo.

My friends Apprentice Housewife and Lazy Susan and I had to rush there from the office, so we made do with a grab-n-go Breadtalk dinner.

When we got to The Kitchen we were surprised to find that there was only one other student in the class, and that our instructress was a university undergraduate. Surprised in a good way, that is. On both counts. We were pleased to have a passionate and enthused shi fu, and plenty of air time to ask questions.

Clara taught us how to make caramel fleur de sel macarons, pistachio macarons, and vanilla and chai macarons. Doesn’t that all sound delish =) It wasn’t a hands-on class, but we got to help with some of the mixing and piping. Loads of fun!

I’ll post a recipe or two when I’ve made a batch on my own. For now, some pretty pictures courtesy of my two lovely companions, because I didn’t have the wherewithal to bring my camera along!

*Oh yes – “macaronage” is that part of the macaron making process that involves mixing the dry ingredients in with the wet ingredients. Isn’t that neat? Macaronage. Haha.

Here is the Kitchen:

Clara demonstrating how to check that your macaronage was a success:

Perfect piping (oops except for a little drippage above the second one!)

The macarons sitting pretty in the oven, waiting to grow “feet”…

Pretty feet =)

For some reason, this little and light cookie is starting to appear in all places. These colourful delights are very appealing and everyone who seems to try them, love them. The star for all macarons (pronounced macar-own-s, not macar-on-s…similar to saying macaroni without the “i” at the end…it’s French) is the filling. From chocolate to sweet raspberry, vanilla to pistachio, and coffee to lemon, the filling makes these little treats what they are.

As simple as they look, mastering the techniques to make the perfect one is no easy feat even though there are only 3 main ingredients: finely ground almonds, egg whites, and sugar. The colours come from food colouring, and sometimes a pinch of salt is used. While some believe that these cookies are stuffed, they are not. It’s put together by a “sandwich” style even though it’s not really a sandwich.

So go ahead, try these out for yourselves. Here isa recipe form Epicuous: Espresso Blackberry Macarons.

Warning: As easy as it may seem to make, they are not. But even though they may not turn out the way you want them to as far as looks go, that doesn’t mean they won’t be delicious.

Update: Big Mac French Macaron, courtesy of Eat Me Daily

I am so excited!! My parents went to Paris for the weekend and brought me back a great french book on Macarons, I can’t fail so badly now…can I?? Well I hope not! There’s a list of aome beautiful flavour combinations in the book so I’ll make a batch for Christmas eve…fingers crossed!

… So said our macaron instructor matter-of-factly, before moving onto talk about baking time, fillings and fleur de sel.

My mind quickly roamed to a vision of a pretty pink macaron with cartoon eyes and crimson lips, upheld by a pair of long, shapely gams in flaming-red heels, sashaying away from the plate in front of me…

The reverie was broken seconds later by Mrs Multitasker, who - clearly plagued by the same statement -  injected incredulously, “Wait… Macarons have feet?!”

You see, Mrs Multitasker, Lazy Susan and I were attending a small and cosy macaron class by Clara Lee at The Kitchen.

Situated in the heart of the kitchenware segment in Tangs at Vivocity, The Kitchen is a workshop venue that is demarcated by glass doors, and home to weekly cooking demonstrations.

A brilliant concept by Tangs, I say, as we were inundated with lots of kitchen eye candy. Excellent tactic for tempting young, impressionable gals like us to part with more money.

The class was really fun and conducive, attended by just 4 students. Knowing I was among friends, we felt at liberty to pelt Clara with all sorts of (silly) questions.

And back to feet. 

The mark of a good macaron is the height of its feet, or in layman terms, the prized frills that line the circumference base of each macaron shell.

Apparently, these feet are a reflection of how well the macaron is baked. Make it well, and its shell will hold its shape while baking, and the trapped air within expands downwards, pushing the cap upwards and showing part of the less glamorous insides, at the base. Go figure.

Clara is a great trainer, and it amazes me that she is a young undergraduate from Melbourne back for summer break. Thumbs up for her passion and achievements!

The sweet lady is not averse to us blogging about the recipe, and I’ll probably share it after I’ve tried it on my own. So stay tuned for another post, if I can overcome my baking inertia.

Revelation: I’m actually not a macaron fan, but mastering this French pastry is like the holy grail of amateur bakers. Talk about peer pressure!

Thanks, Mrs M, for getting Lazy Su and I along. I really had great fun with you two, and we should do this more often!

The first thing you need if you’re going to undertake French macarons is lots of enthusiasm.

I find that nothing makes me more enthusiastic about baking than a nice Mrs. Claus apron and a Le Creuset full of delicious simmering caramel sauce.

The second thing you need when undertaking French macarons is a friend who happens to love them.

It also helps if it’s that particular friend’s birthday and your gift happened to be a book about macarons, ingredients and supplies to make them and a free afternoon in which to do so.

The book, being new and ridiculously adorable, didn’t like to stay open to the correct page.  Hence, the third necessity:

A bookmark made out of a stick of butter!  (It’s being brought to room temperature for the buttercream filling, of course.)  I can’t think of a more conveniently shaped bookmark than a stick of butter — can you?

We decided to make two kinds of macarons:  pink with salted caramel buttercream in the middle and pink salt sprinkled on top and pistachio with rose water buttercream.  I find it necessary to confess that the colors were chosen, not in an attempt to turn Christmas pastel, but because those were the only food colorings I had left at the time.

I appear to have left out the most important part of this whole process.  We had a whole book devoted to macarons.  I’m not going to supply a recipe and then throw you to the wolves.  I’ve only recently jumped on the macaron bandwagon and there are loads of blogs and websites with more detailed and precise instructions than I am able to provide — after all, I’m nowhere near an expert.  In fact, I made a total of three batches of macarons this weekend, and the first one turned out better than the other two.

The second batch was marvelously green and pistachio-laden, but appeared greasy and proved difficult to remove from the pan.  They were tasty, especially with the rose water buttercream, but I think I preferred them in their unbaked state, when they still had the potential for excellence.

This photo brings me to the fourth thing needed for macarons.  Look carefully at that photo.  See what I’m squeezing the batter out of?  It’s a Ziploc bag.  Attached to that Ziploc bag is a too-small pastry tip screwed into a corner of the bag and reinforced with a rubber band.  It worked, but I went through too many plastic bags to feel good about myself when I took the garbage out.  I need a pastry bag.

Our sojourn into macaron making ended abruptly, when we realized we had very little time to get ready for Springfield Creamery’s Christmas party at which we were providing macarons.  So we packed everything up as quickly as possible and never even got a chance to photograph them as we ran out the door.  In all the rush we still managed to make time for this:

Thus ends the tale of Meredith’s birthday macarons.

Tonight I attended a macaron class with Lazy Susan and Apprentice Housewife, at the Tangs Kitchen in Vivocity. So much fun! Clara Lee is a fun instructor (and a gifted baker for someone so young!).

The picture above isn’t the best cos I took it with my iPhone. (I’m counting on my two accomplices to provide me with real pictures! I forgot to bring my cam. Silly me…) Still though, you can see how tantalising the macarons looked =)

Clara’s doing another round of classes at Tangs in January, where she might be teaching some Chinese New Year-appropriate macaron recipes. So you should check back on the Tangs Kitchen website that I linked above if you’re interested!

Another post to follow, with more pictures from the class, and hopefully yet another post in January, detailing my attempts at making macarons =D

(Are you guys still reading my blog? It’s been so quiet on the comment front… I feel like I’m talking to myself!)

As many of you know, Jin’s Patisserie in Venice (Abbot Kinney St), has the best macarons I’ve ever tasted.  Even the ones over at the Ritz in MDR, don’t come close to the exquisite texture and flavor Jin’s has to offer.  I recently had a chance to try a macaron from Bouchon Bakery in Vegas, and was blown away at the texture and taste.  I tried their limited edition egg nog macaron, and it was so heavenly.

You can find a Bouchon Bakery inside of Venetian in Las Vegas.  Enjoy!

Egg Nog flavor macaron

It was a huge macaron, however the flavor and texture was perfect.

A collaboration between Parisian boutique Colette and Laduree, a French pastry company (and an absolute Parisian favorite) was always going to happen. Creating a mini corner inside Colette, the macaron box sets come in all the classic flavors with a colette exclusive flavor of ‘candy floss’. Packaged in colette’s signature blue polka dot boxes, for anyone living outside of the city of love you can now enjoy your favorite macarons and buy them online a Colette’s Online store.

Pink Macarons, Moonglow Bakes

Possibly the most successful macaron shells I baked, sort of ruined by the mediocre French Buttercream I made.

Pink Macarons, Moonglow Bakes

BOOOOM!!! And I’m finally back! My visit back to NorCal was needless to say… BOMBOMBOMB!
I tried to keep all the photos in chronological order… so if anything’s outta place. my apologies.
Cameras used for this post:
-Canon 40D
-Canon 5D MKII
-Canon Powershot G10
-Canon SD790 IS
Also, not all the pics were shot by me… so thank you to everyone who used my camera!

Ready…. Steady…. GOOOO!!!!

PLAY ME: “They can say whatever. I’mma do whatever. Nothing is forever. Yep, YOU KNOW DIS!”

bombass won-ton noodle in LA before my trip back to NorCal

first time to the exploratorium in like… over a decade!

so 80’s!

huge racee. smashin on them other hoes!

I honestly have no idea what’s going on here…

gross… hahaha

loool I thought this was kinda funnny

hmmm… wrong chairs?

lunch afterwards @ let’s be frank… (got nothin on Pink’s)

::random::

first time at Bi-Rite… Kwok and I stood outside waiting for Race and Claud to find parking. Little did we know… this isn’t the ice cream shop. -_- FAILURE!

::random:: took some pics while waiting for Race and Claud at the WRONG Bi-Rite…

oh so worth the wait…

I love SF sunsets…

***CHUBBY BUNNY***

She knew she was gonna lose… LOOL

Tammy’s a BEAST!

Claud actually tapped out first… ahaha

***EPIC RIDE DAY***
my back tire blew out even before the ride started -_- sorry about ur ears rob…

@ the LowTEC garage for some chill time

first stop: Academy of Sci

second stop: Union Sq.

third stop: The Island after smashing through the Chinatown tunnel and down Broadway st.

forth stop: China Basin… random stop.

brandon took a spill… a hard one. way to hold up like a G!! (which is also our fifth stop: 11st x Market)

chill time while waiting for Rob to come pick Brandon up to the hospital… after this, it was pretty much another epic ride all the way back to the Prez’s place… I had difficulty walking down stairs for the next 2 days as well as trying to take a dooty…

***TURDUCKEN DAY!!… and the day before***
Racee preppin the crack cupcakes for the upcoming festivities

BOOM!

BOOM!! #2

BAHAHAHA!!! thank you Raceee

here we go!

Turducken Day!

quick sports basement run

Chris is a baby gangsta… inked like a G!

“Happy holidays… motha f*cka!”

::droooolsss::

Claud: “me want food naaaaoooo!!!”

good ole’ Tammy…

lmfaooooooooooooooo

thanks for carrying out my request AL!

mMmmm….turducken meat!!!

before we sliced into it!

shouts to Chris for shredding the bird

almost ready to grub!!

WHAT?! a second one!!

grub time! it’s about to be on like donkey kong!!

my plate!! damn my lazy ass for not custom white balancing -_- yet again, I am paying for it…

aftermath of the food…

omfg…. forgot about dessert LOOOOL

band hero has commenced!

Racee slappin da bass!!

Chris… our MC for the night’s entertainment

Prez on the drums

wonk wonk wonnnnkkkkk…

Roberto making some guest appearances

love you Racee!

***End Of Turducken***

King of Thai after Vacaville Outlets

Genki’s!

lmaooo Mugen swooped on my pic!

gaahhhh hahaha he’s so funny!

lobster bisque from lobster shack!! so… effin… good!!

yes, this is how Roberto likes his chowdahh… with hella crackers.

I’m starting to feel like all I’ve done since I’ve been back is eat…

FAWWWWWWKKKK!!! SUPAH BOMB!!!

hard to deny SF. I…………LOVE IT!!

damn… this stuff is bank :X

SF sunset… in the Sunset

zOMG…….

he loves me… hahaha

Race loves Sac Sac so much, she bought a whole box… LOL

chillin chillin chillin like a chinchilla

having McDonalds in San Mateo by CSM brought a slight tear to my eye…

oh damn, CSM going under a makeover! that used to be the building 2!

went to Claud’s game… it was freezing cold!! whoooop whoooop #11 Claud!! how awkward………..

Claud playing outfield… who later on was brought in to play catcher because she was Ms. Butterfingers LOOOOL

“Lets Play Ball!!”

“Hey Batter Batter Batter…”

Claud looks like she could smash a few…

***Tammy’s New Canon S90***

Boooom! right out the bag!

come on come on come on!!!

it’s at the bottom Tammy!!

bahahaha!! there it is!!

“I wanna be in the first picture!!!!!”

celebrated by having Sonic!

::food::

::food::

RT44!

mMmm… beigahhh

WTF is that!?

mexican wrestling boots!! front side!

backside!! thanks for modeling

sunset in Gilroy! thanks for telling me to shoot this Racee

Blue Rock BBQ!

last bike ride!!

nice Kwok! hahaha

the friday bike crew

Prez & Kwok

Tammy & Claud

Prez workin it out!

one for myself

did some sight seeing on the bike

the bros!

after the bike ride… it was off to Gilroy… again!

Sonic’s double bacon cheeseburger toaster!

thanks for the tots Claud & Tammy!

went to some place in a garage!

the place is pretty chill status

Racee’s kim chi fried rice. BOMB!

mMmm… this beer is pretty decent. I’m totally not a beer guy…

CHILLIN!!

swooped on my photo!

lining up for the ramen truck. it was bullshit! they closed the truck down to change the “water”. they told us it was going to be an hr… then it turned out to be 30 mins more! then another 30 mins more!!! bottom line, we didn’t have any cuz we left…

good ole’ tammy hahahaha MYSPACE PIC!!

::ahem:: someone missed the memo… lookin like a sexy elf LOL

rollin MOB status

to make up for not having ramen… got more macarons!

this time, we doubled up! ballinnn!!!

they can have my photo if they spot me a couple macarons for freee.99

Hayes Valley

awesome!

::random::

mMmm… warm soup on a cold ass day!

Mugen!!

Mugen!!

lmaooo that means he REALLY wants to come out!

Tammy’s SB soxxx! so cooool!

I love how weird he is…

lookin kinda clueless… like his mama!

Claud and her Mexican mom hair… LOL

our official anniversary dinner @ banana leaf

roti (spelling)

the best motha fuckin hainan chicken i EVER had!

basil fried rice… bomb, but spicy as HELLZ!!

huong lan with claud! I’m trying to remember if she moan for this sandwich…

RACEEEE!!

BOOOM! team Jacob. period.

Ike’s Kryptonite Sandwich… aka: the baddest one they make!

Left: Ike’s Kryptonite Sandwich
Right: Ike’s regular sized sandwich
*this is what a 16dollar sandwich looks like, and it was worth every damn penny! what a way to end my trip in NorCal

goodbye NorCal! until next time!!

“I’mma need 2 of the big ones, and Harry, I’m gonna need it by tonight.”

what’s a road trip without my traditional Rt44 strawberry limeade!

mMmmm!! so CLEAN!

oh Mila Kunis …

lmaooooo

enjoyyy!!!!!

oo la la!

i am not french.  but, like most everything french, there’s something about a macaroon slash macaron that is so intriguing to me.  they’re petite and cute and dainty.  and i love the different color combinations.  but i’ve heard through the ganache line (not funny?) that they’re also time-consuming and finicky to make.  everything irresistable seems to be so.  everything french seems to be so.

but how scrumptious does this recipe from epicurious sound?

raspberry chocolate french macaroons from gourmet, december 2006

for macaroons

• 6 oz sliced blanched almonds (not slivered; 2 cups)
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
• 3 large egg whites
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• red or pink food coloring

for chocolate raspberry ganache

• 3 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (60 to 64% cacao), finely chopped
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
• 1/16 teaspoon raspberry extract (preferably mccormick brand)

Make macaroons:
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Pulse almonds with 1/2 cup confectioners sugar in a food processor until very finely ground, 2 to 3 minutes, then transfer to a bowl. Sift in remaining cup confectioners sugar, stirring to combine.

Beat egg whites with salt in another bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until they just hold soft peaks. Add granulated sugar, a little at a time, beating, then increase speed to high and continue to beat until whites just hold stiff, glossy peaks. Add drops of food coloring to reach desired shade and mix at low speed until evenly combined. Stir almond mixture into meringue with a rubber spatula until completely incorporated. (Meringue will deflate.)

Spoon batter into bag, pressing out excess air, and snip off 1 corner of plastic bag to create a 1/4-inch opening. Twist bag firmly just above batter, then pipe peaked mounds of batter (the size of a chocolate kiss) onto lined sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart. Let cookies stand, uncovered, at room temperature until tops are no longer sticky and a light crust forms, 20 to 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 300°F.

Bake cookies, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until crisp and edges are just slightly darker, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool completely on sheets on racks, about 30 minutes.

Make ganache while macaroons bake:
Melt chocolate with cream in a metal bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water or in top of a double boiler, stirring until smooth. (Bowl should not touch water.) Remove bowl from heat, then add butter and raspberry extract, stirring until butter is melted. Let stand at room temperature until cooled completely and slightly thickened.

Assemble cookies:
Carefully peel cookies from parchment (they will be fragile). Sandwich a thin layer of ganache (about 1/2 teaspoon) between flat sides of cookies.

maybe by valentine’s day i will have worked up the nerve to whip some up!

The next stop on the tour through my holiday shopping is the $50 level. Very few people in my life receive gifts from this level, mostly because I think it is a skill to find a present that is meaningful, cool, and useful for just a few quid.

(How much is a quid worth? GAH!  I was totally useless in London when it came to money. I just used my credit card the whole time)

Regardless of quid, I like to come up with an inspiration and go with the flow, and sometimes the flow sails you right up to the  $50 mark. If you’ve got the budget, feel free to indulge. But if you don’t (and you can see what your budget should be at the end of this post) then do the responsible thing and stay away from this list. Just because I like expensive shoes doesn’t mean I can’t preach fiscal responsibility.

This $50 list is a bit more “spendy” than my $25 list, but if you’ve got someone you really want to impress with your gift-giving skillz (heehee, skillz) then try one of my tops 10 $50 and under.  (This is NOT a sponsored list, these are just things I like and think are cute shoe-related gifts)

10. The Seductive Shoe: Four Centuries of Fashion Footwear by Johnathan Walford

This is a glossy coffee table book. Get it (and a coffee table while you’re at it) and sit it next to your Vogue subscription, your tall cafe au lait (funny story about that at the 0:36 mark here) $40 at Borders.com

9. Dot-To-Dot Beauty Bins

Cute makeup storage for those of us who need a little help organizing our morning routine. Spend less time searching for your lip gloss and more time sifting through your many shoe options. $35 for the large bin from PB Teen

8. I-Line ‘Dark Metro’ Rectangle Reading Glasses

As the savvy shoe-lover spends more and more time checking out the latest footwear trends online, her eyes are strained by the constant peering at the screen (the drooling over a dreamy pair of Louis Vuittons doesn’t help either) and reading glasses become a must. There aren’t your grandma’s bifocals, however. Sophisticated, flattering, and only $48 from Nordstrom, these frames scream “I’m smarter than everyone else in this room, and I also have the best shoes.”

7. Pure Grace Layering Collection

$50 from Philosophy.com (also available at Sephora) I have to say that I am a little biased towards this scent. It’s almost a lack of a smell. Not overpowering, but fresh and clean, like you scrubbed a little extra long in the shower. It works for me, especially in the summertime, but it doesn’t overpower like the lady on the train last night wearing, I kid you not, at least a cupful of Love’s Baby Soft. I immediately switched to another car and spend the rest of the night scrubbing out my nostrils. Pure Grace won’t make you feel like that.

6. Marc by Marc Jacobs Mini Miss Marc Umbrella

Because Umbrellas aren’t just for protecting you from rain. They are also a great fashion statement on a day when you’re covered  up and the first thing people see is the awning over your head. $48 from Saks Fifth Avenue

5. Sushi for Two:  Sushi Platter

“This is a great gift for a sushi-loving couple. Why shouldn’t delivered or homemade sushi be eaten in style? With these sets of Japanese-style plates, dipping dishes and chopsticks they’ll feel like it’s Nobu in their dining room.” $50 at Uncommon Goods

4. The Twilight Saga Box Set

I couldn’t help it. I love these books so much. No, I’m not a 14-year old, nor do I like science fiction, but these books are just so wonderful. True escapes from real life through the printed word. I dare anyone to read these and NOT get hooked on the complexities of love, relationships, and supernatural forces.  On Amazon.com they are marked down from $83 for the set to $39.49 for the set. When I bought mine, $40 would buy me 1.5 of the series. (Oh, and don’t see the movie. The books blow the movies out of the water)

3. Best of Bliss Set 2009

There is a great Bliss Spa located right on the lake in Chicago. Unfortunately, it’s fairly expensive, so I don’t go as often as I would like (every day would be ideal!) However, Bliss has a great product line and they have released a Best of 2009 set for $45 at Bliss.com. Pamper yourself with this sampler of these “blissed out” products.

2. Mail-Order Macarons

When I say Macarons, you are either thinking “Hey, she misspelled Macaroons!” or “mmm coconut.” You’re wrong on both counts. I’m talking about French Macarons. I’ll officially say that French Macarons are the new Cupcake. Sprinkles Bakery in California, I am sorry but you are officially old news. Pierre Hermé’s and Ladurée’s, you’re the purveyors of the new ‘it’ dessert.

Unfortunately, Pierre Hermé’s and Ladurée’s are both in Paris, and since a trip to Paris costs more than $50, how about bringing a little bit of Paris to you via MadMac.com? This NYC Bakery churns out mailings of the delicate cookies to mailboxes all over the country. And a box of 48 macarons comes in above my limit at $65…

BUT WAIT! If you enter coupon code “HOLIDAYS” at check out, you’ll get $10 off…bringing the macarons to $55 over my limit. They are the easiest way to bring a bit of Paris to you… Until Starbucks begins its macaron sale.

1. Tickets to see The Nutcracker

Ballet dancers wear shoes, so this is still a good shoe-y idea. I’ll be seeing The Nutcracker in Boston, but most cities have a production of this holiday classic. I’ve seen tickets around $35 at the cheapest. Gifts that are experiences (like the ballet) are a great way to gain some major brownie points.

Austin
Boston
Chicago

Ok, they are literally in a zillion cities.  I can’t list them all! Find yours here:  A listing of all shows by state/province/country

So unless you haven’t read my ‘About Me’ (shame on you for not doing your due diligence) I was born in Hong Kong and was a citizen of that city for oh, about 5 months before my parents came to their senses and hopped across the pond with me to become Canadians. Part of the beauty of Canadian culture means that you are part of a mosaic. Unlike our neighbours to the south, we aren’t a melting pot. We keep and celebrate our unique cultural heritage living (somewhat) peacefully together; sharing the second largest landmass outside of…you guessed it, China.

There is a point to my initial rambling, I promise. Since I grew up keeping our Chinese-ism, it also meant the flip-side of not branching out and exploring other cultures – especially when it came to food. My parents were old school. That was then and now in the new millenium we’re much more progressive (plus we have so many epicurean delights to choose from…Vancouver is a foodists’ mecca and its residents have extremely sophisticated palates – more on this topic another time). Nonetheless, 20 years ago, it’s not like we’d hop over to a Vij’s or a Chambar-style haunt as a family for a midweek meal.

So my point is this: my love for all things French, including food, developed much later in my university years when I finally began to ‘break from the nest’ (well not physically, but at least emotionally). But I don’t regret it at all…I have the rest of my life to catch up.

Now this brings me to the actual topic of my post. I discovered French macarons (that’s the proper spelling…not to be confused with the ‘macaroon’ which are dense coconut cookies). I tried these beautifully coloured French pastries for the first time this year. I know, you’re probably thinking, What a hyprocrite! Parisian my ass! But the truth is, I’ve never liked meringues (be it standalone as little confections or as a topping on a lemon pie). And macarons are essentially fancy meringues…or so I thought. Macarons, in fact, are gorgeous, little ’sandwich’ confections made of two thin egg white cookies brought together with a buttercream or ganache filling. They come in all types of flavours, from chocolate, vanilla, strawberry and raspberry, to coffee, pistachio, coconut and apple. I found a fabulous short video from a pastry shop in New Orleans that makes them.

I had heard so much about the ubiquitous French macaron for many years – but was too grossed out by the possibility of eating yet another soft, foamy and tasteless egg white confection (it doesn’t help when you’ve grown up with Safeway). But my recent trip to Paris was to tour my mom around the city for her 60th birthday and one of the destinations was to Ladurée, the famous French house of macarons – what most consider as the best in the world. Some may argue that Pierre Hermé is better, but since Ladurée essentially invented the modern macaron, we couldn’t go wrong. Anyway, before the trip to France I stumbled into Meinhardt’s in my city’s South Granville district – a sort of Dean and Deluca for Vancouverites – and tried three macarons, all of which were inhaled in less than a minute. I couldn’t imagine tasting anything better.

Well, until mom and I walked into Ladurée on a very chilly but sunny November afternoon in Paris on the Champs-Élysées. Mom and I were in heaven. Despite the long lines of excited locals and tourists snapping up the shop’s many sweet delights, we were distracted by the sheer sweetness of the air in the room, the picture-perfect pastries, and the trays and trays of Crayola coloured macarons. We picked up several gift boxes (French packaging, like most things in Paris, are jaw-dropping), some pain au chocolat, croissants, and a few macaron to go. I still recall crossing the large avenue of Champs-Élysées during what was now rush hour. And while normally I’d be a bit more cautious crossing such a large thoroughfare in a European city, I was absolutely in another world as I inhaled macaron after macaron. My favourite – vanilla. And it was anything but.

Now for the more cringy part of the story. When I returned home to Vancouver, I had a sudden craving for my little colourful confection. At that time, I just happened to be at the Granville Island Market, which is world-reknowned and is where many of the local executive chefs and restauranteurs shop daily. Across from the Market, was La Baguette et L’Echalote, a popular French bakery that is mostly known for their breads. I was delighted to find that they had macarons, albeit they were rather large – like on steroids. They were also $4 each, and so I purchased one strawberry macaron, hoping to savour it in the car.

It was disgusting. Perhaps one of the worst confections I’ve tasted in years. Not only did it crumble completely in my mouth – the cookie part was hollow – the buttercream didn’t exactly taste like strawberry. I have no idea what it was. Had it not have cost $4, I would have tossed it then and there. So I just mumbled and complained to myself the whole ride home – making me miss Paris, Ladurée, and all its delights even more. La Baguette et L’Echalote should remove their so-called ‘macaron’ from the shop. Shame on them for even putting it out for sale. I now understand why the French can be so snobby about their food. It’s because they know what they’re talking about and their food tastes amazing.

I am now on the hunt for the best French macarons in Vancouver. Wish me luck.

Once again, an awesome Xmas to everyone

Here’s my Xmas outfit in details :

Skirt from BikBok, Tshirt from forever 21  , le teeny beret from Maria but made by  Pretty Good Things , ribbon from Maria

Macarons from TWG Tea, Singapore. 
My mum is addicted to macarons, especially those in the flavour of rose.

"Once in a young lifetime one should be allowed to
have as much sweetness as one can possibly want and hold." (Judith Olney)

Plus jamais un 23 décembre à Paris, dans le rush de Noël. Never again comme on dit, hein. 40 minutes d’attente pour 10 macarons et 16€ chez Ladurée (“mais bon il parait qu’ils sont bons“], bon rapport temps/quantité/prix… #humour

Ladurée Printemps (Paris) /DR

> Coup de gueule

To start off, this was supposed to be my entry for Jamie (of Life’s a Feast) and Deeba’s (of Passionate About Baking) MacTweets MacAttack last week.  Now that it’s 10 days late, and pretty much null and void,I suppose I’ll just have to call this your every day, non challenge post, which as you can see, I have very few of, especially since joining the Daring Cooks in conjunction with the Daring Bakers.  Since I’m not married and not a mommy, I don’t cook/bake every day, and when I do, it’s usually for a challenge I leave to the last minute.  I LOVE cooking and baking..it’s a passion that oozes from my pores, but hey, eventually you realize you can’t give enough away, and end up throwing a lot of stuff out.  I’m actually looking forward to the day I have a hungry brood to feed (I can almost hear the grunts and sighs of those who do).

Fleur de Sel – Spiced Caramel Apple Macarons.  Notice the oozing caramel in some of them?  The caramel for those was cooked to about 230-235.  I cooked it up to 240ish for the next batch of filling – no more oozing, although I wouldn’t say it’s a bad thing!

OK, one more thing/diatribe before I get to the macarons.  I must admit something to you all, and it’s weird, really weird.  I’m afraid of my tripod.  For those who don’t know me or haven’t followed this blog, you’re probably thinking “This girl is afraid of a piece of equipment that holds a camera steady?  What a freak!”.  For those who do know me and/or my blog, you know I annihilated my knee trying to save my camera when I knocked against THE TRIPOD atop a staircase as I was setting up for photos for the Daring Bakers Lavash challenge.  Because of this little phobia, my photos suffer.  It’s bad enough I have no natural light, which is all the more reason I MUST use a tripod, but I look at the damn thing and I shudder….memories of my leg flopping all over the place as I tried to crawl to the phone *CRINGE*, and the year I’ve spent rehabilitating the mess of a leg.  Maybe I need a much sturdier tripod, since mine possess legs that even a modeling agency would call too skinny, and what look to be balls instead of feet (My father gave it to me.  He found it at an estate, along with other antique camera equipment, eons before I was born).  As I look below at the blurry spinach and peppers in my Beef Wellingtons, and know this freaky phobia is partial cause..I have to laugh..really.  If I don’t..I just might scream!!

Now that I’ve vented, on to the macarons.  I made two kinds, since I couldn’t decide on one –  fleur de sel-cinnamon macaron shells filled with spiced apple cider caramel, and a pure, fresh roasted maple pumpkin filling between two pumpkin pie spiced macaron shells, topped with spicy toasted Jack Be Little pumpkin seeds (You know, the baby pumpkins you can hold in your hand.  The seeds are light and tiny, perfect to top a macaron shell without any craters forming).

The best part of this macaron endeavor was the spiced apple cider caramel filling.  This is because once I cooked it to spreadable ’filling’ temperature, about 235 - 40 degrees on a candy thermometer, I took out what I needed to fill the macarons, and cooked the rest to the ’soft -medium’ ball stage..about 250-60, to make buttery soft salted caramel candies.  You can’t beat one recipe that results in cookies AND candy.  I found the recipe for the apple cider caramels HERE, but after the first batch, to test, (some of which I sent to the winner of the Fahrenehit 350 Blogiversary Giveaway, which I will get to later), I realized they were way too buttery, which is usually a good thing, but when it borders on greasy, it is NOT.  I cut down the butter on batch number two to 6 talespoons rather than 8 (cutting down butter is almost sacrilige to me), added ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and a bit of cardamom, and finally achieved what I felt was ‘just right’.  I only wish I didn’t send batch number one out to the winner, but at the time, I thought they were good - BEFORE  I noticed the butter stains all over the napkins I used to wipe my fingers after eating a few.  UGH.’

‘The Whole Pumpkin’ Macarons.  I gave them a spritz of orange spray food color for photos – so no, nothing ‘cool’ here.

Regarding the Giveaway, I was extremely flattered last month when Kitty of Fahrenheit 350° asked me to participate in her Blogiversary giveaway.  This meant baking something and sending it to the winner, along with a few other bloggers she’d chosen.   The winner, Heather of Utah (no last names here) made out like a bandit.  You should see the loot she hauled in.  You can see my spotlight HERE and the other bloggers too if you skim through the posts before and after mine.  Every day of the week, for one week, leading up to her Blogiversary, a new blogger (inlcuding lil ‘ole me) was in the spotlight along with the goodies to be sent to the winner.  Isn’t that a great idea?  Naturally, as I always do, I went overboard..wayy overboard, and started experimenting with recipes I’d never tried before.  I wanted to blow the winner away with goodies she wasn’t expecting along with the two cookies I offered up.  Well..sometimes too much of a good thing really is too much.  Always stick with the tried and true, and don’t overdo it. especially when sending your stuff to a total stranger.  Some of these new recipes didn’t turn out that great, but I didn’t realize how much so until the package was in the mail and we started to sample some.  You see..bake, cool and send IMMEDIATELY was the modus operandi, and the dough tasted great on all of them! LOL  A new lesson learned..I’m humbled.  I really hope she has a more forgiving palate than I do!

                           ‘Best Ever’ Brownies and Brown Sugar- Mint Chocolate Chip

One of the cookies I baked was a Tiramisu cookie  I got from the Domino’s Sugar site.  Domino’s Sugar sent me a $20.oo gift card for my holiday baking and wanted me to maybe try and bake something from their recipe page, or just use their sugar in my holiday baking in general.  Well, no need to ask, since I use Domino’s sugar in all of my baking, and have been doing so since I was in High School.  I’m never, ever without it..brown, dark brown, granulated, powdered etc..so, in retropsect, it was like them asking me to change my underwear each day.  Apparently this gift card was to help with ingredients for whatever cookie(s), cakes, pies etc.. I was going to bake, but the thing is..I’m NEVER without every baking essential possible.  I have everything, at all times, always on hand (until I run out, in which it’s immediately replaced), unless it’s a rare ingredient that one particular recipe calls for.  When I received this gift card, there was nothing I needed, so I bought lobsters.  Thank you for my awesome lobster dinner, Domino’s Sugar and Hilary from Domino’s Sugar!  ;D 

                                           The aforementioned Tiramisu cookies

In any event, I didn’t particularly like the cookie part of this Tiramisu cookie recipe, so I used THIS one, minus the chocolate chips and nuts, but still used the fillings from the Domino’s sugar recipe.  Some liked it, some didn’t..but isn’t that usually the case?  If we all had the same palate, eating/indulging would be pretty boring, wouldn’t it?

                 Mandel Kakor - I call them Swedish Biscotti, and Raspberry Linzer Cookies

Well, I think I covered every corner as far as my cookie baking went.  Please be sure to stop back Devemeber 27th to see my Daring Bakers Gingerbread House (HINT: it won’t be a house).  I have never, ever built one before, so you just might get some laughs.  I have less than 5 days to knock this one out and I haven’t even made the gingerbread yet.  Wish me luck, because I’ll need it!

                                      Brown Butter-Milk Chocolate Chunk Thins

Macarons
Adapted fom Helen of Tartelette

For the *Shells:
90 grams of egg white (about 3 – but do weigh them!)
30 grams of plain white granulated sugar (1/4 cup)
200 grams of icing or powdered sugar (1 1/2 cups)
110 grams of finely ground blanched almonds (1 cup + 4 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons)

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a food processor, run the nuts and powdered sugar until the nuts are finely ground. Run through a sieve if needed.

2. Whip the egg whites until foamy, slowly add the granulated sugar, until they are glossy and stiff.

3. Slowly sift in and fold the nut/sugar mixture into the whites with a wide spatula, in several increments. The mixture should remain shiny and flow easily (like lava/magma).

4. Fill a pastry bag with the batter and pipe small rounds (about 1 to 1.5 inches – an Ateco #807 tip works well for this) onto parchment lined baking sheets.

5. Let the macarons dry for anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 300F.

6. When they are dry (touch one lightly, a dry shell will have formed – but do NOT push in), bake them for 12-15 minutes.

7. Let cool, remove from the paper and fill 2 shells with filling of your choice.

* If making the Salted, Spiced Caramel Apple Macarons, add 1 tablespoon of cinnamon to the above recipe, then spirnkle piped mounds with coarse sea salt (preferably fleur de sel) and a little extra cinnamon prior to drying and baking.  If making ‘The Whole Pumpkin’ macarons, add 1 tablepsoon of pumpkin pie spice, and top with spicy, toasted baby pumpkin seeds (from a Jack Be Little Pumpkin) prior to drying and baking.

** The caramel apple filling is linked in the above entry.  Just add about 1 teaspoon cinnmaon, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg and 1/8 teaspoon of cloves to the hot caramel prior to setting.  For filling consistency, only cook the caramel to about 240 on a candy thermometer.  For the candies, follow the directions linked in the entry.

Fresh Pumpkin Filling (I kind of winged this and went by taste..so the below is just an estimation)
1 cup fresh roasted pumpkin puree.  If using canned, let drain in a colander overnight prior to making filling.
1 tabelspoon pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

DIRECTIONS:
1. Beat all of the above together until smooth.  Spoon into pastry bag and pipe onto macarons shells, then sandwich gently.

Spicy, Toasted Baby Pumpkin Seeds
The seeds from one Jack Be Little pumpkin
1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

DIRECTIONS:
1. Cut the pumpkin open and remove the seeds.  Rinse to remove all the pulp then let air dry.  Preheat oven to 250F.

2. Combine the seeds with oil and the next 6 ingredients. Spread onto a parchment lined baking sheet.

3. Spread the seeds on the prepared baking sheet in an even layer. Bake until dry, stirring occasionally, about 1hour. Let cool.

 MACARON TIPS:
1. Age the egg whites in a covered container at room temperature for 24 to 48 hours.  I sometimes age them longer..uncovering the container for the last few hours.

2.  I like to dry my tant pour tant (the almond meal-confectioner’s sugar amalgamation) prior to making macarons.  I let it sit out uncovered at room temperature the night before making them.  I get super smooth shells that way for some reason.

3.  Double baking sheets for better ‘feet’.