For the love of an apple

Happy Thanksgiving, friend! Indeed it was. I enjoyed today's perfectly sunny thanksgiving weather doing absolutely nothing. No wrestling and name-calling the turkey who is unwielding to my authority while I try to stuff her with tasty aromatics, no smoking up the kitchen till my eyes become teary, no blender malfunction causing liquified sage and rosemary to leave mossy patterns on my kitchen ceiling, no dousing the gravy with brandy till it causes a mini-fire inside the roasting pan, no mistakenly leaving dinner rolls to bake in the fridge and then popping them into the oven 3 hours later only to forget them again. Did I mention this was a snippet of my adventures in the kitchen on Thanksgiving day.

And what I am most thankful for on Thanksgiving day is patient friends and family who have starved the whole day in anticipation of sitting down to eat by 4'o'clock, only to find themselves waiting for another 4 hours before this singleton has set the table. Honestly, I never intend to starve them to death but no matter how early I begin preparing the meal they still find themselves devouring a turkey leg at dusk.  

 Since most of my family and friends will be in town for Christmas, I have decided to do my big holiday dinner for when we're all together.  However, I still felt compelled to use my oven to commemorate this day and since apple is my favorite fall fruit the nostalgia and some quick browsing led me to Tartelette's mom's apple cake. And it is every bit as comforting and lovely as she describes it to be. There coudln't have been a better way to finish the day......I feel so prepared to fight the crowds at the mall tomorrow where I hope to meet a suitor to accompany me to all those dinner invitations in December - the perfect knee-length boots. I should turn in now. Goodnight, friend.

Lady Macaron

DARING BAKER'S OCTOBER CHALLENGE (Re-posted)

The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.


I was elated when the host of this month's challenge decided to continue with the French theme. Still on a high from the pastry dough assignment, this singleton happily embarked on her journey from the vols au vent to the macaron. Seeing as I spent many happy hours devouring entire websites and articles on the art of making the perfect macaron I think it is only fitting that I should share some of my new-found wisdom with you:


• Firstly, a macaroon is different from a macaron. I know! Who would have thought? While many of you have developed a kinship with it's American namesake(aka the coconut macaroon), I assure you that the traditional French macaron does not contain flecks of coconut or a semblance of any ingredient from the coconut family instead the star player is ground almonds or almond meal. However, there's nothing stopping you from adding coconut to your recipe for a tropical twist.
• While the ingredients are fairly simplistic, the making of the macaron was far from elementary; which is why this next thing I'm about to tell you is perhaps the most important step towards avoiding a macaron meltdown - RATIOS! Yes its all about the ratio of the egg whites to almond meal to powdered sugar to granulated sugar. Measuring your ingredients and their ratios to each other correctly will save you many a regretful moment wondering what went wrong.
• Feet are a big thing when macaron making! If your macarons develop feet while basking in the oven, you are at the top 80th percentile towards achieving macaron perfection. So if you find yourself joyfully jumping on top of your couch, shouting victories to strangers on the street from your corner patio, or calling your sister or significant other at work whilst in the middle of their important meeting to declare that you have achieved the impossible "feat of feet", realize that you are not alone and yes it is truly a defining moment.
• Call me crazy but there is something bewitching about watching the transformation of pale translucent egg whites into resplendent and glorious meringue. For those ten minutes when my eyes were peeled to the inside of the Kitchen Aid bowl I too was transformed from a cynical twenty something to a hopeful doe-eyed two year old, utterly enchanted. Who says you can't create magic in the kitchen...sigh!
• Lastly, it is not an impossible task and although it will take you several tries it is possible to replicate this French cookie to an absolute delight.


So this past Sunday night, as much studying as I had to do for an upcoming test I couldn't wait any longer. The notes for my Fraud Examination test were replaced with meticulous notes for chocolate macarons. In light of the fact that I had engaged in extensive reading and reflection for the task at hand, I was feeling pretty confident, humming away in my kitchen as I prepared to set the stage for the actors : the pale peasant boy - Egg White, the young elusive bachelor - Mr. Almond Meal, radiant confection of sugar - Lady Casablanca, plain old faithful Mrs. Granulated Sugar, and a special guest from the U.K in all his powdered glory - Earl of Cocoa.

Baking is a science and macaron making is kitchen alchemy coming alive. As long as the actors are prepped and each knows their part, logically there should only be one ending to tonight's performance. And yet, as I piped the mixture onto the baking sheets and closed the oven door there was an air of unpredictability. The next 8 minutes were the longest as I puttered around my kitchen cleaning up and waiting for the closing act - I finally opened the oven door and there they were: Lady Macaron and her many feet!

The Evolution of the Pastry Dough

Vols-au-Vent “I’m in pastry heaven”

DARING BAKER'S SEPTEMBER CHALLENGE

The September 2009 Daring Bakers' Challenge was hosted by Steph of Whisk and a Spoon. She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan.

Pastry, for me, is reminiscent of my childhood. My earliest memory of pastry is of my Father coming home with these flaky, buttery beauties with a milk chocolate filling laying gloriously atop each other in a sea of waxpaper as I greedily peek inside the square white paper box from the Modern Bakery. And to this day I am a glutton for these French delights, never satisfied with just one. I've coveted many an eclair, palmier and danish but whenever I lock eyes with a chocolate croissant I fall head over heels in its familiar throes, like an old lover whom you've never quite forgotten. Twenty seven years running and it's still my favorite pastry...

I'd never ventured the prospect of making one from scratch until the September challenge of the Daring Baker's group was announced. The basic dough is easy to prepare and from it the many possible variations are endless. "Let your imagination run wild". While the challenge and all of the steps involved seemed daunting at first, the actual task if anything was quite cathartic. Imagine being able to pound chunks of cold yellow butter to paper thin consistency and release the frustration of a somewhat trying day only to devour layers of beautiful buttery dough that brings you tears of joy and sheer contentment. In my opinion, this is the perfect antidote to a long and difficult day.

Vols-au-Vent, as I perceive it is, crispy flaky layers of buttery cases with a sweet or savory filling. True to form, I indulged in both. For my savory filling - I prepared a version of spicy chicken mince (kheema- an Indian recipe from my Mother) draped in a mushroom and white wine sauce. It was only fitting to round out my mini darlings with some delightfully red and juicy cherry tomoatoes I had stumbled upon in the market. It was simply sublime! Onto the sweet version : a duet of creamy orange chocolate ganache and sweet, sweet strawberries nestled between layers of heavenly pastry.

I am therefore compelled to quote Marie Antoine-Careme " The fine arts are five in number, namely: painting, sculpture, poetry, music and architecture, the principal branch of the latter being pastry."

La Bella...my Bella

I stumbled upon a store during my trip to Atlantic city and was drawn to these beauties. I felt an urge to capture the moment so I would always have something to remember them by.

People often say - "His wedding vows were so beautiful it made me cry" or "I've been waiting for 9 months to see Angel and I welled up when I saw my baby girl for the first time."

This is my equivalent of those life moments.

Daring baker or Cowering fool?

I learnt to cook out of sheer necessity when I moved two continents away from where I call home to pursue higher education. At first, I only cooked to nourish myself and because the McDonald's dollar menu was missing more of those green leafys my mother insisted I have. I had a store-cupboard full of spices my sweet ma lovingly packed for me to take with me to new lands. Sadly, all I could do those first few months, was stare back and hope that the spices would magically unite to produce the aromatic chicken curry draped with the juicy onions and sweet tomatoes that I had come to enjoy back home. You could say this was my faith moment when all I was doing was looking up to the sky for an equivalent of a manna miracle, except the food would already be cooked and ready to serve at my tiny dinner table and I wouldn't have to run after quails.

Alas, I was not intended to receive that miracle instead grudginly made to start feeding myself with the fruits of my own labor. Quite literally that was all i ate those first few months after my brief affair with Mr. McDonalds and his greasy cheeseburgers.

Thus began my culinary adventure seven years ago - and when I say adventure I mean mini-fires, blaring smoke detectors, dragging a 16lb turkey across the carpet because it kept slipping off my hand, underestimating the power of one serrano pepper, and scrambled eggs swimming in turmeric powder.

Mercifully, somewhere along the way I discovered the joy of cooking for one and soon the joys of sharing the edibles with many. What started off as a tedious task had developed into a passive obsession - gluttony for all things edible, some may even call it gastronomic porn(which I consider the good kind). I can read and immerse myself in the same cookbook and not notice when dawn turns to dusk. If the food stylist has done a very good job of making me covet that sweet summery strawberry shortcake from its pages, then consider me a goner for the next hour or two.

Annie

I thought about what my first entry should be...should it reflect something about me? Shall I write about the state of world affairs? Should I start with an inspirational quote and perhaps bring an air of light-heartedness to those who are reading.
As I ponder over the topic of my first entry, my mind is being most helpful and probing me to write about world peace, summer dreams, strawberries, love. Oh wait, love you say.

Awww that's what I should write about...Love! Love a feeling like no other that changes you. It makes you break into song in the middle of a tense meeting. It conjures up imaginary butterflies although one has never seen one. It makes your knees weak when you lock eyes with your loved one. Ahh I too have been a victim of love's allure. Although I've enjoyed many lovers over my years, I've never forgotten the one that evoked the sweetest passion. Here ladies and gentleman are a list of all my greatest loves-

Dark chocolate ( this is the stuff eternal love is made up of)
Food blogs
Cook books
Smooth Jazz
Patisseries
Purses
Shoes
Oil paintings with bistro themes

Okay so not all the things I love are material- I prize compassion and have a weak heart for Little Albertines all over the world..