Tag Archives: cookbook

Macaron madness!

24 Jan


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I love, love, love French macarons. The vibrant colors together with endless flavor combinations create the perfect little bite of sweet happiness.  I picked up Jill Colonna’s book a while back and recently tried out some of her recipes. I got a bit carried away.  Making these snack-sized little treats really was a lot of fun.  I have tried the Italian method of making the batter as well as the French, and I think I like Jill’s take on the French method better.

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I found this “cheater” macaron tray online and decided to give it a whirl alongside my effort at making them the traditional way.  Know the saying, cheaters never prosper?  Well, cheaters never make decent-looking macaron  shells either.  What a mess!  I can’t show what they looked like because what did cook properly was quickly picked over my the kids and company, so at least the flavor was a success.

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Piping the 1 1/2 ” shells onto a tray with any semblance of consistency was the biggest challenge of all.   After a few botched batches, I turned out a tray or two that looked pretty decent.

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Anyone passing near the oven had no choice but to stop and watch through the glass as the macarons formed their trademark pieds.  

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Success!  Time to make a chocolate ganache that will bring these lovelies together.

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Now that’s my kind of take-out!  I also made a pink with lemon filling and green with pistachio filling.  Interestingly, the colors of the uncooked batter were much brighter than the resulting shells.  That’s an easy problem to fix, though.

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I couldn’t resist having a little fun with my new lens before packaging up these cuties to share with friends.  Do you have any favorite French dishes you would like to learn to make?   Share them in the comments section below.

 

One last thing: I confess, I’m just not the new year resolutions type.  If I need to adjust something during the year, I adjust it, which explains why three weeks into the new year, I am making an adjustment here.  You see, I really love to cook, so much so that my list to Santa consisted of pretty much all kitchen stuff, plus a new macro lens for my Canon.  I went through a “perfect presentation” phase (so done with that) and now I simply want food to look good and taste delicious.  Starting today, I am adding more French food pics/recipes to the story and I hope you enjoy the change.  Bon appétit!

Lovin’ the Cowgirl Chef cookbook

6 Jun CowgirlChef_cover

My friend, Maria, from my Paris cooking class recently turned me on to the website Cowgirl Chef, written by Texan-turned-Paris-resident , Ellise Pierce.  It is a witty, smartly-written blog about her coming to terms with living in Paris and how French takes on some home-town favorites helped ease that homesick feeling.  Her food became so popular with expats in Paris, she started a catering business which led to cooking classes which led to her new cookbook, Cowgirl Chef: Texas Cooking with a French Accent.  This Texan is lovin’ the stories as much as the recipes!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recipes include such French classics as Provençal fish stew and courgettes farcies/stuffed zucchini, plus some “cowgirl way” dishes like roasted ratatouille in which she, well, roasts the chunky cut veggies before assembling the final dish; a zucchini-cilantro soup where she uses stock instead of cream plus lots of cilantro and tops it with roasted tomatoes and goat cheese.

She also gives flat-out Southern dishes a new French identity like the jalapeño pimento cheese tartine, a recipe that takes me back to my childhood, and some straight-up tex-mex dishes like fish tacos and tacos al pastor get the nod.   She finishes up with guacamole and pico de gallo, Texas chili (no beans, thank you very much) and chorizo.  What’s a Texan, or American for that matter, not going to love about these dishes?  This would make a super gift for any ex-pat friend missing the flavors of home.

With her folksy style and her home-grown attitude (read the rant about French vs Texas beef), this cookbook is a joy to read as well as cook from.  She is on a book tour throughout summer and I just signed up for a cooking class/book signing at the Central Market store in Fort Worth in July!  I’m such a lucky gal.

 

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