The Macaron and I part 3...SUCCESS!!

My first few attempts at macarons were mediocre and I was utterly disappointed that I could not produce the feet which are the genuine mark of a macaron. I had ordered some almond flour and decided I needed to try again. When the package of almond flour (and trader joe's meringue cookies) arrived on my doorstep I pushed everything aside and once again plunged into another attempt. This time they were PERFECT. No cracks. Just smooth tops and beautifully ruffled feet.
I literally screamed for excitement and almost got light headed because I was moving around so frantically looking for my phone to take a picture.


Zac was at school attending a chemistry review, my landlord (who is the cutest old woman in Springville that I know) was busy with friends upstairs so naturally, the only outlet I had was instagram and my blog. If you only saw how absolutely disjointed I was these past few days because of the macaron mishaps that were haunting me. Thank goodness they worked out!!

 The changes that made the difference:

I used almond meal/flour instead of grinding my own
I used egg whites from a carton instead of separating and aging my own

I have been planning for a while now to give out macarons for christmas gifts to families in our ward and neighborhood, thank goodness they actually look like macarons now.

half way point in the oven

filled with chocolate ganache and absolutely scrumptious

25 Days of Thanksgiving

In an attempt to save some money for christmas presents and to make sure all the food that we were sent home with from Thanksgiving dinner does not go to waste, we decided that all of our meals for the next 25 days will only come  from ingredients already in our fridge or pantry and the leftovers. I portioned the turkey legs, ham slices, green beans, stuffing, and what remains of last week's groceries and what's left in my freezer and if we do it right, we should have more than enough until December 20th. We will be leaving on the 21st for Texas so this will be a perfect way to clear the fridge before the holidays.  Zac agreed to this so long as we continue going to the grocery store for chocolate milk and bread. Apart from that, innovation and substitution will be the name of the game.

The Starting list (in our fridge)

2 turkey legs,  1 turkey wing,  about 4 oz. sliced turkey breast

HAM (I don't think I can even quantify how much, lets just say I was able distribute it into 12 ample portions that I zip-locked and stashed in the freezer)

3 cups of stuffing

16 oz. gravy

2 lbs. green beans

2 lbs. sweet potatos (baked) 

1lb. oven roasted deli turkey 

1 celery bunch

1 bag of carrots

4 roma tomatos

Sage sprigs 

12 large eggs

Shredded mozzarella/mexican blend/medium cheddar cheese

6 tortillas

16 oz. lemon curd

5 lemons

16 oz. smoked Gouda

3 romaine hearts

1 can grands biscuits

Tofu 

16 oz of fresh baby spinach

...and then some other random things that aren't really worth mentioning. 

Our freezer has some other frozen veggies too...but for the most part this is what I have to work with.

Tonight we had soup. It was simple, but delish and I used some stuffing to thicken it, half a turkey wing, some shredded dark meat and the sage leaves I could salvage from the few sprigs left. We ate our soup with a cranberry and gouda grilled cheese, which could very well have been my favorite part. 

Cranberry, Turkey and Gouda Grilled Cheese 

2 slices honey whole wheat bread

cranberry relish/sauce (I only had dried cranberries so i mixed it in with the cream cheese so they would stick and not fall out)

1 slice smoked gouda cheese

1/2 teaspoon cream cheese

1 thin slice deli turkey

butter

Spread thin layer of cream cheese on one slice of bread.  Top with gouda, turkey slice and slather of cranberry relish. Top with other slice. Slather butter on one side and place this side down first on grill/pan/pannini press-- whatever you want. Butter top side. Cook until both sides are evenly browned. DEVOUR.

The Macaron and I Part 2

Recipe

3 egg whites ROOM TEMP (or 6T of egg whites if you are using ones from a box)
2/3 cup ground almonds - the finest (and by that I mean most pulverized you can find)
1 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 cup superfine sugar (although you can reduce this to 1/4 cup if you prefer a less sweeter macaron)

2-3 drops of what ever extract you desire (i used lemon and vanilla)
Food coloring (as desired)

butter/spray and confectioners sugar for baking sheet or parchment paper

*Make sure all utensils and bowls are very clean and well dried.


Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F
Spray baking sheet with cooking spray (not olive oil flavored) or rub with room temp butter and dust with confectioners sugar or line baking sheet with parchment paper

Sift ground almonds and confectioners sugar

Whip the eggs until it begins to form soft peaks.
Gradually add the superfine sugar and continue whipping until stiff peaks form.
Egg whites should be shiny once you're done. You have just made a meringue!

Fold in the sifted almond and confectioners sugar.

Add flavoring and food coloring, still folding.

Fill your pastry bags with the meringue. (I used ziploc freezer bags that I snipped at one of the ends)

pipe the meringue into desired forms. I've seen them in long shell like shapes, hearts, squares etc.
But I like the classic circle medallion shape. Simply piping evenly straight down and then quickly release, forming a very soft "kiss" shape.

Allow to rest 10-20 minutes. When your touch the surface it should have a firm shell that does not stick to your finger.

Pop in the oven for 12-15 min.

Cool. Fill (I used lemon curd I made from all the egg yolks). Sandwich. Enjoy.

The Macaron and I

If there is anything in the world of baking that scares me it is the french macaron. For the past two weeks I've read every recipe, book, and article I could find on macarons. Here is a list of some of the fascinating things I found in my research:

-Most likely invented in the 16th century by Catherine De Medici's pastry chefs.
-Popularized by two nuns that needed to make a living after becoming refugees from the French Revolution so they made these cookies out of simple ingredients without any filling. It was a hit. They were known as the "macaron sisters."
-French Pastry chef Desfontaines was the first to make a cookie sandwhich out of them at the Larudee bakery Paris.
-Macaroons are not anything like these delicate french macarons but made of coconut and were quickly adopted by Jewish bakers because these cookies are flourless and unleavened and therefore perfect during the Passover celebrations.


 Tonight, I finally faced my fears and attempted to make a batch. I've heard and seen horror stories because these babies are so hard to get right. You need patience, precision and planning which is really hard for me especially since I rarely measure, or follow a recipe to a tee. But, I went for it and I am so glad I did. There were a couple mishaps (like not being able to find ground almonds at the grocery store) but there were also some major successes (like my blender being able to pulverize 3 cups of  almonds without any problems). I methodically planned this endeavor and in the end the result was heavenly.

I have to give credit where credit is due, so thank you Eric Lanlard!!! I used his recipe for macarons from his cookbook Cake Boy. He is one of my favorites, and his recipes are always, always, always divine.

Here is a bit of a picture run through of my first macaron baking extravaganza. 

The inspiration...I've been dreaming of this image for days

Some much needed sifting of almonds and powdered sugar

Assembly of ingredients...It is actually a very simple line up

2/3 cup ground almonds, 1 cup powdered sugar, 1/2 cup superfine sugar, 3 egg whites and of course my Eric Lanlard spread

My very willing husband giving me a break from whipping the egg whites into stiff peaks

 Beautiful sheen!

Mixing in a little sunshine

Getting ready to bake these babies...the colored ones came out so much better and deformity free!

Baked and looking glorious

Filled with lemon curd, looking scrumptious and ready for tasting...(although a few tastes pre-filling took place)

All in all it was a success...they were delicious and crisp on the outside and chewy and almondy on the inside. The macarons I baked on the cookie sheet without the silipat turned out smoother on the bottom...so I will definitely do that differently next time. I also think I could have left them dry out a little longer to get some more of the air out. I have a ways to go before they will be like the mocha macarons from the Laduree Bakery, but I'm feeling a whole lot more confident about my baking skills.

I think these will be our holiday treat to share with neighbors this year (I've already started looking into peppermint cremes for the filling). 

Alas my macaron making fears were faced and I can finally say that I have made them. It was a happy, happy night indeed. 

Happy Macaroning!

Boo Bowls

Last year, Zac and I went to Color Me Mine and painted a boo bowl together and we absolutely love it. I kinda have a thing for traditions so I convinced him into making it a tradition to decorate/paint a boo bowl together every year for the halloween season. When we went to Mexico for our honey moon, I also convinced him that we should get a bowl from every place we visit...maybe someday we will find a clever way to display them all. I guess I do have an obsession for bowls.

Before it was painted (2011)

After...we tried really hard to make it look festive and spooky

The is the bowl that started it all from Mexico

This year we were super busy and never got around to making one, especially since Zac has been out of town so much for med-school interviews. While we were walking through some home decor stores in the mall on friday we saw some super cute bowls that were super cheap. We got two for less then 4 bucks so we figured it was okay to splurge a little bit and keep the tradition alive.

Here are this year's boo bowls...as you can see the designers were much more creative than we are

Our ward has an annual Halloween soup and chili party followed by trunk-or-treating. We have yet to figure out costumes but we are pretty excited to go and see all the primary kiddos dressed in theirs'.


Happy Halloween!

p.s. Zac has gotten two acceptances to med-school so far!!!

Fall trounces the diet

The first three letter of this dreadful word diet, D-I-E, have some very literal implications since death is exactly the feeling that is beginning to overcome me. I've been counting (and cutting) calories for a  month now for a health behavior change class and to be honest, I should have thought about what I was depriving myself of before signing a contract. On the bright side, I've dropped a few pounds and some of jeans that were being neglected forever are finally fitting. Zac has also joined me in this endeavor so I have managed to eliminate most sources of subtle sabotage that may occur. I only have to be meticulous about what I eat for another week so I am thrilled since fall is my absolute favorite time of the year to be in the kitchen. All the produce I crave is in season, you can have hot chocolate without sweating and best of all, baking supplies always seem to go on sale this time of year. My only complaint is that it always goes by way too fast and then winter just goes on forever... in fact, the snow that came down yesterday is beginning to worry me that fall will only last for another week or two.

Which is exactly why I've planned our meals from November 5th to December 15th already to make sure I get to try all the recipes I've been hoarding since last fall (Zac thinks it's borderline obsessive and excessive, but I just think too much of a good thing, especially food, can only be wonderful).

So my ten absolutes that the kitchen needs for the fall...

1. Butternut Squash 

Perfect roasted with onions then blended with some stock for a soup

2.Apples 

Jonathans, granny smith, pink ladies, and honey crisp are my favorite for pies and crisps

3.Broccolini (for some reason I see these more often during the fall and they are so good steamed with butter)

 4.Swiss/Rainbow Char and Kale 

The best for dropping into soups, or sauteing with garlic, balsamic vinegar and shiitake mushrooms

5.Ham hocks They aren't the nest looking things but they are absolutely packed with savory goodness and work really great in soups or stewed lentils. My grandma used them all time in stews.

 6.Lentils

Red or green, these are my go to legume in the fall to put in soups

7.Pumpkin

 Pie, mousse, soup, grilled, mashed, roasted...you name it and it is delicious

8.Leeks/scallions 

I tend to choose these over onions this time of year especially for soups...it's milder and very aromatic

9.Chicken stock

I could not make it through this season without having this on hand, it's so reassuring to walk in my pantry and see that I have about 5 gallons of chicken stock ready to use

I really like Pacific's free range low sodium, fat free stock

                                             10.Cinnamon & Nutmeg 

This is the only time of the year I ever break out the nutmeg for white sauces and gravy

Also, using really good quality cinnamon makes all the difference

Happy autumn!

Things Lately...

School is in full swing and things are pretty busy, but life couldn't be better. Lately, my activities have been surrounding organization, watching Nigellissma with Nigella Lawson (my new kitcheneering idol), and thinking of ways to keep our 11-year-old Sunday School class entertained. One of our students has developed a fondness for Zac and is over regularly to play games and eat our candy.

Zac has been to several medical school interviews, his most recent being at Baylor Medical Center in Houston. We are hoping to get in somewhere in Texas since the tuition is so much cheaper!

My caramel popcorn obsession has persisted and evolved into a caramel corn puff obsession. I always have a freezer size bag of it around and, shamefully, in my backpack.

For date night this week we went to the dollar store with 10 bucks each and went wild finding Halloween decor. We only ended up spending 13 dollars, which I think rightly fits the spooky virtue of the holiday. When we got home, we put on some Monster Mash music, sipped on hot chocolate and apple cider and decorated away. Unfortunately, we did not coordinate our decorations and ended up having a living room doused in colors that no one in their right mind would ever put together, but hey it looked very...seasonal. It was a a little hard to give up the Easter bunny sign I keep up year round since I love Easter but now our home feels festive.

Some life changing kitchen discoveries have also occurred. A few weeks ago, I walked through the condiment aisle and found a new product: Balsamic glaze. I go through phases with vinegars and usually I get stuck on one kind for a while, and this phase has lingered for a while. I've tried reducing my own balsamic vinegar before to get it sweet and syrupy but there is absolutely NO WAY of doing that without avoiding the acrid, sour, pungent smell of the reducing balsamic vinegar that haunts your house for days! This glaze was a revelation that has completely changed the way I have been making all types of sauces and dressings. It's great over miso salmon, steamed bak choy, wheat berries, pasta salads, grilled chicken, margarita pizza, and the list goes on. I am not sure if I will be able to cope if my 7 oz. bottle runs out before I can buy it again, since I told my self I would only buy it once every 2 months.

Here are some pictures from our recent happenings

 organized pantry

 Every Wednesday Fatoush Salad

 Gingerbread cupcakes with Molasses and Buttercream frosting

 The Balsamic Glaze in action

 My first canning experience...using my makeshift canning pot

This is a very a big part of our addictions...having treats on hand.

This picture wasn't exactly very recent...but I saw it today and thought what a happy picture it was...and somehow I got tons of pictures on food and hardly any of us...isn't Zac so strong! He makes it look so effortless to carry me. 

Dream Refrigerator

While on our flight back to Utah from Texas I was reading the Food Network magazine and fell in love with the industrial fridge the centerfold story showed as the hub of Jeffrey Saad's kitchen. (He was a food network star contestant and currently hosts a couple shows on the cooking channel).

It's genius really. I open my fridge at least once an hour. And when I'm trying to figure out what to make for dinner that door is usually open for a couple minutes. An article I once read said that "Opening the refrigerator door at all raises the temperature inside by about 1 degree F. Leaving the refrigerator door open for 15 seconds raises the temperature inside by 4 degrees F  and leaving it open for 30 seconds raises the temperature by 6 F... and on and on and on." Im kinda guilty of being in the 2-3 minute range of keeping the door open which is why this would be such an awesome appliance in any kitchen...The bad news? These babies are 10-15 thousand dollars a pop...so I will probably never have one but I can still dream, right? 

Lately life has been really good. Zac has gotten more interviews for medical school, we are in the last year of our undergrad degrees, the farmer's market at the LaVell Edwards stadium has opened so we are stocked with peaches and basil, Winder Farms is delivering bounteous coolers of groceries to our door on Monday mornings, my driving skills are improving, and we get to visit my parents for general conference in just three weeks!! 

Zac and I also had an awesome summer here are some highlights

 Farmer's Market basil plant for 2 bucks!

Cheesecake Factory with our cousins

Real Salt Lake game...where it poured!

Winder Farms morning deliveries :) 

Visiting in Houston for my cousin Jacob's baptism

And possibly my favorite...had fried snapper while visiting with my parents in Dallas....absolutely scrumptious.

I crave curry...

When I was considering what type of man I wanted to marry, I remember that one of my absolute unwavering desires was to find someone who was willing to be fearless with food and willing to try different types of cuisines. Thankfully, Zac's palate has been plenty stretched, especially since his mission in Vanuatu precipitated many exotic eating opportunities. I hear stories all the time about how cat tastes or how fatty bat meat is. Whenever I ask him what he misses from the foods of his mission I usually hear about how good their roasted taro was and about the coconuts. He also tells me that tin meat is so much better abroad, which I totally agree with because spam and corned beef in a can did taste a whole lot better in the Philippines than it ever has here in the States. Anyways, last night I was craving indian food. Initially I was planning on a cauliflower and potato curry, but while I was at the grocery store I decided a meatless dish would not fly with my husband very well. So I ended up making a Chicken Curry Tikka Masalsa meal and it was divine. I always thought that the term "Masala" was referring to a specific dish, but it is simply referring to a mixture of spices ground together and used as a seasoning. For my Masala I crushed coriander, cumin, and fenugreek seeds and then added the tumeric, curry, garlic and ginger. It was so good.

I have watched video upon video of how-to's for naan and I realized that I need a tandoori oven...unfortunately that wont be a possibility for a very, very long time but when that time comes, we will feast on Naan and all the other Indian delicacies that are 100% better when cooked in a tandoori.

This was my naan, still pretty good. I just used a very simple recipe and topped it with olive oil and fresh coriander.

If you have not had Indian food before, trust me it is so delicious. Most of the mixes in stores/jarred sauces are pretty good too. You will not believe how well all the spices work together.

Bon Appetit 

The makings of tomato soup

I know, I know it is almost August and it sounds a bit insane to be making soup especially since we live in a basement apartment and the ventilation is not the best, but this is so worth it. This soup is so good. Many tomato soups I've tasted are too tangy and almost have marinara sauce feels to them, but this one is rich and addicting. Zac and I are visiting his grandparents tomorrow and will be bringing them lunch. I've been thinking about tomato basil soup a lot lately so I figured this is the perfect opportunity to make the soup and to splurge on some fresh basil. We also got a loaf of bread from Kneaders (which is slowly become a favorite over Panera) so I am excited about making asiago croutons.


As for dessert, we will have to wait until the morning if it will even be edible. I planned on having a meyer lemon panna cotta, but I accidentally used the same wooden spoon I used to sweat the onions on the panna cotta base! The moment I realized I had done so I gasped so loudly Zac thought I had cut myself. I almost thought about restarting but according to Zac, he could not taste the onion so I am hoping it will be okay.


I definitely recommend this soup. The recipe is a hybrid of many, and really, really, really, works well with a grilled cheese.

Bon Appétit!

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

5 Roma tomatos (quartered, and roasted with olive oil, salt, pepper, 2 fresh thyme sprigs, and 3 gloves of crushed garlic at 400 degrees)

1/2 an onion cubed and sauteed in olive oil until sweet and translucent

2 Cups of fresh basil (very lightly packed) and roughly chopped

5 Cups HOMEMADE or low sodium chicken stock (Pacific is really good)

2 teaspoons of castor sugar

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 can whole peeled tomatos

1/3 cup heavy cream


After onions are sauteed (about 15 min), add basil, roasted tomatos, stock, and sugar. Bring to a boil and let simmer on low for 30 min. Add salt and pepper to taste. Blend until smooth with an immersion blender. I usually add the cream at this point (and you should only omit this step if you have the heart to deprive yourself of the full creamy tomato basil soup experience).

when he's away...I have churros

When you take Zac out of the picture, my life consists of food network, frozen dinners, looooong naps, unnecessary and frequent trips to the grocery store, and cleaning. I am freakishly obsessed with keeping my kitchen clean and since my husband has been out of town three times in the past month my kitchen has been deep cleaned and reorganized three times in the last month. A little crazy, I know.
This time, I branched out and actually cooked something...
Last night, as I laid in bed utterly bored out of mind I kept on thinking about the creme filled churro we had a couple days ago. While he was in Minneapolis, some coworkers introduced me to El Azteca, a beautiful Mexican restaurant in Provo. I had never been there and I was excited to expand my food experiences...The only authentic tacos I had ever had before were on the petite side so I ordered coconut shrimp tacos, carne asada tacos, al pastor tacos, carnitas, and french fries...I blame my coworkers who had been there before for neglecting to warn me that these tacos were going to be, and this is the only word I can think of to describe them,  massive. If I had 3 children and Zac were home, there would be enough food to feed us all and then some because they were that big. Anyways, as I was eating what seemed to be the largest Mexican meal of my life I caught a glimpse of the dessert menu plastered on the wall. And there it was: the creme filled churro. I am a sucker for deep fried things but nothing surpasses my love for creme filled churros. It't just not the same without the filling. I told him about my need to try to their churros the moment after I picked him up from the airport, and because he knows food is the way to my heart, we went. El Azteca's is quite delectable. You bite into the cinnamon sugar dipped cloud of deep fried donut and you literally feel like you are floating, and the creme! It oozes in your mouth and it's an explosion of silky, velvety, so-bad-for-you-but-so-good-richness. As I was in bed, my mouth was watering as I thought about those churros. So I got up and made some churros minus the creme. It was not nearly as good as what I have had before and i realized half way through making my pate a choux dough that I really should have just waited for the real thing or drove to the grocery store for a mix. But, I kept on, and every 4 inch fritter I ate was so worth the 691 calories allrecipes.com said they were worth.

So here it is my top three churro eateries:

1.Yeah, I talked about El Azteca, but as good as those churros are they are still not as good as the ones at La Churreria. It was originally Nolita's but has recently turned into La Churreria and I am dying to eat at the redone bakery. Having a churro from this place is like being on a getaway to Spain. When I went, I would get the churros for two and force who ever I was with to also get churros also in case I needed more or ran out of dipping sauce. Creme filled and dulce de leche filled were the best.

2.Dougnut Plant, also in New York. This place is dirt cheap, and amazing. Churros are only a buck fifty. A nice upgrade from Sam's or Costco's. They are simple and perfect. Super flaky, and oh my heavens the goat milk caramel sauce is unbelievable. Trust me, take someone on a date here and he or she will be hooked...not necessarily on you, but definitely the churro ;)

3. Malecon Port Churro lady...So while on our honey moon, we spent a couple days by the boardwalk in Malecon. One of those days, we indulged on some vendor food, one of which was the churro. No creme, no caramel sauce just a churro. And it was good.

Kitchen mishaps...and really good ribs.

Today started off with a trip to Walmart. I had initially planned on making enchiladas since our tortillas were drying out, but when I saw the slab of ribs on sale I could not resist. These babies looked beautiful and had a great fat to meat ratio. Thankfully, Zac did not stop me.

While Zac worked on his medical school applications all day I slaved over our memorial day meal. We had ribs, corn and sugar snap pea succotash, watermelon, rolls, and key lime pie, my favorite!
A couple mishaps arose though...
Mishap #1
I wanted to make the pie look pretty, but my pastry bag exploded on me while i was piping whip cream stars so I succumbed to the good old plop and spread method.

it went from pretty (as pretty as my extremely limited star piping skills could take me)

to major mid-pie explosion

to salvaged goodness

Mishap #2

 There were initially going to be mashed potatoes but I completely massacred those. I added some butter and cream and they were a bit on the thick side, so I thought about it and saw that I had just a little bit of milk left and I just wanted room in my fridge so i dumped it all in the potatoes thinking it would absorb it and thicken...I ended up with potato soup...so I tried salvaging it by adding potatoes I heated in the microwave...didn't work. I looked frantically for some instant mash potatoes...except as I was looking through pantry a memory flashed through my head of when I told Zac I refused to have "fake" potato flakes in my kitchen. As a last resort, I opened a box of dehydrated potato au gratin (which had to have been leftover from Zac's college food pile)...needless to say it turned into a big mess. So I made some rice instead. (And since we are poor college students, I have to figure out how I am going to use the potatoes for dinner tomorrow).

Mishap #3

Super Tart lemonade. I like zing, but my meyer lemon lemonade was over the top sour...When I reviewed the recipe i had switched the water to lemon juice ratio! So...we had ginger ale instead, and I will fix the lemonade for tomorrow.

Mishap # 4...I only put one layer of foil the my pan I baked the ribs in so it was a nightmare to clean...which is why I just threw the pan away (good thing I bought them at the dollar store).
After the craziness we had dinner and it was delicious. The ribs were so good and the sauce I used to baste them in was great, except I can't remember half the things I put in it.

Before

After

I guess you could say apart from grocery shopping all I really did for the day was cook and eat. A dangerous and common combination since I am not taking classes and it happens almost everyday.

Bon Appétit

Here some pictures from the day of cooking, and eating.

It is so worth it to make this from scratch

The secret to keeping my ribs moist