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!