For my birthday this year, my family got me a lovely yellow Kitchen-Aid mixer, so I eagerly welcomed a bake challenge. First up, French Macaroons. These delicious lightweight cookies are sandwiched with swiss meringue buttercream. (They are also low in cholesterol!)
Here in SF, there are tons of bakeries carrying a wide-range of flavors from the classic pistachio to lavender & passion fruit. My favorites are Orange Blossom from La Boulange and Jasmine Tea from Paula’s. I LOVE all of the bite-sized flavors and decided to try it myself. I turned to Martha for some guidance.
You can find her recipe here. Be sure to also watch her video as well, watching the how-to definitely helps. I found the overall recipe to be a little challenging. I couldn’t seem to achieve perfect puffy little circle. Check out Sarah’s blog post here about her woo’s on the baking ordeal.
Personal tip: I had to use ‘hard peaks’ in my meringue instead of “soft” to achieve a thicker dough. Also, add lemon extract, food coloring, dutch cocoa powder and ground pistachio to change up the flavors a little. Mix and match as you please.
For Valentine’s Day this year I decided to make some cute, inexpensive sugar cookies. This specific recipe calls for a bit of lemon zest which I felt added a nice touch. Decorated with royal icing & heart-shaped sprinkles. Check out Emeril’s Recipe here.
So this past Christmas season, b/c I’ve been home a lot (due to the lack of work!) I decided to get my bake on. This year I made Ina’s Chocolate Cake for my brother, Aron’s birthday, Cranberry-Pecan loaves (courtsey of Martha), and Cream Cheese Nut cookies. I know, it happened a few weeks back, but wanted to share a quick look at the goodies below…talk about a sugar high. Yum!
Also- check out my blogger spotlight at HeyWeLikeThis. Thanks S for all the kind and encouraging words!
This year for New Year’s we had family over – our little house party if you will. On the menu – Tyler’s Pot Roast, Jacques’s Potatoes, & Rachael’s Olive Dip. The meat on the pot roast practically feel off the bones~ so yum. Topped it all off with some Pointesettas (champagne & cranberry juice!) and champagne with strawberries – it all made for a great meal. Cheers to 2009- YES WE CAN!
Thanks to Food Network and my skilled sous chef, Andy (my brother) – we made the yummiest dinner last nite! The chicken was crispy and cucumber salad was a perfect crunchy addition. We added couscous and plated it all pretty. For the recipe please click here. Yum!
A few weekends ago, during SF North Beach’s Cookie Crawl, I ventured into a heavenly creative cake shop. I Dream of Cake makes intensely detailed & whimsical cakes…so beautiful…oh and they are yummy too! Here are a few pics of my favorites from their site!
