Busy Weekend: Macarons!!!!!

I finished the last batch of the macaron favors right before I left to go for our emergency dance lesson Saturday.

Yes, that's right. I'm making macarons for our wedding favors!!!! Why would a girl who is notorious for not baking decide to bake one of the most difficult pastries in the world for her favors?

Because I love them and I'm obsessed with Laduree. By now everyone knows I love macarons. And no self-identified foodie could get away with NOT making her own something for her wedding, right? Right...if she's crazy. And so it goes...

I attempted the ridiculous and actually succeeded after several tries. There are many different macaron recipes out there, but there are really only two techniques: French and Italian. Many say the Italian method is more reliable, and I suspect it is if you can get the temperature right on the sugar. But I could not, so I found more success with the French method.

Here is the recipe from Martha that I modified a little bit. I have had the most luck with this adaptation of the French method.

French Macarons

2 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar

1 1/4 cup almond flour

1/2 cup aged** egg whites (KEY STEP: Aging the eggs)

Pinch of salt 1/3 cup granulated sugar

Directions To make the macarons: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a food processor, blend the confectioner's sugar and almond flour.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip egg whites with salt on medium speed until foamy. Increase speed to high and gradually add granulated sugar.

Continue to whip until stiff glossy peaks form.

With a rubber spatula, gently fold in the confectioners' sugar mixture until completely incorporated. It should be the consistency of lava, and peaks should melt away at this point.

Add six drops of whatever food coloring you want. (I added red drops for light pink and green drops for pistachio green).

Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Trace one-inch circles two inches apart from one another. Be sure to flip the parchment over so you don't bake the pen ink or pencil carbon into the macaron!!!

Fit a pastry bag with a 3/8-inch #4 round tip, and fill with batter. Pipe 1-inch disks onto prepared baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between cookies. The batter will spread a little.

Tap the sheet against the counter to get the air bubbles out. One or two taps will do.

THIS IS KEY: Let stand at room temperature until dry, and a soft skin forms on the tops of the macarons and the shiny surface turns dull, about 30 minutes.

Bake, with the door of the oven slightly ajar (I put a wooden spoon between the door and the oven to keep it the tiniest bit open--THIS IS ANOTHER KEY STEP). Bake for about 12 minutes.

The macarons should have "feet" those little bubbly-edged things at the bottom. Remove baking sheet to a wire rack and let the macarons cool completely on the baking sheet. Gently peel off the parchment. Their tops are easily crushed, so take care when removing the macaroons from the parchment. Use immediately or store in an airtight container, refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 1 month.

I made mine in several different batches in the past couple of months and froze them.

I'm filling the macarons with ginger jam for the green and grapefruit marmelade for the pink (I looove grapefruit, and we're also serving grapefruit-flavored Italian soda as our little signature refresher at the cocktail hour). But if you want to make your own filling, the recipe is below.

Macaron Filling

To fill the macarons: Fill a pastry bag with the filling. Turn macarons so their flat bottoms face up. On half of them, pipe about 1 teaspoon filling. Sandwich these with the remaining macarons, flat-side down, pressing slightly to spread the filling to the edges. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.

I haven't filled them yet. I'm packing them frozen for the trip down to our venue and then will do them the night before and put them in these tiny Chinese take-out containers that I made labels for.

Good luck!!!! It's not at all hard once you get the hang of it!!!

Next up...last minute bachelorette party!!!!

**Aging helps concentrate the egg whites. You put them in a bowl and set them out for 24-36 hours. Be sure to use pasteurized eggs!

A Non-Shower Dinner Party: Practice for the Big Day

Our great friends, Travis and Suzi, hosted a (non)shower dinner for us at their rustic country restaurant, the Heart in Hand, Friday night.

It was so lovely!!! There were about 30 people and the fun part was that it was kind of like a neat run-up to the wedding. I gotta say, even with only 30 people, it was hard to get around to saying hello to everyone (given it was only two hours or so). To encourage mingling, Suzi scared up some name tags for all the guests...even US!

Suzi did all the flower arrangements herself.


There was a little cocktail hour before (I was late, as getting out of DC was a nightmare, as it always is on Friday nights).

Then there was dinner, which was off their group catering menu. Almost all the food is some sort of recipe from Suzi's family, including some amazing yeast rolls (that tasted like corn bread), citrus poppy vinaigrette, country filet and salmon, home-made pastries...It was all very down-home and simple.
There were speeches: Suzi recalling a fond memory of G as a child and when she and Travis first met me. G thanked our lovely hosts and wonderful guests, and kidded about the great distances many came (from the city or, in his case, fresh off a plane from Seattle where he was on business).
The lovely little restaurant, located in the historic town of Clifton, Virginia, is decorated in early American style (as Suzi collects antiques). It also houses several mementos from the couple's polo life (including this picture of them after a match they played against Prince Charles--who are these people?!).

It was a non-shower party because we didn't really register for any gifts. But some guests brought us things that they knew we'd like and collect anyway!

Antique sterling wine coaster (G has a bunch of vintage and antique silver wine accessories).


Hand-painted Chinese Porcelain (we have a lot of Chinese porcelain)...this bowl is exceptionally delicate and thin.

Gastronomic foodie gifts from Spain, via Michelle.

And Venice Biennale art festival tickets for our Italian honeymoon! (After we insisted on no gifts, our mothers said that people will want an option of giving SOMETHING, so we have a Honeyfund.com account.)

It was so sweet, fun, and we are so incredibly grateful for our family and friends!! Now we're a little more prepared to engage each of our guests.

Saying No to Prom Wedding: Prioritizing Food

I got this hilarious message from my friend, Alissa, today. She was to be married next week, but, as you'll read, she had to stop the prom wedding train. PROM WEDDING!

It reminded me of why we were so adament about having only 80 people. We want to serve good food and wine in a somewhat intimate setting where we can talk with guests. We received the last of our rsvp's today, and thankfully, it's right at our estimate. We almost had the issue of crashing and burning into a giant prom wedding circus when G's dad tried to invite all the cousins. Thankfully, that train was stopped and we won't have to serve banquet hall chicken and salmon after all.

We're not alone in wanting this. Alissa, puts it more bluntly!

"Congrats!!! I know the big day is coming soon. I know you will look fabulous--as always, but I hope you stop to take a breath and have a wonderful time. I'm sure, with you at the helm, everything will be GOOOOORGEOUS.

We actually pushed the wedding back to June 6, because, well, we changed everything in February because it was becoming a beast/monster called "The Worst". Too many people. Not what we wanted--and slowly careening into prom wedding. And I hated every minute of planning. So we cut the guest list down to the nearest and dearest of 30 heads and changed the setting from my 'rents country club in Long Island to a little Inn in Staunton, VA. More dinner party than anything else. Less stress, less fuss, more us. And more fun with the details. All local food, wine, flowers, etc. So, I went from hating the wedding to loving it. Thankfully. But either way--I'm glad there is a goddamn honeymoon en route. Where are you going?!

xoxoxoxoxo,

Your fellow bride in waiting"

Hers will definitely be a stylish, tasteful and tasty affair...

Saturday Stuff

G and I went to the gym this morning. I ran five miles (but should have done more--I'm getting married soon, you know). We went to Whole Foods, picked up a bunch of random stuff, came home, and ate a mini baguette and butter with some pressed coffee.

{It's been overcast all day, but still warm and nice and our orchids are doing well.}

Later, I wrote a thank you note to Robert for his gift of dinner at La Terrazza in Portofino. We're using these neat pen and ink Homestead notecards. But the envelopes are thin. So I created this patterned paper with our monogram to line the envelope.




This kind of crap makes me hungry. So I made some guacamole for lunch. Please don't call it "guac". You're not cool when you say gwawk like that. I digress. Making guacamole is easy. The following is not a recipe, it's just what I did. You can do it, too!

1. Coarse chopped a shallot
2. Same thing for a clove of garlic
3. Minced a small bunch of cilantro
4. Seeded and cubed a Campari tomato
5. Put everything in a bowl and mashed it with a large spoon
6. Seasoned with grey salt
7. Squeezed some lime over the whole thing



We ate it with the crumbs from the bottom of a bag of blue tortilla chips as we purchased (online) handmade cuff links for our groomsmen. Check out Gabriel Caro if you like art and craftsmanship. (If you hate those things, you probably say guac and frequent chains--but you probably have a nice bag of full-sized Tostitos in your pantry/kitchen shelf.)

Not Your Average Frenchy Wine Tasting Party: Hospices de Beaune

When we got this invitation from Tim and Francoise to their wine tasting party, we knew it would be something special. (And it wasn't cause of the fancy flyer.)

Check out their collection of the H.de.B glasses. Each year there's a different image. (We used these at the party--a good way to remember which glass belonged to whom.)

Tim has a fetish for Burgundy and has a sick (read: amazing) wine cellar chock-full of the stuff. For this event he pulled out his Hospices de Beaune. For the uninitiated (like myself), the story of the wine is as interesting as its nose.

On hand was Jeanne-Marie de Champs, a celebrity (in the Burgundy aficionado world) importer-exporter of some really quality shtuff (and Tim's primary connection--right, Tim?). Her position is defined under French law as a "negociant en chambre," meaning that, unlike brokers, she buys wines from her producers and, unlike ordinary negociants, she buys finished wines rather than lots to blend herself.

Jeanne-Marie (in ascot and glasses)

About Jeanne-Marie, Michael Franz of WineReviewOnline.com writes:

"Her manner is very light, breezy and funny, with no apparent intention to impress...But ask her a question about one of the wines, and WHAM: she answers comprehensively and in intricate detail, demonstrating a powerful mind that has sought out and mastered every little nuance about the domaine and the wine and the vintage and the growing site."

She's exceptionally knowledgeable and engaging. So when she explained Hospices, everyone was tuned in to the story:

The Hospices de Beaune or Hôtel-Dieu de Beaune, was a XVth century charitable almshouse . It received the first patient on 1 January 1452. Elderly, disabled and sick people, with orphans, women about to give birth and the destitute have all been uninterruptedly welcomed for treatment and refuge, from the Middle Ages until today.

Source

Over the centuries, the hospital expanded, joining similar establishments in the surrounding villages of Pommard, Nolay, Meursault. Many donations - farms, property, woods, works of art and, of course vineyards - were made by grateful families and generous benefactors. The institution has thus become one of the best and oldest examples of an historical, philanthropic, and wine-producing heritage, and has become linked with the economic and cultural life of Burgundy. And in November of every year, there is an important wine auction.

So there we were in Tim and Francoise's home, mingling with the likes of Jeanne-Marie. We had the vintages above as Tim explained to us the characteristics of each...

Nice shirt!

...He also quoted some fancy-pants wine connoisseur friend of his, who made the prediction that we all would guess wrong on the "mystery bottle". (Tim had decanted one of the vintages and had us figure out which it was.)

With dramatic flare that would make Yale Drama proud, Tim showcases the mystery bottle with a spotlight.

As we drank and tried to figure it out, we also savored Madame Francoise's lovely fare, including this Basque cheese:

...Some lovely Gougeres (French cheese puffs, a typical appetizer)--I ate about 20 of these:

And in the kitchen, we found Francoise herself, grilling up the WONDERFUL sausages:

They included Venison, beef and pork with merlot wine and blueberries; Wild Boar with cranberries and Shiraz; and (the best IMHO--that's "in my humble opinion" for you fogies) Smoked Duck Sausage with Apple Jack Brandy. She had a stew of onions and pear (or was it apple?) to accompany the simple but wildly flavorful meat. So smartly done!

Then we had this loooovely pear tart with almond ice cream.

There were some Hospices de Beaune whites around as well (the frumpy younger sister, if you will). But to be honest, though they were good, they were anti-climactic compared to the reds.

So did anyone guess correctly, you ask. Well in fact G did! He was the only one!!! (I'm especially proud of him because there were a lot of people from Tim's wine club there.) The "connoisseur" friend predicted that most of us would think the Volnay in the decanter (the mystery wine) to be the much younger and greener-tasting Pommard (that's what I guessed--but what do I know).

It was a wooonderful evening. As always, they did it up nice, long on authenticity and short on pretense. We learned a good deal about this area of Burgundy and had a great time mingling with Tim and Francoise's neat array of friends!

A Foodie Fest Shower: Suprisingly Nice and Humbling

I should be ashamed of myself. I had low expectations for my bridal shower. As you may know, there was a little bit of tension in the planning of it. I had felt that my BMs weren't into it, and I was over it. So this weekend when I arrived at my mom's house with my friend Michelle (to whom I protested), I was VERY surprised and seriously humbled by the huge effort everyone made on my behalf.



My mother, BM Abby, and my sister pulled together a wonderful and thoughtful event that came together beautifully. My mom cooked up a storm of Vietnamese lunch goodies. Abby made the cutest guest gifts of spatulas and cookie cutters.

And my sister coordinated the whole thing--despite being a busy lawyer commuting between Tel Aviv and New York. I chalked her harried/hapazard planning to not caring. (But seriously, if I had her schedule, a bridal shower would be the last thing on my priority list, for sure. Very perspective-giving.)

Saturday was the warmest day in Washington so far this year; it finally felt like Spring. And it certainly looked it at my mom's house. Everything was blooming, including the tulips she potted for the occasion and the ton of bouquets displayed.

Though there was not a lot of planning (my sister arrived in town the night before on Friday), the details did not betray this. My sister got everything together last minute, and used the leftover ribbon from the ring pillow to tie together the utensils. The table looked beautiful with sparkly glasses, Champagne, china, cutesy napkins. And of course Abby's colorful bouquet of guest gift spatulas added to the fun.

I asked that Vietnamese food be served for the lunch part. Because none of the (pretty international contingent of) guests was Vietnamese, I thought it would be nice to have them taste a little bit of "the homeland"! So my mom obliged with green papaya and shrimp salad, tofu and noodles, spring rolls, and shrimp chips (no those aren't pork rinds!). The most popular item (that I forgot to picture) were the summer rolls--a salad of greens, herbs and shrimp rolled in thin rice paper.

It was such a good time opening up gifts and tasting the food! We didn't do any of the usual shower games, as we apparently didn't need them! The afternoon was chock full of lively conversation that ranged from the wedding, to our significant others, children, then inevitably to travel and ethnic culture. It's funny, food has a way of bringing people together (who doesn't love food?), making them distinct (plenty of culturally diverse food gifts), as well as highlighting commonalities (my mom's yucca cakes that she made for dessert was apparently also something that Brazilian lovely, Desi, makes as well).

Everyone was sooooo creative with the gifts they brought. Since G and I did not register for any gifts, my sister specified in the invitation that people come up with something interesting and food related for "the foodie".

Garlic and garlic baker; fun condiments including Filipino banana catsup, truffle oil, pear vinegar and more; neat spices including Britannian fleur de sel and herbs de provence rub, Bhutanese lemongrass tea; Spanish smoked paprika, Russian spices, herbs Pariesian; fancy shimmering and rose petal sugars; ethnic pantry items: french oyster hot toast spread and English curry beans; fantastic jams and sweetners: Malawian honey, Brittanian caramel; pineapple chutney, sour cherry jam; a sh*tload of salt: lavender, Himalayan, fleur de sel, English sea, and French grey.

There was definitely a salt theme! I love salt! I now have a serious array of the seasoning that spans from French grey, to fleur de sel, to English sea salt, to two varieties of Himalayan pink salt.

One was the large variety rocks that comes with its own grater! I love it!

There was a ton of interesting spices to represent some of the nationalities present.

One gift of spice was particularly neat and appropos! Abby gave this lovely box of various seasonings, along with this very special spice tin. Around the world throughout history, food and spices have been given as wedding charms. In a Chinese chard box (which, unbeknownst to Abby we collect!), there were various charms including Rosemary for rememberance (a la Shakespeare); nutmeg (the German and English give this) for a sound marriage; star anise (given in China to represent all centeredness (or something like that). There were some peppercorns in there too--I'm guessing to keep things hot!

My sister gave a wonderful box of cheese from Artisanal fromagery and bistro in Manhatten. She with the help of the chef hand picked the three different cheeses, along with tomato jam for the gift box. G and I looooove cheese, especially the stinky ones!!! And this box was ripe!!!

There were other thoughtful touches, including a large goody bag from the lovely English belle, Fay! She included things from her homeland like curry beans, a pineapple chutney (that she made), the garlic and garlic baker above (we love spreading roasted garlic on bread!) and something to prep us for our Italian honeymoon: A magazine of Italian gastronomic adventures--the Cucina Italiana!




We joked about all the ethnic stereotypes including being late. We were expecting one more: Miss Cecile, who is French. The French are always fabulously late!


And she blows in an hour and a half later with fabulous gifts, including caramel (which of course contains lovely salt) from her grandmother's hometown of Brittany, a vintage Champagne, and many other things from her travels, including Bhutanese lemon grass tea and an every day favorite of oyster toast spread!

Ever the jokester, my long lost (and recently reacquainted) friend, Eileen, who had been emailing me about her diet trials, gave this bottle of lemon detox (for all the bloat that is inevitable of a high salt diet and any potentially crazy bridal weight loss frenzy)!!!

And as if all the talk and giving of food wasn't enough, we had dessert of cupcakes, tropical fruit, yucca cakes, and Jasmine green tea. It was a little east meets west; the Vietnamese usually have fruit and tea after a meal, and what modern American bride is without cupcakes!!! My sister picked up these red velvet and cream cheese frosted lovelies from Suzannes, one of the new local cupcakeries in the area!!

And after everyone left, my mother, sister and I relaxed on the couch as they opened the hostess gifts I brought: wine glasses for my sister and pinking sheers for my mother (Abby got Chinese coasters that I sent in the mail).

Later that evening, G showed up to get the debrief, some leftovers, and help me pack the car with all the goodies!

It was a fabulous time with so much genuine love and kindness, that I have a renewed sense of gratefulness for my friends and family.