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!

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.)

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.

Crazy about Corkage: Bringing (Y)Our Own Wine

G is a wine enthusiast. So much so he had this cellar-cooler-thing built into a hall space in our home...

...and that's in addition to this old industrial refrigeration unit that he purchased from a restaurant supply company years ago.

We regularly drink from this collection (and obviously need to restock)...even when we go out. We purposefully look for restaurants that offer corkage. Corkage (aka BYO--bring your own) refers to the fee charged by a restaurant to serve wine that the diner has provided. It usually ranges from $15-$40 a bottle (it should be the margin on the least expensive bottle the restaurant offers).

So why bring your own wine?

Because of value. You can often drink better wine for a better price. Restaurants typically charge up to three times the wholesale cost of a bottle. (And what if they don't have a great selection?) It's really worth it; because for the cost of one of the house's mediocre wines, you could have a really nice one!

In Washington, it varies by establishment whether or not they allow corkage. I think with the exception of Montgomery County, Maryland allows corkage. Pennsylvania--Philadelphia in particular--has a whole culture around the "BYO" restaurant. And Virginia does not allow it at all. But at the Homestead (our wedding venue in Virginia) corkage is accepted (I'm not sure why--but I'm not going to look a gift horse...).

Sweet music to G's ears.

Though they have a very nice wine selection, the mark-up at the Homestead is nut-baggery. Plus, there are some bottles that we'd like that they don't offer (although if we asked, they would probably get it for us for an extra cost, bien sur). So G went out and sourced several of our favorite types/varietals to complement our reception menu.

His main rule of thumb was to find highly-rated wines within our price range ($15 to $40 per bottle). That's where the value comes in. For example, a 92-point wine for around $30 isn't too bad! Though he has had these wines before, having a 90-plus point rating serves as great validation. So he purchased cases full of each and we're storing them in his parents' basement and garage.

Along with serving our own wine, we decided to have a wine-and-beer-only bar for the cocktail hour. The resort will supply the beer and we will supply all the wine. We'll have a couple a vintage and non-vintage Champagnes (and a special bottle--probably a Grande Dame--for our table), two reds and two whites to choose from. The corkage is a reasonable $18 per bottle.

For any of you who is interested, following is a description of our choices. They are very good wines that are not outrageously expensive:

COCKTAIL HOUR (Fun, less expensive selections)

Nicolas Feuillatte Premier Cru Rose
"A distinctive rose Champagne that smells like potpourri or Christmas punch with its cinnamon and clove accents. There's depth and intensity to the berry and whole-grain bread notes, matched to a raw silk texture and vibrant structure."

92 points, Wine Spectator

2006 Pierre Andre Bourgogne Chardonnay Reserve
"This blend of wines from the Puligny and Meursault areas are aged in new oak, have a lot of fruit, is well-balanced and exhibit a stylish finish."

-from the producer-

2004 Monteviejo Festivo
"This wine is a 100% Malbec aged for 6 months in new French oak. The 2004 Festivo is dark crimson-colored with a fragrant nose of mineral, blueberry, and black cherry. Medium-bodied, it is plush on the palate with plenty of ripe, forward fruit, light tannin, and a sense of elegance."

91 points, The Wine Advocate

DINNER RECEPTION (Very good, reasonably priced selections)

2000 Piper Heidsieck Brut
"An opulent, energetic bubbly, this compelling 2000 vintage Champagne has a concentrated essence of vanilla, honey, apricot and citrus notes, with a long finish. The firm structure offsets its richness. This vintage Champagne is a blend 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay, fermented in stainless steel and put through full malolactic. It is very, very toasty and rich given its age."

93 points, Wine Spectator

2007 Melville Viognier
"Exotic fragrances of several white nuances such as peaches, apricots, currants, chocolate and oily flowers emanate from the glass. Aromatics also drift toward dried tropical fruits, fresh coconut, hazelnut oil and sake. The wine has excellent viscosity and verve ending with both weight and a minerally-driven vein. Extraordinary minerality and precision, despite its enormous power, are what sets it apart from most blowsy, loosely constructed Viogniers. It possesses copious quantities of nectarine, mango, and orange blossom aromas as well as a hint of lychee nuts, but it is the wine’s well-delineated character that is so remarkable."

94 points, Robert Parker

2003 Tudal Napa Valley Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
"Deep opaque color, elegant perfumed nose of cassis and blackberries with loads of lush berry fruit give an opulent round mouthfeel. This wine, 100% Napa Valley Cabernet, is an equal blend of four Napa Valley Vineyards. The Oak Knoll District of the lower Napa Valley provided a wine from very small yet intense berries that added a concentration of color and flavors. Grapes from a small hillside vineyard on the east side of the Valley rounds out this delightful wine with suggestions of cherries, spice and earthy aromas."

-from the producer-

2002 Penfolds Shiraz St. Henri Shiraz
"St Henri is a highly successful, alternative expression of Shiraz. It is unusual among high quality Australian red wines as it does not rely on new oak. Penfolds St Henri is rich and plush when young and gains soft, earthy, mocha-like characters as it ages. It is matured in old, 1460-litre vats that allow the wine to develop, but impart no oak character. A classic effort, the 2002 Shiraz St. Henri (91% Shiraz and 9% Cabernet Sauvignon) was aged 14 months. First introduced in 1953, the St. Henri offering is considered to be a quintessential old Southern Australian-styled red. This 2002 vintage is a stunningly rich, distinctive Shiraz that offers up scents of Provencal herbs, bay leaves, blackberries, black currants, new saddle leather, and loads of meaty characteristics. Rich, texturally opulent, and soft, this heady offering should drink well for 10-12 years."

92 points Robert Parker

Have you ever done corkage?

Fabu Food Favor: Strawberry and Vanilla Cream Macarons

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I'm so inspired by good food...and pretty pictures. Especially pretty pictures of good food. I stumbled upon this gorgeous foodie blog today. The author made strawberry and vanilla bean macarons.

The little meringue pastries were filled with a home-made strawberry pate de fruit and white chocolate & vanilla bean cream. Um...really? She just "whipped" these together for her camping trip. What? I love (read: am jealous of) amazing/talented people such as Aran!!

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Anyway, I previously mentioned my dreams of having Laduree macaron favors (they come in such cool, novel flavors!) at my wedding...if only they delivered to the U.S. But now I'm thinking, Who needs you Laduree, I have this neat recipe!

It would be really great to have some home-made food to gift...given that I'm all like, "Hey I'm a foodie, y'all. Love me." Problem is, I can't bake...So, we'll see if I'll be able to pull it off. Will try this recipe and test my skills and this cookie's shelf-life/freezablility.

(I think I need to go drink some hot cocoa and read a book to ease my giddiness now.)

Menu Tasting: Old Fashion Fare (with Tweaks)

From our rsvp card: Lamb, trout, or veggie

We're having our wedding ceremony and reception at the Homestead in Virginia. Other than being our favorite weekend retreat from the city, one major reason we love the Homestead is the food. They have a 54-page banquet menu of everything you could ever imagine from nouveau high-style to country cook-out. But ultimately, we wanted old-fashioned, simple fare.

We definitely enjoy experimental cuisine (a la Blumenthal, Keller, Dufresne); however, there is just something wonderful about unembellished food. And the Homestead (and the small establishments in the area) does country-mountain classics such as duck, lamb, venison and trout with great fidelity towards local and seasonal ingredients. It is a traditional style that certainly suits our vintage-inspired wedding.

So it was a happy (and gluttonous) weekend in February when we went down to the Homestead for tastings of BOTH our rehearsal dinner and our reception menus...within an hour of each other!!

The Rehearsal Dinner

The rehearsal dinner will be hosted by G's parents and take place at Garth Newel, a chamber music venue that is situated on the grounds of an old farm. It's a beautiful and rustic venue with a matching menu!

- Pork Tenderloin Diane (Chef Randy Wyche also added some Medeira to the classic sauce).

- Pan roasted chicken* with goat cheese and sweet Vidalia onion relish. Left on the bone with crispy skin, the meat was surprisingly flavorful and succulent. The earthiness of the relish cut the richness of the goat cheese.

- Wedding party stalwart, filet of beef. Served with a Shiraz demiglace and mushrooms. Chef indicated that in the Spring, there's a man who hunts chanterelles and brings them straight to the farm...and they'd be used instead of these (store-bought) porcinis.

- Poached salmon with beurre blanc and shrimp (to be replaced by crab when they come in season this Spring). Basic string beans adorned with salty Virginia peanuts. Surprisingly tasty. I like the local ingredients.

And the verdict...

Chicken and beef! Talk about traditional! However, I must say that the flavors on these very basic dishes were bursting...and I will probably even have the CHICKEN!!!

The Reception

After our tasting at Garth Newel, we went back to the Homestead to meet with our coordinator and Chef Todd to taste the reception dinner. (Probably not the most brilliant decision.) We knew we wanted a local menu of rustic mountain trout and Spring lamb. We just had to decide on the details of our cocktail-hour goodies along with the five course gut-buster.

Chef Todd and O'neill, our server.

Cocktail hour: Very light old-school hors d'oeuvres.

Thai curry shrimp. Unfortunately subtle on the curry, but oh well. (We have guests who may not know where Thailand is on the map anyway. Salmon mousse boats with caviar; goat cheese-stuffed artichoke hearts; and watercress sandwiches. Mini roast beef and mini Virginia ham and biscuit sandwiches. We'll nix the ham and the watercress sandwiches--to afternoon tea-like.

Dinner:

First course: I wanted to include a subtle nod to the heritage! I wasn't sure if he'd go for it, but I SENT A RECIPE TO THE CHEF to prepare a crab and asparagus soup to replace the consomme that was on our menu option. He was gracious and really tried hard...and hit a home run with it!

The second course on the menu: Basil seared sea scallops, wasabi and roasted red pepper sauce Jasmine rice in seaweed.

Palette cleanser: Champagne sorbet.

Fourth (Main) Course:

The herb and mustard crusted rack of lamb needed no tweaking. Whatever seasonal accompaniment Chef comes up with in May will be just fine (lamb will overshadow any side, anyway). For our alternative choice, we chose fresh Allegheny mountain rainbow trout. We tried two preparations: herb grilled (yawn) or pan seared with grapes, almonds and brown butter vinaigrette. We chose the latter.

But we liked the accompaniments of the former (grilled artichoke hearts)--but I also requested replacements of Jasmine rice (instead of the fingerlings) and fiddleheads (instead of the greens). He said he'd try his best--as he loves them, too. I'm thinking he either loves or hates me at this point (probably hates).

A dessert (see below) of strawberries Romanov usually follows the main course. But we like salad or cheese after dinner (I know, we're weird). Mr. R and I tussled over which to have, but ultimately chose this wonderful watercress and beet (w/ goat cheese, candied walnuts, and sweet basil dressing).
So we're nixing the dessert on the menu and will only have the cake. But since we don't looove cake, I'm seriously considering a little something like profiteroles for just the two of us. Is that terrible?

Dessert: Strawberries Romanov in chocolate shell with lady fingers (nixed). Three cakes baked for our tasting (lemon, dark chocolate-raspberry, vanilla-raspberry). We chose the first two flavors.

After all the WONDERFUL food that day, we didn't eat dinner. In fact I had to wear stretch pants for the drive home the next day. Terrible, indeed!

*G and I don't eat chicken (I know. Once again: weird.)

Let them eat...croquembouche?

G and I don't really like cake. But how can a vaguely Marie Antoinette themed wedding be without cake? We love little cake-like things like macarons (that I've talked about way too much already), but we want something different.


Croquembouche (translation: crunch in the mouth) is basically a cone-shaped pile of profiteroles. Wouldn't it be so lovely to eat this?

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We thought it over and went back and forth for about ten minutes, and decided the pile would be difficult to cut into and negotiate. We also realized secretly that we're not that cool or sophisticated (and more traditional than we thought). So we're going with cake. I found this one on theknot.com and the decoration just happens to look quite similar to the embroidery on my dress! I really like it (except for the monogram). The color is about right, too.

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Then I thought, maybe this Wedgwood-looking cake would better reflect the Laduree-inspired design that I have going on in my invitations (more on those later).

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And this weekend, when we went down to the Homestead for our menu tasting, I showed the chef the two cake images and let him decide. My only stipulations were that he choose the cake that he thinks is best, and that it should be close, not a parody or general approximation of the cake in the image. He said the Wedgwood cake looked too much like wood moulding and the negative space wasn't very nice. (Note to self: Chef doesn't like home-improvement elements on cakes.) So we're going with the aqua lace cake! Ironically, he told me to send him a paint chip so he can get the color exactly right. For the inside we chose two flavors: lemon (at the bottom for non-messy cutting)) and dark chocolate-raspberry (for the top two tiers).

That was easy.