Classic French: Macarons

 

We had been wanting to go on a picnic recently, but the weather was not cooperating.  Finally, Brian had a day off that also promised nice weather. We jumped at the chance!

As I’ve said before, picnics should be relaxing and fun, so keep it simple.*  I did want to make it a pretty picnic, so I went with a blue/white theme.  It was as easy as going through my linen closet and kitchen cabinets.  I have a lot of blue and white things, so this was no problem to put together.  I have to say it was genius of me to think of the coasters, they gave our cups a level-ish place to stand.  My 2 year old had absolutely no trouble keeping his cup upright this way. 

Since I knew that we were having our Classic French Macarons for dessert at this picnic, we decided to have something of a French picnic with a baguette, a selection of cheeses, deli ham and some gorgeous purple grapes, with lemonade to drink. Aside from the pre-chilled lemonade and macarons, everything else was picked up at the grocery store on the way to the park. Super easy prep!

Sophie enjoying her bread.

Daddy dressed Liam as a pirate, in hopes he would keep something on his head.  Great idea Dad!

Our Earl Grey Macarons!  I packed them in a small metal loaf pan and kept them chilled with the lemonade during transportation.  I didn’t have to worry too much about melting because the filling is ganache, much more stable than buttercream in the heat.

Liam kept reaching for these; he knows a good thing when he tastes it.

Delicious!

Unplugging from the world and just spending time together as a family in nature is good for you.

It brings calm and happiness.

It makes memories.

 

 

So, in keeping with my Classic French experience so far; here is my first time eating and making macarons.  I think, for my first time, they turned out pretty well.  I know they are not perfect, but they could be worse!  Anyway, they tasted fantastic, and that’s what they are for!

I followed the recipe and advice from Stella Parks of bravetart.com.  She is a macaron master, and I learned so much from her posts about macarons.  You can find her basic recipe HERE!  I adapted her recipe by adding the contents of 3 Twining’s Earl Grey tea bags (1 Tablespoon of dry tea) to the dry ingredients.  Earl Grey has such a lovely fragrance!  For the filling, I made an Earl Grey infused chocolate ganache.  This ganache is crazy good!  It was actually the basis for this whole Earl Grey macaron concept.  I first encountered Earl Grey truffles at Claude’s Chocolates in St. Augustine, Florida.  And they are amazing!  I don’t know why it has taken me so long to try this. 

Earl Grey Ganache

Ingredients:

8 ounces good quality milk chocolate chips

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoons unsalted butter (optional for normal truffles, but good for a smooth filling.)

1 Earl Grey Tea bag or 1 teaspoon of loose Earl Grey in a diffuser

Directions:

Place the chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl.  Place the cream, butter and tea in a small saucepan.  Heat on medium low to allow the cream to slowly warm and the tea to infuse it.  Allow the tea to steep for about 5 minutes after the cream is good and warm (you should gently stir it often), then turn up the heat to medium and bring the cream just barely to a boil. Remove the tea and pour the cream over the chocolate.  Stir the mixture until it is smooth and shiny.  Allow it to cool to room temperature before piping into the macarons.

A note on macarons.  Stella Parks mentions that macarons get better with age.  You just stash them in the fridge.  I have to tell you that when I first made these, I had one to test the flavor.  They were too sweet!  Not the ganache, but the shells.  So sweet I didn’t think they were very good.  But I put them in the fridge and left them for 5 days until we could have our picnic.  Something magical happened during 5 days of refrigeration.  The sweetness mellowed somehow.  They are still sweet, of course, but just right.  And the Earl Grey really shines.  So, please, send your macarons on refrigerated vacation.  It’s the right thing to do.

*My philosophy of picnics is that they should be relaxing and stress-free.  Too much work will not allow that, so that’s why I keep things simple.  If you, however, can pay someone to do all the work for you, then you can throw an elaborate picnic like the olden days. BBC Food has an excellent article on picnics, and how you can enjoy a traditional picnic.  But, no matter how you picnic, make sure it is enjoyable, and spend time with people you love. 

Thanks to Jen at Blue Kitchen Bakes for giving us the Classic French Challenge and Victoria at A Kick At The Pantry Door for hosting this month.

My Little Valentines

Yesterday was our Homeschool Support Groups Valentine's Party.  I had recently found some Meyer Lemons (love them!) and decided to use them to make the lemon bars The Food Librarian made here.  Myer lemons are a cross between a lemon and an orange.  It’s skin is thinner than a regular lemon and it has a milder, sweeter flavor too. 

I cut these smaller than The Food Librarian did.  I wanted them to fit into mini cupcake wrappers.  I just love tiny desserts:

Cute + Portion Control = Awesome!

The first thing we did at the party was decorate our bags or boxes. 

Everyone brought whatever supplies they had and we shared.

Later, after we ate, we lined the bags along the wall in the hallway. 

We got in line.

And we put a Valentine into each bag.

When that was done, we went back to our table and checked out the loot.

For the party, and many other kids we know, Liam and Sophie gave store bought Valentines.  But they also handmade a few for some family and friends.  I’ve said these are the Valentines to make people think I’ve got it all together.  Because, surely, if she has time to make those, she’s got everything else under control.  Feel free to think that if you wish. I’ll allow it.

For this cute owl, I printed the text and glued it and the body of the owl onto a 4x6 unlined notecard.  Sophie then glued the parts on.  She decided to use two patterns for each owl, which gave us several combinations.  To make the pattern, I drew the owl pattern pieces on a blank piece of paper. Then I just trimmed my scrapbook paper to fit my printer and scanned the pattern onto the backs of my scrapbook paper.  Then I cut the pieces out, (no small feat!) Sophie did a pretty good job gluing if I do say so myself.

For Liam’s Valentines, it couldn’t be more appropriate than to use the sign, “I Love You”.   To make these, just trace a hand print onto flesh colored paper, cut out and glue the middle and ring finger down.  You could fold the paper at the “knuckle” but I just let it bend slightly.  You can glue these to whatever heart shape your heart desires, but store bought paper doilies was the easiest thing for me to do.  After cutting out all those owl bits, I was ready for easy!

The kids are learning Sign Language from Pop and the Old School Sesame Street books you can find here and here. These are the same ones I had when I was a kid, and I found them used for a great price.  The kids are enjoying learning to sign.  Pop is an interpreter, so he is a great teacher!  Liam is really picking up on it and loves to sign, “I Love You.” 

Hope you are having

a lovely

Valentine’s Day!

 

The Graduate

 

This is a picture of my little sister, Rebekah.  It was taken just yesterday.  At least, that’s how it feels. 

Rebekah graduated from High School last Saturday.  She’s not a little girl anymore, she has become a beautiful young woman. {wipes tear}

After the graduation ceremony, we had a little party for her.  She deserved it, she’s worked hard to get where she is.

We are so proud!

The cake was from Costco.  YUM!

The Heritage High School colors are Red and Blue, (they are the Generals.)  We live in a very historic area, so this is quite appropriate.  It also happened to be Memorial Day weekend, so the color scheme was easy to work with.  I made these cookies using the tried and true Nigella Lawson Recipe.  I make them my own by using a thinned Wilton Royal Icing made with just an 8th teaspoon (maybe a little more) of lemon extract (before adding the rest of the liquid). You want the icing thin, but not so thin it drips right off the cookie. I dipped the tops of the cookies in the icing and then before they hardened I added the sprinkles.

The patriotic sprinkles came from Michael’s but this is the season to find them all over.

I also made these cute little brownie bites.  They are a Pampered Chef favorite.  The cream cheese icing is delish!

Michael’s also had these cute little wrappers, 99 cents for 100.  What a deal! I’m going to have to go back for more.

I used two different wrappers so you can see the design even after they are baked. If the two papers are the same brand, you can bake them in both, but I wasn’t so lucky, so I baked in the white and just added the cute ones later.

I don’t know where to find this recipe in the Pampered Chef universe, but this is how my friend Kim, a Pampered Chef Consultant showed me how to make them.

Cream Cheese Brownie Cups Makes 48 1 package (19-21 oz) fudge brownie mix (plus ingredients to make cake-like brownies) 1 4 oz package cream cheese 1/2 cup sugar 8 oz cool whip, soft from the refrigerator sprinkles, chocolate shavings, mini M&Ms optional for topping Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Spray a mini-muffin pan with cooking spray, or use mini cupcake wrappers, (what I do).  Mix brownie batter according to directions to make cake like brownies.  Use a small scoop to fill each cup 2/3 full.  It will make two pans of cups.  Bake for 14 minutes or until the edges are set. Remove from oven to a cooling rack.  Immediately press tops of brownies with Mini-Tart shaper to make indentions.  Allow to cool.  (If not using wrappers, do not leave in the pan too long or they will stick, hence why I always use wrappers so I don’t mess up!) Mix cream cheese and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer till smooth.  Fold in cool-whip.  Pipe swirls of icing onto the tops of the cups.  Top with your choice of toppings.

 

Somehow I missed taking pictures of the punch.  I’ve blogged about it before.  Here is that picture and the link to the recipe.

My sister and the other graduates were honored at church a couple weeks ago.  Each graduate had a slideshow made to play at the reception.  Here is Rebekah’s.  If you are fortunate to know my sister, go ahead and grab some tissues.  It isn’t enough we’re seeing adorable pictures of her growing up, but she sings the song that is playing too.

Enjoy!

 

We love you Geggie!

 

Forever Nigella: Diamond Jubilee

Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the throne in 1952.  This year marks her 60th year and is being celebrated with her Diamond Jubilee.  She’s the second longest reigning British monarch, just barely tailing Queen Victoria. For more information, programing and merchandise, us Yanks can turn to BBC America’s Diamond Jubilee page.

Of course, this is Forever Nigella, so we have to cook up something yummy to go with any celebration.  This month I decided to try my hand at making my own custard creams.  “What are custard creams?” You may be asking.  Just one of the most delightful little cookies you’ll ever have.  I must confess, although these were easy to make, as Nigella states in her book, Feast, I did find that mine turned out to be just a little fussy.  It may be completely my fault though.  First, I think I added too much of the liquid to the cookie mixture.  I ended up having to add more flour when it came time to roll out the dough.  It was also difficult to roll out the dough thin enough.  Next time I will be more careful with the liquid.  The second thing I had trouble with was my cookie cutter.  Using a diamond shaped cutter for this occasion was a no brainer.  My particular cutter is the kind with the closed top.  It was very difficult to use.  I will soon invest in an open designed diamond cutter.  Those two things aside, these are tasty little cookies, or biscuits as they probably should be called.  I’m so glad I tried them.

Some may think of me as an Anglophile.  I’m not sure that I am.  Yes, I enjoy certain aspects of British culture, history, cuisine, literature, pottery, etc.  But I don’t buy things just because it’s got a Union Jack on it.  Actually, I don’t think I have anything with a Union Jack on it.  So I made a little something for my Diamond Jubilee display. I’ll blog about that later.

Gracing the table is also a commemorative dish I picked up in England.  It celebrates the Queen’s Coronation in 1953.
 
I have to admit something to you.  I found this picture, (actually a postcard), of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip at Heathrow.  It reminds me of the cheesy Olan Mills pictures we all had made in the 80s.  I imagined framing this in the most gaudy gold picture frame I could find (the one it’s in now is quite tame) and displaying it in my home amongst family photos.   We would casually mention to guests that this was Aunt Liz and Uncle Phil.  I wondered how many people would recognize her without a crown, a big hat or her Corgis. 
 
By the way, we have decided to refer to this picture as Cousin Liz.  As I’ve mentioned before, Brian and the Queen may share a common ancestor in Henry of Scotland.  That would make them 24th cousins. 
I’ve a few more postcards from my collection to share with you, just for fun.



Actually, now that I think of it, there is something I have with a Union Jack on it.  It is one of my favorite pictures I took in England.  It graces the back cover of one of my travel journals.  I hope you like it as much as I do.

Awesome, right?
Forever Nigella
Forever Nigella #15 is being hosted by Nelly of Nelly’s Cupcakes. This month’s challenge is to prepare and blog any Nigella Lawson recipe that you would serve for the Diamond Jubilee.  Forever Nigella is organised by Sarah at Maison Cupcake.
So are you interested in joining the fun with Forever Nigella?  Each month is a new theme, so come and fun cooking and baking tempting treats and delicious meals. 

Forever Nigella Rules

Blog checking lines: Forever Nigella #[number] is being hosted by [name] of [blog]. This month’s challenge is to prepare and blog any Nigella Lawson recipe [describe theme]. Forever Nigella is organised by Sarah at Maison Cupcake.

1. Blog your entry by 28^th of the month showing:
a) the current Forever Nigella badge
b) a link to this announcement post
c) a link to the Forever Nigella page at Maison Cupcake: http://blog.maisoncupcake.com/forever-nigella

n.b. posts must have been published since the announcement post. Archived posts need to be re-published afresh if you wish to submit.

2. Remember copyright.
You must NOT reproduce Nigella’s recipes verbatim. Tell us which book it is from and/or link to it online. If you’ve adapted the recipe in some way i.e. changed at least two ingredients or amended the method then it’s ok to publish the a recipe in your post but you MUST write directions in your own words.

3. Submit your post Use the linky tool or email the host cc’ed to sarah AT maisoncupcake DOT com.

The Forever Nigella page shows a list of online Nigella resources, future hosts and links to past themes and round ups.

Tweet your post: #forevernigella
If you don’t have any Nigella books check out these resources online:
Nigella’s official site: http://www.nigella.com/
BBC Food: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/chefs/nigella_lawson
Channel 4 Food: http://www.channel4.com/4food/recipes/popular-chefs/nigella-lawson-recipes
UKTV Good Food Channel: http://uktv.co.uk/food/chef/aid/530864/
Food Network: http://www.foodnetwork.com/nigella-lawson/index.html
Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=Nigella+Lawson

Sophie In Wonderland: Menu

 

Our Tea Party menu was a mix of some things you would find in a traditional Afternoon Tea, and some things that you would find in an Americanized type of Tea.  For example: Pink Lemonade.

We just had to have something in little “Drink Me” bottles.  It would not have been right to skip this little nod to the movie. These tags were printed on cardstock and attached with glue dots.  It would have been a lot of work to tie these to each bottle, but the easy glue dots give the same effect when you place them at an angle.  FYI: These are Starbucks Frappuccino bottles.  These are so cute with homemade labels.  That wouldn’t work with the “Drink Me” labels, maybe next time.

At the main table, each place setting included the lemonade and a plastic tea cup.  The plate holds a small cup of Strawberry Bisque, a prepared scone and an Egg Salad Sandwich.  If we had wanted to be more authentic, the crusts would have been cut off.  Sorry.

The center of the main table held a towering display of Cream Puffs and Mini Éclairs.  Yum!

Cake stands held the cupcakes at both ends of the main table.  You shouldn’t be surprised that they are The Best Cupcakes Ever!  These are topped with blue Sixlets bought at Party City.

The buffet table held all the same treats as the kids’ table, with the sandwiches being traded for mini quiches. 

There is the tea, of course.  Oh, and there are some Easter M&Ms tucked in there too!

The center of the table showcased the little scones, “clotted cream”, strawberry jam, and lemon curd.  This allowed the adults to make their scones as they liked.

You can find the recipe for my Strawberry Bisque HERE.  It’s served in a punch bowl Nana has handed down to me.

Classic Scones This recipe was given to me by a lady in Scotland. Makes 24 2-inch Scones

Ingredients: 1 3/4 cups Self-Rising Flour 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder 3 Tablespoons sugar 4 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, cold 1 Large Egg 1/2 Teaspoon Salt 2/3 Cup Whole Milk, (You will not need all of it)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Mix flour and baking powder in a mixing bowl.  Add the cold butter and rub with fingertips until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbles.  Stir in sugar and salt. 

Break an egg into a liquid measuring cup and mix with fork, add enough milk to measure 5 ounces. (That will be just under 2/3 cup total.)

Pour egg and milk mixture into flour mixture a little at a time, mixing lightly until the dough just comes together; you may not need all of the liquid.

Gather mixture and place on a lightly floured surface, knead very gently, just until it holds it’s shape.  Flatten with palms to approximately 1/2 inch thick.

Cut into 2 inch rounds with a biscuit cutter and place on a greased baking sheet, (I use parchment.)  Lightly gather remaining dough and repeat cutting.

Brush tops with any leftover egg/milk mixture.  Bake for 10 minutes or until they are pale golden in color.  Serve immediately.

Notes:

I find the dough works better for me when it’s just a little more moist that I think it should be. I use a very gentle hand when patting it out, you don’t want to overwork the dough.  Keep the dough very cold the whole time.  If the butter starts to melt before going in the oven, the scones will flatten and spread.  If things start getting warm, place the dough in the fridge just long enough to cool things off.

Clotted Cream is a beautiful thing.  If you’ve ever had fresh clotted cream from South-West England, you know what I’m talking about.  There’s nothing like it.  Unfortunately, if I want clotted cream here in the states, I have to either buy it in a jar, (above), which is kind of expensive, or make it myself. 

I’ve yet to try making it for real.  That’s something I hope to try soon.  For the party, I used a recipe found HERE.  It uses mascarpone cheese and heavy cream.  It isn’t quite like the real thing, but it worked well enough.  I would recommend it in a pinch. (Note: I did not use the optional zest.  It seemed unnecessary to me.)

If you remember from the last post, the guests had a sweet take-home treat. 

These cookies are my favorite cut-out sugar cookies from Nigella Lawson.  They hold their shape when baked and are very reliable.  The trick for me is to take them out before I think they are done so they are still a little soft.

The icing is Wilton’s Royal Icing recipe.  I kept it thick to outline the cookie then thinned the rest with water and about 1/8 tsp. lemon extract and filled in the cookie.  I don’t know how many of these I had, I was a little addicted. 

I placed the cookies in little goodie bags, (Hobby Lobby), folded them and closed them with a little sticker.  I used Avery 3/4 inch diameter stickers stamped with a little clock face from a cool cling sticker collection from Hobby Lobby.  It kind of has this Steampunk-ish vibe going on.  I'm looking forward to using all the little stamps in the future!

Next post: How to plan an Alice party.