0 quelle désastre MACARONS!

SOS! EMI...911?

Calling Dr. Jill (of Mad About Macarons)

OK So I DID IT!

Yes, I tried to make macarons this morning enfin. After consulting an insane number of books in THREE languages and being up till 1 AM checking again every internet recipe bla bla bla

And I have an insane amount of equipment some of which I kept losing in the process.

Like I lost this special scaper I bought with Dr. Jill in Paris at Mora. Go figure?

Somehow I managed to measure out the 90 grams of egg whites on my new metric scale (which I haven't figured out yet - never mind). I even had a few squiggles of yolk mixed in - it didn't seem to hurt a bit. Who knew?

PS - I did NOT age my egg whites for 16 days on the kitchen counter but instead nuked em for 20 seconds - I think it worked fine - qui sait?

I got the almond flour from Amazon - 5 POUNDS of it! So this is an ongoing process till I figure these %$#@ macarons out.

Dr. Jill says to beat the Hell out of the egg whites...hmmm
Practice makes perfect - not there yet.
The 'Macaronage' - the dreaded infernal mixing of the egg whites and almond flour etc. was a bitch. Getting the stuff into the pastry bag was an even bigger bitch.
Sorry PBers. This post is 'R' rated.

My little babies did not come out so nice - c'est la vie

But they did form the appropriate skin on them to the touch after 30 minutes.

The Doc said it's all about knowing YOUR oven and to get an oven thermometer - I did as I was told.

LOOK!

I got 'FEET'!

kind of.

Malheureusement I did not cook them long enough.

And I used 'Superfine' sugar instead of the required GRANULATED.I don't want to think about the mess I made of the macaronage :(

MAD MAC meets Sad Sack.

Still I am NOT discouraged dear PBers.

Ever onward into the breach!I will be tackling chocolate macarons as soon as I post this.

Pray that there is some improvement dear friends.

Besides I have FIVE POUNDS of Almond Flour to get through.

My ganache mess.

They say you must be organized to make macarons...hmmm

I will say even though I failed with flying colors it was A LOT OF FUN!

BONJOUR QUELLE desastre MACARONS!

0 Painted Wedding Invitations

If someone sends you a gorgeous invitation to an even more gorgeous wedding in the Loire Vallee at a wine chateau, do you think you should paint on the envelope? Say the entire invitation is on FAB French watercolor paper? Could you resist? Particularly if you can't attend the wedding (this weekend) as you're off to a watercolor workshop in Maine with your guru, David Dewey. I'm kind of partial to my painted version of this invite - what do YOU think?

Granted the bride, D. wouldn't have been too thrilled with sketches of David McCullough inside her wedding invite.

I did do some artwork for D. of the church she's getting hitched in.

Not nearly as much fun as my version - her RSVP note.

What do YOU think?

So why all this crazy splashing of paint hither and thither on fancy wedding invitations?

Over the holiday I ordered these terrific giant Windsor and Newton watercolor pans. If you want to get some, I rec Jerry's Artarama for speedy delivery - they're not that pricy considering the quantity of paint (2 1/2" and 13x more paint than your average half pan).

My cousin Bill of Postcards From Philly sent me this terrific foldup water container that does NOT spill over easily made by Princeton Art and Brush Co. If you paint on the floor as I do, regular glass jars just beg to be toppled over = quelle disastre!

If you'd like your wedding invites painted madly let me know.

BONJOUR Painted Wedding Invitations!

0 WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - A SATURDAY SAUNTER

0 The Greater Journey:Americans in Paris

Reading The Greater Journey is a lot easier than drawing David McCullough off a Charlie Rose interview, but don't let that stop you from reading the book!

I've been longing to get my hands on a copy of The Greater Journey:Americans in Paris by David McCullough this summer...
When it arrived (Thanks to Simon & Schuster) I was a bit overwhelmed by the size and scale of 'Journey'. This was not a book I could take on the subway. Then Penelope Rowland of Paris Was Ours, said she'd heard terrific things about a reading of the first chapter last summer and I plunged in.
In fact I bought the audio version read by Edward Herrmann. It's been playing non-stop, perfect for both subway and Maine next week.

McCullough fools you a bit by beginning with a managable cast of characters on the first few pages: James Fenimore Cooper, Samuel Morse, Charles Sumner, Emma Willard, Oliver Wendel Holmes, John Singer Sargent, Mary Cassat, as they charge off in the 1830's for their first taste of Paris.

He even takes you with them on the boatride over. You're drawn intimately into their lives via diary entries, conversations, quotes and anacdotes - who they met, where, when, even what they ate, what they read... They certainly read the Galignani 'Messenger' put out by Paris' first English bookstore, morning and evening editions. These adventurous Americans ate at Le Vefour in the Palais Royal gardens..

'The French seemed to take every meal in public, even breakfast, and whenever dining, showed not the slightest sign of hurry or impatience. It was as if they had nothing else to do but sit and chatter and savor what seemed to Americans absurdly small portions. Or sip their wine ever so slowly..'

Well that hasn't changed has it?

'There are few things bought with money that are more delightful than a French breakfast. If you take it in your room, it appears in the shape of two small vessels, one of coffee and one of hot milk, two kinds of bread, with a thin, printed slice of butter, and one or two of some thirty dishes from which you can choose, the latter flavored exquisitely enough to make one wish to be always at breakfast..."

'But then Paris was a continuing lesson in the enjoyment to be found in such simple unhurried occupations as a walk in a garden or watching children at play or just sitting observing the human cavalcade. One learned to take time to savor life, much as one took time to savor a good meal or a glass of wine. The French called it "l'"entente de la vie,' the harmony of life.'

I could quote endlessly from The Greater Journey...

But walk they did more often than not, and were amazed by the thousands of Parisians doing the same...

I've yet to read a better description of Baron Haussmann's architectual creation of Paris as we know it today.

McCullough weaves a rich tapestry with an ever mushrooming cast of characters, yet you're completely enthralled. He's a great story teller. You really care about these people. And so many of their experiences of Paris are ours even today.
Don't miss the video on the Amazon page.

He wanted to create a 'guidebook' that would answer his questions about these Americans in Paris, what they brought back and how it changed the US. It does not disappoint.

BONJOUR THE GREATER JOURNEY!

0 FaceBook Contest Winners!

Dear PBers,

YOU are the GREATEST!!

Thank you for all yr support & FAB Facebook suggestions.

I followed yr advice and consulted with Culinary Librarian yesterday.

Even my Metro horoscope said I should TEAM UP with CL!

Prize watercolor #1 goes to Culinary Librarian who deserves an Oscar and more for setting up my FB page. She's grown up with computers so I just sat back while CL created a FB page -miracles can happen. *Please do read her tales of Paris macarons. Simply FAB. Also her macaron photos on her FB page will have you salivating. Please LIKE her too.

It wasn't easy choosing winners.

You PBers are way too smart.

The Jean-Paul Hevin 'vintage' stuff goes to Sarah W. who wrote a lot (size counts).

The macaron guide goes to:

Elizabeth Sayat

merci Elizabeth

Wabbit wins the Pierre Herme jour du Macarons guide.

Merci Wabbit!

The Pierre Herme 'vintage' macaron guide goes to:

Marie (who is in EGYPT!)

Why did some of you comment as anonymous / unknown when you are so brill? All PRIZE WINNERS please email me yr addresses so I can send you your prizes. And PLEASE LIKE me (it's in the sidebar) dearest PBers now that I have this %$#@ FB page up and running.

BIG MERCI to all of you and BONJOUR FaceBook!