macaroons

a box of assorted macaroons from laduree

macaroon (en.), macaron (fr.), maccarone (it.)

I fell in love with baking sometime during high school. I watched marathons of the old Food Network stars... Sarah Moulton, Ming Tsai, and (of course) Martha Stewart. I became a bit of a cookie monster, constantly baking and nibbling on all sorts of concoctions from shortbread lemon "scotty" dogs to enormous glazed sugar cookies and crunchy chocolate chip cookies with coconut... fortunately I had quite a metabolism. I still have a sweet tooth, and I make it my business to find the best sugary confections everywhere I go... which brings me to the macaroon.

The delicious little European confections have a somewhat mysterious (and confusing) history, as the definition and ingredients vary depending on locale. Most Americans are familiar with the coconut macaroon, a super-sweet and dense confection of flaked coconut commonly dipped in chocolate. In Europe (France and Italy) macaroons are almond-flavored cookies or biscuits made from almond powder and meringue. They are light and fluffy on the inside with a flaky exterior... a work of art.

According to legend, the macaroon originated in an Italian monastery and was brought to France during the French Revolution by two nuns living in asylum known as the "Macaroon Sisters" who paid for their living expenses by selling the treats. Fact or folklore, Parisians are serious about their cookies. 

For the ultimate macaroon experience Ladurée, the historic tea salon, can't be beat... The establishment at 16 rue Royale in Paris dates back to 1862 and is where Louis Ernest Laduree first conceived the ganache-filled cookie. The shop is traffic jam of hungry locals and bewildered visitors... but it's worth it. The boxes are gorgeous (famous textile designer Tricia Guild of Designers Guild just designed a new line) and the cookies are spectacular. They are the perfect souvenir if you can avoid eating them on the way home...

inside the famous Laduree

www.ladure.fr

traditional flavors: chocolate, dark chocolate, vanilla, coffee, rose petal, pistachio, salted butter caramel, cherry amaretto, raspberry, orange blossom, and liquorice

special flavors: lemon, praline, ice mint, coconut, grenadine, java pepper, indian rose, aniseed, champagne, orange-saffron, lily-of-the-valley, white amber, strawberry-poppy, gingerbread, candyfloss, havana, and muscovado

pretty packages by textile queen Tricia Guild

www.designersguild.com

go bananas

andy warhol museum

art, food, & squashed dreams

Andy Warhol is one of my great inspirations for a number of reasons, but primarily because he elevated screen printing from a commercial technique to fine art. It's a bit ironic that he himself is now a household product (you can go to your local Urban Outfitters and buy plates and coffee mugs covered in his prints). I'm not crazy about much of the Warhol memorabilia, but I do love his prints.

Some of you may know that at one point when I was in high school I fancied myself the next Martha Stewart, was constantly in the kitchen experimenting with recipes, and began writing a cookbook, which was several hundred pages when I ditched the project for more fruitful pursuits... like college.

banana bread

This banana bread was one of the first recipes in my repertoire when I began to cook. are one of those "tempting" foods that I buy and forget to eat before they start turning too brown... thus, my love for banana bread -- the browner the banana, the better. To speed up the ripening process, place the bananas in a perforated paper bag at room temperature. Thankfully, it is light in both calories and fat because I can't have just one slice. I find that the loaves are fluffier if 1/2 cup Splenda is substituted for half of the sugar. If you want extra decadence, try adding 1 cup nuts or chocolate chips.

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup butter, softened at room temperature

1 2/3 cups mashed ripe banana (from about 4 bananas)

1/4 cup low-fat milk

1/4 cup non-fat or reduced fat sour cream

2 large egg whites

2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350°F. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until butter is smooth, fluffy, and lighter in color, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl if necessary. Add banana, milk, sour cream, and egg whites. Beat well. In a separate mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring until combined. Add flour mixture to banana batter, mixing on low until just combined.  

Spoon banana batter into a greased loaf pan (or four mini-loaf pans). Bake banana bread in center of oven until tops are lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean, about 30 minutes for mini-loaves and 45-55 minutes for large loaf. Let bread cool slightly before removing from pan. Cool completely before storing.

ice cream dreams

image courtesy of  www.jenisicecreams.com

Signiture Nine $85.00

You Pick Six $70.00

Each extra pint $7.00

what says summer more than a good scoop of ice cream? 

I've been in love with ice cream for as long as I can remember, which is rather unfortunate for someone who has been lactose-intolerant since birth. I think it must have had something to do with my childhood friend Scoots who appeared to live off the gallons of "Lemon Custard" made by her family's boutique ice cream company. The basement of her house had an enormous industrial freezer that acted like a magic hat for the delicious icy confections. Sadly for us, her father sold the business to become a successful banker... 

We lived in a drought of decent ice cream until the discovery of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams. Jeni Britton, the Cincinnati-based ice cream aficionado hand crafts ice cream in small batches using only top quality ingredients while lending her own creative touch in flavor development. The result is stunning ice creams that range from traditional to outrageously inventive and tasty. I haven't come across one I dislike yet. They are the perfect WOW ending to a dinner party, a much better corporate gift than a basket of canned "gourmet" items, and a fabulous treat for any time you want to feel special. Here's just a few flavor options and suggestions:

• Queen City Cayenne: Condensed milk chocolate "Cincinnati style" with cayenne and cinnamon
• Gravel Road: Our Salty Caramel with coarsely chopped smoked almonds
• Maker's Mark Buttered Pecan: A big bourbon with toasted, buttered, and salted pecans
• Wild Berry Lavender: Cream steeped with lavender, orange zest, wild blueberries, and black currants
• Lemon and Blueberries: Fresh lemons and fresh yogurt with Jeni's handmade Ohio blueberry sauce
• Strawberry Buttermilk: The flavor of fresh strawberries and cream is highlighted by the addition of buttermilk
• Goat Cheese with a Red Cherry Compote: Fresh, slightly tart goat cheese with spiced Merello cherries