To macaroon or not to macaroon?

As I sit and wait for my macaroons to set I write this post. As I mentioned last week I tried my hands at macaroons and turned up empty. This week I tried again and they look better. I am using a different recipe and I think it is better. Not perfect but I am feeling good about them. They still are not perfect but they are like 90% better than my first run.

Thick goop consistency 

I start with the meringue which is a funny thing to make, I have learned it is the perfect balance between stiff peaks and just peaks. But a tip I learned was if you can flip the bowl and the peaks not only stay but don't fall on your head you are there. If you over whip a meringue then that's bad too. Unfortunately no one has ever found the perfect way to know, like a time or temperature like other things but just sheer knowledge of your own ability. So I whisked away, as I did this I got all my other ingredients ready.

waiting and setting

I lined up the almond flour and powdered sugar. Tip; sift both these ingredients and if you have the fortitude and a bigger sifter than me once you combine them, sift again. I got the food coloring I wanted and the trays ready and set up. I had the sugar syrup ready and rested for once my meringue set. Once I got the right peak I poured the syrup in and kept whipping away. Once that was done I added the remaining egg whites to the dry ingredients. Last time I just whipped all the egg whites and then added the dry ingredients, and I think this was one of many steps that works better. Once the dry ingredients looked like goop I added a tablespoon of meringue. This is to make it a little less thick. (Most people say it should be the consistency of lava, it reminds me of melted marshmallows without the rice crispy.)

in the oven

I then folded in the meringue all at once. You want to make a figure eight. This will fold in the meringue and not over mix it making it runny. You want it to keep the thick consistency as much as possible, so don't over fold it. Then just scoop it into a piping bag and make one inch rounds. Make sure you don't make them to big, like all cookies they expand as you can see from the picture above some are touching. This is definitely something you don't want. I have a macaroon mat that has the rounds already sized out if you don't have that just put parchment paper on a cookie sheet and do your best. After pulling the macaroons out of the oven its odd but the ones on the mat were a little hollow. (Not sure if its the mat or it needed more time to set?) Then the fun part, bang the tray to get all the air out. By this point you will be where I am now. Waiting; waiting for them to harden, waiting for them to get a film on top, waiting to see if you messed one of the steps up, waiting and waiting some more. At this point I cleaned up, trying to keep busy. I did the dishes and wiped down the counters.

Once they were done cooking I pulled them out and let them sit. Again with the waiting. If you can see in the picture below these little guys have feet. Feet are the little bubbles on the bottom of the cookie. You don't want bubbles in the cookie, hence the banging but bubbles on the bottom are a good thing. While I was waiting I made the filling. I was going to put jam in the middle but then I opened the jar and it looks like it was making out with peanut butter. I forgot that we make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with the same knife. So I put the lid on and peeled a banana. I never would think a banana mixed in powdered sugar and butter could taste good but it did so that turned into my filling.

they have feet

I have been looking up macaroons for two weeks now trying to get a good recipe. I am using Merry Berry's recipe, I'm addicted to the great British bake off. They say these little cookies are one of the hardest to make. As this is my second try and I'm still unsure if they have turned out I would agree. What I did learn is the Italians have a macaroon that is made of coconut it looks nothing like these little French cookies. If you don't believe me google it. Which is interesting to me since these little guys are everywhere. There is a macaroon shop not twenty minutes from my house and I never knew that there was an Italian version. Since I am Italian I try to make things from my heritage but macaroons were never in our house, we ate sfingy (yes that is how it is spelled). So when my uncle married a French woman that is when macaroons came into my life. That is why the French style is the one I am trying to make. So if you are ever in the mood to eat a macaroon and you don't have all day I would say go out and buy one. Though I do have a confession this will be the first one I have ever eaten.

I'm not saying I will never make them again they are definitely less scary now that I have an end product I liked but they will not be the first cookie I jump to. Next week I am not sure what I will make but I think I will try something a little less time intensive (started at 3:30 and ended at 9).

Birthday week quiche

This week has been so weird. I wrote a whole post on Wednesday and then I proceeded to erase it. Due to the fact that when I re read it, it was non sense. I mean complete randomness. I don't know why I thought it was so amazing. I had thought of the whole post late at night on Tuesday and found out one thing, ALWAYS re read what you write when you have an idea late at night. I'm telling you I could give any stream of consciousness writer a run for their money when it comes to my brain late at night. So all week I have been trying to think of what to do. Want to hear what I came up with? This has been my kitchen this week: Wednesday macaroons (bust), Friday donuts(good but not light enough more cake then donut), Friday also another Bundt (good but already written about a few weeks ago), and then I made it, Saturday a quiche.




It is Anthony's birthday this week and in our house we do a birthday week tradition. The whole week leading up to a birthday the birthday person gets spoiled. Growing up the spoiling meant not having to do chores, (i.e. siblings had to do them for you, it was always the best week of my life). Well Anthony was an only child and he did not have a birthday week tradition. Even if he did, the forcing chores on your siblings is the best part. So once we got married this tradition was one he was happy to adopt. We have turned it into our own tradition, the other person has to do all the cleaning for the week. Plus every day the birthday person gets a little present, Anthony got his favorite cereal one day.

With this in mind I decided to do something different for Saturday morning brunch. Saturday morning brunch is one of the only meals Anthony and I have together that we don't, one have to rush through and two aren't eating at midnight since that's when he gets home from work. This morning I got up and made a quiche. No I did not get up early, this is not an all day thing. Most people stray away from pies of any sort because they think it will take forever. I can assure you pie crust is so easy to make and it doesn't take long at all. A few tips; make sure to take a fork and give the crust a few stabs once you have put it in the tin. This will make it not rise during the bake. Also don't over kneed it or it wont be fun to eat, you want it nice and flaky.

I started with a savory crust which is not only quick but has all of four ingredients one being water. There are many types of pie crust. In the end you need to know one thing, savory and sweet. If you are making a quiche or any type of non dessert pie use savory. If you are making a dessert pie use sweet. A main difference is there is no sugar in a savory pie crust. I added shredded cheese so it was kind of like a cheese biscuit crust. I wrapped the dough and put it in the fridge. You should always chill your dough it makes the ingredients hold its form (the butter mostly, you want it to stay nice and cold) and then it doesn't stick to your rolling pin. You only have to chill your dough for 30 minutes. This is the perfect amount of time to assemble your filling.


I then opened my fridge and added pretty much everything that was in our fridge. Saturday is clean out the fridge day in our house, this means either eating left overs or throwing out food. I don't like throwing out food but it has to be done. When was the last time you went through your fridge? Maybe you are better at it then I am. Well either way this is what I found, eggs,  tri-tip which I julienned, then some seasoning and minced garlic. I had forced Anthony to buy carrot sticks for his hummus (he eats hummus like its going out of style) since he doesn't eat veggies, I figured carrots goes with hummus it would be better than chips even if they are pita. Which go figure he didn't eat the carrots. Just like he was a little kid I cut the carrot sticks up small and hid them in the quiche. Then I sliced up some tomato real thin and layered it on the top. Added a little sea salt and popped it in the oven. After about an hour it was ready to be eaten.

I pulled it out and let it cool. While it cooled I got some yogurt out of the fridge and added some fresh raspberry's on top. Making it like a little cake. Also trying to get him to eat some healthy options. Like every husband he will eat anything I put in front of him which is a bonus. This meal was a hit, he loved it, he got a second slice. I was so excited it was a perfect brunch. Next week maybe I'll try one of the flops I encountered earlier this week. Until then take a look at your fridge and see what you can whip up without having to go to the grocery store.

When in Rome...

Well, I'm all caked out. Is it just me or are you caked out also. There is so many types and styles and yet when you get down to the nuts and berries it's still just cake. So this week I'm onto something else. I decided I would make dinner food not just dessert. They say you can make pasta with simple flour but if you have your hands on semolina flour then you should do fifty, fifty. So I did one cup normal flour and one cup semolina flour.

I tried my hand at pasta. For being Italian I can't believe I hadn't tried this earlier. I even decided to be a little bold and tried to infuse it with spinach. Which means I added spinach puree to instead of that third egg. I love pasta and as I write this the pasta is chilling in my fridge. So know I have to wait in anticipation for two things, one that I did it right and when I put it through the pasta maker it actually makes pasta, the second thing is I really hope it taste good. Have you ever made something and were really excited to eat it then you take that first bite and it's not good? I know I have. It makes me so nervous every time I make something new that it will turn out horrible. Not to say this happens often but anyone that does something for a living has their moments of, "I could have done that better." So I have ten more minutes to find out if my pasta will become food.

Well, I rolled out the pasta... It did not work the first time around. As you can see the picture on the left, I just kind of pushed the dough through the machine like everyone says and it did not work. So I tried to roll it out which is what your supposed to do if you don't have a pasta press. Once I got it thin enough to not have to shove a big ball through a machine it worked so much better, hence the picture on the right. Once I got the dough thin enough I cut it in half and began to fill it. The filling was ricotta, fresh basil, mozzarella, and some seasoning. Then you have to brush around the filling with an egg wash so the top layer will stick. Then I smooched the two doughs together with my fingers. Apparently air is bad inside the ravioli don't ask me why that's just what all the pasta people say. Then you cut it out with either a pasta cutter or a knife would work. Thanks to my boss leaving before me on Friday I snagged the pasta cutter since I didn't have one and work did. No, I didn't steal it I will return it next time I'm in. Boss if you'r reading this thanks.

Not going to lie I ate the first batch and they weren't bad. Not to say they are the best I had but for the first try I liked it a lot. After I ate I tried my hand at the other types of pasta the machine would make. Can I just say after I tried all the types I think ravioli is the easiest type of pasta. Which is a surprise to me I would have thought that it would be hard. It is always more expensive when you eat out I guess we now know that is because of the filling not the actual pasta its self. Right now I have fettuccini and angle hair hanging in my kitchen drying. Hopefully I don't have to cook it all tonight. The ravioli you have to at least par bake or the two pieces will get mushy and separate. The others I am assuming you can hang until dry and then just store. I guess we will find out, Ill let you know if thats not the case. Though if it's not and you decide to make pasta invite people over or you will have way to much.

After my new experience I have a few things to come away with. One the spinach infusion was a good idea and worked out well. Two homemade pasta is very time consuming I think it would be faster if you found an Italian who either lives in Italy or knows someone that does. Then pay them to fly fresh pasta in. Plus bonus you can say, "I got my pasta in Italy." Finally the third thing I learned is unless I am planning a special dinner this fresh pasta will not happen. The idea of eating fresh pasta all the time is cool but not spend all Saturday afternoon in my kitchen cool. This brings me to the fact that I will not be on a pasta kick still next week.

I am not sure if I will get back to my cake kick. I guess you will have to come back next week and find out what I'm cooking up. Haha that was a play on words I didn't even mean to happen. My husband thinks I should move onto pie. Meat pie specifically, I think he is hinting at the fact that he wants dinner food. We tend to only have dessert in our fridge. So for all of you I would say you should try making your pasta from scratch. You should always try something at least once.

Bundt

 I told you I was on a British kick last week well it has not been fully kicked I guess. This week all I have wanted to eat or cook is cake. You would think I would be sick of it but who is ever sick of cake. I tried eating real food a few nights ago for dinner instead of cake and you know what, I was sad after, it just wasn't cake.Last night I decided to make a Bundt cake, I hadn't made one since I was in high school(almost 10 years gulp). The bundt cake originally came from Europe. Unlike other cake pans the bunt has a hole in the middle (for my movie lovers you can all remember My Big Fat Greek Wedding bundt exchange) this hole or "chimney"is there specifically so that more of the batter is touching the pan. Not only the outside rim of the batter but the middle as well. This helps the cake cook more evenly and even quicker than other cakes. I was so nervous that the cake would get stuck in the pan. It is known to do that. Also when I put the batter in the cake pan it filled all the way to the top. Which I knew was not good.

I put the cake in the oven and sat down. I literally sat on my kitchen floor watching the cake. When you fill a cake pan you tend to only fill it half way since it will expand. Mine started at the brim before I even cooked it. I knew it was going to expand but I didn't know how much and I was so scared it was going to go all over my oven. So I did what any logical human would do I sat and watched it slowly get higher and higher. By the time it was done there was no longer a hole in the middle the dough had fallen in and made its own little cake. It looked like the worlds largest muffin. You couldn't even see the hole in the middle it got eaten by the batter. Which defeats the whole purpose of a bundt cake, as we just learned.

It felt like I was sitting shiva for my cake. I was just sitting and watching it get higher and higher. Mourning the moment that it would fall down the side and die. Or I had put so much and it would have to bake forever I would have to leave it in the oven for days to bake all the way through and during that time the top would burn. Finally, after an hour of baking it was finally done (I did leave my kitchen floor during the hour and would return to it periodically). It had expanded only about an inch or two which was amazing all in itself. It didn't even fall off the sides and onto my oven. It just sat their like a giant mushroom. Nicely browned and beautiful. 

After I let it cool a little I did a little trick. I took a long carving knife and found the top of the pan and just sliced the excess off in one fail swoop. It went from being way to much cake to the perfect size of cake. Plus it made it flat again so it didn't look like it had a muffin top. When you do this it's easier if you do it in the pan so then you can use the top of the pan as a guide. Just rest the knife on top and slice. I then put a plate on bottom and flipped. It slid right out, what a relief that was. You have to make sure with a bunt even more than any other type of cake pan to fully grease it. If you use cooking spray or butter and flour. With all the ridges of the bunt cake there is so many more places the dough can stick. 

In the end I was so proud of it. Not only did it come out of the pan nice and easy it taste so good. You may ask, "How would you know what it taste like you didn't slice it?" Well, since I cut the top off I got to eat my cake without actually eating into my cake. Which is a nice bonus for me. 

Now onto what type of cake this is. This is an apple pecan cake. It then has a cream cheese filling that is the lightly browned part of the cake you can see in the picture above. I then made a praline glaze and added some more pecans to the top. A few things about this particular cake, I used a recipe as a guide but I did substitute bananas for the oil. I am not a fan of oil in my cake. When it comes to substitutions they are out their just make sure you get the measurements right. Sometimes just because it calls for one cup of something doesn't mean you need one cup for the substitution. I would say to always double check. Also the praline glaze was supposed to be praline frosting. When I made it, it would not thicken so I tasted it and it still tasted good. So I decided to call it a glaze and go with it. Sometimes you can make mess ups work but never feel obligated to toss something and start again if it taste good. My advice just re-name it, you made it you can call it what ever you want.


As for this cake it was eaten by my co-workers. Next week I will try and make something that isn't cake. I am sure my husband will be glad for that as well. Remember when you cook it's your food so you get to make the calls. Even if you are using a recipe feel free to change, or add when you want. As long as you like the end result. As I like to say, it's Friday and Friday is cake day.