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Showing posts with label FlowerSchool NY. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FlowerSchool NY. Show all posts
Friday, May 20, 2011
When I devoured this little passion fruit tartelette from Financier Pastries at FlowerSchool NY a few weeks ago, who knew...
Laduree Petit Fours, art at Etsy, 9" x 11"
I spent this week grappling with a Tuna fish sandwich and even more Parisien petit fours? C'est la vie...
Most people waltz into Champs-Elysees Laduree and head straight for the macaron counter. They completely miss the tray of mini petit fours by the cash register, but not me/mais pas moi. 
What better way to taste a little bite of everything inhouse Laduree for less calories (like who's counting) and less dough? 
These are not those horrid little sugary squares of iced yellow cake we know too well and hate, but mini tastes of framboise and religieuse bite-sized... 
I made this astonishing discovery my last morning in Paris. I raced to Laduree and then raced home to shoot different setups of these sweet minis.... 
Naturelement I had to eat them up before racing off to catch the plane, but they were mostly fruity anyway. *Try not to race around too much when you're bringing these babies home or they'll show serious wear and tear. They ARE delicate.
Most patisseries have these mini delights like Dalloyau. And they don't cost too much - 10 Laduree petit fours for about 13 euros. 
Fauchon and Gerard Mulot have them too... 
Yellow Bird is very fond of the mini Baba au rhume petit four... 
BEAR is not so picky and will happily settle for the whole plateBONJOUR PETIT FOUR EUPHORIA!
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Paris Laduree Tea, art on Etsy, 9" x 11"
Last Thursday I was invited to attend an evening class at FlowerSchool New York in Tudor City.
Meredith Waga-Perez of Belle Fleur was going to show us how to make Spring flower bouquets for special events.
I was stuck on a delayed train so Meredith kindly took apart her demo bouquet for me to work with. OH Meredith why did you do that?!
Meredith demonstrates how to design a bouquet in your hand.
First I take my flowers...
And separate them like ingredients in a recipe...
Designing a bouquet in your hand is quite a challange. Your brightest flower is the center. Then you circle outwards directionally, adding texture and variety. Can you feel me clutching these flowers for dear life? Meredith comes over, calmly removes it from my strangle-hold and expertly adjusts the flowers this way and that...
We use tiny transparent bands to discretely hold the flowers together.
This student took the intro flower course, something I'm seriously considering. I'd love to get over my fear-of-flowers and become serene like the rest of the class. Evidently floral design keeps you calm and balanced...
Look at her perfect bouquet! Heavenly no?
We're shown how to singe the bottoms of Poppies so they don't leak their toxins. And where to go on west 28th street for the best, freshest flowers. Be prepared to get up early (between 6 - 7 AM) and know what days of the week the flights from Holland arrive. Who knew?
There are stacks of gorgeous books to further your education..
I bought FlowerSchool director, Eileen Johnson's book, The Art Of Floral Arranging, because of all the step-be-step pictures and clear text. I must learn to handle more than 1-2 blooms!
Plus many top flower designers share their secrets like: Michael George, La Grenouille's Charles Masson, Remco Van Vliet of the Met, And dear, patient Meredith of course. They all teach Master classes at FlowerSchool too..
End of class we calmly and serenely toast our bouquets with bubbly and petit fours.Then we wrap them in special boxes so they arrive home in perfect form.
Mine are still in the refrigerator, looking as lovely as ever, since I spent the weekend in Austin. But be sure and remove ALL citrus! Flowers don't like lemons.
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