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Showing posts with label caramel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label caramel. Show all posts
Monday, July 5, 2010
- Live from New York ... it's from my iPhone !!!
Monday, March 29, 2010
I was browsing in Galeries Lafayette Home, when I overheard someone behind me say, "Moi, j'adore les rayee!" (Me, I adore stripes) with the emphasis on the adore.
Back in the apartment when I told French Girl what I had for lunch, she exclaimed passionately, "J'ADORE LE STEAK-FRITES!!!"Wha'?
Ask any French Girl about ice cream and she will tell you she ADORES Berthillon
There is no ice cream but Berthillon, particularly caramel au beurre salé.
Kyle adores his Tarte Tatin and kept hinting I should order it at chez Georges (so he could eat mine) I did not - I would be tempted to eat it myself, and fall into a sugar coma...c'est la vie
Every French Girl on the planet adores her ELLE magazine, which comes out on Fridays, so she can spend the entire week-end devouring all the trends/tendances and tips and tear out important bits for the coming week.
By the way, ELLE adores the Trench. Maybe the trench is always in for Spring? I saw a loads of them floating around...
Bien sur the French adore their Alice (A-Leece)...
Et bien sur Laduree gets a ton of adoration...
An unbeatable combo held in great esteem is Repetto ballerines + Laduree macarons. French Girl could not believe that I would leave behind my Repetto be-ribboned bag and take home just the shoes! "But there are so many things you can do with the bag!" she cried.
Moi, j'adore stalking French pastry...Even more than eating it, which is insane. Maybe the camera acts as a protective barrier. I see tartes and petit fours as abstract colors and shapes. Who knows why, but thanks gawd!
Moi, j'adore les palmiers, but the voices in my head said, "RUN! VITE VITE VITE!" and I did.
Parisiens ADORE New York! It's true.
Even if you're from Kansas City, which undoubtedly some of you are, tell em you're from New York for some instant cachet.
"J'adore New York!!!" you will hear over and over.
Tous les mondes adores les macarons.
It's a fact. Something to dream about....
So what do YOU ADORE about Paris?
BONJOUR J'ADORE!
"J'adore New York!!!" you will hear over and over.
Tous les mondes adores les macarons.It's a fact. Something to dream about....
So what do YOU ADORE about Paris?
BONJOUR J'ADORE!
Friday, March 19, 2010
7 pm, 18 mars, jeudiI am at the right place and the right time for my
Bear comes along to observe and is instantly in love with the Ecole Ritz chef bears...
Our aprons, towels, recipes elegantly await us...
Everything is detailed and thought out to make our adventure into macaron land easy and efficient. FYI: the class cost 70 euros for 2 hrs - really 3 hrs. The recipe (in Fr and English) is proprietary so I cannot share it.
The link above will give you the class dates.
Bear watches closely, not missing a trick. There are many, many tricks to observe...
Our professor, maitre and guru is Chef Didier Steudler.
Chef Steudler could not be more charming, informative and generous with his knowledge and experience of the Ritz techniques plus the tricks of other well known macarons makers!
Chef Samantha assists and aids me translating all the macaron secrets and tips...
No detail in macaron-making is left to chance. We are a just 8 students and all questions are answered.
Chef mixes the "Italian" style meringue to the correct consistency...
Filling the pastry tube is demonstrated with all potential pitfalls eliminated. 
The correct way to hold the bag is at 35 degrees. The shells are created in 3 steps...
Every step is hands-on and we get a chance to try out each step.
Our efforts must wait 30 minutes before entering the oven. *Note the metal clips to hold the pastry paper in place so cookies never move or slide about...
We head downstairs into the chocolate kitchen to see the upcoming Easter eggs in production. Naturallement there is a giant chocolate bear (22 kilos!)
Back upstairs we touch the "skin" of the shells lightly. They are ready for the oven. Chef tells us many macaron secrets of Laduree and Pierre Herme. I am taking notes furiously.
Voila! Into the four/oven go our efforts.
After just 8 minutes Chef Steudler opens the door to let in a bit of air. And then again after 12 minutes - special tricks of the macaron trade!
Meanwhile the caramel garniture/filling is cooking away. Did I mention we are making macaron caramel au beurre sale/salted butter caramel macarons?
The perfect macaron filling-all of the techniques and methods are geared for the home cook at Ecole Ritz Escoffier.
To add the caramel filling to the baked shells, the pastry bag is held straight up.
Our chance to wreck havoc on the macarons-to-be.The class is a ball. Everyone is very friendly and there is a lot of giggling, though not much tasting until the end...ahem
Voila! Perfect little caramel macarons ready to pop into the boxes - our reward for working so hard. Ha! This class was too much fun.
We each get a gorgeous certificate to hang on the wall at home as a reminder to practice, practice, practice our macarons.
Chef Steudler happily poses with fellow classmate, Dan.
C'est mignon non?
Ahhhh, the boxes wait to be filled with our macarons...
And Bear awaits patiently for his box...
Voila! Perfect little caramel macarons ready to pop into the boxes - our reward for working so hard. Ha! This class was too much fun.
We each get a gorgeous certificate to hang on the wall at home as a reminder to practice, practice, practice our macarons.
Chef Steudler happily poses with fellow classmate, Dan.C'est mignon non?
Ahhhh, the boxes wait to be filled with our macarons...
And Bear awaits patiently for his box...I can highly reccommend the Ecole Ritz Escoffier class to all obsessed with Parisien macarons. You will be delighted I promise.
BONJOUR ECOLE RITZ ESCOFFIER MACARONS!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
OK PB readers..it's been a while since we immersed ourselves in a Paris patisserie. And Pierre Herme has a new collection out.
It's a small new collection of Saint-Honore gateaux...A little history group. I hope you have your pencils poised.
You will be tested end of term!
The St. Honoré Cake, is a richly decorated cake named after Saint Honore, the seventh-century Bishop of Amiens, and the French patron saint of pastry chefs and bakers. (WOW!) Pastry chef Chiboust is rumoured to have created it in his Paris shop in 1846. It consists of a pâte brisée base with a pâte a choux ring around the outside. Individual pâte a choux puffs are filled with pastry cream and dipped in caramel. They are then attached on top of the outside ring of the cake with more caramel to hold them in place. The Gateau St. Honore is also known as the "Ball Cake" because of the little caramel-covered pastry balls surrounding the top of the cake.
Shall we head over to Pierre Herme's at 72, rue Bonaparte in St Germain des Prés 75006? You can take the line #4 to station Saint-Sulpice...
Or the #87 bus stops nearby...
We're back on rue Bonaparte group.
Look the windows have changed!
Last week for Jour du Macarons day, there were schools of hungry fish hunting for FREE macarons!
This week a lovely babe is transfixed in wonderment at Herme's new Saint-Honore petit fours...
A closeup - but I'll bet you this is a fausse petit four...
Let's go in for the REAL thing! Vite!
Ahhhhhhhhh...
Ooooooooooo....
*Please note that it's caramel that is the glue that holds these creme puffs together. Pierre Herme's description of these delights-Saint Honoré Satine
Très frais,
Très frais,
très parfumé,
entre acidulé et sucré
(a rough translation=very fresh, very perfumed, between acidic and sweet. French sounds so much better doesn't it?)
Swoon...
Just in case you're not up for whipped creme there are other delectables to choose from...YUM!
Afterwards, take your goodies to a park bench in the nearby Place Saint-Sulpice...
The pigeons are waiting...
Or go for a coffee at nearby Cafe de la Mairie, just around the corner from rue Bonaparte. Word has it you can bring PH goodies here to eat in proper fashion as they well deserve.
Then I suggest you rent-a-froufy-dog from Etienne Marcel to work off all that cream...
Or come on a my place and climb the 132 stairs (7 flights) any number of times...ahem~
BONJOUR JEUDI!
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