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Post by annettecinca on Jun 9, 2007 21:16:41 GMT -5
I experimented with chocolate macarons again today. I think these came out a little better, what do you think? They look like miniature hamburgers to me! (uh-oh, I don't want to get another infamous hamburger thread started! ) Are they supposed to be even a little flatter? It's hard to replicate something you've never seen before, but I'm a good copier! I will be visiting Laduree next trip...
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Post by Shoesy on Jun 9, 2007 21:47:29 GMT -5
Your picture is amazing. Is your name really Betty Crocker? I'm going to exalt you, my dear. ;D
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Post by annettecinca on Jun 9, 2007 22:14:07 GMT -5
Thanks Shoesy! Is it time for you to get up already? Seems like we were just chatting a few minutes ago!
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Post by Becky (Berkeleytravelers) on Jun 9, 2007 22:16:53 GMT -5
Annette, these look wonderful! I now pronounce them perfection, no need to do anything but enjoy them!
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Post by Shoesy on Jun 9, 2007 22:28:06 GMT -5
Annette, today is a regular working day in Israel (my hubby still works), so our alarm clock rang at 5:30 A.M. (almost an hour ago! ) No matter what, I don't sleep many hours at night, and I love the early hours of the morning. What can be more pleasant than to slowly sip my coffee as I read the latest posts?
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Post by annettecinca on Jun 9, 2007 22:28:44 GMT -5
Thanks, Becky. Do you really think they look right? I remember seeing AnneParis' TA avatar with a stack of macarons, but I was thinking they're still a little flatter than I've gotten them. They do taste good! I'll serve them tomorrow night when my kids come up for dinner--they won't know (or care!) if they're perfect or not!
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Post by Shoesy on Jun 9, 2007 22:32:13 GMT -5
Annette - Your macarons look like a true work of art.......a "chef- d'oeuvre". ;D
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Post by Becky (Berkeleytravelers) on Jun 9, 2007 22:32:43 GMT -5
I don't have nearly that critical an eye -- I think they look great, and if they also taste good, what more can you ask (other than perhaps a great cup of tea to go with)? Maybe it's the ones you are comparing them to that are too flat?
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Post by GitteK on Jun 10, 2007 3:38:40 GMT -5
Annette - that is a lovely photo ! With flowers and matching plate.. Geez, you guys have exquisite taste ! The Paris macaroons are usually more smooth on the surface and more "shining" than yours, but I shouldn't be surprised if that comes from some chemical they add !! And yes, they are normally flatter, because I suppose they are intended to be eaten in one bite ?? Though I cannot se from your photo how big yours are (the macaroons, that is.....). Anyway - they look delicious !!
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Post by andi on Jun 10, 2007 5:06:46 GMT -5
Having tested out Laduree last trip I commend you on your macarons, they look delightful, I just wouldn't have the patience. ;D
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Post by holger on Jun 10, 2007 7:30:15 GMT -5
;D Macarons look very good. So good, in fact, that this week I will have to make a special trip to a French Bakery in Philadelphia that actually imports them. They do keep well if you refrigerate them. Not that they last that long, ever.
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Post by annettecinca on Jun 10, 2007 9:05:59 GMT -5
Thanks for the encouragement you guys! Next attempt I'll try to make them smoother--I have a couple ideas, but if anyone has a secret they'd like to share, I'm all ears (Truffaut?). Holger, here's your assignment: take a picture of those macarons you get! (have you figured out how to post pics?) How wonderful to have a bakery nearby that imports goods from France!!! That could be dangerous, but oh so yummy!
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Post by sistereurope on Jun 10, 2007 9:54:42 GMT -5
Annette, they look wonderful. Since I've never seen the French version (something I plan to rectify in Dec.), to me they look like they're supposed to!!! Sigh, between you and Truffaut and happygoin you could have QUITE a successful little pastry shop! You're all such professionals... compared to you guys, my attempts often look like they came out of an easy bake oven!!! ;D
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Post by Truffaut on Jun 10, 2007 11:40:07 GMT -5
Annette, What recipe did you use for the batch pictured above? They look terrific!
As an aside, I'm sorry you weren't in the chat room yesterday. We had a rather lively conversation about a recipe for macarons that I just encountered. I was having translation problems with the filling. They were "macaron aux figues avec confiture des couilles du Pape"--literally translated as fig macarons with jellied Pope's balls--which seemed to be a rather rare and specific ingredient.
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Post by annettecinca on Jun 10, 2007 12:57:19 GMT -5
Oh my! How are you going to get those, Truffaut?!! If we'd have known a little sooner, we could have asked Dubya to get some at his visit yesterday! hehe I used the same recipe as last time, but used the metric units and weighed everything as you suggested. Here's a link to the recipe (and an interesting blog about the chef's attempts!) www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2005/10/index.html#000137In looking at this page again, I see his macarons are smoother and shinier! Now, how do yo suppose he does that? I used his filling recipe the first time, but used your ganache on this last batch, and preferred it over Chef Lebovitz'
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Post by Penny on Jun 10, 2007 14:33:24 GMT -5
Truffalt just for you. Took some research but here's what I found.
A rack of specialty Miot jams caught my eye, including one label I thought I must have misread, Couilles du Pape (The Pope’s Balls). My French is pretty good but a slang vocabulary of the nether regions I have not needed very often. I’m a little rusty there. “Couilles”, however, happens to be a word I know.
The butcher’s wife, who handles the money in this shop, noticed my jaw on the floor and cheerfully explained that the couilles were not real testicles (“Oooh non, Monsieur”) but mere preserves made of figs that grow naturally in pairs and in the same form--teardrop shapes, one a little lower than the other.
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Post by Truffaut on Jun 10, 2007 15:28:31 GMT -5
That's what Luc came up with yesterday, though his description wasn't quite so graphic! I'm sure Pope Ben is relieved to know that his nether regions are free from the threat of being turned into jam!
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Post by Becky (Berkeleytravelers) on Jun 10, 2007 15:29:22 GMT -5
Well, Penny, I know this explanation was in the interest of education but darn, what a pedestrian one! Here we were expecting something racy . . . .
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Post by Shoesy on Jun 10, 2007 21:47:39 GMT -5
O.K., I understand that those preserves are made from a fruit and not from an old man, but why did they select that name for something that people are supposed to want to eat?
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Post by Becky (Berkeleytravelers) on Jun 10, 2007 22:36:03 GMT -5
Shoesy, doesn't that sound like a pretty common male fantasy to you?? ;D
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