Kick off to Entertaining 2010

Macarons from Left to right - Sweet Chili Heat, Salted Caramel & PB&J

To kick off the holiday season I thought I'd share a few pictures of some food and appetizers from my Macaron/ Housewarming party.

Of course featured were the Macarons and thanks to Kim Le who took these beautiful pics, you can see how far I've come with mastering the art of Macaron making.

Here's a closer look at those PB&J ones...mmmm

Jason, delighted us with his very own appetizing creations. Fig, prosciutto, goat cheese, pecan and honey drizzled costini and some layered tomato and Mozzarella di Bufala bruschetta.

Fig, prosciutto, goat cheese, pecan and honey drizzled costini

Layered tomato and Mozzarella di Bufala brushetta

There was also a plate of Burrata with prosciutto but that went so fast, we weren't able to even snap a picture in time. If you haven't ever tried Burrata... it's the most delicious soft cheese on the planet!

Enjoy the holidays everyone, and happy entertaining!

I Heart Macaron

On a recent business trip to New York City I checked out a little café just off Broadway called Macaron Café macaroncafe.com for a sandwich and discovered these little French pastries for the first time. I bought one raspberry Macaron and watched as the woman behind the counter packaged and affix a cute little pink bow around the single perfectly colored raspberry dessert.

Image from La tartine gourmande's photostream

Since then, I have spent countless hours researching, downloading pictures and recipes of these perfect little sweets. More so, I have attempted to bake them myself.

Now… I’m no skilled baker and these things are no easy task even if you are. The eggs must be aged; the batter consistency must be perfect and piped onto a cookie sheet in perfect circular shapes. And I haven’t even really explored the fillings yet.

Nonetheless, after 4 attempts of runny, undercooked, overcooked, oddly shaped, flat Macaron, I have almost created the perfect Macaron.

Almost, because I think I overcooked or let them sit too long before baking. They were a little too crunchy.

Through my research I came accross a blog Mélange :: to mix.

It has quickly become one of my favorite blogs so I wanted to share it with all of you. Julia, a baking enthusiast has a fabulous blog. On her blog she shares many recipes, among some of them... the famous Macaron.

She also features Chocolate Eclairs, Salted Butter Caramel Ice cream, Scones and Fruit Buns to name a few. Please join me in indulging in this wonderful blog.

I'm just dying to try out some of her fabulous Macaron Recipes. Stay tuned for the follow up.

a.