I really do love get togethers, dinners for four or soirees for ten. If there is a story to be told or a moment to be shared, I am there to hear it. In a large family like mine, that is a pretty regular occurence. In his, not so much. I am sure his parents would think we're all crazy and way too loud in mine. When Christmas season rolls around and as we get all busy with family, I start missing mine terribly. Even the crazies.
In those instances, I turn to the familiar sound of a friend's voice or the well-known steps of a favorite recipe and most often we end up with a fresh batch of cookies. Since Thanksgiving, we've been all over these Candy Cane Macarons and Eggnog Macarons as we get into the holiday spirit.
Last October, Brooke asked me to be part of Trick Or Treat and while I brought Toffee Crabapples to the party, I also left with tons of ideas for next year's Halloween. Last month she asked if anyone would be interested in following the Trick or Treat success with a Christmas Cookie Exchange and I said "sure...", figuring it would be the perfect way to discover new and great recipes to add to my Christmas boxes.
See, we have stopped buying gifts for family and friends about eight year ago and instead, comes Christmas day, we give each family a large hat box filled with nothing but homemade goodies. It's pretty much all the things I have baked, cooked or prepared along the year and that made it to my Top 20. Yeah, I like to think I am hip. I have a Top 20. It can be anything from flavored syrups and sugars, to spice rubs, cookies, cakes, candies, etc...
I just have one problem this Christmas. I go stuck at Top 9 as life and work got stuck on overdrive. You too, I presume. It's the season. I think I am at the point where I need someone to put a plate of cookies in front of me and say "Here are potential Top 10-11 and 12. Now go put it in that big box for your friend". You know what? I'm not Santa but I know exactly where to find that! A virtual cookie exchange leaving you with brand new favorites to bake.
Yes! Today, I've teamed up with twelve other incredible food bloggers to bring you a holiday cookie celebration so big, it's being monitored by the North Pole. The Baker's Dozen Ultimate Cookie Exchange. From the sneak peaks I have seen so far... you won't want to miss "doing the rounds". I am getting hungry just thinking about it. To see all of the participating bloggers, head to the Baker's Dozen home site, here. 
In the meantime, let's talk Candy Cane and Eggnog Macarons...
Candy Cane and Eggnogg Macarons:
Notes:
Trust me on this: do not crust candy canes and sprinkle them on your shells prior to baking as a decorative element, as you would sprinkle sesame seed, for example. Trust me. Unless you want a reaction similar to acid perforating your skin. Cratters being created under your very eyes as you peek through the oven glass door. Do you trust me now? Hope so...because it ain't pretty but sure gives you food for discussion if you need some.
Instead...crush some candy cane and roll the macarons in it once they're filled, or add crushed candy canes to the buttercream. Much better.
For the shells:
90 gr egg whites (use eggs whites that have been preferably left 3-5 days in the fridge)
25 gr granulated sugar
200 gr powdered sugar
110 gr almonds (slivered, blanched, sliced, whatever you like)
Prepare the macarons:
In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites to a foam, (think bubble bath foam) gradually add the sugar until you obtain a glossy meringue (think shaving cream). Do not overbeat your meringue or it will be too dry. Place the powdered sugar and almonds in a food processor and give them a good pulse until the nuts are finely ground. Add them to the meringue, give it a quick fold to break some of the air and then fold the mass carefully until you obtain a batter that falls back on itself after counting to 10. Give quick strokes at first to break the mass and slow down. The whole process should not take more than 50 strokes. Test a small amount on a plate: if the tops flattens on its own you are good to go. If there is a small beak, give the batter a couple of turns.
Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip (Ateco #807 or #809) with the batter and pipe small rounds (1.5 inches in diameter) onto parchment paper or silicone mats lined baking sheets. Let the macarons sit out for 30 minutes to an hour to harden their shells a bit. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 280F. When ready, bake for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on their size. Let cool. If you have trouble removing the shells, pour a couple of drops of water under the parchment paper while the sheet is still a bit warm and the macarons will lift up more easily do to the moisture. Don't let them sit there in it too long or they will become soggy. Once baked and if you are not using them right away, store them in an airtight container out of the fridge for a couple of days or in the freezer.
For the buttercream:
1/2 cup (100gr) sugar
2 large egg whites
1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon to 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
crushed candy canes
Put the sugar and egg whites in a large heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like marshmallow cream. Pour the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat the meringue on medium speed until it cools and forms a thick shiny meringue, about 5 minutes. Switch to the paddle attachment and add the butter, one tablespoon at a time, beating until smooth. Once all the butter is in, beat in the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes. Divided the buttercream in two portions.
Leave one portion plain and add the cinnamon and nutmeg to the other one. Fill half the shells with the eggnog flavored one (cinnamon-nutmeg) and half with the plain buttercream. Roll the plain filled shells in to the crushed candy canes. Eat!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Candy Cane Macarons & Eggnog Macarons
Monday, December 07, 2009
Calamansi Mousse Tartelettes With Candied Kumquats
The story could beging with "I've got these two friends, you see"...And then I could even attempt a rhyme like "they are wild and crazy". But that would be putting Todd and Diane in a box and these two, their hearts and their generosity will never bump the corners of a box. What am I talking about...their garden knows no boundaries. Over a month ago, they sent me a box of Calamansi limes from their own tree and it took me very little time to figure out what I wanted to do with them. Calamansi Mousse Tartelettes With Candied Kumquats.
Every time I virtually enter Todd and Diane's garden, I get lost in all of its beauty and amazing givings. I literally get lost there and in the gorgeous pictures this amazing team pairs up with their delicious recipes. You get it, I am running low on adjectives to describe them and what they contribute to the blogging world. Actually wait, here's another one, hot. These two are smoking hot. And hilarious. I've been fortunate to meet them both twice and twice I've wanted to bottle them up and take them home with me.
I had tasted Calamansi limes once years ago, before getting this shipment from Todd and Diane. Oh how I remember that first encounter. Could be one for the "what not to do" list. They look like rounded kumquats and I did what I usually do with kumquats. I popped a whole one in my mouth. Then I remember distinctly squinting my eyes, feeling my cheeks draw themselves inward. I love tart and I love sour but this on a scale from 1 to 10 was 25 in the sour-tart department. Oh my, did I squint!!
This time I had a plan. I zested about half of them and juiced them all and believe me, that took a little while and I was left with about 3/4 cup of juice. I immediately thought about making curd for tartelettes and mixed it with whipped cream to tone done the sour factor. The mousse was just right for everyone. For the shells, I used my favorite short crust dough but added some freshly chopped lemon balm to enhance the hints of citrus. Lemon verbena or lemon thyme would work quite well here also.
Since all the little limes from the box had been used for juice, I candied some sliced kumquats to crown the tartelettes with. This almost did not happen as we had a full house munching on them the day I made them and barely saved enough for the tarts. These are like crack in our house. They take a bit of time with slicing and removing the seeds but they are well worth the time. I used them in breads instead of raisins, on tartines with herbed goat cheese, and my favorite way is to tuck pieces into a bowl of my freshly made rice pudding.
The combination of flavors worked out perfectly well from top to bottom. Literally. I know Calamansi limes are not available everywhere but you could easily replace them with limes or lemons, any citrus would work beautifully here.
Calamansi Mousse Tartelettes With Candied Kumquats:
Makes four 3-inch tartelettes
For the sable crust:
1/2 stick (55 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons (25 grams) sugar
1 egg yolk
3/4 cup (95 grams) all purpose flour
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon freshly chopped lemon balm
For the Calamansi lime mousse:
3/4 cup (190 ml) calamansi juice (or lemon or lime juice)
1 cup (100gr) sugar
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup (190ml) heavy cream
Prepare the crust:In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add the egg yolk and mix for a short minute. Add the flour, salt and chopped lemon balm and beat until the dough just starts to come together. Gather the dough into a ball, flatten it a little to a small disk and wrap it well in plastic wrap. Refrigerate one hour before using.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Roll the dough between two sheets of parchment paper or on a well floured board until 1/4-inch thick. Cut out four 4 inch rounds of pastry dough and fit them inside four 3 inch tartlet molds, patting the dough in with your fingertips if needed. Place a small piece of parchment paper inside the tart shells, fill with beans or pie weights and blind bake for 12-15 minutes. Let cool to room temperature and remove the shells from the rings.
Prepare the curd:
In a heavy medium saucepan, stir together the Calamansi juice and sugar and bring to a simmer over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. In a small bowl, beat the egg yolks to break them up. Beat some of the Calamansi mixture into the egg yolks to temper. Scrape the mixture back into the saucepan and cook stirring constantly until it thickens up, about 5 minutes. Remove the curd from the heat, stir in the butter until it is completely incorporated. Let cool completely. If not using immediately, place a piece of plastic wrap over the top.
Whip the heavy cream to medium stiff peeks and gently fold it in the citrus curd in two additions or until no streaks of whipped cream remains.
Place the mousse into a piping bag fitted with a star tip and pipes rosettes of mousse inside the shells. You can also simply spoon the mousse inside the shells. Top with candied kumquat slices if desired and refrigerate.
Candied kumquats:
You can blanch the kumquats in boiling water for a minute before candying them but I forgot to one year at the restaurant and honestly did not see a difference in taste or time. If you think yours have been treated heavily with chemicals before packaging, I encourage to drop the kumquat slices in boiling water for a minute, drain them and proceed to the candy part.
1/2 cup (125ml) water
1 cup (100gr) sugar
1 pint fresh kumquats, washed, patted dry, and cut in 1/8 inch thin slices
In a heavy saucepan, combine the water and sugar and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the kumquats, being careful not to overcrowd your pan. Reduce the heat to a simmer and let the fruit become translucent, about 20-30 minutes. Remove the fruit with a slotted spoon and place it, separating the slices, on a piece of parchment paper or silpat. Use as desired.
Continue for recipes ...
Saturday, December 05, 2009
Ahhh The Weekend!
Ah the weekend! I love this time of year when we are all gearing up for the holidays and getting crafty. I've been quite busy with work which really feels like play so I am far from complaining but I have had little time to put together a proper post. It's been over a week since I candied, shot and ate the kumquats in the picture above...see what I mean!! Working on it today since I am off. Promise.
There will be kumquats, Kalamansi limes that I received from my friends Todd and Diane and tarts. At the present time I am filling Candy Cane and Eggnog macarons for a block party. It's fun. And torture. I want to eat some before we go!!
In the meantime, I want to thank all of you who have showed great interest and support in this year's Menu For Hope initiative. I just want to add that if you emailed me with a "I wish to participate with x gift" but did not provide all the information needed, I can not complete your participation and give you a prize code which you need to obtain to be part of the raffle. Thank you for understanding.
We need you! So keep brainstorming and putting together awesome prizes for the raffle or promote the initiave on your blog! You can read a lot more about P4P here.
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Menu For Hope 6: Call For Prizes!
I am honored and thrilled to be the East Coast host for this year Menu For Hope, an annual fundraising campaign hosted by Pim of Chez Pim and a revolving group of food bloggers around the world. Along the years, Menu for Hope has raised nearly a quarter of million dollars in support of the good work of the UN World Food Programme, helping to feed hungry people worldwide.
This year, Menu For Hope is supporting a new initiative called Purchase for Progress (P4P). P4P enables smallholder and low-income farmers to supply food to WFP’s global operation. P4P helps farmers improves farming practices and puts more cash directly into their pockets in return for their crops. This will also help local economy by creating jobs and income locally.
How does it work?
People from all over the world join the campaign by offering a delectable array of food-related prizes for the Menu for Hope raffle. This year the raffle will start on December 14th and end on December 25th. For every $10 donated, you earn one virtual raffle ticket to bid on a prize of your choice.
How can you help?
- Participate in Menu for Hope VI by donating a raffle prize or by promoting Menu for Hope on your blog.
- Please contact the host in your area (the list is below) to obtain a prize code and be listed on the official Menu for Hope prize list. (Important: please do this before you list your prize on your blog, unrecognized prizes will not be added to the main list.)
- The prize you offer need not be of high monetary value, but it should appeal to your readership. A small rule of thumb we'd like to suggest is that each prize offered should have the potential to raise at least $200.
- Each donor is also responsible for shipping their prize to the winner so please make sure your budget covers it. It's important that you specify where your shipping area will cover when you offer the prize. No restrictions is always a plus but if you must, then please be very clear in your blog post so as not to confuse our donors.
To recap:If you'd like to participate, please send to your regional host, before December 10th:
- your prize information/description (100 words or so)
- shipping restrictions or other "to be used by" details if needed
- two images: 75x75 thumbnail and 200x200px
- your name, preferred email address and blog name
Your host will issue your prize code and give you further instructions on what to do for the Menu For Hope raffle launch on December 14th.
Here are your local hosts for this year's Menu for Hope:
US: West Coast
Shauna of Gluten Free Girl (glutenfreegirl[at]gmail[dot]com)
US: East Coast
Helen of Tartelette (mytartelette[at]gmail[dot]com)
Europe *and* the UK:
David of David Lebovitz(david.lebovitz[at]yahoo[dot]com)
Canada:
Tara of Seven Spoons (tara[at]sevenspoons[dot]net)
Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand:
Ed Charles of Tomato (gastrotom[at]gmail[dot]com)
Special Wine Blog Host:
Alder of Vinography (alder[at]vinography[dot]com)
Come back to Chez Pim on Monday December 14 when the campaign goes online for a link to the donation site.
The raffle is handled by an online fundraising company called First Giving. The bloggers never touch the money. The WFP don't waste overheads on processing mini-donations, the majority of which are between $10-$50, that's a whole lot of tenners to make up $90K.
Whether you choose to bid or buy raffle tickets, thank you! You guys ROCK. I'll never this enough...
Don't be shy...Ok, I'll start:
For this year MFH I am donating a one day 101 macarons making class (here in SC unless you are willing to ship me!) and three 8x12 prints from my etsy shop. Details to come next week.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Grapefruit And Pomegranate In White Tea Jelly
I hope that those of you celebrating Thanksgiving last week got to spend some quality time with their family and friends. Maybe there were a few odd moments and uncomfortable silence but heck, that's family dynamic right?! Our holiday was kind of bittersweet. A house full of close friends, kids, games and laughter interrupted by the news of B's uncle passing away the day before Thanksgiving. Lots of time spent on the road visiting relatives and work/gigs that would not take a vacation (except for Thursday of course).
When calm finally found a momentary reprieve on Friday, I looked around at the little bodies running about the house, verrines of Grapefruit And Pomegranate in Tea Jelly being lined up on the table, friends sitting down together and decided to keep the sweet part of bitter closer to my heart.
I've had this recipe and post in my draft box since Friday but have not had much chance to sit down with my thoughts and write something coherent. The first thing I did that morning was to rush out of bed and drink about a gallon of grapefruit juice. My body was obviously gearing up for detox mode. I pretty much spent the rest of the day noshing on grapefruits, oranges, kumquats (citrus season is just around the corner here in the South) and drinking copious mugs of tea. When I get into this mode, I make sure to never run out of anything tart, sour, juicy and fresh (hmm sounds like I could be describing B's sense of humor!).
It's not that we ate a lot, we just ate at odd hours and foods prepared by salt-shaker happy relatives. I know I am not the only one who drank a pond came Friday morning but I always wonder: what type of foods do you crave after a few extras? 
It hit me at three in the afternoon that I should turn all these lovely, clean and fresh ingredients into a dessert that we could all enjoy. One of our friends loves those little fruit and jello cups sold at the grocery store and I know from a sure source (his wife) that it's about the only instance he'll be seen with a fruit. I like the concept (I'm French, anything "aspic" related is part of our food DNA) but I don't like the idea of additives, extra sugars and what not. I also like fruit over gelled mass a lot more. Plenty of reasons to make these at home and play a good game of Scrabble while they set.
I packed glasses and other ramekins with a combination of white and red grapefruits, sprinkled a small handful of pomegranate seeds over each of them and poured just enough white tea jelly to seal the deal. After a couple of hours in the fridge, we had the healthiest and most flavorful fruit dessert of the week. Suddenly my feet starting tapping on the floor, I began to giggle and fidget in my seat. My energy was back! So was my brain and the ability to come up with endless possibilities for these! We made a couple of other batches, one with pomegranate juice and one with Grand Marnier for a more festive and grown up version. 
Can hardly wait to make these with Spring berries paired with some green or bergamot tea, or Summer stone fruit with some ginger beer or Champagne...
Grapefruit And Pomegranate In White Tea Jelly
Makes 4
Notes:
For a clean presentation, I like to spend some time making sure I properly segment the citrus, removing as much of the white membrane as much as possible. Click here for a good explanation on how to do it.
On the same vibe, pomegranate can make a royal stained mess and if more cleaning is not on your list that day, click here for an illustrated step-by-step.
2 teaspoons powdered gelatin
2 tablespoons cold water
1 bag white tea or 1 tablespoon loose white tea leaves
1 cup boiling water
2 tablespoons sugar (more if you like a sweeter tea)
2 red grapefruits, peeled and segmented
2 white grapefruits, peeled and segmented
1 pomegranate, seeded
In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water. Reserve.
Steep the tea into the boiling water for 2-3 minutes or to the strength you prefer. Add the sugar and reserved gelatin mixture until both are completely dissolved. Let cool a few minutes.
Divide the grapefruit sections and pomegranate seeds evenly among four glasses or ramekins and pour just enough tea jelly to reach the top.
Refrigerate until set, about 2 to 3 hours.
