French Macarons!

 Amazing! I first heard of French Macarons (spelled with one "O") on "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" on Food Network. Long story short, it's a show based on food celebrities talking about the best "insert type of food here" they ever ate. Wolfgang Puck mentioned Macarons and spoke of how rare good ones were and I thought, "wow, if only I could make those!" Now here I am. I made them yesterday and I must say, they turned out rather well.

The finished dulce de leche!

 The ingredients for the shell: top-left is the egg whites, top-right is superfine sugar. The bottom left is the almond flour and the bottom right is the powdered sugar.

Look at the cute macarons after baking!

Finished macarons with the filling! I had 2 pans full!

All eyes on this masterpiece! Not bad for a first try huh? Your turn!

 The inside of my shell seems empty though so when you try this recipe, be sure to get all the air out of the batter (which I had forgotten to do). They are very sweet so they will satisfy everyone's sweet tooth guaranteed! Some people have made savory versions. That may be my next attempt. To be continued on that thought :) Anyways, I made a vanilla shell with a dulce de leche filling. Here's the recipe:

Vanilla Macarons with Dulce de Leche

Ingredients for shells:                                          

150g egg whites, about 5, aged 4-5 days in fridge     

100g superfine sugar (**see note**)                    

180g ground almonds                                              

270g powdered sugar                                              

1 tsp of vanilla extract                                              

Ingredients for Dulce de Leche:

14oz or 396g can of sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated!)
Pinch of baking soda
Pinch of fleur de sel (I just used regular salt)
1 tsp of vanilla extract *see note*

Makes: 60 mini, 40 medium, 15 giant approximately ;)

For the filling:

1. Mix the sweetened condensed milk, baking soda, fleur de sel  and vanilla extract together in a very large microwavable bowl.
2. Microwave for 1 minute. Whisk and continue to microwave in sets of 15-30 seconds depending on how powerful your microwave is, whisking after each set. Watch to make sure it doesn't overflow.
3. Stop when the dulce de leche is the consistency you desire. For macaron fillings, you don't want it to be too thick. If it turns out to thick, just ad some water, microwave and whisk.

For the shells:

1. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Whip egg whites which are brought to room temperature  for 2 hours to glossy firm peaks, adding the superfine sugar gradually. This took me about 10 minutes. Be patient! It's so worth it!
2. Sift almonds with powdered sugar in a medium sieve into a large mixing bowl. Using a food processor, pulse the larger almond pieces into a fine powder then run them through the sieve.
3. Mix to combine powdered sugar and almonds.
4. Incorporate egg whites with dry ingredients using large spatula. Mix lightly but mix well. 
5. Fold the batter in a "J" form by scooping then flipping the mixture. Do this exactly 15 times.
6. Then work on the mixture using a flexible, plastic scraper. Press down with scraper going back and forth, to press out all air from the batter. Do this for no more than 5 minutes until you have a smooth mixture. The result should be soft mix that forms a ribbon on scraper. If the mixture is too liquid, the macarons will be flat. If it's too stodgy, they’ll crack.
7. Transfer mixture to a piping bag with a 1 inch round tip. Twist or clip the bag above the nozzle to stop the mixture from escaping. Put the pastry bag in a large glass container so it's easier to fill.
8. Pipe out desired size for rounds (about 3 cm diameter for medium ones). Press nozzle right down on the paper then finish off with a flick for flat rounds. Leave space (about half an inch or so). Wet your fingers a little to flatten the tops better.
9. Slam (hard!) the trays at least 6-7 times to get any additional air out. This ensures there won't be air bubbles in the shells.
10. Leave for 30 minutes to 1 hour and no more. Touch the tops lightly to ensure they are ready. If the tops are hard, it's time to bake!
11. Preheat the oven while waiting for the shells to 320°F. Bake in the center of oven for 10-12 minutes (one tray at time). Test after 8 minutes. Touch and if it wobbles, continue to bake until lightly brown. Leave them to cool.
12. Once cool, flip the parchment paper over gently so as to not break any shells. Leave it macaron side down, facing the baking tray. This makes it easier to remove the shells. After 5 minutes, gently peel off the parchment paper.
13. Pipe filling or just use a spoon. Twist the two shells in a circular motion to squash. 
14. Leave in fridge for 24 hours. If not consumed immediately after that, freeze them for up to three months. (Although they'll probably be gone before then!)

*It's best to make the filling the day before making the shells.
**Skimping on sugar can cause their to be no "feet" on the shells. Don't overdo it though! Use a digital kitchen scale to ensure exact measurements. Superfine sugar can be made by pulsing granulated sugar in a coffee grinder or food processor.

Have fun and enjoy!

                  

Hearts <3,

Xin Yi

 

Running, Tulips and Roasted Asparagus

 Since this is my first post, I feel like this should be some type of special entry. But it's not really. I went running this past Saturday and it was quite the workout! 5 miles in approximately 42 minutes which isn't bad! Now my shins hurt. I think it had to do with the landing of my feet. Let this be a lesson to all: Be careful when you exercise! It was an almost perfect (nothing's totally perfect) sunny day and there was a gentle cool breeze. Perfect weather! Look at these tulips that my mom grew in front of the house.

 

The top photo has an interesting background don't you think? It's as if it was taken in the depths of a forest and took a picture of the tulip growing near the side of the path. Both are images of the same tulip, just different views.

  Later that evening, I prepared some roasted asparagus. Yummy!

I took 2 pounds of asparagus (roughly 2 bundles) and sprinkled some salt, McCormick garlic pepper powder, minced garlic and crushed Szechuan peppercorn.

Voila!

The bottom photo was the finished product. I had a small pan so I had to cut the asparagus spears into thirds. You don't need too. Note that pictured is only 1/3 of all the asparagus I used. I had 2 more pans.

Roasted Asparagus

2 lbs of asparagus (ends chopped off)
3 cloves of garlic, minced
seasoning to taste ( I used garlic pepper powder by McCormick, salt and Szechuan peppercorn powder)
2-3 tablespoons of peanut oil (or whatever oil you have handy)

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Wash asparagus then pat dry as much as possible. Toss with oil then sprinkle on the seasoning. Don't be shy, there's a lot of asparagus to cover! Add the garlic.
3. Place your asparagus spears onto a sheet pan and roast/bake for 15-20 minutes or until you notice the pears getting a deeper shade of green.

Enjoy as a side dish or whatever you choose :)

Hearts <3,

Xin Yi