Macaron Cookies

One of my best and worst character traits is that I don’t give up.

These French macarons are the perfect example.

I’m obsessed with them. Half because they are amazing and delicious. And half because I can only seem to get them perfect half the time.

They are a challenge. And that’s why I love them and why they keep me interested.

The problem is that I keep trying to tweak the recipe.

But if you want to try to make some of these amazing treats, I recommend you follow this recipe to the t.

It will be well worth it.

Ignore the different colors. That’s half the reason I keep messing them up.

You will need…

2 cups powdered sugar, divided

1 cup ground almonds, make sure they are ground into a fine powder

3 egg whites

¼ teaspoon salt

Start by preheating your oven to 330 degrees F.

Then, prep two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Start by combining 1 cup of the powdered sugar with the 1 cup of almond powder.

Ignore the red food coloring. When I figure out how to make it work, I will let you know.

Sift the mixture to make sure that there are no large chunks in the powder.

Then, in a medium bowl, beat the egg whites until the peaks are very stiff. The stiffer the peaks, the better your cookies will turn out.

When the peaks are stiff, slowly beat in the remaining cup of powdered sugar.

The mixture will become nice and shiny.

When the powdered sugar is completely beaten in, slowly add in the sugar and almond mixture with a plastic spatula. Do not beat it in.

When the mixture is completely combined, put it in a piping bag. Or if you are ghetto like me, you can put it in a big zip lock bag and cut off the tip.

Pipe the mixture onto the parchment paper into little 1 inch rounds. They will grow slightly so try and make them small.

Make sure they are 2 inches apart.

Let the cookies rest for 30 minutes to get all the air bubbles out. 

Bake them for 16-18 minutes.

They should be puffed and delicious.

Remove them from the oven and let them cool till you can remove them from the parchment paper to cool completely.

Be careful, they are very delicate.

Now you can eat them plane or make little sandwiches with your favorite filling.

I seriously suggest some lemon cream cheese frosting.

Love and Beer Floats

Angela

French Macaron Cookies

2 cups powdered sugar, divided

1 cup ground almonds, make sure they are ground into a fine powder

3 egg whites

¼ teaspoon salt

Start by preheating your oven to 330 degrees F.

Then, prep two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Start by combining 1 cup of the powdered sugar with the 1 cup of almond powder.

Sift the mixture to make sure that there are no large chunks in the powder.

Then, in a medium bowl, beat the egg whites until the peaks are very stiff. The stiffer the peaks, the better your cookies will turn out.

When the peaks are stiff, slowly beat in the remaining cup of powdered sugar.

The mixture will become nice and shiny.

When the powdered sugar is completely beaten in, slowly add in the sugar and almond mixture with a plastic spatula. Do not beat it in.

When the mixture is completely combined, put it in a piping bag. Or if you are ghetto like me, you can put it in a big zip lock bag and cut off the tip.

Pipe the mixture onto the parchment paper into little 1 inch rounds. They will grow slightly so try and make them small.

Make sure they are 2 inches apart.

Let the cookies rest for 30 minutes to get all the air bubbles out. 

Bake them for 16-18 minutes.

They should be puffed and delicious.

Remove them from the oven and let them cool till you can remove them from the parchment paper to cool completely.

Be careful, they are very delicate.

Now you can eat them plane or make little sandwiches with your favorite filling. 

Hazelnut-Mocha Macarons

Last night’s third annual Samuels Family Holiday party was a raging success.

For the first couple of hours I was starting to think that this year’s party might fall short of last year’s  rip roaring good time.

But that was when I realized I was probably just a lot more sober than everything else. Literally five minutes after I thought there was going to be nothing fun for me to video, this happened…

Leave it my family and our friends to provide me with some great musical entertainment.

But more importantly, the food was great.

So great that the stew leftovers I was really hoping to eat for lunch today didn’t happen. Boo.

But these macarons made up for it.

No, not the coconut type of macaroons. The French kind. The kind with delicious filling sandwiched between two phenomenal cookies.

I may have made these two big for everyone to have one but that just meant we all got to share. Sharing is caring.

You will need…

For the Hazelnut Cookies:

2 cups confectioners' sugar

4 ounces peeled and toasted hazelnuts, about ¾ cup (or you can just buy the already peeled and chopped ones in the baking section and toast them with a little olive oil on the stove for a couple of minutes)

3 tablespoons Dutch processed cocoa powder (or just regular cocoa powder)

3 large egg whites, at room temperature

1/8 teaspoon fine salt

For the Chocolate-Mocha Filling:

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon instant espresso powder

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Whatever you do, do not skip this step. I learned that the hard way.

Grind 1 cup of the confectioners' sugar, the hazelnuts, and cocoa in a food processor until powdery, about 3 minutes. 

Sift mixture through a medium mesh strainer onto a piece of parchment paper, then discard any large pieces of nuts that didn't come through the strainer.

With an electric mixer, beat the egg whites and salt until they hold firm but not dry peaks, about 2 minutes.

Gradually add the remaining 1 cup confectioners' sugar, a tablespoon at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed; this can take up to 3 minutes. Beat for an extra 30 seconds until the peaks are firm and shiny but still not dry.

Fold the nut mixture gently into the egg whites with a large rubber spatula.

Transfer the mixture into a large piping bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain piping tip (or if you are like me and are not a pro baker, you can use a large Ziploc bag with the tip snipped off.

Pipe 32 1-inch by about 1/3-inch thick rounds, evenly spaced, on each of the prepared pans. Set aside to air dry for 30 minutes before baking.

Meanwhile make the filling: Put chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan, bring cream, with espresso powder mixed in, to a boil. And make sure to read the directions and not put some of the chocolate in the saucepan as well.

Pour the cream over the chocolate and shake the bowl gently so cream settles around the chocolate. 

Set the mixture aside until the chocolate is soft, about 5 minutes.Whisk gently until smooth, taking care not to incorporate too many air bubbles.

Cool at room temperature until set up.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Bake the macarons until set and puffed, about 18 to 20 minutes. Take care not to overcook the macaroons or they'll crack. 

Cool cookies for 5 minutes then gently peel from paper. Let cool completely.

Spread 1 teaspoon of mocha filling on a cookie and sandwich 2 cookies together.

Just a little gem to leave you with...

Love and Beer Floats

Angela

Peppercorn Steak

My parents have always been really great about exposing my brothers and me to delicious food. Obviously, we didn’t start too fancy because the three of us together could be tyrants. But, when we were old enough to not beat each other up at the table, they took us to all kinds of delicious restaurants. The first fancy restaurant I can remember was a French place where I had the first steak I really enjoyed. It was a perfectly cooked filet with an amazing peppercorn sauce. It was heaven. So, on French night, I decided to do my own peppercorn steak.

The peppercorn steak marked some major kitchen firsts for me. It was the first time I put a pan in the oven (I have no idea why I was nervous to do this), the first time I successfully reduced something and it was the first (and only) time I ground an entire container of peppercorns.

This recipe tells you to grind them yourselves. Don’t. Just use regular pepper! It will save you time and energy.

Also, don’t be a dumb dumb like me and remember that the pan handle is hot when it comes out of the oven.

Burnt fingers are so not sexy.

Love and Beer Floats

Angela

Peppercorn Steak

2 tablespoons green peppercorn

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard plus 2 teaspoons

4 (12 to 14-ounce) New York strip steaks, trimmed of excess fat

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 tablespoons minced shallots

1 tablespoon black pepper

Big splash Cognac

1 package beef demi-glace (you can buy delicious beef demi-glace at nicer grocery stores)

1/4 cup cream

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat sautepan to medium-high, and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Brush 2 tablespoons of the mustard on the steaks, and season liberally with salt and pepper.

Heat a large skillet with the oil over medium high heat until the oil is VERY hot and sear steaks until well browned and crisp on 1 side, about 4 to 5 minutes.

Flip steaks and put the skillet in the oven for about 5 to 7 minutes, for medium-rare.

Remove steaks from the oven. Place steaks on a dish and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.

Place the skillet over medium heat. Place a towel over the handle so you don't burn yourself like I do every time.

Add the shallots and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the green peppercorns, then the Cognac and cook until almost all the liquor has evaporated.

Whisk in the remaining 2 teaspoons of mustard and veal stock and bring to a simmer.

Whisk in the cream.

Spoon the sauce over the steaks and serve immediately.

French Onion Soup

Upon entering the seventh grade, each student at my school had to pick a language. Looking back on it, I should have picked the logical choice and taken Spanish. But, because I’m me, I wanted to be different. So, I picked French. I didn’t just take French in the seventh grade. I took French for five years. Five. And five is about how many French words I know now.

Last week, I was browsing the Internet for inspiration for Tuesday’s dinner and I stumbled upon a French website. I was shocked to discover that I could actually comprehend about ten percent of what they were saying. That is about seven percent more than I expected. Basically, it was a French cooking blog and the author had made soup the previous week. From what I gathered from my five French words and the pictures it was a delicious success, but I could have misinterpreted and it could have said it was the nastiest thing they ever ate.

Regardless of what it actually said, it inspired me to make my own French soup. I decided to go with a classic, French Onion. I know I often boast about how easy soups are, but French Onion is not easy! It takes along time and if you are cooking anything else at the same time you will be running around the kitchen like a dog in heat. All sweaty and panting. Ew.

Even though the soup was a challenge, the results made it totally worth it. If you are up for a challenge or have a rainy afternoon to spend in the kitchen, I highly recommend this recipe. But be prepared, cutting that many onions made even me with my stone heart shed some tears.

Love and Beer Floats

Angela

Ingredients

Extra-virgin olive oil

8 large onions, thinly sliced from stem to root end

Kosher salt

6 ounces dry sherry

4 bay leaves

1 bundle thyme

2 quarts chicken stock

12 thin slices baguette

1/2 pound Gruyere, grated

1/2 bunch chopped chives

Directions

Coat a large deep pot with olive oil. Add the onions and sprinkle generously with salt. Bring the pan to a medium heat. Stir the onions to coat with oil. Cover the pot and sweat for 15 to 20 minutes.

Once the onions have gotten very soft and let off a lot of water, remove the lid and let the onions cook looooow and sloooooooooow. That's right low and slow to really develop their rich brown color and sweet flavor. There is no shortcut or rush for this, DO NOT TRY! Caramelized onions take a long time, about an hour, accept it and move on.

When the onions are very brown and have gotten considerably smaller, add the sherry and cook until the sherry has reduced by half. Add the bay leaves, thyme bundle and chicken stock. Bring to a boil and reduce heat and simmer for at least 1 hour. TASTE for seasoning, you probably will need to season with salt. If the stock reduces too much add water to keep the liquid level up- this IS a soup after all. When done, the soup should be thick and very full flavored. TASTE! You may need to resason, caramelized onions are very sweet and require a fair amount of salt.

Toast or grill the baguette slices. Fill ovenproof crocks 3/4 of the way with the onion soup, float 2 toasts in each bowl and top with grated Gruyere. Place the crocks under the broiler to melt the cheese and make it brown and bubbly. Top with chopped chives.