Amaretti, Madeleines, and Macaroons...OH MY!

I felt as if I were walking down the yellow brick road and into the Emerald City to see the great and powerful Oz, that is if the yellow brick road is Broadway and Emerald City is the French Culinary Institute! My fantastic in-laws got me two separate courses at FCI as Christmas gifts and the first class was Madeleines & Macaroons on January 9th. (Stay tuned for next month's Cream Puffs & Eclairs!)

It was amazing to learn how to make these divine cookies from such talented professional pastry chefs! I decided to share one of the recipes that we made- Madeleines. And not just any Madeleines, the same recipe Chef Daniel Boulud uses at his renowned Restaurant Daniel on the UES. Now you too can end your homemade gourmet meals with a fresh, warm batch of these light, faintly citrus-y and delicious cookies! (I know I am not about recipes but thought this was something special. Also, I haven't had the best blog-speriences and I'm just working through how I am going to order the ideas I want to share with you all. So make this recipe your own- use the zest of limes or oranges in place of the lemons or leave that out entirely. You can add your own pizazz in many ways!)

Restaurant Daniel Madeleines


Ingredients: (Yes, I know the metric measurements are a pain!)
4 Eggs
20 grams Brown Sugar
150 grams Granulated Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
180 grams All-Purpose Flour
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
Pinch of Salt
Zest of 3 Lemons
180 grams Melted Butter, at room temperature
20 grams honey
Powdered Sugar

Procedure:

1. Butter and flour (or use Pam Baking Spray, if you prefer) the Madeleine molds. Preheat oven to 400° F.

2. In your mixer combine eggs, sugars and vanilla. Mix until well-combined, but do not overwork mixture, or excessive air will be incorporated.

3. Add the rest of the dry ingredients

4. Stir in melted butter and honey and mix until well-combined, again without incorporating too much air.

5. Chill the batter until firm. You may let it rest 30 minutes in the fridge and then bake or wrap it up good with plastic wrap and let it sit up to 3-4 days in the fridge if you wanted to make it in advance. They only take 6 minutes in the oven so you can enjoy these with company easily. After dinner go to the kitchen and bake the pre-made batter and you'll be able to emerge with a nice warm treat with your coffee and tea.

6. Pipe the batter into the prepared molds. Don't over-fill them as they will rise and you don't want to end up with unsightly overhang on the edges. These are a prim and proper treat!

7. Bake the Madeleines at 400° F  for 5-7 minutes, or until they spring back to the touch. Make sure oven is hot enough to make the hump of the Madeleine. They should be slightly browned on the edges.

8. Unmold the Madeleines immediately upon removing from the oven, sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve right away. Yum!

Choose Your Own Foodventure...

I have something to get off my chest. It’s been on my mind for some time now and I just have to admit…I love food. I LOVE it! I know everyone needs it but oh boy do I WANT it! I love cooking it, eating it, cuddling up with it on my couch in my Snuggie…don’t judge me.

I love all the different types of cuisine and restaurants I have access to here in the greatest city in the world -New York City- but honestly I prefer cooking and baking at home. I am a self-proclaimed mad scientist in the kitchen. My husband serves as the guinea pig for the many culinary “experiments” I perform. He has never once complained about the job and if he did, there would be a lot of Easy Mac in his future…

Being completely mad about cooking but completely uninterested in cookbooks or the organized science of baking proves to be both disasterous at times and at other times leads to my greatest gastronomical discoveries. You have to bake it to make it, I say!

I think many people are very hesitant to do certain things without instruction and there are certain things that require following directions -like putting together a media cabinet from IKEA for instance- but cooking can be creative. I may not be a painter but I am an artist in the kitchen. I get to create things that may not only look beautiful* but also taste great and satisfy the recipient. *In cooking, taste has to trump beauty. Don’t be so superficial! Just eat it, you’ll love it. I promise.

Stop being afraid my gastropeeps! Take your kitchen by storm. Shake your salt shaker and your oregano shaker too! Don’t fear the pepper! Just have fun!

In the spirit of those Choose Your Own Adventure books of my youth, I will try my best to inspire you all to throw caution to the wind and will offer “suggestions” rather than definitive recipes because I want you to choose your own foodventure! Take my ideas and change them to suite your taste preferences and use what you have on hand!

Put on your apron and let your foodventure begin! :)