My first blog award!

I'd like to give a huge, enormous, gigantic thank you to Paris Pastry for giving me my first blog award. I'm really flattered!

Blogging about my favorite pastime has been fun, and I'm excited to see an increasing number of people visit it each day. Since I can't re-award it to Paris Pastry I guess (although she definitely deserves it, with all those luscious cakes I can't keep my eyes off of), here are the five blogs I have chosen:

A Southern Grace

Sinful Southern Sweets

Moveable Feasts

Sweet Freak

Ramblings of a Former (my wonderful cousin Katy from the US)

I find them all super inspiring, and coming home to updates from them on my feed reader always makes me happy. Check them out!

On a side note, I'm spending the weekend back in Saint Dié to get a final rest-up before the big day on February 4th. I'm thinking if I sit back, relax, and eat a lot (it can't be bad, right) then my wrists might really heal by then and the casts will come off! Unfortunately I forgot my camera but I can assure you that my weekend is starting out perfectly with a moist chocolate-almond cake courtesy of my aunt Mimi...In fact, I'm going to go to sleep now, so that I fall asleep quickly and can wake up to another slice. Mmmm.

Creamy Mustard Chicken with Fennel

Everyday for the past week,  I've been waking up early and spending the next couple of hours hiding under my covers because I just don't want to get up. The weather is dreary--no, Paris isn't really a city where it's nice even if it's rainy and cold--and the prospect of dragging my casts around all day isn't really of the amazing type. Actually, the only thing that makes me get out of bed is breakfast. I'm not talking about french toast or pancakes, or even a nice warm croissant. I mean a bowl of cereal. You know why? First of all I love cereal, but it's mostly that grabbing handfuls of it, putting it into a bowl, and adding a little milk is simple and quick. Simple, quick, and satisfying is exactly what I've been going for lately.

Obviously, breaking my key in the front door lock yesterday night doesn't belong to any simple or quick category, and isn't really satisfying either. Truthfully, it's everything but. So I decided to leave those words to the food category, and went out for a falafel salad after the lock was fixed. You didn't really think I would go before it was fixed and leave the door wide open because I was craving falafels that much, did you? That would be knowing me too well...I'm kidding, really. (Full disclosure: my parents read this blog.)

Anyway, noon came rolling around today and I opened the fridge to see what could be made without breaking my newborn wrists (at least I hope they are, deep under all that plaster). In front of me was a chicken breast, some pre-sliced fennel, and reduced-fat crème liquide. I didn't think twice--after all, I was hungry--put the fennel in my bamboo steamer and got the chicken cooking. Without really knowing what I was doing, I added some cream, mustard, basil and lemon juice and let the whole thing simmer for another couple of minutes. Along with the fennel and topped with some sumac*, it was pretty darn good. Very good, actually. The fennel brings an interesting contrast to the creamy spiciness of the sauce and the result is packed with taste.

Maybe I should have broken wrists more often so I end up with more delicious and simple meals like this one. Or not. I'll pass, but this is one dish that I'll definitely be making cast-free.

* Sumac is a Middle Eastern spice that you can use like salt, but it has the added benefit of having a lemony taste as well. It really livens up any dish.

Creamy Mustard Chicken with Fennel

serves one

1 chicken breast, cut into chunks
1/2 fennel bulb, sliced
1/4 c. crème liquide
1 TB Dijon mustard
2 TS chopped basil (fresh is best, but I used frozen)
1 TB lemon juice
pinch salt
pepper to taste
1 TS sumac

Steam fennel until tender.

In a non-stick pan, cook chicken until opaque troughout on high heat with salt and pepper. Turn down heat to medium, add cream, mustard, basil and lemon juice.

Let simmer for 5 minutes, and add fennel. Cook for another minute or two and serve immediately, topped with sumac.

Salted Butter Caramel Macarons

Well, I'm back in Paris. I expected things to be a little easier--I stocked the fridge up with vegetables to make quick stir-fries all week long. Then, I realized cutting a lemon became a 20 minute-long chore all of a sudden. Ah, the joy of broken wrists. The plan for lunch today is to eat lettuce with my hands and no dressing. Well, that or go get a falafel. I'll let you guess which alternative I prefer.

Basically, I can't cook until the beginning of February, but my mind has replaced my mouth. I'm stocking up on recipes I want to make in a few weeks, and I can finally take a step back and think about everything I've recently baked. More specifically, these salted caramel macarons I made for Christmas. If you like strong but not burnt-strong caramel, then you'll love these. Ooh-ooh. They pack a lot of taste and are extra creamy.

Like all macarons, they take a little while to make--it's all about advance planning, really. I'm amazed at how successful and fail-proof each one of Pierre Hermé's recipe has been so far. In fact, I met him at a book signing a month or two ago and awkwardly wanted to say something, so I told him that I had successfully made his lemon macarons and that they were delicious. He mumbled something along the lines of "Good, that's how the book was meant to be", and went back to looking a little sad / bored that nobody was waiting in line to have their book signed. Oh, poor Pierre.

Back to the macarons: they're good, fun to make and small. Meaning that you can eat one, or two or three, and feel just fine about it. You can even eat the leftover filling with a spoon, but don't tell anyone I suggested it. Or you can justify it by spreading it on scones or fresh bread, but honestly, go the simple route.

Caramel + butter+ spoon + mouth = go for it!

Macarons caramel beurre salé

makes approx. 72

Ingredients

for macaron tops:
300g almond powder
300g confectioner's sugar
110g "liquified" egg whites (placed in a bowl and put in the fridge for at least 72 hours before use)
15g cofee extract

15g dark yellow food coloring
+
300g granulated sugar
75g mineral water
110g "liquified" egg whites

for salted butter caramel  cream: 

300g granulated sugar

350g liquid crème fraîche
65g 'demi-sel' (salted) butter
290g unsalted butter

-Sift confectioner's sugar and almond powder together. Add food coloring to the first bowl of "liquified" egg whites and mix. Pour onto the sugar-almond mixture, without mixing them together.

- Bring water and sugar to a boil, 118°C. When the syrup reaches 115°C, start beating second batch of egg whites with a stand mixer. Pour syrup onto the whites (which should be at soft peak stage by now), continue beating and wait until mixture is down to 50°C before incorporating it into the sugar/almond mixture. Fold everything in delicately.

- Pipe mixture onto a parchment paper-covered baking sheet, making round shapes approx. 3,5cm in diameter. Space them approximately 2cm apart from one another. 

- Tap baking sheet on kitchen counter, and let macaron tops crust for at least 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F. Bake tops for 12 minutes, opening oven door twice. After removing them from the oven, place parchment paper on counter or table.

- Make caramel filling. Bring cream to a boil. Pour 50g of granulated sugar into a large saucepan. Let it melt, and repeat 4 times. Let sugar caramelize until it reaches a dark amber color. Remove saucepan from heat, and add salted butter. Mix with a heatproof spatula and add cream. Mix and reheat until cream reaches 108°C.

- Place in a deep dish. Cover with plastic wrap, making sure that it touches the caramel. Place in refrigerator until cold. Beat unsalted butter with a mixer 8 to 10 minutes, and add caramel cream.

- Pipe resulting cream onto half of the macaron tops, covering them with the remaining tops.

- Place macarons in the fridge for 24 hours, bringing them back to room temperature for 2 hours before eating.

Anytime Snack Mix

Back when I first made this snack mix, we were in the midst of the holiday season. It was my version of the traditional "Holiday Nut Mix", and I handed it out to friends in small bags. I then forgot about it until today.

With two weeks of living alone with my two broken wrists coming up--six days from today--I've been keeping an eye on any kind of finger food that will make my life easier. Sure, friends have offered to cook for me, but I don't really want to be a bother to anyone. Although, now that I think about it, I'd enjoy some homemade enchiladas when I get back to Paris. Got it, friends?

(Obviously I'm kidding, although enchiladas do sound pretty good. For now, I'm going to practice my right-handed chopstick skills for storytelling sessions with friends at the sushi place. You know, so I can tell them about how I just landed wrong after attempting a 360° jump with both hands behind my back. Ha. Right.)

Anyway, I'm planning on eating soup and hummus, but being able to eat finger food really makes it easier. Wait a second--cupcakes are officially a finger food! So is a chocolate bar! However,   do realize that I can't spend two weeks eating sugar, sugar, and more sugar, so I'm looking at healthier options.

This nut mix isn't really healthy per se, but not really unhealthy either. There's a minimal amount of butter and not so much sugar, and you can always say the nuts are good for you. It's a nice blend of sweet and spicy that can be appreciated at any moment of the year, not only for the holidays. I was inspired by David Lebovitz's recipe and adapted it to my tastes and what I could find in my neighborhood supermarket.

Easy to make, easy to eat. Enough to win this temporary penguin over.

Anytime Nut Mix

2 c. raw nuts of your choice - I used almonds, cashews and pecans

1 TB butter, melted

2 TB dark brown sugar

1 TS cinnamon

1 TS mild chili powder

1 pinch cayenne pepper

1 1/2 TB maple syrup

1 1/2 TS large sea salt, such as fleur de sel

1 c. mini pretzel twists or normal pretzels broken into pieces

Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C.

Toast nuts for 10 minutes, stirring twice.

In a medium bowl, stir spices, melted butter and maple syrup together. Fold in nuts and stir until coated. Add salt.

Add pretzels, mix and spread on a baking sheet. Return to oven for 15 minutes or until toasted without being burnt, stirring twice.

Remove from oven and cool, making sure no clumping occurs. Mix can be stored one week in a glass jar or any other airtight container.

"Bounty bars are much better than Mounds", macaron version

It seems like ages when I was in a frenzy, baking macarons as family gifts for the 25th. That was before 2009 went away and 2010 was ushered in. Also, before I went snowboarding last Saturday...and broke both wrists.

What a great way to start off the year, right? No more cartwheels, no more handstands. Wait, I never knew how to do those anyway.

One thing's for sure, no more cooking for the next couple of weeks, much to my dismay. I'll be rediscovering the joys of soup, soup, and...soup with bread! Well, who knows, I might be able to cut a tomato or two without chopping my fingers off. But, on the fun side, I look like a penguin flapping my cast-covered arms around. Nice!

In France, there's a popular saying made famous in an advertisement that says "Pas de bras, pas de chocolat": No arms, no chocolate. Fortunately, I've still got my arms, but my poignets, or wrists, are hors service. So here's my version: "Pas de poignets, pas de praliné". Not like I'm planning on applying it to myself--this is the one time in my adult life I can chomp away on chocolate and still garner pitiful stares from everyone. I'm not letting that opportunity slide by!

To stay on the topic of sweet things, I had Pierre Hermé's recipe for chocolate-coconut macarons bookmarked ever since I got the book for Christmas 2008. My maman has always loved Bounty bars--now unavailable in the United States--and Hermé's goal was to recreate that same taste in a macaron.

A Bounty bar has everything the chocolate-coconut-combo lover wants: sweet but not overly so, and with a slight crunch from the dessicated coconut. And Mounds, apparently, aren't nearly as tasty as a Bounty. With all that in mind, I set out to recreate the Bounty in macaron form.

What I ended up with was surprising: the macaron shells tasted like coconut macaroons, actually. And the filling was a nice mix of chocolate and coconut, making the overall treat pretty successful and satisfying. But truthfully, the Bounty taste wasn't there.

What was there, however, was a delicious and chewy combination of chocolate and coconut. Coconut is a tropical fruit, so this wasn't just a Christmas macaron--it's a dessert that can be enjoyed year-round.

Wrists or no wrists.

Chocolate-Coconut Macarons on the left...on the right, you'll see in a few days (when I can actually type without tiring myself out!)

Chocolate-Coconut Macarons

makes approx. 72

Ingredients

for macaron tops:
300g almond powder
300g confectioner's sugar
90g "liquified" egg whites (placed in a bowl and put in the fridge for at least 72 hours before use)
75g peanut oil

150g dessicated coconut
+
375g granulated sugar
75g mineral water
180g "liquified" egg whites

for milk chocolate and coconut ganache:
300g liquid crème fraîche
115g coconut milk
1 and a half vanilla beans
190g Valhrona Jivara chocolate or another milk chocolate with 40% cocoa
150g dessicated coconut

topping

70g powdered coconut (I used dessicated)


-Sift confectioner's sugar and almond powder together. Pour egg whites onto the sugar-almond mixture, and add peanut oil and dessicated coconut, without mixing them together.

- Bring water and sugar to a boil, 118°C. When the syrup reaches 115°C, start beating second batch of egg whites with a stand mixer. Pour syrup onto the whites (which should be at soft peak stage by now), continue beating and wait until mixture is down to 50°C before incorporating it into the sugar/almond mixture. Fold everything in delicately.

- Pipe mixture onto a parchment paper-covered baking sheet, making round shapes approx. 3,5cm in diameter. Space them approximately 2cm apart from one another. Sprinkle with powdered coconut.

- Tap baking sheet on kitchen counter, and let macaron tops crust for at least 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F. Bake tops for 12 minutes, opening oven door twice. After removing them from the oven, place parchment paper on counter or table.

- Make ganache. Preheat oven to 160°C, and spread coconut on a baking sheet. Toast coconut for approx. 10 minutes or until golden. Bring cream to a boil with vanilla beans split in half and previously scraped down. Remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 10 min.

- Place chopped chocolate in a medium bowl. Filter cream, reheat, and pour onto chocolate in three batches. Add toasted coconut, mix, and place in a deep dish. Cover with plastic wrap, making sure that it touches the ganache. Place in refrigerator until creamy.

- When ready, pipe ganache onto half of the macaron tops, covering them with the remaining tops.

- Place macarons in the fridge for 24 hours, bringing them back to room temperature for 2 hours before eating.

Happy New Year!

It's New Year's Eve and the train back to Paris is late. (15 minutes, not 3 hours, but we can leave that out for a more dramatic effect.)

Frustrated and cold (or doing just fine, but you get the point), I got off the subway and walked across the dreary Pont Neuf (alright, now it just sounds fake) and made my way up the five flights of stairs separating me from...an empty apartment? No!

What I came home to was a delightful New Year's Eve dinner in which I was strictly forbidden to help out. Here is the extent of what I had to do: sit, smile, and eat. And honestly, it couldn't have been easier given what was on the table: champagne, butter-seared scallops with truffle salt, marinated salmon--the Scandinavian sashimi--with a light cucumber salad and blinis, and a satisfying holiday cake with dried fruit.

After the partying comes the difficult time of setting New Year's resolutions. Here's mine: have dinner every day like I did on the 31st. Well, tofu and vegetable versions of it. Good enough, right?

Here's wishing everyone a terrific 2010 filled with joy, love, peace and obviously, food to bring it all together!

Simple and Delicious: Pan-Seared Scallops with Truffle Salt

1 TB butter

12 very very fresh scallops, coral removed

salt and pepper

Truffle salt, as much as you like

Heat butter in a pan (preferably steel, but any is fine) on medium-high until butter stops foaming.

Place scallops in pan, making sure not to overcrowd them. They should sizzle--flip them over when the bottom side has a nice light brown, and cook until the other side gets a nice brown as well.

Plate and sprinkle with a generous serving of truffle salt.