Halloween

This year for Halloween I put out some old and new finds in our apartment. I have finally invested in some vintage hard plastic pumpkins and I definitely hope to grow my collection (they're on the top shelf and are the two smallest pumpkins shown). The largest pumpkin is new (as in not vintage), but I got it in Portland two years ago. When John and I were preparing to move, I was willing to sacrifice it (give it away) to save space in moving, but John insisted I keep it. I really love it and I kind of obsessed about getting it and it definitely gets people talking when they see it.

I found a really fantastic antique urn I've been searching for on ebay on-and-off for several years. And it was a good deal! I cut some random weeds in our alleyway and I think it looks very autumnal and a little bit creepy. 

I somehow divided up my Halloween decorations into colored groups by orange and black and black and white. The small witch silhouette (pictured below) was for supposed to be enlarged for a yard decoration, but I kept it small. Also, our beloved (stuffed) corgi Cornwall has been getting cold recently so he's bundled up to stay warm. And finally, I've been very eager bake and decorate sugar cookies. I think my attempt at frosting cookies this year turned out well enough.

Have a very Happy (and scary) Halloween!

Balthazar

Owned by chef Keith McNally, Balthazar is one of my favorite restaurants and destinations in all of New York City. The restaurant is known for its high quality and traditional French menu, its French brasserie decor, and it's situated in the heart of SoHo where many designers, celebrities, and Manhattanites congregate. Recently, I learned more about the details to the design of the restaurant, which included special plaster treatments on the walls to make them look aged. McNally also collected old mirrors and pieced them together with lead to create gigantic framed mirrors, which were very atmospheric and charming. In addition to the restaurant, there is a side store bakery, which has many freshly baked cookies, breads, pies, and delicious tarts. I was thrilled to get breakfast at Balthazar and I hope to stop in again the next time I'm back in New York.

Macarons at Su La Table

March Madness for me is not about basketball, but about celebrating my personal obsession for French macarons.  March 20 is the proclaimed day of the macaron, but for me it's just another reason to love (and eat) the popular small round confection.  A local bakery called Nuvrei, offers a basement counter specifically for macarons below it's main cafe.  This past weekend I thought it would be fun to take a baking course to learn how to actually make macarons.  

Sur La Table in Portland (and other select locations in the country) offers a variety of classes in a wonderful classroom/showroom for people interested in cooking.  I've always admired the plethora of products in the store, but it was extra special to learn new skills and have all the ingredients premeasured.  It was also a lot of fun meeting new people who were eager to learn about making macarons.

The course offered some really great insights specifically in making macarons that I'd like to share here, but just in case anyone wants to take this class I won't give too much away.  
 
Highlight tips for making French macarons:
-Measure using a scale instead of using traditional measuring cups; most standard recipes, for example, use 'one large egg', but not all eggs are created equally in volume, so it's better to be consistent by measuring by weight.
-In addition to having clean bowls and utensils, wiping down said bowls and utensils with distilled white vinegar is an extra step of insurance to be sure that there's no residual grease or fat from other recipes.
-Use heavy baking sheets, not standard thin cookie sheets.  If you  cvheets just double up the sheets.
-When piping out the batter it's good to pull the bag directly up quickly and pipe out an entire row, instead of tilting the bag back each time for each cookie.
-Let the piped unbaked cookies rest on parchment paper for 15 to 30 minutes in a cool spot until they are not sticky to the touch.
-Use an off-set spatula to lift the baked cookies off the parchment paper after cooling.

One of the most surprising parts of the class was being able to use the Lekue DecoMax Pen (we used the 12 oz. -- not to be confused with small decorating pen size).  Piping the macaron batter, which needed to be a drippy consistency, was much easier using the DecoMax Pen than a traditional piping bag.  I definitely recommend getting one, which can be used for other batters and piping frosting.  

Thanks for reading--below are some photos from Nuvrei and the workshop:

Chef Sam Urman prepping for the class

Wiping the mixer down with distilled white vinegar

Wiping egg whites and granulated sugar

Powdered sugar and almond flour (sifted three times), added to the whipped egg whites

Lekue DecoMax Pen - a great tool for macarons

Kathleen has a fancy idea to add gold powdered on to the freshly baked cookies

Maki and Kathleen - my partners in the kitchen