Fancy Foodie Friday: Macarons, Part 1 (Macaron d'Amiens)

Feel like a treat after a long week? Splurge on a special ingredient? In the mood to spend a little longer in the kitchen? Got a hot date to impress with your culinary prowess? Check out the recipes in our ongoing Fancy Foodie Fridays series. These recipes might be a little too complex, time-consuming, or expensive for the every day, but are a nice challenge or treat for a fancy evening in. 
  
So I'm currently taking a bit of time off of work until my new job starts and my visa transfer escapes bureaucratic purgatory. While I'm (f)unemployed, one of my plans for the downtime had been to learn lots of new things. I'm learning to play the ukulele. I took an awesome sailing class. I even painted a painting that didn't totally suck!

Although that hill behind the bird is the grave mound of his misshapen brother who had to be eaten by the earth and replaced by a less terrible bird for it to reach that stage.

Last week, I took an awesome macaron-making class at the Paris International Cooking School in Sydney. It was an intro class/demo, and we rushed through making 5 different styles of macarons in just a couple of hours, did some generous sampling, and then got to take home a box of our creations. (Side note to my Sydney friends: I'll probably go back for one of their longer weekend workshops early next year--let me know if you're interested in joining me!)

Testing the consistency of the meringue in class.

I've never attempted macarons before, because I've heard they're very finicky, but after this class, I've undertaken the adventure. I thought I'd do a short series on my adventures.

I thought I'd start with the easiest and least finicky macaron I learned, Macaron d'Amiens. These macarons are the regional variety from Amiens, a small city in the Picardy region in northern France. They're apparently not very popular or well-known outside of the region, which is unfortunate because they are delicious. They're a super chewy, heavier honey and apricot macaron. Serious amounts of yum.

Fancy Foodie Friday: Thyme Steak with Lemon Ginger Potatoes and Carrots

Feel like a treat after a long week? Splurge on a special ingredient? In the mood to spend a little longer in the kitchen? Got a hot date to impress with your culinary prowess? Check out the recipes in our ongoing Fancy Foodie Fridays series. These recipes might be a little too complex, time-consuming, or expensive for the every day, but are a nice challenge or treat for a fancy evening in. This is the second installment in the series.

It took a fun, creative sous chef to turn an eat-to-live girl into a food lover. I told my boyfriend Doug about this project, and he was instantly ready to create a delicious dish. Honestly, anytime we take the time to make dinner, it's amazing. The first bite is always an explosion of tastiness that makes me instantly happy and more in love.

This meal is no exception.

This dish presented some new flavor combinations that I personally never tasted before. The carrots are interesting in that they have the vinegar flavor, but not the bite. After the honey is added, the finished product has such a unique flavor that you'll either really enjoy it or not like it at all. The lemon ginger coconut oil that he's been cooking with is a perfect harmony of lemon, ginger, and coconut. We've even thrown it in when cooking rice, and it makes it 10x tastier.

Recipe, cooking, and cooking terms brought to you by Doug Sprous, Sous Chef (my main inspiration to expand my palate and learn how to cook properly).

Fancy Foodie Friday: Roasted Cauliflower, Sirloin Tip Roast, and Caramelized Onion Pasta

Feel like a treat after a long week? Splurge on a special ingredient? In the mood to spend a little longer in the kitchen? Got a hot date to impress with your culinary prowess? Check out the recipes in our ongoing Fancy Foodie Fridays series. These recipes might be a little too complex, time-consuming, or expensive for the every day, but are a nice challenge or treat for a fancy evening in. This is the first post in the series.


I’m a big fan of cooler weather. Many of the things I like best in life (soup, hot tea, fuzzy blankets, fuzzy socks, a lit fireplace, etc.) are best-suited to cooler weather. It’s also the perfect time of year for roasting. I live in Buffalo, NY, and this week is the first week it’s gotten nice and cold, so I’m celebrating by turning on the oven!

Roasting is my favorite way to prepare vegetables. It’s well-suited to my favorite veggies, which tend be the roots—cauliflower, potatoes, carrots, parsnips—but I’ve also found it works well for things like broccoli and asparagus. Asparagus especially gets these delicious crispy tips and turns very nutty in taste. Denser veggies like carrots or rutabagas take longer.