Confessions of a Closet Foodie

I think it is time to admit it. . .I'm a Closet Foodie. I say "Closet" foodie because I haven't acknowledged the fact I'm a foodie until recently. I've been a foodie for years, but I never really knew it or truly understood what it meant! I will explain.

I'm addicted to many food shows-Ace of Cakes, Chopped, Good Eats, Unwrapped, etc.
I'm fascinated with the history and evolution of foods!
Ingredients excite me- especially when I have to look something new up before I can even purchase it.
Seeing the ingredients come together is a such a thrill.
Experiencing the tastes of various combinations of ingredients is a phenomenal pleasure.
The science of baking and cooking is intriguing!
Seeing flour, baking powder/soda, sugar, and butter come together to form a dough is exhilarating!

Ok, with that said, I also want to point this out- baking used to be the only kitchen activity I really enjoyed. I still do- of course, I do! I live to bake. However, I've discovered that preparing/cooking dinner can also be a thrill!

This year, inspired by the movie Julie and Julia, I decided to try at least one new recipe a week. My husband and I were getting tired (VERY tired) of the same old dinners. Adding a new recipe a week to our standard meals makes a huge difference. True, so far, not all of them have been fantastic, but they have been different. Those different recipes (whether easy or hard) have made making dinner fun and exciting. What will this new recipe bring? How will it taste? Will it be added to our standards? It has made a huge difference. I don't dread making dinner anymore- even the old 'standbys' because I'm a Closet Foodie!

Confession 1-DONE!

Anyone else want to join this Closet Foodie. . . you aren't alone if you secretly love to bake, cook, or any other form of 'controlled burning'! Let's stick together!

Happy Macaron Day!!!

Happy Macaron Day! In Paris, if you go to Pierre Herme's bakery, you can get 4 macarons for free if you make a small donation. It is a way to raise money to help cure diseases, I think. (My French isn't that great anymore!) Anyway, I decided since I can't go to Paris and get free macarons, I would celebrate by making my own!

Inspired by many blogs, I decided to give it a try- especially after I got my new mixer. I've been pouring over recipes and tips all week. I found Emily's (The Black Apple) tips very helpful. You can find them here. (Thanks, Emily.) She also posts links to several recipes! I'm attempting cherry vanilla macs today. This morning, I made the batter and they are currently sitting out to form a skin. They will go in the oven shortly, and we will see what happens!

I had some trouble with the macs so far. First of all, my almonds weren't dry enough when I tried to grind them up. No big deal- I put the almonds in then oven at a low temp for a little while. That helped- they were still wet, though. I sifted the ground almonds with the icing sugar and then I proceeded to making the meringue.
I was so proud! My meringue turned out nice with very stiff peaks. Then I folded in the dry ingredients and tried to pipe my macs with a ziploc bag since I don't have a piping bag. Oh, that was messy!!! My macs look much like amebias instead of nice round macs. I can handle amebias.
They have sat out to form their skin. Now, I'm going to put them in the oven. I'll add to this post later after they have baked. I've decided, if they form little feet like they are supposed to, I will continue to make the ganache filling. If not, we will just eat them as cookies, and I'll have to try again- soon!

These are fun, but they are finicky! I'll keep you posted!

ETA: Update #2
Ok, Macs are cooked and out of the oven. They are all amebias, but most of them sprouted feet and most of them didn't crack (a sign that I did beat it right!) They aren't perfect, but not bad for a first try.


See the feet? I was jumping around the kitchen when I saw those. They are very small, but they are there!
Batch one. Not too bad. Many with feet. Only a few small cracks. I baked these with a wooden spoon propping the oven door open.
Batch number 2. Do you see the one perfect mac???? I do! This batch I baked with the oven door closed- less feet and more cracks. Ok, lesson learned!

These are the macs once cooled and waiting for the ganache filling. I'm currently waiting for the ganache to get a little harder, so I can put it in the cookies. I think I might run an errand and come back to see how the ganache is doing! I'll be back soon with finished macs!

E(on Saturday)TA: I did get them done. I made the ganache with cream and white chocolate and a bit of vanilla. It was very soupy. I even put it in the fridge for a while to set. I was impatient, so I put it in a small bag and tried to pipe it onto my macs. It was messy, but they got done!
I decided to freeze them, so the ganache would harden. That helped some. Here are some pictures of the final results!

Than you all for going with me in the quest for macarons. They taste marvelous even if they look weird. My husband is so excited, he is ready for me to make more. He didn't even like the ones at the bakery- go figure, huh? He says mine taste much better! They were fun, and I plan on trying again very soon!