No, it's not the band Placebo with it's androgynously sexy lead singer. It's Macarons. I've attempted french macarons three times this weekend and each time I've been met with failure. Granted, I've been careless.
For my first attempt, I neglected to let the macarons rest before putting them into the oven; stupidity on my part.
For my second attempt, I adjusted the icing sugar content; again, stupidity on my part.
For my final, and perhaps most successful, attempt I can't quite figure out what went wrong. The macarons turned out quite tasty but they lacked a foot and were cracked on top. However, they didn't look like the examples of overbeaten-batter macarons that I've seen on the internet. I let the batter rest; I made sure to fold in the almond flour and icing sugar quickly but effectively. Basically, I've all but chalked it up to lack of experience making proper macarons. I've found another recipe on a blog that looks quite promising (my first recipe came from Bon Apetit magazine). I know these confections are not beyond my ability to make. That will be my challenge.
At least until I run out of almond flour. I mean, really, how expensive is that stuff?! On a delightful side note, I love being from a rural county in Kentucky. Our local Kroger is like most other Krogers; they have the health food section, but the specialty ingredients never move. I was able to find not only a bag of almond meal, but also a bag of Quinoa flour for 2.50 each on manager's special. Naturally I checked the expiration dates and they were months away; how could I pass it up? But I digress. I'll post later about my macarons.
I will also post about a delightful and tasty, if not messy, vegetable lasagna experience.
Dan
