Macaroon or Macaron?

Chef Paul Kennedy - World Chocolate Masters Champion, told us when teaching us the fine art of the French Macaron, (yes it needs a capital letter!) that he divides his friends into Macaron friends and non Macaron friends.   You see, after you've had a few attempts at making this incredibly finicky biscuit, you'll understand why you will only offer them to people who know to appreciate them.  To those that think 'its only a biscuit' ....well, then they probably wouldn't really miss it.

Growing up, a macaroon was one of these things,

Recipe here at Elena's pantry

Sweet and moist with lots of coconut, they were consumed and savored on our way home from school in the family car.  I remember them to be large piped confections that we almost the size of my hand that I nibbled whilst wondering why my mother liked them so much....

Then whilst foodblog surfing in 2004, I discovered the French Macaron on a la cuisine (one of the first online recipes for the macaron) and then everyone seemed to be attempting them and singing its praises - well, back then, I couldn't really understand what all the fuss was about. 

The first ever attempt worked fine.... hence the incomprehension of what all the fuss was about.... the second attempt failed, as did the 3rd and 4th.  I even had my sister ferry them back from Laduree in London in order to compare them to my attempts.  Over the years though, I've been quite content to have my fill of them every time I visited Adriano Zumbo's in Sydney - (before he was THAT famous)    Still, making that perfect macaron shell was high on my list of to dos, so last year, the trip to Savour Melbourne took care of that.

This weekend I was delighted to share it with a lovely group of Macaron enthusiasts.

On arriving in the lovely home, I was greeted with a giant bowl of curious looking nuts.  (pardon me for going off track here)

I felt that closer inspection was required......

They are actually raw macadamia nuts.  I would never have known that was what they looked like growing on a tree!  And strangely, they have a texture like fresh coconut,  firm but slightly sweet and crunchy.  I learnt something new that day too!

Back on to the French Macarons.....

Demonstrating the Macaroner

Piping the shells with the help of a template

And finally assembling the biscuits.

We made Green tea, White chocolate & Raspberry and Lemon macarons.

The girls had fun and went away thinking about which friends were going to be Macaron friends.  So I told them, don't get too pretentious about French patisserie..... you probably don't need to go around correcting people of their pronunciation to the correct MAC-A-RON, as long as you know its spelled with one O, you're ok,
you can keep calling them MAC-A-ROONS.

~~~~

And some more photos of the dessert table for Carol & Doug at Kings Park a couple weeks ago.

Photos courtesy of Jess who did the beautiful flowers

Winter in the Swan Valley

We picked a lovely Winter sunshined filled weekend to visit the Swan Valley.  Just 20 minutes from the CBD the Swan Valley has improved somewhat since my last visit.  Every day, it feel more like Margaret River, the idea of driving into a whole different world never loses its novelty.

Way, way back when I was a very little girl, when market gardens and fruit growers were so close to the city, I remember weekend trips where we'd pick our own grapes, eat to our hearts content and roadside stalls filled with loquats, lemons and melons were never manned, graced only with an honesty box.  With sunkissed cheeks and with our bellies full of fruit, we'd happily fall asleep on the drive home.

Surprising myself this weekend, I found the great outdoors in the Swan Valley, wonderfully beautiful.   Blue skies, grape vines and autumn leaves everywhere.  It was really quite charming.

When in the Swan Valley, must visit places are,

The Olive farm winery, small family owned estate, producing award winning Chenin Blanc.  Anthony Yurisich the owner and winemaker mostly mans the cellar door on weekends, and loves to have a passionate chat about his wines and grapes.

John Kosovich Wines which is a small producer with a charming sales and tasting area in the working cellar of the winery.  They produce a wonderful Unoaked Chardonnay and I was unable to resist buying one of the last few bottles of the limited Rose Blanc.

Sandalford Winery and restaurant is also a lovely place to stop. The tasting will cost you $2.50 but they have a huge selection of wines produced from grapes both in the Swan Valley and Margaret River.   More commerical than the previous wineries, it is also the venue of 'A Day on the Greens' concerts.  I still have fond memories of Lionel Richie with Marcia Hines in '08 and now we're looking forward to Michael Buble march 2011.

The Margaret River Chocolate Factory is a must stop for fabulous icecreams and award winning truffles.  Chocolate tastings are free and watch the truffles being made whilst oggling at the giant conches of molten chocolate.

When you get hungry there are a whole myriad of wonderful restaurants catering to every taste.  High on my favourites would be, Lamonts, Chesters and they very beautiful Caversham House.

Take time to let the sun shine on your face and to smell the flowers.  I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Young love

I was delighted to have been asked to make Jessica and Sean's wedding cake this weekend.  Jess managed to pull a wedding for 100 guests together in less than 6 weeks.  Originally scheduled for November, the celebration was bought forward to accomodate Jess' brother visiting from Scotland.

Jess is a lovely, blushing young bride.  At the tender age of 20, she is bright, bubbly and a real pleasure to be around.  Her enthusiam at seeing the cakes was so delightful, it makes all the late nights and the cleaning up, totally worthwhile. 

Jess chose a chocolate cutting cake, with a design inspired by fellow PC graduate, Rouvelee.  Chocolate cupcakes with a dusting of sparkles were coaxed into a small towered display and the others were distributed as bonbonnieres.  Wishing you both much happiness in your new adventures ahead!