Soundtrack: Knife, Girl Talk
noms
getting ready to spend easter holiday in the sun and on the water with my family and best friends. in the process of making half batches of a variety of confectional delights – since everyone seems to have their own personal favorites i wanted to try and create a few options.
*currently hardening in the fridge awaiting white chocolate coating: pastel speckled pecan cream eggs.
Soundtrack: I’m A Lady, Santigold
inspiration
to me!
wonderland
so tomorrow is my birthday. i’m hoping i have time to make some sort of thematic candy confections…not sure what that would be (but in googling ideas i found out that jelly belly comes in birthday cake flavor ohmygod)…i know this is the time to break out those rainbow sprinkles but i’d like to use them with something other than my beloved marshmallows…maybe clear champagne flavored lollipops filled with sprinkles??!
in any case, i’m going to dinner with some very special people in my life and the restaurant happens to have one of my most favorite deserts – something called an Eton Mess. pretty much a concoction of meringue, whipped cream, and macerated fruits. like a really messy (so messy it’s not even listed on the menu and you have to specifically ask for it) version of pavlova (mother’s favorite dessert). how fitting.
Soundtrack: London Calling, The Clash
nosh
got a wicked package of british confections from the lovely ali (who dates and makes cakes). i love her and cannot wait to see her when she comes back to visit in a few weeks!
so in a (totally my fault) turn of events, my attempt to make pistachio/chocolate/dried cherry nougat has resulted in a confection that reminds me of Bit o’ Honey. luckily i could see that gross miscalculations had been made and avoided adding in any of the nougat additions i had prepped. (posts for both forthcoming)
but quite honestly, this is kind of why i love teaching myself how to make all kinds of confections, you never know what you’ll wind up with (if you’re anything like me). and even mistakes are still a good way to learn how to roll with the punches life inevitably throws at you.
Soundtrack: Snow Patrol
noms
off to mammoth for the three day weekend. bought my first pair of snow pants and some other warm clothestuffs. anticipating a greater sledding to skiing ratio, just praying i don’t freeze to death in the meantime…
made some chocolate dipped marshmallows that were leftover from the filming batch. insta-s’mores.
conversation heart post got a bit delayed since today i filmed a video of marshmallow making (eep!) plus thinking of clever things to write on conversation hearts takes careful consideration…
Soundtrack: Roses, Outkast
went to a french pastry class at sur la table because i was feeling fancy.
pastry dough
basic puff pastry is layers of dough and butter folded over and rolled out many times so that when the butter melts while the dough is cooking you are left with a flaky airy delight. puff pastry is pretty easy to make, but much much easier to buy and there are some really good ones on the market that will save a ton of time.
palmiers
once the dough is folded you can slice off pieces and lay out flat to bake into palmiers ‘elephant ears’. before cooking the slices are generously coated with a granulated sugar/sugar in the raw mixture. (you can also slice the pastry dough into rectangles – do not fold after the final rolling out – and bake off to use in a napolean type desert layered with fruit and whipped cream.)
profiteroles, eclairs
the other pastry recipe we mastered was basic pâte à chou which you can then pipe into balls (to make profiteroles) or long rows (to make eclairs). once baked the insides hollow out and you can fill with ice cream or vanilla pastry cream.
generously dust in powdered sugar or cover in dark chocolate ganache.
noms
also…as a snack the teacher made a massive batch of popcorn with butter, salt, and freshly grated parmesan cheese. it was a delectable eating day indeed.
popcorn!
peas noms
my lovely father unfortunatley suffered a heart attack (and has since recovered admirably) so i’ve been spread a titch thin trying to juggle things. have a few confectional delight creations that are begging for posting, which i hope to get around to this weekend.
as for my next project i will be taking on candied citrus peel, in honor of the care packages i get from time to time from dad’s trees. typically these are consumed in the form of afternoon snacks or juiced for mimosas, but i think he will appreciate a care package of a special candied treat.
citrus noms
