Basic macaron recipe

Macarons have a reputation for being tricky, but they're very tasty and fast to make.  Over time I've found a couple of key tips:  

1.   After you pipe them onto the parchment, let them sit on the counter for 20-30 minutes to dry out.  This is key to getting the little feet.

2.   It's easy to underbake or over bake them.  Try lifting one off when you think they're done -- the bottom should lift off easily without sticking.  At that point give it another minute.  

My philosophy is to just keep making them until you get a feel for it. 

Each egg white is about 30 grams.  For every egg white you need 30 grams of almond meal, 54 grams of confectioner's sugar, and 12 grams of granulated sugar.  The recipe below is for macarons using 3 egg whites, which will give you about 32 halves or 16 double-macaron sandwiches.


3 egg whites, at room temperature
36 grams granulated or caster sugar  (about 3 Tblsp)
1/8 tsp cream of tartar (optional)
1/4 tsp flavoring, e.g. vanilla, almond extract (optional)
Coloring (optional)


90 grams almond meal (about 1 cup)
162 grams of confectioner's sugar  (about 1 1/2 cups)


Put parchment paper on two baking sheets.  In a small bowl, sieve almond meal and confectioner's sugar together and set aside.


With whisk attachment on stand mixer, stir egg whites, cream of tartar, and granulated sugar at medium-low speed until a little frothy and the sugar is incorporated into the egg whites, about 1-2 minutes.  Increase speed to medium or medium high and beat for about a minute, then increase speed again to medium-high to high and beat until you have glossy, stiff peaks.  When you lift the whisk out of the egg whites it can just bend over into a stiff  'comma' shape, but you don't want it too loose.  Just before you stop beating, add any flavoring or coloring you want.


Take the bowl off the mixer and, with a spatula, gently fold in the almond-sugar mixture. The more you fold, the runnier it will get -- you're looking for a mixture that is stiffer than pancake batter, but just runny enough to almost fall out of the piping bag on its own. 


Put a small amount of batter into a piping bag that has a large round opening (I just use the plastic ring that holds the piping tips, with no tip on it.) and pipe a test macaron -- it should flatten out without holding a peak.  If it makes a little peak, fold the batter a little more.  When the batter is the right consistency, pipe it onto the baking sheets, about and inch and a half in diameter and about 2 inches apart.  


When you have piped all the macarons, lift the baking sheets about 6-8 inches and drop them on the counter 2 or 3 times, to get air bubbles out of them.  The batter will smooth out and spread out a little bit as it sits.   Let the macarons sit for an hour to dry out a little -- I've tried making them with and without this step and have found that they're much more likely to rise up and form their little 'feet' if you dry them a bit. 


Turn your oven to 300 degrees and bake for about 10 minutes -- check them frequently to make sure they're not browning.  Let cookies cool completely before filling. 

Cashew Snowballs

1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter
1/2 c confectioner's sugar, plus more for rolling
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 c flour
2 c unsalted raw or roasted cashews, ground fine
1/2 tsp salt


Mix sugar and butter in a bowl.  Add extracts.  Beat in flour, cashews, and salt. 


If freezing dough, divide into 4 parts, each on a sheet of waxed paper, and roll into logs about 1 1/2 inches across. Put logs in a tightly closed plastic bag and freeze.  Thaw logs as needed (each log will make about 12-18 snowballs).


If not freezing dough, chill the dough for about half an hour until it's firm.  Preheat oven to 375 and prepare cookies sheets covered with parchment paper.  Pinch off pieces and roll balls about an inch to an inch and a half in diameter.  Place on cookie sheets about an inch apart and bake about 20 minutes, until golden on bottom.  Roll cookies in remaining confectioners sugar while still hot.  Re-roll (or sprinkle with sugar) when cool.  Can also be frozen after baking. 

Bourbon Balls

Bourbon Balls from Paloozer 2015

These boozy babies replaced rumballs this Xmas but are pretty much the same recipe. Advantage: no baking! I used the most excellent SMOKED MAPLE BOURBON from Knob Creek, yeah baby. 

http://www.tastingtable.com/entry_detail/chefs_recipes/19204
Recipe adapted from Kat Kinsman, Editor in Chief Tasting Table

Yield: 3 dozen  balls- not cooked!

Prep Time: 25 minutes (plus 2-3 hours to bourbonate pecans)

Cook Time: 15 minutes (toasting nuts)

Total Time: 40 minutes, plus chilling time of 2ish hours

keep in mind soaking the nuts & chill-firming the balls, and it's really a 6-7 hour recipe

INGREDIENTS

1 cup pecans

¾ cup MAPLE SMOKED bourbon, divided

2 cups Nilla Wafers crumbs

½ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder, divided

½ cup confectioners' sugar, divided

¼ cup light corn syrup or honey

I added dry instant coffee to the powdered cocoa coating

DIRECTIONS

1. In a small bowl, combine the pecans and ¼ cup of the bourbon. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit until the pecans have absorbed some of the bourbon, 2 to 3 hours. Drain and reserve the bourbon.

2. Heat the oven to 325°. Spread the pecans onto a baking sheet and bake until lightly toasted, 12 to 15 minutes. Your house will smell heavenly. Let the nuts cool, then finely chop and set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the chopped pecans, remaining bourbon, Nilla Wafers crumbs, ¼ cup cocoa powder, ¼ cup confectioners' sugar and the corn syrup. Stir until smooth. Might try these sometime with molasses instead of light corn syrup.

4. Using a heaping tablespoon portion, roll dough into 1/2 inch to ¾-inch balls. Smaller balls firm up better.

5. In a separate bowl, combine the remaining cocoa powder and confectioners' sugar and coat each ball in the cocoa sugar. I added a packet of Starbucks Via or other good instant coffee.Transfer the bourbon balls to a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours or until firm.

Salmon with Anchovy Butter

Melissa Clark

http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017329-salmon-with-anchovy-garlic-butter  includes a video

INGREDIENTS- serves 4 : ABout 500 cals/serving, takes 20 mins

This recipe is salty enough for Carol Carter Wall.

3 tablespoons unsaltd butter, softened :

                          USE THE BEST BUTTER

4 anchovy fillets, minced or can use paste

1 fat garlic clove, minced (or 2 small ones) -I use 2

• ½ teaspoon kosher salTFreshly ground black pepper 

I USE GOOD LEMON-PEPPER/SALT LIKE TRADER JOE'S

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• 4 (6- to 8-ounce) skin-on salmon fillets NOT the Farmed STUFF!

• 2 tablespoons drained capers, patted dry

• ½ lemon

I MAKE EXTRA ANCHOVY BUTTER, it's great for cooking scrambled eggs. The key to this recipe is to use 1/2 the anchovy butter to cook the salmon, then stir second half into pan to make a sauce at end. You get the mellow garlic (cooked) and sharper raw garlic taste.

PREPARATION

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, mash together butter, anchovies, garlic, salt and pepper.

1. In a large ovenproof skillet, melt about half the anchovy butter. Add fish, skin side down. Sear the salmon- Cook for 3 minutes over high heat to brown the skin, spooning some pan drippings over the top of the fish as it cooks. Add capers to bottom of pan and transfer to oven. Roast until fish is just cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes.

1. Remove pan from oven and add remaining anchovy butter to pan to melt. Place salmon on plates and spoon buttery pan sauce over the top. Squeeze the lemon half over the salmon and garnish with chopped parsley. Serve.

1. I like to braise fennel in the same pan in oven, after the salmon is seared, it provides flavor as it steams if you cover the pan. Lemon zest added with lemon juice is good.
2. sorry about all caps, some strange cut & paste function. I wasn't really yelling at youse.

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Parmesan Rosemary Polenta "Fries"

This is a great dish for leftovers -- make polenta for dinner one night, and then cut up the leftovers into "fries" for the next night.  Also a great party dish -- you can make the 'fries' ahead of time and just heat them up right before the party.


1 1/2 cup chicken broth (or vegetable, if you're making it vegetarian)
1 c water
1 c milk
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp fresh rosemary, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1 c cornmeal (I like to use a coarse grind)
1/2 c parmesan, grated (more for top, optional)
olive oil for baking, optional


Bring liquids and spices to a boil in a saucepan.  Lower the heat to medium and whisk in the cornmeal, a little at a time, so it won't clump.  Whisk for about 15 minutes until it's creamy.  Take off the heat and stir in the cheese.  At this point you can serve it, or pour it into an oiled baking dish and let it set (or sprinkle with more cheese and bake it until it browns a little on top).  You can also put it in the fridge and do the rest the next day if you prefer -- polenta keeps beautifully. 


Once set, cut into 'fries'.  Heat the oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with parchment and sprinkle it with a little olive oil.  Place the fries on the parchment and toss them a little to get oil on them.  Bake for about 20 minutes or until begin to brown a little.  Serve hot.