A Month of Macarons!

Whoopee! It's October and the start of Canele's much-awaited (well, by me anyway) Macaron Festival. Just for this month, Chef Patissier Pang Kok Keong (Singapore's answer to the likes of Pierre Herme and Paco Torrablanca) has created a range of six special macaron flavours, packed in an irresistibly pretty box with a charming illustration of a Thumbelina-esque girl wearing macaron booties.

These limited edition flavours — Marron Glace (chestnut cream and candied chestnut), Pistache et Griottine (with pistachio cream and brandied cherry), Sesame, Matcha, Noisettine Truffe (truffle cream and roasted hazelnut) and Citron Vert (with green lime cream)— are sold in boxes of 6 or 12.



I'm trying to go through my precious stash slowly, which means so far, I've only tried the Citron Vert and Marron Glace. The former is a tangy, fun flavour, with the buttercream tasting surprisingly like lime soda. The latter has all the lovely, mellow sweetness of chestnuts. I'll let you know when I've sampled the other flavours in the days to come. (Believe me when I tell you that every ounce of self-restraint has been called upon to prevent myself from inhaling them all at once).

Already my friends and I are planning to head down to Canele sometime next week to try the Entremets (more lavishly assembled macarons). I'm looking forward to the Passion Chocolat, which promises an oversized macaron sandwich filled with milk chocolate cream, light passionfruit cream and caramelised bananas.

Meanwhile, I'm also hoping to check out the high tea macaron buffet (available on weekends) at Macaron (which sits beside Canele). For $55++ per person, you get a choice of appetizer and entree from Macaron's regular menu, followed by a buffet offering 18 macaron flavours, 7 macaron entremets and 2 ala carte servings of Canele's homemade ice creams or sorbets. Sounds like heaven to me.

Chicken Soup and Matzo Balls

Once we got home from Spain, it was already holiday time and my parents and sister were coming to New York for Rosh Hashanah for the first time. Although I was busy getting back into the grind, I was determined to make my first chicken soup for Erev Rosh Hashanah. I e-mailed my mother to get the recipe and called home a few times to clarify the procedure. The recipe started with my bubby and was passed on and tweaked by my mother. My family thought mine tasted just as good!

Set aside a couple of hours on a Sunday, while you're doing something else. It takes 3 hours to make the soup. The soup is great to freeze and have on hand for days when you're feeling under the weather.

Bubby and Mom’s Chicken Soup

Serves 10

2 Parsley Root/ Parsnips (with green leaf)
1 bunch Fresh Dill
1 bunch Celery (just tops)
2 Leeks or 1 Whole Onion
3 cloves Garlic
8 Carrots
1 Bay leaf

Chicken

5 Legs
5 Backs (same as thighs)
4 Large Breasts
1/8 cup at a time Croyden House (the powder version of chicken stock)

1. Clean Chicken with hot water and put in a large pot. Cover chicken with water
and bring to a boil. Keep it covered. As grey stuff comes to top, skim the top of the soup
with slotted spoon (10-15 minutes).

2. Place Dill in Cheesecloth & tie up (I didn't use a cheese cloth or tie it up). Add Seasoning. Keep on simmer for 45 minutes to hour.

3. Add vegetables, bring to a boil again and then lower and simmer another
hour. Adjust seasoning. Skim the top of the soup. Put ½ dill in for the second time (15
minutes before the end), raise to medium, bring to a boil and simmer for another 15
minutes.

4. Cool for 1 1/2 hours without cover on another burner and strain. Remove fat after
frozen.

Matzo Balls (Streit’s)

Makes 12

4 eggs beaten

1/3 cup canola oil

1/2 cup water

salt, pepper

1 cup matzah meal

Boil 1/2 hr in boiling water.

Beat eggs and add water, canola oil, salt and pepper. Mix well, add matzo meal, stir thoroughly. Refrigerate overnight. Form into balls (10-11 per recipe) and drop them into boiling, bubbling salt water. If the balls stick to your fingers, wash and dry your hands. Cover and keep on medium, watch pot and lower to medium low (30 minutes total). Freeze on baking sheet with parchment uncovered. Place in freezer bags.

Enjoy!

Two Special Cakes

I spied a basket of fresh figs the other day and couldn't resist picking them up. I'd been meaning to try this recipe for a while, and with a half packet of frozen raspberries sitting forlornly in the fridge, there was no better time than now. Jodie's Fresh Fig, Raspberry & Almond Cake from Kylie Kwong's Heart and Soul is the kind of cake I love — dense and slightly wet, a texture you only get from a batter heavy with almond meal. Left overnight, the cake's moisture content improves and you get a fantastic tea cake that makes for a great breakfast slice too.

Red Velvet Cake



I've always been curious about Red Velvet Cake. It's not something you find on the bakery counters here, Singaporeans being partial to more European desserts (except, of course, cheesecake). By all accounts—and by that, I mean from what I've seen on TV (Oprah, The Apprentice—yes, my goggle box diet needs reviewing)—it's a Southern (American) favourite.

Almost luridly red, the cake gets its colour from a good splash (or three) of red food colouring. Although, technically, the reaction between the white vinegar and cocoa powder should be sufficient to render a reddish hue. I can't vouch for the latter since I unloaded quite fair bit of red food colouring into my batter.

The good news is, taste wise, this cake rocks. It is wonderfully moist, tender and light, with the lovely flavour of buttermilk and an almost alkalinic lilt. A swirl of cream cheese frosting is all it needs, making this one of the best cakes I've made in a while.

Pan Con Aceite De'Olivo

Lee and Sherri in Palma De Mallorca
A Cliff between Deia and Soller
Above: Lee and Sherri in Gaudi's Parc Guell, Barcelona
Below: Vegetables at La Boqueria market, Barcelona

Sherri and Lee at Hotel La Residencia, Deia

One of many cappucinos

The Pool at La Residencia, Deia
Patata Bravas at El Xelini Barrigon, Deia
Hotel La Residencia Front Lawn
Paella at Las Palmeras, Deia

We just got back from Barcelona and Deia, a village 30 minutes outside of Palma De Mallorca. After a year of reading Travel and Leisure, Food and Wine and Frommer's in preparation for our big trip, it finally came and went.

Why does everything taste better in Spain? The tomatoes tasted nothing like the ones in New York- they were sweet and juicy. The olive oils (or "aceite d'olivo") with fresh bread at the beginning of each meal got me so full, I was ready for dessert after my appetizer. The sangria was a perfect end to every lazy day. I always knew I liked tapas, but this was the real stuff. How am I going to live without daily patatas bravas?

We found many gems in Spain, so here is a guide of where to find them:

Deia- a village 30 minutes outside of Palma De Mallorca in the hills

Eat at El Xelini Barrigon: Xelini is the village tapas restaurant housed in one of many stone buildings. The locals and tourists flock here alike. After reading about Xelini in Elle, we went there on our second day for lunch. Through out our 6 days in Deia, we ate at Xelini 4 times. The patata bravas, chorizitos, tomato and onion salad, mushrooms and chocolate mousse were unreal. We also tried tumbet, a Mallorcan vegetable dish with a layer of potatoes, eggplant and tomato sauce. If you are in Mallorca and decide to drive up to Deia, this is a must stop. We ate at a few really expensive places in town and this well-priced tapas place tops them all.

Barcelona

1. Divina Pasta, 115 Bailen in Eixample- While walking on our Gaudi tour between Casa Mila and La Sagrada Familia, we came across Divina Pasta, there was a large crowd of locals laughing loudly. There was no English menu and not a tourist in sight. We sat down and ate homemade pasta. I had the best pasta dish I have ever eaten (I haven't been to Italy though)- "Papardelle con tomato natural, hierbas aromaticas y aceite suave de ajo". The place is well-priced and phenomenal. It's owned by Argentine Italians and a Uruguayan.

2. Taller de Tapas is a modern tapas place on Ramblas Catalunya. They have outside seating on the cobblestone walkway and serve great tapas. I had the creme catalan, their version of a creme brulee, and it was delicious! If you're staying on Las Ramblas, this place is really close without the Time Square tourists.

3. Cuines Santa Caterina is a modern restaurant in the Mercat Santa Caterina, which is famous for its coloured, tiled, rippled roof in the middle of El Born/La Rivera. The produce comes right from the market stalls 2 feet away. It is very close to the cathedral in the Barri Gotic and to The Picasso Museum in El Born. Lee had an incredible omelette.

4. La Boqueria- Our first morning in Barcelona, we walked over to La Boqueria and had a great capuccino at Bar Pinoxto. We roamed around all of the stalls of gorgeous produce, meat, chicken and lots of jamon! Fun place to sample a bit of everything.

I came to the realization after eating in numerous fancy restaurants like El Olivo and El Raco D'es Teix in Deia, Restaurant Gaig in Barcelona and Comerc 24, a restaurant that is famous for its molecular gastronomy (read: FOAM PARTY), that the local well-priced places are the best. Although all of these restaurants were good, I didn't think they were great.

When we got home from Spain, I made my new quick dinner:

Roasted jumbo shrimp with garlic and olive oil

Buy Jumbo Shrimp in the frozen section of Trader Joe's. Run water on the shrimp for 5 minutes to defrost them. Throw them in the oven with some minced garlic and olive oil for about 10 minutes at 350. When they come out of the oven, squirt lemon juice on top of the shrimp. If you want to make life really easy, roast asparagus with the same garlic and olive oil for 15 minutes on the same baking sheet. A healthy, one pan meal.