This is my ode to the beet. I love it. It is good steamed/boiled, but why stop there? Surely the humble, yet provocatively deep red-colored, beet has more to offer beyond the boundaries of salads, or worse, as a natural red food color. The result of an evening of inspiration and creativity was this Creamy Sweet Beet Pie with Hazelnut Crust. The yogurt syrup makes it even better. Oh my! Even the beet skeptic might be swayed to the beat of the beet!

•  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •

Like a northern snowbird, I headed south last week. To get used to the time, I had this not-so-great idea to tough it out on my first night: stay up, finish writing this, get some work done, and be early to bed the next evening to ‘reset’ my circardian rhythm. My thirty-something body, on the other hand, had other plans–like succumbing to exhaustion before midnight, not feeling my laptop slip from the bed and not hearing the heartbreaking sound of the machine hitting the hardwood floor. Nope. I had woken up in a daze at 3am, local time, and slowly realized that ACK! MY LAPTOP!!! Blood drained from my face when I saw it closed, but monitor at the bottom. #$&(*&%! I leaped from the bed to assess the damage, praying that the screen didn’t $hatter into piece$.  Thankfully, everything was still intact except for the corner dent, and most importantly: it still worked! Whew. After that, I couldn’t bring myself to push my luck in the staying-up-too-late-to-post department for the rest of the week.

•  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •

Beets, we meet again. You and your unpretentious exterior.

Your unassuming presence change once peeled and cut, and you resemble rubies or garnets.

Just looking at you make me smile. Jewels, you are.

Oh, god, I talk to vegetables. Secret’s out!

Well, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go back to being sane.

Enamored is an understatement as to how I feel about beets. I wanted to do something more than roasting and boiling them for salads. When I got more beets, I had PIE in my mind, thanks to the  apple pie and pumpkin pie I had in rotation in the kitchen, so pie it is.

For the crust, I wasn’t feeling the flaky dough crust, so I decided on a graham cracker crust. Well, well, guess who ran out of graham crackers (or crumbs)? Haha. I still had whole hazelnuts, so I ground them into powder consistency and added wheat germ and butter.

The ground-nut crust was borne out of last month’s almond-grinding for the macarons. Since then, I’ve ground more almonds and hazelnuts for crusts that have earned raves among family members.

The hazelnut and wheat germ crust went perfectly well with the beets.

It could have been a planet’s unattractive red surface at first glance, and I wasn’t quite confident of the outcome that I was ready to toss it if it didn’t turn out good. However, my doubts melted after I took my first bite. I was in awe of how good everything melded together. It’s an odd marriage of ingredients, spices and textures, for sure, which really made for an interesting dessert.

I wasn’t the only one taken by it, judging by how fast it disappeared from the pie plate, down to the very last crumb. And I mean…the very last.

If you haven’t had beets as a dessert, then here’s your chance! Yummy, yummy, yummy. Dare I say it’s even healthy?! I think so. :-)

Creamy Sweet Beet Pie with Hazelnut Crust and Yogurt Syrup

Ingredients:

Filling

• 500 grams fresh whole beets (approx 3-4″-diameter beets), peeled and cut into ½” cubes
• 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons whole wheat flour
• 7 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Crust

• 3.5 oz shelled hazelnuts, ground to powder consistency in a food processor
• 2 oz wheat germ
• 4 tablespoons salted butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar

Syrup

• 1/2 cup greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup icing sugar

Equipment

• food processor (for grinding hazelnuts)
• 2 small mixing bowls
• 9″ glass pie plate
• 1 baking sheet
• parchment paper
• 1 medium mixing bowl
• 1 large mixing bowl
• aluminum foil

Preparation

For the Crust:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F with the rack in the lower middle position.
2. Mix ground hazelnuts, wheat germ, brown sugar and melted butter in a small bowl to create a gritty paste.
3. Transfer onto the pie plate. Press and level against the bottom and sides of the plate with a spatula. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool on a trivet.
   Keep the oven on.

   For the Filling:

4. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Pour and spread cubed beets on the parchment paper. Bake for 10 minutes. After removing, place the oven rack in the upper middle position.
5. Put baked beets in a medium bowl and toss with lemon juice.
6. Mix flour, brown sugar, ground cinnamon, and ground nutmeg using a spatula in a large bowl. Pour beets into the mixture and toss to coat.
7. Beat eggs with heavy cream in the medium bowl from #5 with a fork. Pour over the beet and flour mixture, and stir together with a spatula until there are no dry spots left. Assembling the Pie:
   
8. Transfer the beet mixture into the pie plate with crust. Level with a spatula. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
9. Remove pie from the oven. Increase the temperature to 400°F and place the rack in the lower middle portion of the oven. Cover the pie plate with foil and return to the oven. Bake for another 10 minutes.
10. Cool the pie (still covered with foil) on the trivet for 30 minutes, then uncover and cool for 30 minutes more.

    Making the Syrup:

11. Beat the icing sugar and yogurt together until smooth.
12. Slice beet pie and serve with yogurt syrup. Instead of the yogurt syrup, you can also top with vanilla ice cream or crème fraiche.

Notes

Beet preparation: The original recipe calls for cubed fresh beets that are pre-baked to cook and dry a little to make them chewy. You can also  shave or grate the beets if you have trouble chewing or if you don’t like them chewy; and you may then skip Step #4.

Serving suggestions: You can top the pie with vanilla ice cream or crème fraiche, instead of yogurt syrup. Best served warm. Re-heat in microwave for 10 seconds before serving.

Hazelnut Crust: Very versatile and I urge you to use it with other fruits (or veggies!).

Announcement: We’re hosting a Secret Santa Food edition for the holidays!

I never thought I’d be drinking tasting olive oil for breakfast. Never in a million years.

Let’s face it: when the Foodbuzz session sign-ups began, the most attractive ones were easily the cheese tasting and the sparklers. The seats on the former were taken before I could even finish saying, “Chee…eeh…s” and I signed up for the latter because a girl loves her sparklers, be it in sparkling diamonds or liquid bubblies. ;-) I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from the olive oil tasting, but at least I love using olive oil.

Saturday morning I darted from the Ferry Building a few ticks before the hour because I signed up for the 9:00 am session, instead of one two hours later. That’s an insane move, considering that I’m not a morning person — which was proven again when I almost hit Fuji Mama with the door on my way out from our cab (I thought she was going out from the other side…whoops) because I left my brain in the hotel. Sorry, Rachael!

Chef Michael Tuohy (he blogs!), Executive Chef of Grange Restuarant at Citizen Hotel in Sacramento, led us through the olive oil tasting. Here’s Foodbuzz’s own Alexa Malott introducing him:

When I entered the conference room tables, they were already prepared for the flight of tasting (and I was running late!). Each of us attendees had 6 extra virgin olive oil samples in front of us, sealed in plastic containers on top of separately coded circles. For a second, it brought me back to my practical exams in chemistry where we were asked to identify solutions and determine the molality of solutes. Gulp. Sweat.

We were instructed not to open them until told to do so. Yes, Chef!

Aside from water to cleanse the palate, there was a plate of green apple slices (especially used for their acidity) to reduce the oil’s residue after each sample, and bread for those who would like to taste the oil with it. To the right is a handout on olive oil tasting. I was going to scan and share it with you but it’s copyrighted by Nancy Ash, of Strictly Olive Oil. However, I found most of the information on the California Olive Ranch website. Go check it out!

I hadn’t put much thought into choosing olive oils before. I have never seriously considered it in terms of different varieties of olives, region, soil type, extraction temperatures, etc. But wow, what an eye-opener Saturday morning has been!

Olive Oils are tasted using this 4-S-Step Procedure: Swirl, Sniff, Slurp and Sip.

Similar to wine tasting, you SWIRL the oil either in a wine glass or small cups, to release the aromas. Chef Michael is cupping and swirling the container here to warm it up, ideally, to 70°F on a cold day:

Once it’s warmed up, the container is opened and placed it under the nose. SNIFF immediately. Depending on the oil, the scent can be as peppery, buttery, nutty, woody, fruity, minty, grassy, etc.

Next, a small amount is sipped with air: SLURP it like you’re told not to slurp your soup. Slurping combines oil with air. Take note of “retro-nasal” aromas through the back of the nostrils.

You meditate on it to forget about how inappropriate the sound is in other social scenarios.

You can’t see it too well, but Chef Michael is slurping here as he puts a cup down on the table…

The last thing you need to do is SWALLOW. Notice the peppery or stinging sensation down your throat. You might get a cough or two depending on the intensity of the oil. In fact, olive oils are also distinguished by the number of coughs!

Then it was time for the reveal. My mind turn to mush at this point, I don’t know if it’s the olive oil and the lack of breakfast prior to the tasting, but my photos have become either blurry or information retention has become non-existent. Is it possible to get tipsy from extra virgin olive oil?

But I wanted to document the names of the oils and do more research on them later, thus the photos. Olive oil pr0n!

My favorite, the one that made me think of ‘bruschetta in olive oil form’, was the 2nd sample, from California Olive Ranch. Luckily, they were our sponsor for the tasting so we went home with the limited and seasonal 2009 Olio Nuovo, which was bottled directly from the press the week before our tasting. I almost squealed when I found out we were getting one.

Our flight of extra virgin olive oil progressed from the mild to the 2-cough level oils. Mmmm…tasty!

I have to say, I’m surprised at how much I enjoyed — and got — from this session. It made me appreciate olive oil more and give it its due credit and attention. It’s slowly turning into an obsession since we left San Francisco. Now I’m searching for places where olive oil tastings are held and scouring the internet for books about the subject. I turn into a total nerd when I learn something new — this time, I’ve developed a thirst for more olive oil knowledge! Ha ha. If you have any suggestions, let me know!

Here’s our Extra Virgin Olive Oil Tasting Flight (in order) if you’re interested. I included links to stores** and prices, because I’m a shopper like that.

(1) Tenuta di Capezzana Extra Virgine Olive Oil Harvest 2008 ($39.99/500ml)

(2) California Olive Ranch Olio Nuovo 2009 ($15.97/500mL)

(3) Pons Arbequina Extra Virgin Olive Oil ($27.50/16oz)

(4) Olio Verde Extra Virgin Olive Oil 2008 ($36.39/500ml)

(5) CastelaS Huile d’Olive A.O.C. de la Vallée des Baux de Provence ($24.99/16.9oz)

(6) Katz Rock Hill Ranch Ranch 2008 ($24.00/375ml)

** We do get a few pennies from the Amazon links above (1,4,5,6) when you purchase.

For my past two trips to San Francisco, my protocol has been to fly there via Virgin America at 6-argh-em. I arrive in the city at 8am and get to the Union Square area before 9am. I used to abhor early flights, but trust me when I say this: functioning on an hour of sleep to catch that flight is worth it when you go to SF. You simply do not want to waste time by arriving in the afternoon!

I took the Bart to Montgomery station and had just enough leftover credit from my ticket last September. I love that SF is a walking city, coming from another one myself. From the train station, I walked to Galleria Park Hotel (great value and service — highly recommended) and left my luggage there. I went straight to the Tully’s a hop away for my much anticipated coffee. It was a balmy weather for me (I say this because it was cold for some) and I enjoyed the soft mist in the air — it wasn’t even a drizzle.

I met up with Arnold (Mr. Inuyaki himself) a little later and we trekked down to the Ferry Building to catch Chrystal and Amir (the awesome DuoDishes who won the Bertolli contest), but they already left when we got there. We still wanted to get some food, but there were too many choices. I eventually settled for some bread from Acme Bread (I didn’t want to eat too much in anticipation of Delfina a few hours later) and Arnold got his beef bowl and roast beef sushi from Delica rf-1. That sushi tasted so good and it’s perfect for those who prefer their sushi without seafood (yes, yes, they do exist). The catch is that you have to put it in your mouth full, unless you have a knife to slice it with.

One thing that’s great about hanging out with someone local is your quick access to knowledge of places to go to. Guidebooks can’t talk to you if you’re not sure where you want to go. Ha ha. I was a mess that morning, running on almost no sleep, so I owe Arnold for navigating me through the streets and eats. Thank you! Not only did he tell me about Chef David Chang’s book signing the next day (more on that in the next installment), he also brought me to that chocolate place across Market Street from the Ferry Building called Fog City News — “San Francisco’s destination for the world’s information & chocolate.” It was a nice little shop full of magazines, newspapers, cards, and a corner full of chocolates from all over the world, including a couple from the Philippines. I was SO delighted! I immediately showed it to Arnold, who is also Filipino.

I found out about Askinosie Chocolate from Kristina’s ice cream post last September and made a huge mental note of it. Growing up in the Philippines and moving to North America over a decade ago, I knew that the Philippines wasn’t a source of artisan chocolates that made a dent in the international market — so it was a surprise and a source of pride to have these. us being food bloggers, we grabbed some to take home and test for ourselves. Yay! I’ve only been there for a few hours but I was already shopping. Heh.

At some point, the rain got ugly so we had to just cut our walk after I got my backup battery from the Apple store. More shopping.

I headed back to the hotel to dry up a bit and meet Gaby (WhatsGabycooking.com), Sonja (Active Foodie) and her boyfriend, for a late lunch of yummy pizza at Pizzeria Delfina. We were already late when we skyrocketed to the Mission area. The cabs in SF are downright scary, but they do get you to your destination in a wink.

We were greeted by fellow travelers Rachael (La Fuji Mama) and friend, Jessica (A Fete for Food), and locals Chef John (award-winning Food Wishes) and the dynamic duo Denise and Lenny (ChezUs). We were starved, but thanks to Chef John for plopping down an extra pizza on the table for us to eat while we decided what to get, before he sauntered off back to his place. After much chatter and deliberation (everything sounded good), we decided on some some funghi and four cheese pizza. I did say we were starving, right? In fact, no one took photos of the food. It was that bad! We remembered to take a photo of the frontage on the way back, though. Ha ha.

And what’s a Mission run without a visit to Bi-Rite Creamery?

Damn right, I got the Salted Caramel again and tried the Toasted Coconut with it. Heaven, my dears.

We walked to the train station at Mission and met up again at Hotel Vitale, after I picked up Dan from the train station. Whoa, hectic! We registered for the conference, met a few of the Foodbuzz staff, got our schedules and goodie bags, and headed up to the 8th floor patio for the Welcome Reception. We zoned in to the bar right away and things started to get blurry after drinking that fruity (apple?) drink from Skyy. Haha.

We made it to the other end of the patio where we enjoyed some stunning views of the street from the top:

The Ferry Building at night

The Bay Bridge

Fuji Mama, Active Foodie, What's Gaby Cookin' and Gourmeted

And here we are kicking off the evening with drinks, appies, laughter and good conversation.

We had no clue what we were in for at the next building at this point.

After having too much fun talking, we eventually made our way out to the Ferry Building for Taste of SF Street Food Fare.

Oh, my word.

This was a life-changing burger for some:

Rotisserie pork burger with rosemary fingerling potatoes

I LOVED this pie from the The Pie Truck

A raw/vegan fare with tomatoes and olives. It was pretty damn good.

One can never have too much pizza. never.

Yum.

There were also melt-in-your mouth chicharonnes, tacos, cupcakes (they ran out!), ice cream from Straus Family Creamery (my FAVORITE milk), fresh oysters, yummy beets, and many more I can’t even remember!

It was quite a feast and I was too stuffed to try everything, really. I need to re-learn how to pace myself, as I used to do for Philippine Fiestas. One thing’s for sure: Foodbuzz sure know how to organize a feast for the senses! It was amazing. Thank you Foodbuzz!!!

To be continued…

For the benefit of Foodbuzzers out there who are heading to San Francisco this weekend — a little teaser. :-) [Part I is here.]

Cable Cars

Almost everyone I know who live or have been in SF have told me: Get on the cable car! What is the big deal?! Haha. The first time we went on there, I was squished in the middle and was too uncomfortable I swore that was the last time I was going to be there. Being smooshed and skin-on-skin with other strangers at the beginning of a warm day was not my idea of a great time. Thankfully, the succeeding experiences (what can we do? It was a cheap and easy way of getting around to the tourist spots we so wanted to go to!) with the cable car) were much more enjoyable.

The cable car was cute and rickety, as expected. The people, comprised of the operator and mostly of fellow tourists (which made me ask out loud whether tourists are the only ones who take cable cars), were half of the story and the fun of the ride. Our animated cable car operator above was a total hoot! He put everybody in a jolly mood with his stories and random hollers. He made us laugh. It was almost like a real tour bus. They should pay this guy extra, really. We were totally bummed when he had to switch with a sullen guy!

At one time, I was hanging on to the vertical rail and standing on the stepping board of the car. I made the most of it by using my other arm to take photos — do that with caution. It was really fun.

On the way to the wharf

Going back to Powell Station

Fisherman’s Wharf [map] [website]

They say it’s a tourist trap, but we went there anyway and met up with Kristen (DineandDish) and Katie (Goodlife Eats). We didn’t get to see the sea lions, but they did. It was just a quick ‘tour’ of the place. You get down from the cable car and walk to the pier.

Foggity-fog-fog right there. Yup, it was San Fogcisco, too.

The Ferry Building [map] [website]

I went crazy shopping at the Ferry Building.

I ordered ALL macaron flavors at Miette without a drop of guilt. Nope. Sorry.

Miette pâtisserie & confiserie

When I saw Katie holding chocolate covered candied orange peels, my brain just froze with this thought: Must. Get. Now. They really know how to make a girl drool. http://www.recchiuti.com

Recchiuti Confections

Yummy-nummy salted pig parts from Boccalone. REQUIRED PURCHASE: Nduja spicy, soft spreadable salame. I bought two of those, and holy eff, I really wished I bought five! I’m a hoarder of good things by nature, yes, but my god…I’ll take nduja on tap!

Boccalone - Tasty Salted Pig Parts

Stonehouse California Olive Oil

Ok, I only have an iphone pic of this (I just took it) so you can see. But don’t you forget to get the blood orange olive oil from that shoppe. Please. Do yourself a favor and get this:

Get.

Pauline’s Pizza

This is where we kicked off our Blogher Food weekend, having dinner with a group of amazing women and men who made the event worth going to. Thank goodness for the awesome Chezus.com couple and good friends — Denise and Lenny — who organized this meetup. Sure, we all went there for the food blogging conference, but when it comes down to it, the people you meet, the connections you make, the lasting friendships you build, and the laughter echoing the hallways are what really makes a blogging get-together worthwhile.

Really goot pizzah

Clock Bar

Like I said, the people really make blogging events worth attending. After the kickoff meetup at Pauline’s, Dana [DanaTreats.com], Kristina [Tennesee Locavore], Maris [InGoodTasteBlog.net] and I went for drinks by Union Square.

Although Maris and I made a bad decision ordering the drink that’s named after Hawaii’s unofficial state fish, we had a great time laughing our heads off. Thank you, girls!

Someone said on Twitter that Clock Bar is nothing special– and we really didn’t go there because it was a Michael Mina establishment. We just went in and had a blast. Didn’t matter where we really were.

That humuhumunukunukuapaua'a? Don't order that. It's like drinking a very floral drink.

SF MoMA

I made sure to stop by SF MoMA, which was something I’ve been dreaming of doing. I love art. I love art museums. And you know what else? I LOVE that I wasn’t escorted out when I took photos with my DSLR.

Did YOU win the Gourmet Fall Cheese Tasting Party Giveaway?

Here is the list of the qualified entries:

1    Maria
2    The Food Hunger
3    Ashley
4    Nikki
5    The Duo Dishes
6    Carole Resnick
7    Kristen J
8    Amy I.
9    Deeba
10    Sunita
11    Laura
12    Wendy
13    NOelle
14    NOelle
15    Victoria
16    Heather in SF
17    Wendy R
18    Wendy R
19    Lisa Cain of http://www.snacksnoop.com (Yes YOU! )
20    Sharon

Lisa, these are all yours:

• Mariposa Gourmet Two-Toned  Wooden Cheese Board w/ Wine & Cheese Access. (Board is made of Natural Wood.)
• Cheese Markers
• Customized Cheese Rating Cards w/ Pens (Party of 10) – customized with your name and date/year of party.
• Alouette recipe cards for entertaining
• Alouette coupons for Baby Brie, Spreadable and Crumbles
• Slow Down & Savour Tips

Please email me at gourmeted /at/ gmail /dot/ com with your US mailing address plus the name and date/year of the you would like to be printed on the cheese rating cards and the pens. You can skip the date/year if you like.

Thanks for joining everyone!

Quick note: Don’t forget to join our Fall giveaway for a cheese party! Contest ends at noon today (Oct 29), PST time. :)

This took a long time, eh? And I’m doing it in chunks, too. Before you know it, I’m back there and I haven’t finished talking about last month’s mini-tour. Haha. Oh well. Bear with this old lady.

So here some of my fondest memories of my first trip to San Francisco:

1. BART — my DUH moment

My love (and not-so-love) affair with San Francisco began at the BART station. I found myself putting a $20 bill into the card machine and I thought it “ate” the twenty and left me with a one-way ticket to Embarcadero station. Hello, dumb tourist! It’s different in Canada and I was thinking — “Uh, things are much simpler in Vancouver!” Haha. I eventually asked the guy beside me. “Your $20 is in that card.” OH. Duh.

The train is much wider compared to our Vancouver’s Sky Train and the seats are more comfortable for longer trips. Made me really wish Vancouver had the foresight to build wider trains.

Upon passing the different stations, I’ve learned what my San Francisco guidebook really meant by “microclimates”. One stop it’s sunny, the next it’s as hazy as my brain on a Sunday morning.
The day I arrived in downtown San Francisco, it was really windy and chilly and it made me wonder whether I accidentally flew into Chicago. I told a few other BlogHer attendees to bring clothes for the cold temps. Little did I know that on the day most of them were to arrive, it would be so hot. Yikes.

3. I found a friend: super awesome Kristina of Tennessee Locavore

Ask me what do I not love about her. I could not have gotten a better roommate from the roommate lottery. Seriously. I had a hotel booking and she got a last-minute pass to Blogher Food. I offered her a place to stay, and days letter she tells me that we can stay at a timeshare…for free! I know. I’m guessing this is good karma coming back for sending forth good karma. I like it. But that’s just the cherry topping to it all. Kristina and I hit it off right away because a) we have a lot in common; b) well, we’re foodies; c) she’s one person you won’t have a dull moment with. I love her! This trip would not be even half as fun without her. I miss this girl. I’m so glad we met, Kristina!

2. Tartine

I heard about Tartine for weeks before going to the city, and I remember Manggy tweeting that I must visit it. I’m so glad I had Kristina to go around the city with, because she definitely has an excellent list of foodie places to go to (also thanks to Anita for that). Tartine Bakery lived up to my expectations.

We split one ham and cheese croque monsieur:

And we took a bag of these ‘cookies’ back to the hotel:

3. Bi-Rite Creamery and their Salted Caramel and Creme Fraiche Ice cream

There are simply no words to describe how much I LOVE these two ice cream flavors together. I fondly remember the exact moment I tasted it and groaned with much delight. Where have you been all my life?! I’m not exaggerating.

4. Bi-Rite Supermarket

That was some serious good food haven. Heaven, possibly. We got some food to take back to the hotel, where we had a kitchenette.

Acme Bread loaf, dry-farmed tomatoes and Tartine Bakery macaroons

Burrata cheese that's made with cream wrapped in mozarella

5. Chinatown

Oh look! I took a video of the fortune cookie lady…

So here’s a story Kristina and I have about that fortune cookie place. We both bought some flat fortune cookies (basically they are fortune-less), she got one bag, I got two. Then I noticed the lady grabbing a handful and put them in my bag. So we headed out and while we were yapping I said, “Oh, let’s eat some of the extras she gave us.” Then Kristina said she didn’t get some. “Are you sure? Look at the bottom of the bag.” None. Whooops! We both laughed and thought she was discriminated against, and it was all because of the karma from her husband’s Asian joke earlier via crackberry. We had a good chuckle out of it.
Ok…to be continued…

The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S of Baking Without Fear.  She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.

I’ve been meaning to make macarons since spring, when it wasn’t warm and I could still use the oven to my heart’s content without creating a heat wave. Then I had an army of excuses: I had no almond flour, no candy thermometer, no time, and just the thought of making them only to fail was exhausting.

Of course, that’s what the Daring Bakers Challenge is for: to push you to do things you do not like (haha), but we enjoy tough love anyway. I’ve been so busy with other things that the deadline for the challenge really crept up and then whacked me on the head last night. Yes, I only did my challenge last night. Oh, not just last night…LATE last night.

This is how I roll…

My fellow Daring Bakers have talked about their failures even after numerous tries with the recipe posted by the challenge’s host, so they eventually sought someone else’s recipe. I followed suit. I was doing this last-minute that I really cannot afford to try many times just to make it work. I need it to work the first time. Tall order.

I’ve had my eyes on Jef and Eliza’s (MyFoodGeek.com) macaron recipe for the longest time, so I picked that. Others I know used Helen’s (MyTartlette.com) or Aran’s (Cannelle et Vanille) recipes — and hundreds of readers can attest to the reliability of their recipes, so do check them out.

Ok, so I sort of used the recipe from My Food Geek. I made a boo-boo. What else is new? To make the long story short, I could not follow baking directions for the life of me. My macarons probably have way too much sugar in them. The truth is, now that they answered my question, my macarons shouldn’t have had sugar syrup. Haha. What do I know? As long as I saw magma-like batter last night, I thought I was doing the right thing. No wonder I’m bouncing up the ceiling all night and I’m having major drawbacks from the sugar rush this afternoon.

I won’t even tell you how many mushroom-like sugary caps I’ve eaten. I even had to bite into another one for the photos. Good reason, no?

I really am just glad that they closely resemble the real thing, except for the fact that:

• These babies have ’skins’ that remind me of ostrich eggs; and
• They have prim and proper “feet”. They stay within the perimeter of the mothership, no feet sticking out to the sides. No, ma’am. You’d think my macarons went to the Miss Manners night school for misbehaved macarons!

Their skins are so smooth and almost pebble-y. I did not use blanched almonds, so you see the flecks of almonds on them. What’s more, I made penance for my tardiness with the Daring Bakers gods by not only grinding my own almond powder, but painfully sifting it. It think that paid off.

One pivotal factor that made these macarons look like this is the drying/wait time. The first 3 trays that I put in the oven didn’t have time to sit. I mean, c’mon, I’m not a patient person at all. After 3 erupting episodes, I quickly searched on the internet and found out from a Pierre Hermé (the god of macarons) recipe that you should let them sit to brood and ponder their soon-to-be esteemed footed life for at least 45 minutes. So I did that. In the meantime, here are the remains of the magmatic macarons that certainly weren’t shy about their eruptions. [Some went totally criminal: Macawrongs!]

Macaruins

The 4th tray in the oven, which sat on the counter for the longest 45 minutes of my past-midnight baking shenanigan, came out with beautiful, proper hats and walking feet. As for the filling, I made buttercream and used the rose water given to my friends. That thing is strong…like, I-want-to-put-it-on -me strong. But it was delicious.

I think I will try to make some again this week, if I don’t die from all the sugar. Hah.

I’ll post the recipe tonight! Watch out for my blank promises. LOL.

Macarons with Lemon-Rose Water Buttercream (recipe last updated 11/12/2009)

These are my first ever macarons and I completely made a mistake on the recipe I was following. This mistake, however, gave me such smooth, perfectly shaped macarons. A number of people still requested the actual recipe I ended up with for the macarons. So here it is!

This recipe makes about 30-35 sandwiched macarons.

Ingredients

Macarons

• 100 grams egg whites (give or take, 3 large eggs), divided
• 100 grams confectioner’s sugar
• 100 grams sliced or whole almonds (can be blanched or not, up to you)
• 180 grams granulated sugar
• 90 grams water

Macaron Filling

• 1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 ½ cup confectioner’s sugar
• 4 teaspoons rose water [You can use less for just a tiny hint.]
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• a drop or two of red liquid food coloring (Optional. Amount will vary depending on your color preference.)

Equipment

• Food processor or grinder/chopper
• Hand or stand mixer with whisk attachment
• 2 Large size bowls
• 1 Medium size bowl
• Small sauce pan
• Candy thermometer
• 2 to 3 baking sheets (we will bake double-panned, having an extra sheet will allow you to continuously bake one batch after another)
• Silicone baking mat or Parchment paper sheets to fit cookie sheet
• Piping/Pastry bag with plain tip (a storage bag like zip lock would work, too)
• Spatulas

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 300°F with the rack in the upper middle portion. You can pre-heat later on during Step #11). Place baking sheets one on top of the other (called double panning) and place the baking mat or parchment paper on the topmost sheet, and set aside.For the meringue cookies –
2. Grind almonds and confectioner’s sugar together in a food processor for 2-3 minutes, until you get a a powdery texture. If you have a mini one, you can use half the sugar for it to fit.
3. Sift mixture into a large bowl. If you still have big pieces left, put them back in the grinder.
4. Stir 40 grams of egg whites (about 1 egg white) with the ground almond mixture using a spatula. Mix until you get a uniform paste. Set aside.
5. Whisk 60 grams of egg whites (about 2 egg whites) on high speed in a large bowl until you achieve soft peaks. Set aside.
6. Pour water and granulated sugar into a small pan and place on your stove on high heat with the candy thermometer dipped into the mixture. Allow to boil until it reaches 230°F.
7. Resume whisking the egg whites on med-high speed in the large bowl and slowly pour the hot sugar syrup into the bowl. Whisk for about 10 minutes. You will end up with a puffy and shiny meringue.
8. Quickly fold meringue into the bowl with the almond paste for 30 seconds, then slowly to check the consistency. Do not overmix. The resulting mixture would be thick, fluffy and viscous. It will not be watery. It will almost feel and look like marshmallow fluff.
9. Transfer meringue mixture into a pastry bag.

10. Pipe mixture onto a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Create small domes about 1-½  inch in diameter, 2 inches apart from each other to allow for spreading. If you have 3 baking sheets, you can pipe on 2 sheets.

11. Leave on your kitchen counter for at least 45 minutes, to allow a film to develop on each circle.

12. Place baking sheet into the oven and bake for 12 minutes.

13. The cookies should be easy to peel off the pan. If not, put return the baking sheet into the oven for 2 more minutes.

14. Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring. Bake the next pan. Don’t forget the 45-minute sitting time for the piped meringue.

15.  The baked cookies have a smooth, eggshell-like top, a soft-ish center, standing on frothy-looking “feet”.

For the buttercream –

16.  Mix butter in a medium bowl until fluffy. Pour confectioner’s sugar and mix with a spatula until most of it is incorporated. Beat for a few seconds.

17. Pour rose water, lemon juice and a drop of food color and mix with a spatula first, before using your mixer.

Assembling the macarons –

18. Spread buttercream on the flat side of the meringue cookie and top with the flat side of another meringue cookie to form a sandwich. Press lightly.

Enjoy, but watch out for the sugar rush!