Filed under: Snacks, Chocolate, Baking, America, Europe, France, Bakeries, Sugar

I tend to associate macaroons with clumps of coconut, sometimes drizzled with chocolate and occasionally very delicious. But lately I’ve been seeing gorgeous photographs of French macarons, which, with the removal of a single ‘o’, put my version to shame!

One of my favorite design blogs, Oh Joy!, just wrote a post about Paulette bakery in Los Angeles, which specializes solely in these colorful little beauties. Not French enough for you? Lauduree in Paris is an authentic go-to spot — you know, just in case you’re in the neighborhood (or if you are like me and enjoy torturing yourself by looking at food located oceans away).

I’m definitely going to have to try baking these, and I’ve found some excellent recipes to get me started. Tartelette features a sweet pink version, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to resist this chocolate variety. For pictures and ideas, though, I’m definitely heading to this French macaron haven over at ColourLovers. Mostly, though, I love how they look like mini-hamburgers.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Share This

Filed under: Chocolate, Recipes, Comfort Food, Hot chocolate

Winter has made a comeback in the Northeast today. We’re supposed to get 8 to 10 inches in my area, so I’m in one of those “hot chocolate, read a book, watch some DVDs on the couch” sort of moods, so I thought I’d post a hot chocolate recipe.

But this isn’t just for one cup of hot chocolate, it’s a mix you can store so you don’t have to keep making one cup at a time. I’ve been meaning to try the recipe that Tyler Florence made on one of his holiday shows on Food Network a while back but I haven’t. This one comes from Epicurious.com and it has a hint of vanilla (or maybe it’s more than a hint, who knows). It makes 24 servings.

Continue reading Vanilla Hot Chocolate

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Share This

Filed under: Snacks, Food Oddities, Trends, Newspapers

Did you catch the guy eating toasted cicadas on The Colbert Report last night? David Gracer, a Rhode Island writing teacher, is on a quest to convince chefs to cook with insects, claiming that bugs offer more edible protein per pound than beef cattle.

Lots of cultures eat insects. I’ve enjoyed tiny grasshoppers, known as chapulines, in Oaxaca, Mexico. Slathered in guacamole and rolled in a tortilla, they were salty and undistinguished-tasting. Toasted and tossed with salt and chili powder, they were like corn nuts with legs. Cicadas, earthworms, crickets - bring ‘em on.

Colbert was not convinced though. “I might ask one of my writers to eat a bug,” he said. “Let me check their contract.”

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Share This

Filed under: Television/Film, Food Oddities, Middle East

Mariam Amash, a woman living in an Israeli village, recently astounded officials when she filed for a new identity card, declaring an age of 120 years old. She says she was born in 1888, when the Turks still ran the holy land. Her secret to long life? Walk regularly and drink a glass of olive oil every day. Al Dente did the math and figured out that she has consumed at least 43,800 glasses–roughly 2,737 gallons of olive oil.

Studies have found that the monounsaturated oils in olive oil not only help reduce blood cholesterol, it also “cause less production of the bile acids in the digestive tract that promote colon cancer development.” Additionally, it is less likely to generate free radicals in the body than other fats, it strengthens the anti-inflammatory effects of omega-3 fats and blocks the activation carcinogens. With all the olive oil she’s consumed over the years, it’s no wonder she’s lived such a long life.

[via Al Dente]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Share This

Filed under: Food Porn Daily, Soups/Salads

There’s something about this photo of a salad that calls out to me. The bright yellow of the broken egg yolk, contrasted against the neatly cut bits of bacon and the tangle of greens. Topped with a dusting of black pepper, nothing would make me happier than if someone would put this down in front of me and hand me a fork. There’s even a blog post about it here.

If you’ve made a gorgeous salad lately, you should head on over to the Slashfood Flickr group and share your creation. Maybe it will even end up featured in this space!

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Share This