Cardamom Macarons with Rose Buttercream

Last weekend, we got our first real snowfall in New York (well, if you don’t count that freak day of snow that we had way back in October)! I really love the way the city looks with fluffy flakes of snow falling, but when it turns to slush? Count me out. I’d rather stay inside than to trudge through puddles of dirty, half-melted snow. Unfortunately, that happens all too quickly here, so I spent my Saturday afternoon doing what I do best — baking macarons!

Voila — I give you the Cardamom Macaron with Rose Buttercream! Definitely one of my favorite flavors to date. Cardamom is one of those beautiful, warm spices that goes perfectly with a cup of tea. I’m testing out my recipes and trying to decide which flavor to teach at my very first Macaron Class in a few weeks! I decided to finally put my passion to the test and see how good I am at teaching others how to make these testy little cookies! I’m doing so through Skillshare, which is an awesome website where people who have hobbies that they want to share can set up a class and market it to people in their area! I’ve taken Skillshare classes in the past and have had a lot of fun, so I’m really eager to teach my own! My first class is totally sold out, but I have a feeling I’ll do this again since the response has been great!

Also pictured here are the rad nails that artist Naomi Yasuda did for me. I’ve been going to Naomi for a few years now when I want something fun on my nails, and she never disappoints! She uses Calgel, which is a soak-off UV gel that lasts for about 2 weeks on me. She works out of Hello Beautiful salon in Brooklyn a few days a week, so you can call there to make an appointment with her!

Film Inspiration: Pierrot le Fou

Like any good Francophile, I enjoy a classic Godard film once in a while. Last weekend I curled up to watch Pierrot le Fou, the story of a man who leaves his wife to run away with a former fling. Of course, things get complicated when she turns out to be living life on the run, smuggling weapons and committing murders… but who doesn’t like a bit of adventure?

Marianne, played by the lovely Anna Karina, sure does have great style for someone on the run. I found it amusing while I was watching the movie (which was released in 1965) that her entire wardrobe could still easily be worn today without looking like you were in a time warp! Here are a few pieces that you can use to get her look:

Bright Bottoms: This bright blue pair of cropped jeans would look great with a plain white t-shirt and a necklace — or style it à la Marianne with a captain’s hat if you’re feeling ambitious!

Ladylike Pastels: A pretty pink slip dress with a soft, light blue cardigan is the perfect way to look inconspicuous. Just don’t forget to wear flats in case you have to climb down a drainpipe!

Menswear Separates: A perfectly tailored pair of dark red plaid pants paired with an army green jacket creates a look that’s equally chic and tough.

 

Recipe: Cauliflower and Leek Risotto

Risotto is not for the impatient cook. I never met another food that required so much constant attention while making you oh so very hungry in exchange. Perhaps I shouldn’t have started this recipe on a relatively empty stomach, but with each addition of another 1/2 cup of liquid to the bubbling rice I found myself praying that it would hurry up and absorb so that I could sink my teeth into the finished product.

My previous attempt at a more classic risotto sort of failed. I was hasty with adding the broth into the rice, resulting in a sort of chewy and hard risotto instead of the perfectly creamy texture that this recipe achieved. I also love that this iteration includes leeks, which I’m using pretty often these days. I love that you can saute them down or roast them in the oven, but they don’t get mushy. They always manage to hold on to a certain degree of texture and a lovely mild flavor.

This is also a great way to camouflage cauliflower for those who don’t care for it much. I’ve personally never met a vegetable that I didn’t like, but I know that many people complain that cauliflower is bland and boring… not when you add hearty vegetable broth and melt in grated parmesan! In all honesty, I doubt very much that someone would notice it too much unless you pointed it out to them.

I ended up topping this with a crumble of goat cheese, because let’s face it — what do I not top with goat cheese? I liked the way that the tangy goat cheese played off of the otherwise smooth and creamy texture and flavor of the risotto. I ate this both as a main dish for dinner and as a side another night — works both ways!

Back on the horse

So… I’ve had quite the hiatus from this blog. Honestly, the holidays and life in general just sort of got in the way of things that I wanted to do, like blog. Sorry about that!

I’m planning to get back into the swing of things now, and so will leave you with this teaser: I received the most beautiful cookbooks for Christmas this year, and they were a complete and total surprise — recipes from none other than Ladurée! I didn’t even know these existed before I unwrapped them! There are separate books for Sweet and Savory dishes with lovely velvety covers, and they each come nestled in boxes that resemble the macaron boxes at Ladurée. I’ve already tested an eclair recipe that was pretty damn fantastic, so I’m very much looking forward to trying more and posting the results right here! Of course if you can’t wait for that, you could always pick up your own copies of the books as well… the Savory version seems to be pretty readily available, but the Sweet recipes are sold out at Amazon and Barnes & Noble, unless you want to pay $96 for a copy — yikes!