On mothers and macarons
28 Apr 2021 12:30![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nwhikerOr at least on my mother and macarons, LOL.
My mom was a good cook. I didn't like most of the food she made, of course, not being a fan or either stews or soups in general. She was not, however, a good baker. She had a few recipes for things she made that she did really well, but she just never enjoyed baking. Of course, she long ago lost the recipes for the things she did make, and I've not been able to come close to re-creating any of them. For the record: a weird almond-and-semolina cake, that she said was Lebanese, and that the recipe came from Gourmet Magazine, her Aunt Irene's molasses cookies -they were The Best- , and a recipe for a simple plain vanilla cookie that my grandmother -my dad's mom- taught her to make. When my grandmother made them it was a gigantic production and us kids had to carry the trays, which were about 4ft long, down the hill to the bakery, where they baked them for her. But she taught my mom to make the cookies in small quantity, LOL. Anyhow. That's neither here nor there. The tl;dr: my mom was not a great baker, even though she did make a few things well.
Macarons: fussy, finicky, and the subjects of more webpages, blogs, youtube tutorials than probably any other pasty ever. Let them sit. Don't let them sit. Tap them on the counter. Don't overbeat. Don't overcook. Check your oven temperature. Check it again. Troubleshooting is a whole 'nuther subject on which much e-ink has been used, are they gummy, are they too brittle, is there a cavern, are they lumpy and not glossy etc etc etc?
The overwrought angst of macarons makes me laugh, even as I helped Perry make a batch this weekend, and sent the webpages with the recipes I use to my sister who was making them as well. I've made macarons before, I don't really like them much, dh doesn't like them at all, so they are not part of my repertoire, and not something I will ever agonize over. Mine were... just barely decent, though nobody complained and everyone ate them the times I made them for people. There are many things in baking I will obsess over, macarons are not one of them.
Which brings me to my non-baking mother. When guests showed up unexpectedly or stayed longer than expected or we didn't have cookies on hand, she'd make a batch of 'biscuits aux amandes'. Blanched almonds were usually something she had on hand, but if not almonds with skins worked fine, and she'd grind then in a blender. Whip some egg whites (which means frittata with extra yolks was A Sure Thing for dinner), add in a few spoonfuls of sugar, fold, and drop by spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet, and toss them in the oven until they were crisp. They worked perfectly every single time. And while they weren't flat like macarons, more slightly rounded domes, they were crisp, without caverns, never gummy, and tasted delicious. She never measured.
I'm pretty sure had the macaron bug ever bitten her, she would have been a crack macaron baker!
My mom was a good cook. I didn't like most of the food she made, of course, not being a fan or either stews or soups in general. She was not, however, a good baker. She had a few recipes for things she made that she did really well, but she just never enjoyed baking. Of course, she long ago lost the recipes for the things she did make, and I've not been able to come close to re-creating any of them. For the record: a weird almond-and-semolina cake, that she said was Lebanese, and that the recipe came from Gourmet Magazine, her Aunt Irene's molasses cookies -they were The Best- , and a recipe for a simple plain vanilla cookie that my grandmother -my dad's mom- taught her to make. When my grandmother made them it was a gigantic production and us kids had to carry the trays, which were about 4ft long, down the hill to the bakery, where they baked them for her. But she taught my mom to make the cookies in small quantity, LOL. Anyhow. That's neither here nor there. The tl;dr: my mom was not a great baker, even though she did make a few things well.
Macarons: fussy, finicky, and the subjects of more webpages, blogs, youtube tutorials than probably any other pasty ever. Let them sit. Don't let them sit. Tap them on the counter. Don't overbeat. Don't overcook. Check your oven temperature. Check it again. Troubleshooting is a whole 'nuther subject on which much e-ink has been used, are they gummy, are they too brittle, is there a cavern, are they lumpy and not glossy etc etc etc?
The overwrought angst of macarons makes me laugh, even as I helped Perry make a batch this weekend, and sent the webpages with the recipes I use to my sister who was making them as well. I've made macarons before, I don't really like them much, dh doesn't like them at all, so they are not part of my repertoire, and not something I will ever agonize over. Mine were... just barely decent, though nobody complained and everyone ate them the times I made them for people. There are many things in baking I will obsess over, macarons are not one of them.
Which brings me to my non-baking mother. When guests showed up unexpectedly or stayed longer than expected or we didn't have cookies on hand, she'd make a batch of 'biscuits aux amandes'. Blanched almonds were usually something she had on hand, but if not almonds with skins worked fine, and she'd grind then in a blender. Whip some egg whites (which means frittata with extra yolks was A Sure Thing for dinner), add in a few spoonfuls of sugar, fold, and drop by spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet, and toss them in the oven until they were crisp. They worked perfectly every single time. And while they weren't flat like macarons, more slightly rounded domes, they were crisp, without caverns, never gummy, and tasted delicious. She never measured.
I'm pretty sure had the macaron bug ever bitten her, she would have been a crack macaron baker!
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