The **Now Eating** Thread

[Merlin5]

'Macaroon De Nancy'. Or, Almond Macaroons. I made them because my mum fancied some so I told her I'd have a go at making some. Two attempts. First attempt, too thin, nice chewy inside, but when they cooled, they went hard like a biscuit, kind of more like those amaretti cookies. Tasty but not what I was aiming for.

Attempt two, pretty much exactly what I wanted with that nice cracked shell like crispy crust and staying soft and chewy inside. Nom nom!

 

[jpaul]

(remembering earlier thread) did you grind their icing sugar too ?,
recent food unwrapped was in a french macaroon factory .. with cochineele , pistacios sometimes added - do they have to be piped to get the shiny outside.

 

[Merlin5]

(remembering earlier thread) did you grind their icing sugar too ?,
recent food unwrapped was in a french macaroon factory .. with cochineele , pistacios sometimes added - do they have to be piped to get the shiny outside.

I piped mine but nah they don't have to be piped, you can just spoon blobs onto baking paper. Brushing them with water and dusting with icing sugar before baking helps with the shine and the cracking. I used shop bought icing sugar last night as it was too late to grind my own since the blender is noisy and I'd wake the neighbours. I wish ground almonds were cheaper. I seem to go through a lot of packets.

 

[jpaul]

I wish ground almonds were cheaper.

like we do - 2kg / £16 if you have a grapetree .. bakewell/marzipan/.... BUT ok that is ground almonds, not almond flour.

 

[Merlin5]

like we do - 2kg / £16 if you have a grapetree .. bakewell/marzipan/.... BUT ok that is ground almonds, not almond flour.

Funnily enough I discovered that deal on Grapetree just yesterday. However the petrol to get to their nearest shop from me, or the shipping if I buy online from them makes it less cost effective.

However, I also found out that Sainsbury's now sell 500g bags for £4 so I'm going to buy a couple of those.

Is there much difference in almond flour and would it be any cheaper?

 

[jpaul]

I had googled macaroons and had seemed they need flour not ground ...don't know if GT sell it :
http://www.thebakerchick.com/2013/04/making-macarons-what-i-learned-in-paris/

 

[Merlin5]

There's some confusion on the words Macaron and Macaroon. As far as I can tell, Macarons are normally the sandwiched ones that look like yoyos like in your link. Macaroons though are like the ones I made. However, this is the recipe I followed (and used google translator for some of it) and it seems they're called Macarons.

She uses poudre d’amande (almond powder) which may well be almond flour. I used ground almonds though. I think it has to do with the fineness and how it affects the texture of what is baked. I think almond flour is ground finer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8eTbOLK41Q

 

[Raikiri]

Double smash burger with local Sussex slipcote cheese, red onion chutney, tomato, streaky bacon and lettuce on a brioche.



I am now dead.

 

[Merlin5]

That looks awesome Raikiri. I could murder one of those right now.

 

[bsoltan]

Made a brunch/breakfast burrito today

 

[Craig1981]

Couldn't resist going to Scran for this weekends special. Mustard pulled pork, breaded haggis fritters, poached eggs, hollandaise sauce, spring onions and capers on toasted sourdough bread. DAMN this was good! One of their best yet! Perfection on a plate!

Lunch wasn't quite as good, but it was still not bad. Went to Revolution for a cocktail and to try out their dipping sliders. 6 mini sliders with a bowl of nacho cheese for dipping. The burgers were reasonably good, but the sauce could have been a bit thicker. And cheesier. It was not bad though. I only managed 5 out of the 6 sliders and I was struggling by slider number 5. All in all I'm not sorry I tried it, but I wouldn't get it again.

 

[Things change I've changed]

makai nu shaak

 

[the-evaluator]

I had to Google it, but that sounds delicious. What recipe did you use?

 

[Merlin5]

I've been threatening myself for a while to attempt Beef Lasagne and I finally did it today from scratch. Ingredients included Gran Padano which I grated, a whole ball of mozarella sliced and put between layers, passata, chopped tomatoes from tin plus some fresh tomatoes I put in the food processor, couple of sticks of celery, peeled and finely chopped, diced onion, grated carrot, garlic cloves, 500g beef mince, beef stock, salt, pepper, tomato puree, italian seasoning. And I made a béchamel of butter, flour, milk, with a little nutmeg and some gran Padano thrown in. I've still got enough mince mixture in the saucepan to layer another lasagne, I'll just make some more sauce to go with it. My verdict? Oh yeah!

 

[bjorkiii]

Looks excellent , I'm rubbing garlic bread on my screen mmm it's scrumptious.

 

[Merlin5]

Looks excellent , I'm rubbing garlic bread on my screen mmm it's scrumptious.

 

[Raymond Lin]

Ippudo in NYC.

It's good, I'd say 7.5 out of 10. But egg was extra, and that was $25 !

 

[Craig1981]

Ouch!! That seems expensive for a bowl of ramen.

 

[Squid Vicious]

Birthday breakfast, bit of a treat to have a full English nowadays

Sadly I forgot the plum tomatoes...

 

[Mrs Seabiscuit]

Jacket potatoe with butter and cheese!