Saturday, February 14, 2009

Pink Saturday - Valentine macarons

Pink Saturday - Beverly, at the blog "How Sweet the Sound" hosts Pink Saturday. Valentine's Day is the perfect occasion to let the color pink inspire your creativity!

What kind of treats are you giving for Valentine's Day?

Macarons are a traditional French pastry, dating back to the 18th Century. Invented at Versailles by the Dallouya family of bakers, the delicate little cakes were served with jam to the royals. The sandwich version with ganache cream inside was invented in the 1880s by patisserie Laduree.

"Marie Antoinette" photo from the New York Times

The 2006 Sofia Coppola movie "Marie Antoinette" featured macarons and led to their current popularity. Indeed, one story has it that the movie's costumes were inspired by the colors of a box of Laduree macarons that Ms. Coppola gave the designer.


Macarons are made of meringue, or beaten egg whites and sugar, mixed with ground almonds, also called almond meal or almond flour. They are often tinted with delicate colors, and flavored with extracts or nutmeats. The filling can be buttercream frosting, jam, cream cheese or rich chocolate ganache.

If you're an adventurous cook, you can give them a try. This website gives a basic recipe, and helpfully provides links to other online recipes and helpful sites. Success for making the perfectly domed cake depends on the proper handling of the delicate meringue - so look forward to several tries! Perfect or not, they are so luscious you'll enjoy eating your experiments!

The Laduree pastry shop in Paris is said to sell fifteen thousand of them every day. If you can't jet over to Paris in time for Valentine's Day, you can get macarons at several bakeries in Los Angeles.


One of those is Jin Patisserie in Venice. Its proprietor, Kristy Choo, worked as a flight attendant for an international airline, which gave her the opportunity to sample sweets all around the world. She later attended the California Culinary Academy, worked at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore, and eventually opened her shop and cafe on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice.


Here in a tiny shop and garden, serene and simply landscaped, you can sit at outdoor tables and sip tea. Pastries, cookies and tea-sandwiches are served. The macarons are available in traditional European-style flavors, such as vanilla, pistachio, rose and strawberry. For those with more adventurous tastes, there is a macaron with a filling of salt-caramel, and Asian-inpired varieties, such as tea, wasabi, and ume - a Japanese favorite made with sour plum.


There are delicate sponge cakes and mousse and other pastries available at the shop.


If you can't make it to Jin Patisserie in person, you can visit the website and order from the e-shop. There are also exquisitely crafted chocolates made with tea, chrysanthemum, lemongrass, black sesame, ginger, cinnamon, and other exotic flavors. Perfect for your very special Valentine, on this Pink Saturday.

23 comments:

Jillian's Bella Rosa Antiques said...

They sure do look yummy! Happy Pink Valentine Saturday!

Susan @ A Southern Daydreamer said...

Happy Pink Saturday and Happy Valentine's Day Glennis!

Susan

JudyBug said...

I would love to have the hat and the fan. Love that pic!

CaShThoMa said...

Mmmmmmm.
I would love to be sipping coffee and enjoying some of these pink macaroons today. I will taste them in my mind! Gorgeous photos.

SmilingSally said...

Oh, I love macaroons, plain or fancy. Happy Valentine's Day to you and yours.

Anonymous said...

Happy PS and hope you are having a wonderful Valentine's Day G. I love macaroons and plan on making them as part of a "chocolate bar" I am having at Bobby G's surprise (shhh) birthday party later this year. The recipe calls for a special liqueur that I have yet to find. We just got a Trader Joe's here so I am going to check them out for the flavoring. :) Lynn

Shayla said...

Oooh! I LOVED this post. You have such a great writing style that I started lingering again and really enjoyed myself. Bonus! I found a rant about arts education. Gotta love those ;) I enjoy art ranting and engage in it frequently. Also a stunning cocoon coat. I have to add you to my sidebar so I remember to come back. Always a great visit.

Anonymous said...

Good Valentine Day to you! Macaroons are just my favorite cookie--EVER!!! Hope your Pink Sat is good! Dana

Anonymous said...

I would love to visit Jin Patisserie, that's what I miss about living in Europe (Switzerland)..., tons of bakeries and patisserie shops where you can have a seat, eat sweets and sip on coffee or tea.

shrink on the couch said...

Ooh, there's something sexual about those macaroons, hmmm, what is it?

Happy V-Day!

Vintage To Chic said...

I have thought so many times about trying my hand at making macaroons but haven't got the nerve yet,
love the post.
Hugs,
Judy

Anonymous said...

Oh yes, I will have some of those. Delightful!!!

Your quest for chocolate yielded that beautiful bloom. Thank you for sharing it with us.

Happy Pink Saturday and Happy Valentine's Day, Glennis.

Anonymous said...

They look so wonderful..I've never seen them until now. Thank you for sharing. Happy Valentines Day and have a lovely Pink Saturday.

fitty's pinky rose cottage said...

scrumptious! i love those macarons! and with pink in colour it must be double tripple yum! hehehehe Happy Pink Saturday!.. and happ valentine's day!

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

Mmmm..such nice treats for Valentine's day! Happy Pink Saturday!

Miss Rhea said...

Yum !! Those look scrumptious !! I lived right outside of Venice for about ten years, in Mar Vista if you know where that is. Thank you for visiting me today. :) Happy Valentines day and Happy Pink Saturday !! :)

My Artful Heart said...

Love all of your pinks...thanks for sharing them with us :)

Hope that your Valentine's Day was a good one...have a great pink week!

Woman in a Window said...

Very pretty. They remind me of gummy hamburgers that my kids get for Halloween. They're a little reluctant to eat them but I gobble them up anyway. These macarons are a little grown up for me, I think.

Deanna said...

Oh to be able to stuff my face with those delicious and colorful pastries!

¸.·´¸.·*´¨) ¸.·*´¨)
(¸.·´ (¸.·´ Happy Pink Saturday and Valentine's Day
Deanna :D

Anonymous said...

Happy Belated Pink Saturday!


Love macaroons!


~ Gabriela ~

Anonymous said...

G,
Happy Pink....Mmmm looks delicious...Happy Belated Valentine Katherinllen

Char said...

Those look so yummy, wish I could taste one, Happy Pink Saturday, Char

Whiskeymarie said...

God, I LOVE mararoons...