This morning I read a review of a restaurant called Trou Normand written by Michael Bauer, the veteran San Francisco Chronicle critic. I stopped when I got to this paragraph:
The food embraces you like a warm hug. The space is alluring, but not altogether comfortable - it's like a woman who doesn't have the prettiest face but still attracts attention for how she puts herself together.
Gag. Couldn’t continue reading. There are thousands of unpaid, unedited restaurant bloggers who would die of shame if they published a paragraph so trite, muddled, and offensive. Do newspapers have a death wish?
Gag. Couldn’t continue reading. There are thousands of unpaid, unedited restaurant bloggers who would die of shame if they published a paragraph so trite, muddled, and offensive. Do newspapers have a death wish?
*****
Flour kept me busy this week. There are two types of coconut macaroon: rich and lean. Rich macaroons call for egg yolks and/or sweetened condensed milk and tend to be sticky and heavy, while lean macaroons involve little more than coconut, egg whites, and sugar and are generally snowy white and a little grainy. Joanne Chang's are some of the best I've made in the "rich" category. As you can see in the photo, they got a little singed, but that didn’t diminish our love for them. Highly recommend. Recipe is here.
Flour kept me busy this week. There are two types of coconut macaroon: rich and lean. Rich macaroons call for egg yolks and/or sweetened condensed milk and tend to be sticky and heavy, while lean macaroons involve little more than coconut, egg whites, and sugar and are generally snowy white and a little grainy. Joanne Chang's are some of the best I've made in the "rich" category. As you can see in the photo, they got a little singed, but that didn’t diminish our love for them. Highly recommend. Recipe is here.
Even better than Chang's macaroons: her coffee ice cream with cacao nib brittle. (Chang says it's one of her favorite recipes in the book.) The recipe is here and you should try it.The cacao nib brittle is great, but a big hassle and not strictly necessary so I probably won't include it next time. Coffee is Mark's favorite ice cream flavor and I've tried a number of recipes. This is our #1. I might stop here.
Finally, Chang’s almond-anise biscotti are good, though they're the dense, floury type of biscotti and I prefer the kind that are super-brittle and porous, like coral. Do you crave biscotti? I don't. I think that's the beauty of biscotti. They're not addicting. You can stop at one, which isn't the case with, say, chocolate chip cookies. I'm not sure whether desserts should really be "irresistible." Do other cultures know something we don't?
I finished up Ming Tsai’s Blue Ginger, but that’s for the next post.
This blog is like a dark-haired woman who would be prettier if she were a blonde but if you can picture her as a blonde then you can tolerate her. Thanks for the hug, blog.
ReplyDeleteBut is she an altogether comfortable restaurant?
DeleteShe would be an altogether comfortable restaurant if her lap is soft and floury like your grandmother. No kidding, gag me with a spoon! I like macaroons, but I have never made them. Odd behavior for a cookie obsessed person, don't you think? I like biscotti, but they are so much work to eat! I agree, the beauty of biscotti is that I can take them or leave them.
ReplyDeleteOK, I just read as much of that review as I could stomach. Here's what I think: Michael Bauer is out on sick leave having suffered a sudden catastrophic illness and they have the summer intern, a college freshman, pinch hitting. Because seriously.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds to me like the reviewer's been watching too much film noir, which has resulted in what amounts to a hard-boiled detective restaurant review.. I don't know which I should feel worse for - the restaurant or Sam Spade.
ReplyDeleteI got Flour and Flour, Too from the library and really enjoyed reading the opening pages describing how she got to this point .. 4 stores. She followed her passion and luckily, became a success. A revelation was reading that in high end bakeries where she had worked, trash was filled with cakes, etc. that did not come out perfectly. (I thought when you did something over and over again, everything would come out right.) I'm not going to be as hard on myself if not everything I bake is perfect. Also, it looks like the staff really eats well at a lot of these restaurants.
ReplyDeleteIn the 1980's, I worked with a food pantry in a major city. Some of the biggest donators were bakeries. They would set the rejects up by the service door and we would swoop in before closing and take it all away. Most of it looked okay, but occasionally there was the obvious "drop cake" or lopsided item. One day we arrived at a bakery and found an incredibly beautiful wedding cake on the donation shelf complete with marzipan flowers. I thought it was an extra in case something happened to the first one, but we were told the bride cancelled the wedding just hours before the event and didn't want the cake despite it being paid for. We would normally portion out a large cake, but the previous day a woman had called asking if we had any donations she could use as birthday cake for her 8 year old daughter. Everyone at the pantry agreed it would be the perfect cake for the occasion. My only regret is the bride never knew how happy she made some family.
DeleteI don't know what the bottom of that macaroon looks like, but the top doesn't look singed at all. I always bake my macaroons until the straggly bits are very dark (or, if I shaped them into pyramids, the edges are very dark.) I use a Cook's Illustrated macaroon recipe that is gooey and uber-coconutty, but contains no yolks or flour. It does call for a can of Coco Lopez though!
ReplyDeleteOh, I do crave biscotti! There's a place here in my town that makes the most wonderful biscotti-my favorite is coconut walnut. Or is it chocolate almond? I could gnaw on them for hours. I'm like a teething baby.
ReplyDeletehappy diwali sms
ReplyDeletehappy diwali
diwali images
happy new year 2017
new year shayari
new year images
happy navratri
independence day sms
raksha bandhan sms
online sbi personal banking
happy birthday wishes
free web hosting
pnb net banking activation
sol result
metro card recharge
add beneficiary sbi
ReplyDeleteKannur University Hall Ticket 2016
ReplyDeleteKannur University Result 2016 for all course
Kannur University Admit Card 2016
Kannur University Hall Ticket 2017
Kannur University Result 2017
Kannur University Admit Card 2016
Kannur University Entrance Date 2016
Kannur University Degree Allotment
Kannur University Trial Allotment 2016
Kannur University Admission 2016
Kannur University Onlie Admission
Kannur University Distance Education Result 2016
Kannur University Hall Ticket 2016
Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University BA Result 2016-2017
Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University Hall Ticket 2016
Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University Result 2016 for all course
Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University Admit Card 2016
Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University Hall Ticket 2017
Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University Result 2017
Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University Admit Card 2016
Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University Entrance Date 2016
Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University Degree Allotment
Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University Trial Allotment 2016
Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University Admission 2016
Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University Onlie Admission
Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University Distance Education Result 2016
Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University Hall Ticket 2016
Karnatak State Open University BA Result 2016-2017
Karnatak State Open University Hall Ticket 2016
Karnatak State Open University Result 2016 for all course
Karnatak State Open University Admit Card 2016
Karnatak State Open University Hall Ticket 2017
Karnatak State Open University Result 2017
Karnatak State Open University Admit Card 2016
Karnatak State Open University Entrance Date 2016
Karnatak State Open University Degree Allotment
Karnatak State Open University Trial Allotment 2016
Karnatak State Open University Admission 2016
Karnatak State Open University Onlie Admission
ReplyDeleteKarnatak State Open University Distance Education Result 2016
Karnatak State Open University Hall Ticket 2016
Andhara University BA Result 2016-2017
Andhara University Hall Ticket 2016
Andhara University Result 2016 for all course
Andhara University Admit Card 2016
Andhara University Hall Ticket 2017
Andhara University Result 2017
Andhara University Admit Card 2016
Andhara University Entrance Date 2016
Andhara University Degree Allotment
Andhara University Trial Allotment 2016
Andhara University Admission 2016
Andhara University Onlie Admission
Andhara University Distance Education Result 2016
Andhara University Hall Ticket 2016
Symbiosis University BA Result 2016-2017
Symbiosis University Hall Ticket 2016
Symbiosis University Result 2016 for all course
Symbiosis University Admit Card 2016
Symbiosis University Hall Ticket 2017
Symbiosis University Result 2017
Symbiosis University Admit Card 2016
Symbiosis University Entrance Date 2016
Symbiosis University Degree Allotment
Symbiosis University Trial Allotment 2016
Symbiosis University Admission 2016
Symbiosis University Onlie Admission
Symbiosis University Distance Education Result 2016
Symbiosis University Hall Ticket 2016
IBS Hydrabad BA Result 2016-2017
IBS Hydrabad Hall Ticket 2016
IBS Hydrabad Result 2016 for all course
IBS Hydrabad Admit Card 2016
IBS Hydrabad Hall Ticket 2017
IBS Hydrabad Result 2017
IBS Hydrabad Admit Card 2016
IBS Hydrabad Entrance Date 2016
IBS Hydrabad Degree Allotment
IBS Hydrabad Trial Allotment 2016
IBS Hydrabad Admission 2016
ReplyDeleteIBS Hydrabad Onlie Admission
IBS Hydrabad Distance Education Result 2016
IBS Hydrabad Hall Ticket 2016
List Of MBA Colleges
Government Jobs & Opportunity
UPSC Requitment 2016
Indian Railway Requitment 2016
Bihar Topper 2016
Magadh University
Magadh University Hall Ticket 2016
Magadh University Result 2016 for all course
Magadh University Admit Card 2016
Magadh University Hall Ticket 2017
Magadh University Result 2017
Magadh University Admit Card 2016
Magadh University Entrance Date 2016
Magadh University Degree Allotment
Magadh University Trial Allotment 2016
Magadh University Admission 2016
Magadh University Onlie Admission
Magadh University Distance Education Result 2016
Magadh University Hall Ticket 2016
UP Scholarship 2016
UP Scholarship 2017
UP Scholarship List 2016 - 2017
Online Apply for UP Scholarship 2016 - 2017
IDBI Education Loan for Student
Delhi Government Student Education Loan
British Council Scholarship for abroad student
Jammu & Kashmir Scholarship
happy new year 2017
ReplyDeletehappy new year
happy new year 2017 sms
happy new year 2017 shayari
happy new year 2017 quotes
happy new year 2017 images
happy new year 2017 wishes
happy new year 2017 wallpapers
happy new year 2017 pics
happy new year 2017 cliparts
happy new year 2017 gif
happy new year 2017 poems
happy diwali
happy diwali 2016 sms
happy diwali 2016 wishes
happy diwali 2016
happy diwali 2016 quotes
happy diwali 2016 images
happy diwali 2016 messages
happy diwali 2016 greetings
happy diwali 2016 cards
ctet sept 2016 result
ctet sept 2016 answer key
ctet sept 2016 answer key
ctet sept 2016 result
latest govt jobs 2016
Bank of india
ReplyDeleteHow to Activate bank of india internet baqnking online
Bank Of India Online Mobile Banking
Apply Online BOI Vehicle Loan
BAnk of India Credit Card
Apply Online jobs In Bank of India
Prdhan mantri jan Dhan Yojana Scheme
Bank of india Agri Clinic Loan
Bank Of India Education Loaqn
Bank Of India Star Smart Home Loan
Bank of india Loan Against Property
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletedragonrest
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete