Making Macarons with Mira

Of all the things I've cooked and baked, I'm most afraid of macarons.  The notoriously temperamental French confections made with a meringue base and almond flour, sandwiched together with some kind of filling.  Oh, the horror stories I've read! Things can go wrong if the eggs aren't aged right, the syrup is too hot, the oven is too hot, it's raining outside, or a butterfly in China decided to fly counterclockwise.

So, no. I wasn't going to touch macarons without professional supervision. Yes, I'm a big culinary wussy when it comes to something that delicate.

So when my friend Mira who has perfected her macaron recipe, asked if I want to come learn how to make them with three of her friends, I jumped to the chance.  The timing, after all, was perfect. I was freshly unemployed once again again after a 5-month freelance stint. 

To document Mira's process, I took pictures of the important steps, like what the aged egg whites should look like when it's ready.  Meanwhile, others were deciphering Mira's handwritten recipe and notes which was part Thai and part English.



We had so much fun hanging out with each other that I had to leave before the macarons were baked off and assembled.  Hey, when you get five Thai girls in the same room, it's all about eating and chatting! I mean, Mira kept whipping up something for us to eat even before we get to the actual lesson. And of course, it didn't help when I kept refilling people's mimosas.  Hee.

Look at our lunch of Korean-inspired, "I'm going to throw this together" dish she made for us with potato noodles, beef, pickled mustard greens, and secret sesame sauce. Oh, what a delicious digression... ;-)



Back to the macarons, though.  So I spent the whole day at Mira's and went home empty handed. However, my belly was pretty darn full.

Fortunately for me, Mira gave me a box of them for Christmas.



And fortunately for all of us, Mira decided to share her secrets. She's reviving her long dormant blog with recipe and tips for her famous macarons just in time for Valentine's Day.

So, head over there and learn something new!