Author: andrew82j

staying in…french macarons

I visited Paris for the first time back in April of this year and I fell in love with macarons and how delicate they are.  I’m sure this happens to anyone that visits Paris or anyone that has a sweet tooth so I am probably late to the macaron party. There are countless blogs and blog posts on this topic so it made me want to make them even more!  Last night I finally made my first attempt to make them and it was a small success! I used a helpful book, Les Petits Macarons, and went with the french meringue method.  The book contains tons of flavor combinations so picking just one flavor combo to use was a challenge, but I ended up making vanilla shells with a maple buttercream filling.  The only challenging part of the process to me was piping the shells to be a consistent size and texture, but I am new to piping altogether!  The end result was a delicious treat that tasted and had the correct consistency of macarons I bought in France.  Now I just need to practice my piping skills so I can create macarons that look as great as they taste.  I can’t wait to make them again and try out other flavor combinations.

staying in…beach house depression cherry

Music is by far one of my favorite things in life.  My most favorite genres include indie rock and electronica.  I look forward to new releases from my favorite artists and especially discovering new music.  I prefer to purchase vinyl even though I don’t listen to my records as much as I should.  Today I picked up Beach House’s new album Depression Cherry on vinyl.  When it comes to purchasing music I definitely prefer buying a tangible object (vinyl or cd), but I still purchase digital downloads.  I also am hesitant to buy a vinyl if a digital download code is not included.  I like the packaging used with the Beach House record…red turf covered sleeve and clear vinyl.  I hope the music is as good as the packaging, which I’m sure it will be.  Check out Beach House’s site here and they have a set list creator you can use if you plan to attend a live show.  I wish all bands would let fans vote on the set list before attending a show!

staying in…blue apron

This week I am trying out the home food delivery service Blue Apron.  All ingredients for three meals (for two people) are shipped to your door with recipe cards as a weekly subscription.  You can skip a week if the menu doesn’t appeal to you and I must say it is a very convenient way to go grocery shopping.  I just moved to a new place in downtown Dallas and I am using this as inspiration to jumpstart cooking at home and it has also forced me to get my kitchen unpacked.  The three meals this week are tomato basil burgers, Taiwanese three cup chicken and shrimp with grits.  I cooked the burgers the night I received the package and I must say so far I am really enjoying the service.  The recipe was very easy to follow and the portions are smaller which is never a bad thing.  My only complaint so far is the amount of packaging used seems wasteful.  Everything is labeled and comes in a separate bag for easy identification, but it leaves behind a lot of trash.  If you are looking for something to inspire you to cook or if you just like the convenience of not having to go to the store I say give it a try.