Flat Macarons again

Foodies - I'm at a loss. I tried to make the macarons again for the 2nd time. I got a new little egg beater thing to make sure I beat the eggs to peaks. And again everything seemed to be going well - in fact the little macarons were definitely rising in the oven! I have a picture to prove it!!


See? Rising macarons!!



But low and behold - when I took them out of the oven - collapse! They went back to being flat as coins (again I have a picture to prove it!)

See - FLAT macarons. :(


Any help? Advice? Suggestions? Has this happened to you? If you know anything about meringue and how it's supposed to crust over and not collapse - help would really be appreciated.

Happy New Year - and Croquembouche 2009 was a #FAIL

Happy New Year folks! Had a lovely holiday as my friend came to visit. I even got to cook her my signature paella which she whole heartedly enjoyed.

Ahh – the Croquembouche test...I tried and I failed...miserably.

The main issue that happened was my first batch of choux pastry were way too big...so they puffed up way too huge, which alarmed some of the people in the kitchen (non cooks of course!) who then suggested that I take them out of the oven. They then quickly deflated, became completely useless and I had to start again. This was about 6pm and I had run out of ingredients. :(

So the next batch was much too runny, they didn’t puff at all so I ended up with tiny little choux mounds instead of balls. They were impossible to fill with custard and I was utterly disheartened by then so I messed up the caramel part as well and it didn’t get hard enough.

I piled my little disheartened mound into something resembling a little runny volcano. Nothing like the glorious croquembouche it was meant to be. :(

Well that was my failed test for 2009. I’ll give it another go in 2010...hopefully with better results.

Fail - Mongolian Lamb :(

Had delicious Mongolian Lamb Hot Pot at Golden Century two weeks ago and I thought I could do something similar. I looked up a Mongolian Beef Recipe and figured I could do something similar in the hot pot.

I ended up with some nicely cooked lamb and leek stew...nothing that tasted like Mongolian sauce though. Oh well. Lamb is still always delicious.

I’ll let you know when I get it right! In the meantime, head to Golden Century for unbeatable hot pot lamb! Yummo!