Where to start?
We discovered Tartelette over a year ago after she kindly commented on my Stories of a Sick Housewife. Helen the artist, pastry chef, photographer, writer, stylist, French expatriate (currently living in Charleston SC… lucky them) and creator behind Tartelette left a sweet comment expressing her sympathies regarding my Ovarian Cyst ordeal. This comment not only lifted my spirits (I love to find fellow cyst survivors) but led me to one of the most incredible blogs in all of the blogging world. Although I am challenged in all things culinary, her blog is such an inspiration to me. Every time I visit Tartelette I leave feeling not only inspired but calmer. That may sound strange, but I swear the images, recipes, and writings of Helen (aka Tartelette) literally have a calming effect. Tartelette opened my eyes to the beauty of food styling. Anyways, to refrain from sounding like a total creep I will stop my ramblings now and highlight some of Tartlette’s amazing posts!
After sending some emails back and forth with the beautiful and talented Helen we’ve decided on some amazing recipes. So cheers to Celebrating Blog Week With Tartelette! Enjoy.
Makes about 30-35 filled macarons and about 4 cups sorbet
Blueberry Sorbet, adapted from Richard Leach in Sweet Seasons:
3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1 cup sugar
2 cups water
zest and juice of one lemon
In a medium saucepan set over medium high heat, place the blueberries and the rest of the ingredients and bring to a quick boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool completely. Puree until smooth in a blender (or food processor) and then strain through a fine mesh strainer. Process in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Macarons:
For the shells:
90 gr egg whites (use egg whites that have been preferably left 3-4 days in the fridge)
25 gr granulated sugar
200 gr powdered sugar
110 gr almonds (slivered, blanched, sliced, whatever you like)
1 tablespoon cherry pink powdered food coloring
Prepare the macarons:
In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites to a foam, (think bubble bath foam) gradually add the sugar until you obtain a glossy meringue (think shaving cream). Do not overbeat your meringue or it will be too dry. Place the powdered sugar and almonds and powdered color in a food processor and give them a good pulse until the nuts are finely ground. Add them to the meringue, give it a quick fold to break some of the air and then fold the mass carefully until you obtain a batter that falls back on itself after counting to 10. Give quick strokes at first to break the mass and slow down. The whole process should not take more than 50 strokes. Test a small amount on a plate: if the tops flattens on its own you are good to go. If there is a small beak, give the batter a couple of turns.
Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip (Ateco #807 or #809) with the batter and pipe small rounds (1.5 inches in diameter) onto parchment paper or silicone mats lined baking sheets. Let the macarons sit out for 30 minutes to an hour to harden their shells a bit. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 280F. When ready, bake for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on their size. Let cool. Once baked and if you are not using them right away, store the shells in an airtight container out of the fridge for a couple of days or in the freezer for up to 2 weeks (longer and the sugar starts to seep out which makes them sticky).
Finally, fill the macarons with the sorbet and store in the freezer in an airtight container. Eat them within the week if you can.
Serves 2 hungry people
For the salad:
4 golden beets
1 large handful mixed greens
1 large handful savoy salad
1 bunch radishes, washed, stems cut off and quartered
1/2 fennel bulb, washed and sliced thin
1 small handful of Italian parsley
dried cranberries
feta cheese
Preheat oven to 350F. Wash the beets and cut the stems off. Place them in a piece of foil and close it tight. Roast the beets for about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool, and carefully open the foil packet. Peel the beets and set aside.
With your hands, tear the salads and parsley in small pieces and divide all the vegetables evenly among 2 large plates. Top with some feta and some dried cranberries. Drizzle with vinaigrette.
Amazing Right? Maybe if you’re good we will post a few more of her recipes to close Blog Week!
xoxo Keighley xoxo
Follow Tartelette on her:
Blog – http://www.mytartelette.com/
Twitter – @sweetTartelette
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/tartelette
All images and recipes provided and approved by Tartelette
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