Room for Dessert?

Gee, today I'm torn between reconciliation, Charlie Rangel giving up his position (temporarily) as Chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee or more about Paris. Maybe a little talk about french desserts. smacking lips

What to talk about? Let's see.

OK, so we can talk about reconciliation when it happens and it does appear to be looming on the horizon. President Obama is now fed up with the GOP's stall tactics and has declined their collective cries to "start over" with a new bill for health care reform. Finally!

Charlie Rangel is a 20 term congressman and today he asked to take a leave of absence from his position while he is being investigated for ethics violations into his use of his official position to raise money for a NY college center along with several other infractions. I think Charlie has done a lot for Harlem and so I will withhold judgement until I get more of the facts.

There! Done!

Now on to a much more satisfying topic. 

I'm not a real lover of pastry but I have become intrigued by the Macaron (or french macaroon).

At first I got the macaron mixed up with our macaroon (the chewy mound of shredded coconut). They're not the same thing. Macarons are made from a mixture of egg whites, almond flour, granulated and confectionery sugar. They differ from the macaroon in that they are filled with cream or butter like a sandwich cookie. They come in a variety of flavors. No coconut involved (which is perfect, because I don't like coconut). It is a consensus that the best macarons come from Paris where they have won the hearts of many Parisians. Who makes the BEST macarons is another story and the battle still rages on. However, everyone seems to agree that it boils down to only 2 contenders; the elegant tea house in Paris called Laduree and the upstart, Pierre Herme, who just happens to have worked for Laduree. (kind of like our coffee battle between Starbucks and our hometown boy, Peets) Anyway, I'm happy to check out both places and have added them to my list of places to go and I will report my personal findings here.

Cooking in France is an Art Form. The desserts are always so elegant looking (light and fluffy, layered, flakey, rich and creamy) and they require a great deal of expertise to create.  Interestingly enough tho, the french are not big dessert eaters. What they do enjoy is to savor their meals and not rush through them quickly like many of us Americans so often do.

Some other well known french desserts are:

Cream Brulee  - (meaning, burnt cream) is plain vanilla custard

Madeleine - is pound cake flavored with a distinctive butter and lemon flavor

Eclairs - are a long thin pastry filled with cream and topped with icing

Dacquoise - is cake with layers of nut flavored meringue and buttercream

Mille-feuilles - (meaning a thousand sheets) is layers and layers of french puff pastry and filling (usually vanilla cream)

Mousse - is a type of cream made from eggs yolks, egg whites and sugar. A little known fact is that mousses and custards started out as savory dishes and not desserts. They were boiled in "pudding casters" and resembled sausages.

Here are a couple of local places in San Francisco where you can try macarons:

L'Artisan and Paulette Macarons on Hayes Street

If you are outside the area you might want to contact The Google for more info

Now admit it. Wasn't this better than discussing politics?
Stop by again tomorrow when I'll give you the 411 on popular french beverages, including espresso, le vin (wine), brandy and pastis.

I'm Just Sayin