NYC French Macaron Crawl!

My friend Anna organized the first ever French Macaron Crawl in NYC last month! Well, it may not be the first ever, but it was the first I was privy to so we'll leave it at that. There are two variations of the macaron/macaroon. You may be more familiar with the coconut macaroon confection that is mainly American in nature. But the macaron looks like a sandwich cookie! It is a light cookie/cakey texture (meringue based as Wikipedia informs me) and has some creamy (often buttercream) goodness in the middle. When I first saw it I said "That looks like a mini pastel-colored hamburger!" And thus that's how I referred to them until I was corrected.

Anna was extremely organized about the whole thing. She made score sheets and also planned a logical route to the places we were headed. We started at Columbus Circle went to Herald Square then to Chelsea off to the Flat Iron District trek to the East Village and landed in Tribeca. (So freakin' logical I loved it!)

We started off with a good amount of people, about 10 or so. And we were all ready to be amazed!

Bouchon Bakery (Columbus Circle Mall)

I came late so I missed the array of treats purchased at this bakery. It was the most French-like so we expected it to be the most tasty and authentic. In the end it was the most expensive ($3), even if the macarons were a bit bigger than usual and offered little in variation from the basic flavors of lemon, chocolate, strawberry, lavendar, etc. So the consensus that I heard about Bouchon was it was "okay."

Macaron rating for this location: N/A

MacarOn Café (Herald Square)

Now, this is one of those tiny places that you can (and probably have) passed by and completely missed it. I've walked down that particular street going west several times and never even noticed it. The space is quite compact and intimate but very well lit with comfortable cushioned stools and a love seat in the back. Not the greatest space for almost a dozen crawlers, but great for a few friends just wanting to taste some macarons or have soup, salad, or sandwich.

Anna was kind enough to buy a dozen that we shared. We had four flavors: passion fruit, rose and lychee, coconut, and nutella. My favorites were the passion fruit and nutella. As far as I'm concerned nutella can do no wrong in anything. I detested the rose & lychee. It reminded me of that awful pink medicine I was made to take when I was sick as a child. And the doctor always said "It tastes like bubble gum, it'll be fine." Well, the doctor was a liar and it tasted nothing like bubble gum. It therefore became known in inner childhood circles as that nasty pink stuff. To date I can never take Pepto bismol because it reminds me too much of that yucky stuff.

Cut up pieces of macarons are available on the counter to sample and on the way out there was a peanut butter macaron that was delicious! The soft cookie part was a dark blue while the inside was peanut buttery goodness.

Macaron rating for this location: 6.5

Madeleine Patisserie (Chelsea)

We decided to walk off what we'd eaten thus far and head down Sixth Avenue towards our next location. It just so happened there was a street fair extending from 34th to 23rd Streets that day. Some of us briefly dropped off from the group to get dollar lemonades (or in my case a gyro) and some other goods. But we all made it to the latest location which is, yet again, a place I've passed many times and never noticed. I was shocked I never stopped and looked inside this lovely bakery. Not only did they have many French delicacies they had an astounding selection of macarons.

They even had a separate list with, I swear, at least a few dozen macaron flavors. Almost everyone was intrigued by the carmelized pear and purchased one. I also bought a mango one and caramel (I was highly disappointed they ran out of praline). Again, the fruit was one of my favorites! I liked carmelized pear but didn't love it. Though, it did remind me of pie which is never a bad thing. The caramel was incredibly sweet so if you love caramel you'll love this macaron. Some went for pink champagne or an expresso-like one and everyone seemed pretty psyched about the overall variety that was available here. Space was limited because the back area was pretty much taken over by earlier crowds and at one point it seemed the bathroom was out of commission but overall I'd definitely come back and see how the other confections stand up. And perhaps they'll have the praline macaron next time also.

Macaron rating for this location: 8.5

L.A. Burdick (Flat Iron District)

This next place was a nice pit stop and also offered other things besides macarons. Anna had been here when she was in Massachusetts I believe, so she was already familiar with the choices and tastes. The service was great and everyone was glad to sit down after standing in the previous location. There was complimentary water and I even got to indulge in my lamb gyro.

I was not too impressed by this place's macarons though. The macarons were tiny compared to the other locations and didn't seem worth the dollar I paid. The tastes were a bit heavy, the cookie/bun part was kind of hard, and the flavors limited here also. I'm not a huge fan of ginger so I was kind of put off by the overwhelming taste of it in my macaron. Of all I'd say this was my least favorite. But I'd come back to try some of their other offerings. Their cake in particular looked tasty and moist.

Macaron rating for this location: 5

Dessert Club Chikalicious (East Village)

By this point we lost two people due to sugar-induced fatigue and travel for a conference. But the rest of us were still up and running!

My buddy with Ramen&Friends blogged about Dessert Club Chikalicious and earlier that week I was there to try their brioche bread pudding, which was good. During that visit I happened to see they had macarons and informed Anna pre-crawl. So I was very happy she added it to the list!

At this point the heat may have been getting to us from walking in the sun and add on the fact that we'd been eating lots of sugar you can imagine how sluggish we were getting to this location. Dessert Club is also a pretty small spot, but had enough space for our group and a couple other patrons. I have to say it seems 'service with a smile' is lacking there so their food tends to make up for it.

The painted colors on these macarons were vibrant on the white backgrounds and the tastes strong yet not too strong--a good balance I'd say. My salted caramel macaron was soft and chewy and sweet with a tinge of saltiness. I really enjoyed it. Some others had the blueberry macaron and some the lemon. One member had the red velvet cupcake, which she said was very good. The prices and size for the macaron were reasonable and while they only offered a handful of options they were slightly different from other places which made the macarons interesting.

Anna then declared that we were hitting one last place. We lost about two more people in our group to go get protein and good carbs at this point and it was just six of us that were off to...

Macaron rating for this location: 7.5

Takahachi Bakery (Tribeca)

As a native New Yorker and someone who's learning to drive I realize my observational skills can use some tweaking. I admit I have tunnel vision when I walk. I look towards where I'm going and just happen to notice other places. Yet again, we arrived at a place I have passed a few times and never once noticed that there was a big Japanese bakery on the corner! Though Takahachi is relatively new so it may not have opened when I passed by.

This was yet another place Ramen&Friends reviewed and I mentioned it to Anna as she said she was interested in going there.

At this point everyone else dropped off on the macaron aspect of the crawl and ate savory goods. I was the lone person to purchase macarons and stayed with my safety, passion fruit. I also got a matcha one for Anna since it only seemed right the one who spearheaded the whole thing should try something from each and every location.

As people detoxed from the sugar we noticed how clean and futuristic the place looks. It was big enough for a group of a dozen or more and even seemed to be a nice spot for moms to bring their kids. They drew pictures of the food offerings on a big chalkboard in the back and patrons can see the chef making macarons or other food items on a TV. Helps you to know who's making what and how.

I liked the passion fruit macaron here and it was a decent size. I'd say it almost matched Bouchon's in size and was much cheaper. It was a light passion fruit taste which I liked and wasn't overly sweet. Takahachi also had a lot of baked goods and their cookies looked moist and chewy. I vowed I'd come back, especially since I work a few blocks north of it and go to the library on the same block on occasion.

Macaron rating for this location: 7.25

After that we all headed off to either nap or full on sleep in the comforts of our bed. I had high hopes of exercising that never came to fruition. Luckily, the day wasn't humid but sunny and pleasant and we were all in good spirits though probably a tad bit dazed. It was a great crawl and major thanks and props to Anna for organizing it! I look forward to next year's and hope to see more crawls for varied foods in the very near future.

Book Expo 2010: Still in the Big Apple, but on a smaller scale.

This was probably my fifth or sixth time at Book Expo of America (BEA) at the Jacob Javits Center. I first heard about Book Expo when I was in college and got the opportunity to volunteer in the autograph area where I met many authors of various genres. It was my first time being exposed to the largest book convention in North America, and I liked it. I volunteered through my Alma matter a couple more times in the autograph area as long as BEA was being hosted in New York City. (It used to change its location every year rotating between New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago.) As of 2009 it was announced that Book Expo would remain in NYC until 2012, which made me extremely happy that one of the largest conventions would continue to be in my backyard, so to speak. As of late I've been part of the press attending Book Expo and am glad not to volunteer. While I enjoyed the busy-ness of BEA and being part of the staff and having access to areas many others didn't, I also realized that not working allowed me more time to browse and see what the conference was actually about.

Book Expo has always been about introducing new authors & titles to a wide audience as well as garnering additional press for established/best-selling authors. Sometimes illustrators are also present. Librarians come to Book Expo to learn of the new titles they may want as do booksellers. Educators enjoy Book Expo for the opportunity to find new literature to stimulate students and themselves. Book lovers come to BEA because, well, BOOKS! And the exhibitors of big and small/international and domestic publishers,  typesetters, digital publishers, literary agents, Newspapers, and new writers come for contacts and to bring notice to what it is they do.  Book Expo has always been a great place for those with a strong love of books and realize how much they can inspire and entertain.

This year, Book Expo wasn't as I remembered it. And it made sense that in economic hardship one would notice how much the publishing industry was affected as well as the convention itself. Last year, Book Expo was the way I always experienced it, bustling; filling two floors with most publishers around and hawking as many galleys, ARCs (advance readers' copies), published titles (successful and new); food samples for cookbooks; samplers as intros to their books; beer & popcorn (just cause); and so on and so forth. Yes, we were in a recession, but apparently people hadn't been hit hard, yet.

This year BEA was condensed to one floor; there were less giveaways of books, galleys, and so forth and the giveaways that were available were timed early on. Many co-workers I saw in late morning or early afternoon expressed disappointment at the slim pickins. I informed them that had they been at Jacob Javits at 9:01 am they might have gotten some choice stuff.  The autograph area and in-booth signings have always been a key source of getting some nice titles, but many people aren't keen on spending most of BEA standing in line. The press room last year was bountiful with food (muffins & bagels in the morning, cookies & brownies in the afternoon) all the while having coffee and tea readily available. This year the press room had limited offerings. Only a pitcher of coffee and tea respectively that did not get refilled and also a plate of brownies and cookies and a large serving of lemonade in the afternoon, these "amenities" also did not get refilled once supply dwindled to nothing. In exchange for less treats the press did get internet access and computers to use to constantly update their news wires, but I did miss the snacks to nosh on in the midst of running around from booth to booth, talk to talk, or meeting to meeting.

Some big name publishers, like Scholastic Inc., didn't have booths just meeting rooms and were not giving away galleys or ARCs to the public from a booth and had limited author signings in the autograph area. Last year Macmillan went that route, but this year had a small booth and did a limited number of signings. Many publishers had smaller booths which accounted for the available space on one floor.

The autograph area of about 30 signing tables or so was brought upstairs to the main hall, as was the Children's publishing pavilion (section dedicated to children's publishers solely). Because of the newly condensed conference this made for some heavy traffic throughout. Add on the limited amount of giveaways and people churning for anything they could get their hands on (title, subject matter be damned), in addition to long lines for in-booth or autograph area signings and you had yourself on heck of a traffic jam! The space between the autograph area and booths was smaller, causing the booths closest to the autograph area to be blocked off for their own signings or advertisements and patrons to just be all-around confused as they tried to find their author of choice. For some big ticket items like Melissa Marr, Kate DiCamillo, Sarah Dutchess of York, Mo Willems, Louis Gosset Jr., and so on and so forth lines started early and so you had a growing line behind a line extending to the exhibitor area and blocking who knows how many tables.  I've had the pleasure of working in the autograph area and with Dave Holton who manages this section and it can get pretty hectic when people want to make sure they see James Patterson or Carol Higgins Clark or Teresa Giudice from The Real Housewives of New Jersey or just want a really nice cookbook. Some people get snippy, others full-on irate, some give up and just ask if you can give them a copy of the books sans signature, others may see a friend and skip the line thinking no one the wiser. And you have to be the one to try and keep the peace and maintain order. Not always easy on a summer day in a packed conference hall.

One of the big themes at BEA this year was Going Digital! There were many talks about the future of e-book publishing, how publishers can try and garner more interest in e-books, and authors being more open to the possibility. Some authors, mainly Scott Turow (author of Presumed Innocent and the recently published sequel Innocent) was vocal about worrying about the copyright and safety of the author's work when it came to e-publishing. How safe are e-books anyway? This is kind of the same position musicians first took when their music was available online. How can one monitor where your music is going and if you'll get compensated for it? The truth is no one has a good answer for that one. So it seems this debate may go on and on and on. After reading a review of this talk from Publisher's Weekly daily review of Book Expo it was interesting to learn that publishers wouldn't necessarily make all books they published available in e-book form, mainly high profile authors (aka guaranteed bestsellers) and mid-tier books they have high hopes on. Indie publishers can't even think of going digital right now what with their book lists being small in general as well as their budgets. So knowing that some obscure authors or new authors may not even get a chance at having their books available online kind of hammers home the point of how important print books are as well as libraries and heavy promotion by the author.

The daily review from Publisher's Weekly also noted that international companies were not too fond of the shorter week. Before, the conference was Thursday-Sunday. With Thursday being a day of press events and the keynote address officially marking the beginning of the conference, as well as set-up for exhibitors. The conference would officially be open to all Friday-Sunday for meetings, exhibitions, giveaways, and formal talks to the public about the theme as well as more pavillions dedicated to various genres. Last year had an African-American pavillion which also offered around-the-clock meetings and one awards ceremony in celebration of this specialized genre of literature.  Whereas this year there was no advertised celebration of African-American literature or Spanish literature per se beyond a talk or two on the meeting floor. This year Tuesday was the day for press events, leaving Wednesday and Thursday for meetings and the official opening of the exhibitor floor. International publishers/companies were upset that they lost a day for meetings as not everyone was allowed on the exhibitor floor on Tuesday. Many wanted a refund for the day lost. Some booksellers weren't keen on the new format because Monday-Wednesday tend to be big days for signings in their stores and attending Book Expo took away from their availability as well as authors and, potentially, attendees who may be at BEA and not want to visit bookstores after a full day of books, books, and more books (in addition to achy joints from standing in line for all those tomes.)

While I was disappointed this large conference was on a slightly smaller scale and in the middle of the week rather than on a weekend, I did enjoy my time there. I didn't mind standing in line for books I was really interested in and in the mean time met a lot of nice authors and  patrons. I was big on story collections this year and every author I met was interested in starting a conversation and was glad to hear how excited you were about their book. Some authors like Kathryn Stockett, whose book The Help became a NY Times best seller, basically signed and smiled to keep the long line moving. While waiting in line for her book we did get a nice caramel cake straight from Mississippi where the novel takes place. I got to tell Scott Turow how much my mother loved Presumed Innocent. I got to let the authors of Going Rouge know how intrigued I was by their book after reading about it in Entertainment Weekly and learning that one was on "The Insider" and how much we found the show to be a bit disconcerting. I got to learn more about the background of  Tony O'Neill author Sick City and a genuinely nice guy. In the midst of waiting for autographs I got to meet a woman from the Midwest who loves The Hunger Games series as much as I do and a bookseller from New Jersey who kept referring good books to me by saying: Holy shit that was a good book! I met a teacher who was basically asking every publisher if they needed a lawyer for her daughter a new graduate from law school while collecting as many collectibles as she could. And I met author Lutishia Lovely, who also had a penchant for cookbooks as she and I met in line after line for certain titles.

Next year Book Expo will retain the current format of a shorter conference, mid-week from May 24-26, 2011 in NYC. While I see the ups-and-downs I cannot foresee ever not enjoying a conference that celebrates books so intensely. Each year I feel an immense sense of luck at being exposed to so much in a few days.

Writing groups & workshops can be really helpful…if you find the right one.

Writing groups, workshops, or getting insight from people you trust are all necessary in the artistic process of writing. No matter the genre or the scope it's important to have a critical eye look at you first draft (or drafts) and help you flesh out your novel, story, poem, personal essay, etc. Definition A writing group may be just that: a group that writes together. Or it may be a group that writes together and critiques one another’s work within a session. The basis of a workshop is that the entire session is dedicated to appraising each other’s work. It’s important to differentiate the two in your mind and decide what you may want in terms of help with finished pieces or just a push to write on a consistent basis.

Atmosphere Writing groups and workshops are overly available and not, which is a Catch-22 of sorts. Mind you there are many groups/workshops out there full of "writers" but not necessarily writers with a critical eye. From high school on I've been in workshops and among people that vary from being overly analytical of your work (If you’ve never done that how can you write about it?) to not giving a damn because they aren’t serious (This class was supposed to be an easy A.) or just want to get as much feedback as they can for themselves (Enough about me, what do you think of me?). When you hit the jackpot and find not just one, but several people in a group who are outgoing and help you tackle the problem(s) in your manuscript it can be the best thing ever. When you experience those who just don't know what it is they do and don't like about your work, people who go on to focus on simple things like the overuse of one word, or simply say “I liked it” can make you downtrodden.

I’ve experienced good and bad writing groups/workshops in and outside of the academic environment. Students in my undergraduate and graduate courses were not “in the know” in regards to proper workshop etiquette and would either blatantly bash your work or roll their eyes at the thought of it or remain mute throughout the semester. In a smaller writing group outside of class things may be better or worse. Perhaps you have a thick skin and want to hear every last issue with your piece or maybe you want people to handle you (and your work) with kitten gloves therefore you need to hear the good along with the bad, preferably in that order. In the real world, with no instructor acting as mediary/Yoda there’s even more of a chance that people won’t stick to their guns about attending group regularly or providing feedback as there’s no threat of a bad grade on one’s transcript.

Etiquette For those of you who may not be familiar with the workshop environment here are some tips:

1)    Sharing means caring – Everyone has a story to tell, so try to be polite and professional when attempting to critique another writer’s work. Sharing one’s work isn’t an easy thing to do and to be bashed by people you may or may not know can hurt the ego. So be kind and try to acknowledge the good and bad of a piece to show you care about the work itself and seeing it progress. Example: “I enjoyed the visuals in this piece and how much you made me feel in the moment as a reader in the first few pages. I completely saw the environment I was in in 1920s Mississippi. I did think there was a bit too much description at times and would suggest cutting certain parts. For instance...” 2)    Don’t be afraid to speak up if something doesn’t make sense – Some may gloss over the points they don’t understand and just focus on what made sense to them in a piece. This can hurt the author because they can’t see what you as a, hopefully, objective reader can. After rewrites and plotting the author is so connected to the piece they may not see the glaring holes that you do. So if there’s anything that didn’t strike you as clear make sure to mention it and not worry if you may be the only one that missed something. Example: “I’m not too familiar with The War of 1812 so there were aspects of the battke scenes I couldn’t get into fully. Maybe you could be a bit more descriptive of the lay of the land and the machinery used then or add footnotes to certain things for those who may know to skip and those who don’t to take a look at?” 3)    Multiple reads are a good thing – When writing a formal report sometimes you re-read portions of the work your focusing on to get a clearer sense of what you’d like to say about it. The same goes in a writing group/workshop. What you may have missed the first time around you may suddenly see in the second or third read. Or you may notice elements of the story that don’t work upon an additional read. I’d suggest reading a piece at least twice before providing feedback to the author, more if time and length of piece allow. 4)    Keep an open mind – Many of us have our favorite genres. Some love science fiction and fantasy while others abhor it. Some love chic lit, others prefer literary fiction, some literary non-fiction, some historical books. We all have something we prefer over something else. Yet in a writing group (unless it’s focused towards speculative fiction, sci-fi/fantasy, YA, erotica, etc.) we have to be open to all sorts of genres. Just because you may not read YA doesn’t mean you won’t be able to provide suitable feedback to a member in your group. If character development is off or the setting isn’t clear than these are things that can be helpful whether you’re a fan of the genre or not.    Example: “I was really into this. The narrator is funny and brought me right into the plot with his acerbic wit. Some of the more technical aspects of what makes speculative, speculative and not solely sci-fi I may be not know, but as a story I am entertained and would continue reading after the first few pages because I like the characters and setting.”

Of course, there may be times when you really cannot get into the work because you’re just not too into the genre for specific reasons (language seems too artistic and not focused, reminds you too much of Virginia Woolf and you can’t stand her) this is also a good time to mention you’re not the reader for this person’s particular style and can note the reasons why. Either way you’re helping to provide the author with some feedback as to who their audience should be, in which case this also helps them to know to narrow things down when submitting pieces to magazines or agents. Example: “I’m sorry. I tried reading it and it made me a little uncomfortable because of the heavy religious undertone throughout. I thought it was well written and held the main argument in the piece. But also felt it was kind of biased, so I’m afraid I couldn’t give it a fair read as you may have wanted. I just don’t think I’m the reader you may be reaching out to in this piece.”

The Good and the Bad There are writing groups that are open call and some that tend to interview participants before allowing them to enter the arena. In the case of the latter it may be a payoff because you know that the interview process is routine and that others have been through the same thing. Knowing a group takes applicants and their work seriously can only be a plus. I would warn one to be weary of groups where no meeting is necessary and one just throws their work into the fire. It’d be best to meet with members first, see how they treat one another and critique, then make a firm decision.

Something else to be weary of is writing groups with friends. Like everything in life there can be a good and bad side to this. I became friends with writers I met at an international writing conference. When we returned to our respective homes I got in touch with those in my area and we decided to meet monthly and discuss each other’s work. Since it was established that we were serious enough to pay through the nose to go overseas for a writing conference it turned out to be a positive meeting of the minds locally. On the flip side, I’ve attempted writing groups with friends of mine I knew wrote and these get-togethers were more happy hour hangout sessions than writing/critique sessions. Plus, friends may flake out more than those you don’t know because they expect you to understand. Hell, you saw your friend just last week at karaoke, you know what the deal is! This can make things murky so that the excitement in the beginning drops off slowly then steadily once other things get in the way. In these cases if you have friends who are serious pin them down, now. If it’s easier to just do some e-communication with them to get feedback on your work and vice versa this may be the route to go.

Move Forward Just because you may not have anyone with a critical eye to readily look at your finished draft(s) doesn’t mean you should pump the brakes on your writing completely. Continue to progress and proceed with other work. Heck, it wouldn’t hurt to give a piece a rest for a bit if you’ve been living with it for months or years before taking another crack at it. Let the manuscript marinate!

But in the mean time, be on the look out for writing groups/workshops in your area and see what they’re about. You might even consider going for a graduate or post-graduate degree to focus more on your writing and meet published authors that can give sound advice. Just. Don’t. Stop. Writing.

Here’s a list of places you may be able to give and get feedback on your writing: $ denotes fee

Online Writing Groups/Communities Critique Circle EditRed.com FanStory.com Goodreads Book Excerpts group Gotham Writers Workshop – Offers some free and fee-based courses online or in-person.  ($) Mediabistro – Offers online and in-person classes/workshops. ($) Mike’s Writing Workshop Online Writing Workshop The MuseItUpClub Critique Group Scribophile.com ($) Writer’s Digest University (formerly Writing Workshops Online) ($) The Writers Studio

Workshops/Writing Groups Asian American Writers Workshop Craigslist - Every so often someone may post searching for writers to join a group in the Writing section. East Harlem Writers’ Circle (NYC) - Become a fan on Facebook! Freebird Writing Workshops (NYC) ($) Gotham Writers Workshop (NYC) – Offers some free and fee-based courses online or in-person.  ($) List of Latin focused writing groups Mediabistro – Offers online and in-person classes/workshops. ($) Meetup.com – May list some writing groups/workshops seeking new members to meet regularly in various locations throughout the US. Morningside Writers Group (NYC) - Offers workshops in fiction, memoir, speculative fiction, and screenplays. ($) 92nd Street Y (NYC) Unterberg Poetry Center Writing Program for poetry and fiction workshops. ($) NYC Latinas Writers Group - Become a fan on Facebook or a friend on Myspace! NYC Writing Coach – Editor provides one-on-one help and workshops. ($) New York Writers Coalition New York Writers Workshop ($) The Sackett Street Writers’ Workshop (NYC) ($) The Writer Magazine list of Writing groups (USA) The Writers Studio

Also try:

Local colleges/universities – Beyond workshop classes for degree students colleges/universities may also offer workshops for continuing education students. Alumni may be searching for people interested in starting a group on or off campus. (Here are a few places offering free writing courses online.)

Various writing conferences, residencies, and week-long (or longer/shorter) workshops go on across the country (and world) throughout the year. Poets & Writers has a list of residencies and conferences or you can try ShawGuides or Google ones by genre/location. You can apply for financial aid for many that are connected with colleges/universities or apply for grants you may already have from school or fellowships.

OR you can form your own group/workshop by placing an ad or conferring with friends (serious writers need apply!).

Vote Ramen & Friends for Best Food Blog 2010!

My friend and fellow foodie has had her wonderful food blog ramenandfriends nominated for the 2010 Bloggers Choice Awards in the Best Food Blog category! Peruse the site, check out some of the hot-spots mentioned, and perhaps even be so inclined to vote R&F. I know I've been enlightened by the many eateries regularly explored by R&F!

Also, feel free to nominate and vote for friends blogs and those posted in the various categories on Bloggers Choice!

Wrap up! My year in baking... (Pt. 1)

I enjoy baking and cooking. Baking more so because of the fact that I actually seem to be good at it and things turn out the way they're supposed to (most of the time). I can't always say the same for savory or meat dishes in my hands. Since I started my current job I found I was surrounded by people who enjoyed baking and even more so enjoyed eating what someone else baked. It only seemed fair that I participate in the activities since I enjoyed their offerings. I usually only baked for the holidays (cheap gifts!) and to say "thank you" for donating to a special cause (hundreds raised for AIDS Walk and rewarded by cupcakes!) And so within the past year my baking efforts have quadrupled. I bake new recipes regularly and am happy to offer my services for others including my current mentoring group.

Many of my baking successes have been posted to my Facebook album page, but I wanted to also include them here because, well, I like y'alls.

I present...my baking efforts of 2009!

January:

The Dish: For my cupcake-themed birthday party I made lemon-raspberry cupcakes and my husband contributed red velvet cupcakes with a cinnamon buttercream icing. Both were well regarded at the party. I first made the lemon-raspberry cupcakes for my mom and mother-in-law on Mother's Day in 2008, I made them again to say "thanks for donating to AIDS Walk in my name" that same year, and then again this year.

This recipe is from Bon Appetit magazine. And thus far my husband and I have not been let down by the recipes we've tried in there.

End result: I'm a lemon lover so this is a great treat. You use lemon zest and fresh lemon juice in the cupcake so that it has a light (not overpowering) lemony taste. In addition you put in a teaspoon scoop of raspberry jelly inside as a nice treat and top it all off with an intensely sugary lemon icing (lemon juice, confectioners sugar; add some jam if you want to make it pink).

Voila...you have lemon goodness! Party-goers enjoyed this treat a lot and many raved about it even against the well loved red velvet.

April:

I will say not much went down during the winter months baking wise.

The Dish: Lemon strikes again! In cookie form this time. Lemon Poppyseed Cookies have become a staple for me this year. The people love 'em, and I have to give the people what they want. And since I have a crap load of poppyseed's I might as well make these treats as often as possible.

End result: The lemon comes from, again, lemon zest! Which is amazing in every sense of the word. You can't add too much so don't be afraid to add more than the recipe dictates.

Did I mention people love these cookies? I most recently made them for my department's book club and these things were ravaged. A co-worker even said she was introduced to a flavor she didn't know she liked. That's right, baking causes miracles!

May:

My oven started getting heavy use when NY AIDS Walk came around and I was basically pimping my baking skills for donations. And dagnabbit it worked! Even during a recession I was able to raise several hundred dollars for the cause. Heck yeah!

Requests were varied and some people just got some of what I made others. But let me tell you it was a baking bonanza for a good couple weeks.

There were brownies, yawn. But then I made cupcakes!

The Dishes:

1) Carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese icing. I skimped on the icing and bought some whipped. After spending almost an hour zesting (not smart on my part) 2 cups of carrots I was tired and it was late on a school night no less.

End result: Those who donated enjoyed this treat as well. Though, I felt it tasted more like a muffin than a cupcake. Moist and good and all but light on the sugar taste. So perhaps it's better for you?

2) Coconut cupcakes with cream cheese icing: Since I had left over icing from the carrot cake cupcakes you know where it went. This recipe was interesting because it called for coconut flakes in and on top of the cupcake as well as coconut extract. But, in a war of extracts the vanilla won because I tasted that more than the coconut. And toasting the coconut then sprinkling it on top gave off a nice effect I think.

End result: My donator who is a coconut lover really enjoyed this cupcake. So I'm pretty sure he'll be donating again next year.

June:

The Dish: May was also busy in that I went to Book Expo of America and don't think I didn't go about trying to get as many cookbooks (books in general) as I could. I did snag Cookies to Die For by Bev Shaffer and found one of the easiest recipes to make and went for it: Maple Butter Cookies. One thing to note is that you have to refrigerate the dough after making so it's a day affair to make these cookies.

End result: Unfortunately the supermarkets nearest me don't have the best brands of maple syrup that was called for in this recipe. So I don't think the maple taste was as heavy as it should be. But the public enjoyed. Personally, I think they're biased by butter, which I am as well.

The Dish: I also made Blondies for the first time. Not realizing how easy it is to make these things these have now become a staple when visiting people. Need me to bring something? Heck, I'll make blondies! Anyone probably has the ingredients for these in their home: flour, butter, brown sugar, salt, vanilla extract, and perhaps chocolate chips. There you know the recipe, now go out there and bake!

End result: I've made these three times this year because they're so easy. If you're nervous about blondies don't be. It's basically a chocolate chip cookie in bar form. Sounds delicious right? My co-workers thought so and so I'll continue to make them.

July:

My husband and I had visited Sweet Melissa Patisserie in Brooklyn a little while earlier and I tried her pumpkin bread pudding, which I liked. So when I found out she had a book and additionally saw her win a decorating competition on FoodNetwork I knew I had to get her recipes! She had pumpkin recipes for crying out loud!

The Dish: And so, with book in hand, I made Snickerdoodles. A friend first introduced me to this and she is also a phenomenal baker. Hers are quite moist, these are moist but a bit firmer.

End result: Pretty easy to make and I've had requests for these. I made some for a friend's birthday party and even though the cookies were still a bit warm in the dense humidity of July the three or four dozen cookies I bought were ravished within the first 30 minutes I set them down. Someone asked if this was a family recipe and I had to give credit where it was due. Thanks, Melissa!

The remainder of the year to be summed up in the next post...