French pastries course day 1: Macarons and canelés

You've heard me say it a kajabillion times so I won't draw this out for too long. I love macarons. But try as I might, I was unable to reproduce these heavenly confections in my own oven.

So when Toronto's Bonnie Gordon's School of Confectionary Arts offered a two-day French pastries course teaching how to make macarons, among other things, I leapt at the opportunity. Well, maybe that's an exaggeration, I cleared it with my husband and mother to see if they could cover watching my son for the two days before registering. And then I leapt.

Walnut torte with dark rum syrup

This torte is not for the faint of heart. It is dense, it is sticky, it is syrupy sweet. The recipe for this walnut torte comes from Jill O'Connor's "Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey."

I've referred to this book time and time again (Re: Bahama Mama Banana Rum cake; Sticky Toffee Pudding; Cheesecake pops) and this won't be the last time either.

I made this cake for my mother's birthday this year, as she had pointed it out in the book as something she'd like to eat.

Barefoot Contessa's Ice Cream Bombe

I promised myself I'd tackle one of Martha Stewart's ice cream bombes this summer, a rather delicate, precious one called a "raspberry pavlova bombe" that involves placing dozens of delicate raspberries inside a bowl.

Yes, well, as much as I'd love to do that, I thought I'd start with something less ambitious. And so when I saw the Barefoot Contessa's recipe for an ice cream bombe in her book "Barefoot in Paris" I knew I'd found the right recipe for me: only three ingredients.

Giada's pea pesto crostini

It's my unspoken mandate to write mainly about baking and pastries, although I do veer off track now and again, and this is one of those times because I just can't resist.

While planning for a barbecue at our house this summer, I decided to add something new to the tried-and-true mix of hummus and kebab that appear at every gathering.

I made hummus, yes, but I also made Giada's pea pesto crostini. I had all the ingredients on hand and I was able to whip it up in a jiffy even though I also had to make several other dishes for our lunch.

Julia Child's Cherry Clafouti

I first tried clafouti (or clafoutis, as it is spelled in France) at a French cooking class at Dish Cooking Studio several years ago under then-Auberge du Pommier chef Paul Benallick.

It wasn't until recently, when I found myself purchasing in-season cherries every weekend, that I cast my mind back to that memory. At the time, in my early twenties, clafouti seemed overly plain and not worth my efforts. And I can't say I fully appreciated the flavours. Flavours, you ask? Plural?

Isn't it just a bunch of baked cherries in a crepe-like batter? Well, not exactly. Clafouti hails from the Limousin region of France and is traditionally made with cherries, but you will find several variations including plums, prunes, and apples. The version we sampled in class that day included lemon zest, lemon oil and mulled cherries.

Cookbook Review: Everyday Food: Fresh Flavor Fast

Dear readers, forgive me for my short sabbatical from this blog. It wasn't planned, between the trips to the pediatrician, pharmacy, and my general malaise over this hard job called being a mom, I let things slide. Going to sleep at 9:30 p.m. seemed more appealing than sitting down at my laptop.

But I haven't forgotten about you readers, believe me, I haven't. And if it means skipping a shower to write a blog entry, so be it.

I first bought "Everyday Food: Great Food Fast" as a newlywed. It's not that I didn't know how to cook, but when I did, it wasn't rushed. I cooked for the sheer pleasure of cooking. And I realized that once I got married, and started cooking for two, I would need to plan meals and shorten my meal preparation times. (Once, as a newlywed, it took me four hours to make moussaka. Three years later, my husband is still asking me to make it again, but I haven't.)

Chocolate almond crackle

High off my success at making hazelnut brittle with my trusty new candy thermometer, I decided to try my hand at chocolate almond crackle. This recipe had a few things going for it: It was in a cookbook called "No Time to Cook," it was written by the amazing Donna Hay, and it was only a paragraph long. I'd already made some entrees from this cookbook that turned out well and so I was feeling confident.