things to master before i die

1. pâte sucrée

am i a sucker, or am i a sucker? in this blasted tropical climate, too. wanting to try this fabulous recipe for lemon meringue tart (the lemon cream is heavenly – lush and tangy, yet light and evanescent) meant having to make pâte sucrée. they say macarons are difficult to master, but des clous – the hardest has got to be this tart crust.

2. macarons

not quite as hard as they’re made out to be if you’re careful. though the chocolate macarons definitely require a little finnesse, what i got the other day sent me into spasms of oral rapture. alright, not quite as subspace as i make it out to be, but it was pretty damn blissful. as in, i’m-in-paris-again-having-a-massive-JeanPaulHevin-macaron-for-breakfast-after-checking-exam-results blissful. even though the tops cracked and not all of them formed feet, after a night in the fridge with some ganache, the macarons were crisp, slightly chewy and crazy-rich and fudgy. kind of like the pretty girl’s best friend, who, after getting to know her, is far sexier and more luscious than her picture-pretty counterpart. getting both right though, might just be possible…

3. focaccia

but not just any focaccia. a 6 hour long recipe that failed miserably on me. strictly speaking, bread is not that hard to make, and this failure could be remedied with, oh, fresh yeast. and more patience.  but until it’s fixed, it stays on the list.

this list will be updated as i fail at more recipes; however, for the moment, these two projects of sorts might be enough to drive me insane for the next few months as the work-heavy A-Levels begins.

in other news, a lunch affair on thursday with matt and alex was remarkably fun: french onion soup (“i think i’ve had my onion quota for the week” – matt), grilled chicken, salad, chocolate macarons and a very rich and boozy, if slightly icy, chocolate gelato. i may be embarking on an obsession here – let’s hope i have the time.