Jill Colonna :: Mad about Macarons!
By Paris Patisseries in Uncategorized
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Imagine my shock, about a month ago, when I stumbled across a Facebook page called Mad about Macarons. I feared it might house an anti-macaron diatribe – the chronicles of a woman inexplicably enraged over these dainty little treats. But my fears were quickly allayed when I realized not only was the page mad in the “crazy about”/”in love with” sense, but that it was actually the prelude to a work of meringue-sandwiched brilliance about to hit the bookshelves.
I quickly shot an e-mail to its author, Jill Colonna, asking if I could be sent a preview copy. What would be in it: pretty photos, recipes, sage advice on macaron-making technique, 10 pages of scratch-and-sniff stickers that I could affix to my computer monitor and Justin Bieber notebook? As it turned out, it was all that and more . . . well, except for the scratch-and-sniff stickers.
The opening chapters touch on everything from dire warnings about macaron addiction to the origin of macarons and the author’s own discovery of and obsession with these Parisian classics. I mean, there she was, a bonnie young lass, fresh from Edinburgh those 20 years ago. A self-described “apple and some cheese” kind of girl, where dessert was concerned, sweets were the last thing on her mind. But after a brief dalliance with the charms of the millefeuille, her attentions turned to macarons, which she ultimately learned to leverage as her foray into Parisian social circles. Fascinating, n’est-ce pas?
Though I have to say my favorite part comes on page 16, when she explains how to eat macarons and other French pastry without becoming morbidly obese. My personal technique, when is Paris, is to inhale a 3 viennoiserie breakfast that seamlessly rolls into a 4 pastry lunch – which turns out to pretty much be the antithesis of what she prescribes. Go figure!
As you progress in this treatise on macarons, you’re guided through musings on technique for both the macaron shells/meringues and the fillings. Jill’s been kind enough to demystify and simplify the processes. There’s even a chart in the back for converting her master recipe, if you come up short on the amount of egg whites you have on-hand. You know that’s going to come in handy.
The real treat, of course, is the recipes. I was expecting maybe 10 or 15. No, there are almost 40! That includes a nut-free version and a ton of varieties that range from the super sweet to the super savory. Thai Green Curry Macaron, anyone? There are some so adventurous that even Pierre Hermé’s wilder creations would seem tame by comparison. The sweet versions definitely make up the bulk of the recipes though: vanilla, almond, rose, pistachio, tiramisu, coffee, dark chocolate, sticky toffee, orange blossom, and on-and-on.
Perhaps the swankest facet of this tome is that she prescribes beverage pairings for each and every macaron. “Serve with Lapsang Souchong tea” and “enjoy with a peaty single-malt whisky” is just the type of advice I love. Should I ever have occasion to show up to a get-together with a box of homemade macarons, and the host doesn’t have a fine Yunnan at-the-ready, I’ll be quick to admonish them with a dirty look and a, “But I told you I was bringing Liquorice & White Chocolate Macarons! Did you just forget to buy the tea, or are you simply so classless as not to know any better?”
Mad about Macarons has yet to be released in the U.S., but since most of you guys live in Europe . . . lucky you. You can easily snag it on amazon.co.uk or in fine bookstores throughout the UK. If you’re already in Paris, then just grab a copy at Galéries Lafayette, WHSmith Paris, La Librairie Gourmande or Le Bon Marché. And, of course, no matter where you live, you should like the Mad about Macaron Facebook Page immediately.
Mad about Macarons! Make Macarons Like the French
by Jill Colonna
Published by Waverley Books
Follow: Mad about Macarons! on Facebook
Buy It Now: Mad about Macarons! on amazon.co.uk
Visit: madaboutmacarons.com
