Tattoo Update

Joel is featured in an extensive article in the current issue (#13) of Tattoo Artist Magazine. The article include a picture of my dragon sleeve along with a very complete catalog of his work.

My Koi sleeve is done except for coloring the Koi themselves. All the background and all the maple leaves are done and really look good. I've been doing three-hour sessions recently which speeds things up considerably. I've only got a couple of sessions left and I'm done. It's weird to think it's coming to an end so quickly. The end has always been some intangable, far-away thing. Now I'm probably done by Christmas.

Here are photos from the last few sessions.

French Macarons - Week #Trois

Okay, so, aged egg whites and a bigger piping bag tip were the 2 biggest changes we made in making this week's batch. The dough was drier this time, which made it a tad bit harder to pipe. We didn't make any filling this week.

Instead of using a food processor to mix the dry ingredients, we're sifting by hand. We've reduced the baking temperature and shortened the cooking time from 20 to 18 minutes.

Ren is flying out tonight to Philly for work. If he has some spare time he'll stop by Miel Patsierrie to pick up professionally made macarons and bring them home so that we can compare. The last batch of macarons Ren brought home from Miel were pretty tasty.

I can't wait to perfect this recipe and starting baking with flavors and coloring!!

French Macarons - Part Deux

Macarons or Macaroons...WHATever! We're not talking about the coconut cookie.
Tonight, Batch #2!
We're getting better about the piping size. A bigger tip for the piping bag is needed. When we incorporated the almond flour with the egg whites, we were careful not to deflate the whites this time. We baked them for 17 minutes instead of 20. This batch - less chewy than last week's batch
Bye-bye buttercream filling...Hello, chocolate ganache.
According to Lauduree, you should let the macarons sit in the fridge for 24 hours before eating...patience, patience!