Double Chocolate Almond Macaroons

Lately I’ve been craving more than just chocolate. I’ve been craving chocolate combined with either almond or peanut butter. And while the peanut butter fudge brownies were awfully tempting, I wanted to try something new. I had a half a can of almond paste leftover from some cupcakes I made when my sister was here. I couldn’t very well let that go to waste!

I know that macarons are all the rage right now, meaning those cute little pastel colored sandwich cookies (though I’ve never actually had one). I am always confused as to the difference between macaroons and macarons, if there is any save an extra letter. I always thought of macaroons as dry coconut cookies that I didn’t have any desire to eat, though I now believe a macaron/macaroon is any almond and egg white based cookie, sandwiched with buttercream, coconut, or otherwise. I could be way off base, of course, but these cookies, whatever they are, are quite tasty. Lighter than your typical cookie (as their ‘body’ comes from egg white rather than flour/baking soda), and full of that almondy flavor I crave so much. Think of your standard chocolate chip cookie crossed with a fluffy meringue, that’s what the texture of this cookie is like.

Double Chocolate Almond Macaroons

Makes 18-20 cookies. Recipe from GourmetSleuth.

INGREDIENTS
1 10oz. can Almond Paste (different than marzipan)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate chopped into pieces (or chocolate chips)
3 egg whites
pinch salt

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 300ºF. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Beat the almond paste and ½ cup of the sugar in the bowl of a mixer with paddle until broken up, about 2 minutes. Pour in the melted chocolate and mix to blend for another minute. Scrape down the bowl then add the egg yolks and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth. Add the chopped chocolate chunks.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites and salt until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining ¼ cup of sugar and beat until the egg whites are stiff but not dry.

Stir one third of the whipped whites into the chocolate mixture, scraping the bowl well. Then fold in the remaining whites mixing just until the whites are blended. The batter will be fairly stiff. You may even want to work in the egg whites gently between your fingers.

Drop the batter by tablespoons onto the parchment-lined baking sheets or use a small portion scoop. Bake the cookies until set and lightly browned, about 20 to 25 minutes. Rotate the baking sheets after 15 minutes to bake evenly.

Allow the cookies to cool completely then remove them from the parchment with a spatula. Stored in an airtight container at room temperature, these cookies will keep fresh for 3 to 5 days.

Seeing Double: Portobello Burgers with Roasted Red Peppers

I didn’t quite realize this until browsing through the pictures that I haven’t posted yet (yes, I realize I’m behind – I’ve got a half dozen new meals to post and just haven’t had the time to do it, I’ll be better, I promise!), but in a matter of 4 days, we unknowingly cooked two almost identical meals.

Meal 1 (above): Portobello “Steak” Sandwiches with Gorgonzola Butter and Red Pepper Vinaigrette.
Meal 2 (below): Portobello Burgers with Red Pepper Mayonnaise

I figured you’d all think I was crazy if I made two posts out of these, and it would make my backlog of posts a more manageable if I combined them into one. So here we are.

Honestly, they were both good. The roasted red pepper and earthy portobello is an excellent combination however you make it. But, the addition of the Gorgonzola cheese probably puts the first recipe over the top. That, and I think the mayonnaise we used for the other might have been a bit past it’s prime… nothing happened, of course, but seeing the date on the jar afterwords may have skewed our perception of it just a bit.

(If you are interested though, the Portobello Burgers with Red Pepper Mayonnaise recipe can be found here).

Portobello Burgers with Red Pepper Mayonnaise

Makes 4 servings. Recipe from Epicurious.

INGREDIENTS
For marinade
5 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
6 large garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves or 2 teaspoons dried thyme, crumbled
1/2 cup olive oil
1 1/2 pounds fresh Portobello mushrooms, stems trimmed

For Gorgonzola butter
2 ounces Gorgonzola cheese (about 1/4 cup) at room temperature
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

For red pepper vinaigrette
1 red bell pepper, roasted (procedure follows), or 1/3 cup chopped drained bottled roasted red peppers
1 tablespoon white-wine vinegar
1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

four 1/2-inch-thick slices crusty bread, cut diagonally
Garnish: fresh thyme leaves

DIRECTIONS
Make marinade:
In a small bowl whisk together marinade ingredients. Put half of mushroom caps and half of marinade in each of 2 large sealable plastic bags, arranging mushroom caps in one layer, and seal bags, pressing out excess air. Marinate mushrooms at room temperature, turning bags over several times, at least 1 and up to 2 hours.

Make Gorgonzola butter while mushrooms are marinating:
On a plate with a fork mash Gorgonzola and butter together until blended well.

Make red pepper vinaigrette:
In a blender blend vinaigrette ingredients with salt and pepper to taste until smooth and emulsified.

Prepare grill.

Grill one side of bread on a rack set 5 to 6 inches over glowing coals until golden, about 1 minute. (Alternatively, bread may be grilled in a hot well-seasoned ridged grill pan over moderately high heat.) Divide bread, toasted sides down, among 4 plates. Spread soft side of bread with Gorgonzola butter.

Remove mushrooms from marinade and grill 2 to 3 minutes on each side, or until tender. (Alternatively, mushrooms may be grilled in a hot well-seasoned ridged grill pan over moderately high heat.) Transfer mushrooms with tongs to a cutting board and slice thin.

Arrange warm mushrooms on toasts and spoon vinaigrette over each open-faced sandwich. Garnish sandwiches with thyme.

To roast peppers:
Using a long-handled fork char peppers over an open flame, turning, until skins are blackened, 2 to 3 minutes. (Or broil peppers on rack of a broiler pan under a preheated broiler about 2 inches from heat, turning every 5 minutes, until skins are blistered and charred, 15 to 25 minutes.) Transfer peppers to a bowl and let stand, covered, until cool enough to handle. Keeping peppers whole, peel them, starting at blossom end. Cut off tops and discard seeds and ribs. (Wear rubber gloves when handling chilies.)