Saturday, January 3, 2009

Knee-deep in macarons

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Happy new year, everyone! I don't know about you, but my resolution this year is to be more regular about blogging. I currently have about 7 drafts sitting in my queue from the end of 2008, so...enough babbling and onwards!

A couple of weeks ago, someone asked me what my "desert island" foods would be--my list went something like pho, tofu, pork chops, cookies (I know, that's cheating), and macarons. So you can imagine my happiness when I got not one but two gifts of macarons!

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First was this box of chocolate and caramel macarons from Paulette that my coworker Amy carried back from LA for me (also see the top photo). I've been looking for a caramel macaron comparable to the one I had from Laduree since our trip to Paris, and although Paulette's comes close, it's still not quite the same. This is not to say it's not delicious, of course! It was my favorite, and though I gave away a few of the chocolate ones, I hoarded all the caramel ones for myself (shhhh).

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My second dose of macarons in as many weeks came as a gift from two lovely friends, Tenebrous Kate and the Baron. These are from La Maison du Chocolat, which I blogged about previously. I have to admit, I get kind of a thrill when I see the packaging; yes, I'm still a sucker for nice packaging.

In comparison to the Paulette macarons, La Maison du Chocolat's are significantly larger (about 3" across, I would estimate). I'm not sure what all of the flavors were, but chocolate and raspberry were the predominant flavors I got.

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And inside a chocolate macaron. To me, the true appeal of the macaron is in the contrasting textures; the crisp shell and the marshmallowy interior, and the even softer filling. Both macarons fit the bill, although if forced to choose, I'd probably have to go with the Paulette macarons....but only if forced.

May 2009 be even more delicious.

Paulette
9466 Charleville Boulevard at Beverly Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90212

La Maison du Chocolat
30 Rockefeller Center
New York, NY 10020

5 comments:

K and S said...

yummy! happy new year!

Tenebrous Kate said...

You can thank Baron XIII for his thorough research and unflagging effort in finding those macaroons! They look absolutely mouthwatering--I should send him back for more. Mmmmm...

tofugirl said...

Thanks, happy new year to you too Kat! (Now if only we had a Pierre Herme in New York...)

TKate--if you get a chance to go yourself, get the ice cream. Trust me. It almost put Justine into a chocolate coma, but it was sooooo good.

obachan said...

Happy New Year!
Thanks for visiting my site the other day. You have such a nice blog here with beautiful, really beautiful and yummy photos! These macaroons are just too tempting.
Keep posting!

tofugirl said...

Hi Obachan! Thanks for visiting :D I'm trying to make my posting more regular this year, but I am a master of procrastinating :) (and of eating macarons, of course!)