Tuesday, May 01, 2007

MAC Gateaux...

3 macarons, watercolor, 9" x 11 1/2"



Remember all my complaining about where were the signs of SPRING? Well it's here finally!

In fact some days feel more like summer!?

The only problem is I caught a "Spring" cold :(

And I have no pomegranates around to protect me.

So I'm feeding you Paris macarons today...

Don't worry I didn't bite into any so you can't catch anything.

These are La Maison du Chocolat's new macs filled with infused chocolate ganache. I bought a box to test, for research purposes, but I miss the old classic, less riche flavors they used to carry - especially the lemon...

I kept seeing gateaux / cakes decorated with macarons all over Paris. I knew you'd want to know.
Here Fauchon decks out their macs first in gold leaf before adorning this glossy chocolate gateau. I like the flying-saucer disks on the sides and the contrast of round and square shapes.
Did this pastry chef mess up the chocolat icing and have to cover his tracks? Paris patissieres have to do something with the leftover macs of the day, don't they?
Why not cover a cake with them?
Here's a giant cake-size knockoff of Pierre Herme's famous Ispahan. Anything pink and macaron in Paris sells like...hot cakes?
These are big macs from Gerard Mulot - not cake size.
I like to think the macaron originates from the good ole American Oreo cookie.
Two cookie lids + some filling sandwiched between?
OK, so the Oreo was invented in February, 1912 after the macarons. I have a vivid imagination.
Now I'm taking an aspirin and heading back to bed to lose this Spring cold.A demain...

18 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:46 AM

    Wow--those gateax are amazing, aren't they!? As if they alone wouldn't do it! Great photos, Carol. And love your watercolor, of course!

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  2. Anonymous10:38 AM

    Ah, comfort food for the sick.
    Macarons....;-)
    Sorry you have a cold..hope you shake it soon.
    Love the painting and the photos.
    Cris in OR

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  3. Anonymous12:07 PM

    I love your paintings and photos Carol, just stopped by after visiting Mimi and I'm an old school friend of Christine Cooks. I especially love the watercolours.
    Anne

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  4. I simply adore macaroons - eating them reminds me of Nora in Ibsen's A Doll's House - but in a good way. There's something so feminine about them.

    Love the paintings, the photographs and the joie de vivre!

    Puss

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  5. Anonymous12:38 PM

    Hope you feel better soon. Thank you so much for posting today envers et contre tout. Take care

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  6. What an amazing artist you are throwing yourself so wholeheartedly into your art by doing research beforehand...
    (wink wink)
    Really though, the painting and the photos are beautiful.
    Feel better quickly--maybe another bite of "research" will do the trick?

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  7. Poor little kitten, that's not fair, getting a cold when spring's finally arrived! And still producing such beautiful paintings plus blog posts, Carol, you are out of this world (almost typed "this macaron", and then I wasn't sure how to spell it *drats*)!
    Walked along the Danube today for the first time ever. Beautiful views, but quite breezy, and I shivered in my little dress (had actually forgetten my sweater at home!). So good to hear you are in the higher temperatures now.
    Get well soon,
    M.
    (I took another photo of macarons today, at Dommayer's, and then I said, "No!" - simply no comparison to your portaits of two cookie halves).

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  8. "Ah, comfort food for the sick."
    YES, a macaron saves the day!
    I found one lone chocolate macaron lurking in the bottom of my refrigerator from the Coffee/Tea show on Sunday.
    It really helped to cheer my stuffy spirits :)

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  9. May I engage her in a passionate rant against gold leaf on macarons? Or chocolate, come to that? That fad always drove me right up the wall.

    But beautiful painting! I love this one. I hope you get over your cold soon!

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  10. Love macarons! love your watercolors!

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  11. Anonymous6:14 PM

    So you went to the coffee/tea festival? Great expectations :-)

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  12. Anonymous9:17 PM

    You have to start the Zicam as soon as a cold starts. I'm convinced it works in shortening the duration of the crud.
    Your watercolors are beautiful as are your photos of Paris shop windows. They just make me long to be there, sigh!

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  13. Great shots. I love the whimsical aspect of that dark chocolate cake covered in pastel macarons dots. I love me a big Mac

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  14. Oh no...she`s sick....I`ll make you some soup (ha-ha....I know it`s too hot, but isn`t that what sick people always get...)...get better soon...

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  15. Macaroons are definitely all the rage in France right now. And rightly so.

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  16. What a delicious post. My mouth is watering and LOVE that painting.

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  17. Anonymous1:58 PM

    The green in the lovely soft painting makes me feel like Spring and especially the vase and flower...so delicate. Lovely!

    Get better now, Carol...une demitasse avec l'eau warm mit citrone et honey should see you right in no time if taken frequently during the day (I'm sure you understand my mixed-language message, n'est-ce pas?).

    Now, I see in the photos some strawberries creeping in...does this mean we can look forward to some strawberry paintings soon? All the best!

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  18. Anonymous2:39 PM

    Rose macs are my favorite, a rose bush turned into a cake of them would be fine by me!
    Carol, you amaze me with the photos you have collected while in Paris!

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