L'Amour Fou

L'Amour Fou de Petits Fours, watercolor

 

Still crazy for petits fours, I thought I'd try the competition. Mais quelle disastre! Staff grabbed the box, ran in the kitchen and tried to patch them together.

Where are the little protective caissettes plissées that go under each petit four bien sur?

Mon dieu! I was mad. Growling like these not-to-be-missed animal sculptures of Ai Weiwei  near The Plaza Hotel.

C'est la vie. I returned to Financier Pastries for a 2nd set of petits fours. A pastry artist must have something to paint.

As a consolation prize I got a passion fruit macaron = instant happiness. When life gives you lemons eat macarons.

With all this mad, crazy love for petits fours seeing L'Amour Fou/crazy love was a natural.

L'Amour Fou is a French documentary about the relationship of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge, their amazing art collection and Berge's decision to auction it off in 2009 in a 3-day extravaganza. Read more in Elaine Sciolino's story here.

The film offers a detailed inside look at their lives together and the relentless luxury of their lifestyle.

Yesterday Yellow Bird dragged me down for more pastry luxuries. Who does he think he is - YSL?

BONJOUR L'AMOUR FOU de PETITS FOURS!

Financier Pastries 2

Financier Petit Fours, watercolor, 9"x 11"

Drinking too much Champagne once-a-year is not that big a problem.

But becoming attached at the hip to a Patisserie just a short train ride away is another matter.

 

Dear PBers,
I need an intervention.

What started out as mere research for a petit four drawing project.

Has turned into an obsession. Ouch!

I tell myself I'm buying these delights just to paint them. Ha! They're disappearing faster than I can paint them :( A few years ago I kept pastry temptation under control easily.

I only painted miniatures.

Under an inch high. Help me PBers.

Especially since I haven't tasted "Le Tropical. At least there is a remedy for greediness straight from Paris - Oddibil charcoal tablets created for pastry overeaters. I recommend it highly.

BONJOUR Petits Fours 2!

Financier Pastries

Petit Four Immersion watercolor, 9" x 11"
I'm been going through serious petit four immersion.
Really I should be immersed in the pool doing water gym...
I recently discovered a very French NYC patisserie, Financier Pastries. I bought their little beauties this past weekend to paint. Here's what's left of the original 16...
Unlike the other brand's petit fours that jumped around in transit-these could have used some plastic surgery once home...
Foodwalker, a professional caterer, asked me if they taste as good as they look.
Petit Four research sketches...
They do!
Perfect to get in the right frame of mind to see Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris homage to the city of lights.

I happened to pass by another Financier shop yesterday to check if their pastries really were as good as I thought they were...

They are. Green and white stripped awnings, lots of French-esque details. And they have macarons.

Their signature pastry is the golden bar-shaped almond 'financier' cake - their first shops opened near Wall street. Chef Eric Bedoucha grew up in Paris and got his training at Dalloyau...

Some of you asked after Yellow Bird. I almost called this post 'My Left Foot'. Yellow bird is recoverying from a foot injury but he's back with a bit of Scotch (tape) to the rescue.

BONJOUR Petits Fours!