pastry

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Perfecting the French Croissant

I wrote a tutorial for French croissants last year. About a month ago I received a comment that pretty much said that I was doing it all wrong. After doing some more research, I realized that my croissants didn’t come out very well at all. I apologize for sharing a less than stellar technique.

Homemade French croissants on a baking sheet. Click to see the full photo tutorial and recipe!

While the recipe was fine, I did not chill my dough sufficiently and so my own batch didn’t come out very well. I spent the last few weeks working on improving the recipe, photos, and adding troubleshooting tips. I think it’s much better now. Check it out, if you’d like, by clicking here.

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Pear Tart

I was in the grocery store a few days ago, shopping for wasabi, when I saw some pears. Boy, did they look good. They were firm, yet delicate. And, for some reason, they looked like they would be really juicy.

French pear tart with almond frangipane and Bosc pears. Click to get the AMAZING recipe!

I didn’t buy them though. I bet you thought I bought them. No. I did not buy them. They were organic. I bought the one’s right next to them, for half the price and double the size, and then I made this wonderful tart.

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Raspberry Éclairs

Behind a beige desk, on a green metal chair connected securely to the desk by a thick piece of metal, is my spot. Every day, very carefully, I must climb over the bar to sit in my spot – a spot that must be fought for daily. If I stop in the hall to tie my shoe, I lose the spot and am banished to the back of the room. Law class is so argumentative that there are even arguments about seating. We are so loud that we close the door to the hallway to keep the hallway quiet.

Raspberry éclair with pink fondant and fresh fruit

M stood up to close the wooden door that separated our dystopia from the hallway. My phone began to ring. Usually, it just vibrates. But this time it rang, and quite loudly too. I had to take it out of my pocket to turn it off – I could not wait for it to simply finish ringing. That was a challenge though because of the desk design. The only way I could take my phone out was if I got up from my desk. I slid out the left side and placed my hand into my pocket, grabbing the ringing phone. I flipped it over to read the caller ID as I was turning it off. It was an important call that I couldn’t miss.

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