The Little Peanut banner now hangs in the baby’s nursery

What’s a party without delicious food?

Flower arrangements had teddy bear mums, a flower I had never heard of, but I thought the name was very appropriate for a baby shower.

The saving grace of being my friend’s only single friend is that she has LOTS of friends who already have kids and can offer valuable advice.

Favors were little jars of peanut butter packaged beautifully

Since all of our previous shots were taken indoor (see Miss M, A Little Lamb,  Miss M. Turned 1, and Asian Princess), we decided to try some outdoor photos at a nearby park. Here are some of my favorites:

Despite the 5+ people who took care of our every need, the ambiance was not at all pretentious or stuffy (although I can’t say the same for some of the other patrons). It was kind of like eating in someone’s living room except that the living room had 10 tables in it.

The dinner was preceded with two amuse-bouches. The first was a cheese gougere with Gruyere cheese. The gougere literally melted in our mouths with the cheese oozing out. It was hands-down the best gougere I’ve ever had (yes, Tartine and Spruce, I really did say that). The second amuse-bouche was an excellent sesame cone with creme fraiche and roe.

We brought our own wine to dinner. Despite the $75 corkage fee (ouch!), it was definitely the way to go since most of the wines on the menu were in the $400+ range. My eyes nearly fell out at the $6,000 price tag on the bottle of Chateau d’Yquem. Thank goodness Andrew had purchased a couple of bottles of wine that were excellent. The 2006 Del Dotto Cabernet Sauvignon, Connoisseurs Series was one of the best wines I’ve had in a long time. I wish I could buy more and stock up on it.

A variety of bread choices were available and we tried the brioche from Bouchon and a pretzel roll, but we just didn’t have enough room for much bread.

Course 1: “Oysters and Pearls” with a “Sabayon” of Pearl Tapioca with Island Creek Oysters and Whole Sturgeon Caviar. I thought Andrew was going to balk at the caviar and oysters, but he actually liked it. This was probably my favorite dish.

Course 2: Jacobsen’s Farm Apple Salad with Radish “Lamelles”, Red Walnuts and Dijon Mustard.

Course 3: Sauteed Fillet of Atlantic Striped Bass (Andrew had this) or “Degustation” of Summer Clams (I ordered this)

Course 4: “Beets and Leeks” with Main Lobster Tail “Pochee au Beurre Doux”, King Richard Leeks, “Pommes Maxim’s” and Red Beet Essence. Another favorite!

Course 5: Liberty Farm Peking Duck with Red Clapp Pear, Belgian Endive, Toasted Cashew and Szechuan Peppercorn Sauce. The other option was “Coeur de Veau” (veal heart), but Andrew’s not a fan of organs and I felt obligated to try the Chinese dish.

Course 6 (main course): Elysian Fields Farm Lamb Saddle with “Ricotta Tortellini”, Summer Squash, Garlic Confit, Spanish Capers and “Salsa Verde”. I thought the presentation was very pretty.

Course 7: “Cavatina” with “Gingerbread”, Mirabelle Plum Jam, Fennel and Piedmont Hazelnuts. This was my least favorite dish, but it’s probably because goat cheese is not my favorite.

Course 8: Yellow Watermelon Sorbet with Basil-Honey and Saba Vinegar

Course 9 (dessert): Caramelia Chocolate “Cremeux” with Gros Michel Banana, Georgia Peanuts, “Dentelle” and Salted Popcorn Ice Cream (Andrew had this for two reasons – it was chocolate and it had Georgian peanuts) or “Peach Melba” with Sicilian Pistachio “Pain de Genes,” Andante Dairy Yogurt, “Biscotti” and Raspberry Sorbet. Both desserts were amazingly light so that I even I finished all of it.

But wait, there’s more…bonus courses consisted of the best affogato I’ve ever had with beignets and chocolate and praline-covered macadamia nuts. There was a whole bowl full of those nuts and they were delicious. I regret not carrying a purse and sliding them in there.

Oh wait, we still weren’t done. That was followed by six chocolate truffles, which we just stared at in confusion because we couldn’t eat anymore. Thankfully, our waiter asked if we wanted to pack it up and we gratefully said yes.

Photo by Denise Collier

FRENCH-STYLE MACAROONS (MACARONS)

Makes 20 sandwich cookies.   From The Best International Recipe.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:

INGREDIENTS

3 ¾ cups (15 ounces) almond flour

3 ⅓ cups (13 1/3 ounces) confectioners’ sugar

⅛ teaspoon salt

5 large egg whites , at room temperature

Pinch cream of tartar

5 teaspoons granulated sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 cups Vanilla Buttercream Frosting, Coffee Buttercream Frosting, or Orange Buttercream Frosting, or Ganache (Andrew’s favorite)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Spray 2 large baking sheets with nonstick cooking spray and line with parchment paper; set aside. Fit a large pastry bag with a 1/2-inch plain tip; set aside. Process half of the almond flour, ­confectioners’ sugar, and salt together in a food processor until the mixture is very finely ground, about 20 seconds. Transfer to a bowl and repeat with the remaining almond flour and confectioners sugar; stir together and set aside.
2. Using an electric mixer, whip the egg whites on medium-low speed until they are opaque and frothy, about 30 seconds. Add the cream of tartar, increase the speed to medium-high, and continue to whip, watching carefully, until they are white, thick, voluminous, and the consistency of shaving cream, about 90 seconds. Slowly sprinkle in the granulated sugar and continue to whip until stiff peaks form and the sugar is incorporated, about 60 seconds (see illustration below).
3. Transfer the egg whites to a large bowl in order to accommodate the remaining ingredients. Gently fold one quarter of the almond flour mixture into the whites, followed by the vanilla. Gradually fold in the remaining almond mixture until a thick, gloppy batter forms.
4. Following the illustrations below, fill the prepared pastry bag with the batter. Twisting the top of the bag to apply pressure, push the batter toward the bag tip and pipe onto the prepared baking sheets into forty 2-inch mounds, spaced about 1-inch apart. Use the back of a teaspoon or your finger dipped in a bowl of cold water to even out the shape and smooth the surface of the piped mounds. Let the macaroons rest at room temperature until the tops are dry and a smooth skin has formed, 1 to 2 hours.
5. Thirty minutes before baking, adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Bake the cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until lightly browned, about 20 minutes, rotating the tray halfway through the baking time. Directly after baking, carefully slide the parchment with cookies onto a wire rack and cool completely. (The unfilled cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or frozen for up to 3 weeks; if frozen, let thaw at room temperature for 2 hours before filling.)
6. TO FILL THE COOKIES: Spread about 1 tablespoon of the buttercream over the flat sides of half the cookies and gently cover with the flat sides of the remaining cookies to form sandwiches; serve.

STEP-BY-STEP

Piping the Paste
1. Fill the pastry bag with paste, push paste to bottom of bag using hands or bench scraper, and twist top of bag to seal.

2. Pipe paste into 1 1/4- to 1 1/2-inch mounds (2-inch mounds if making gougères) on prepared baking sheet.

3. Use back of teaspoon dipped in water to even out shape and smooth surface of mounds.

TECHNIQUE

Beating Egg Whites
The egg whites should be beaten until smooth and creamy. When the beater is lifted out of the bowl, the egg whites should hold a soft peak.

If the egg whites are beaten too long, they will look dry and grainy and begin to separate.

And a video that Denise put together…what a great way to remember the event.

I picked up the overly girly tutu while visiting LA. I love it!

She’s grown so much since her 3 month and 6 month shoots.