Mad about Macarons? Well, not really, to be perfectly honest. Of course, when in Paris, B and I scoffed cholesterol-defying amounts of croissants, baguettes, brie and macarons, but back home, I can think of other things I’d rather be girding my hips with, than sugary macarons.

Mad about Macarons is an event by Couture Cupcakes; a celebration of macarons in their many colours and flavours. A boon surely, for all the many macaron-obsessed people out there – and there are many.

Even though I’m not always enamoured by them, I do appreciate the love and the art involved in creating macarons – from the clever flavour combinations (Pierre Hermes’ raspberry, rose and lychee-flavoured Ispahan comes immediately to mind, or Helene’s exotic sounding cherry blossom and hibiscus numbers. Even something as deceptively simple a flavour as salted butter caramel) to that perfect pastel hue and the crisp outer shell with the melting interior.

So when I recently saw Aran’s exquisite pink peppercorn macarons, I was intrigued. Her recipe is quite similar to the one I normally use, except that the ratios differ a little and she uses powdered egg white – something I had never used before. They were interesting enough variations to get me searching for some egg white powder to purchase. I wanted to make my macarons green tea flavoured, but I was running out of green tea powder, so I made them pink instead, with strawberry powder sprinkled over the top of each macaron (they darkened considerably in the oven, but the ‘roasting’ they got, actually helped draw out the strawberry flavour without being bitter). After they were baked, I sandwiched them with some berry jam and small scoops of vanilla bean ice-cream.

I haven’t come to any conclusion about the egg white powder yet. The macarons turned out really well, but that could just be due to the sum of their parts, thanks to Aran’s recipe. I might have to try this again in the near future, this time without the powder, to see if I can discern any difference.

Tempted? You can find the original recipe on Aran’s blog.

Rough night last night. Sat through the whole of the final for the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest. Phew. I mean, what’s with the ice-skater, the man with the unbuttoned shirt and the guy playing the violin, on his knees? Commiserations to B for Ireland’s top drawer entry by Dustin the Turkey, not even making it in to the final. Ireland was surely robbed!

Now all I need is something soothing to help me start the day. A slice or two of a simple milk loaf, toasted. A wedge of Manchego from La Mancha in Spain. A cup of tea. The simple things in life paving the way for what looks like the beginnings of a very good day.

This milk loaf is my contribution to BBD #10, hosted by Melissa of Baking A Sweet Life. The theme she has chosen is Breakfast Breads.

Simple Milk Loaf :
(from The Art of Handmade Bread by Dan Lepard)

1 1/2 teaspoon fresh yeast, crumbled
350g whole milk at 20’C
1 tablespoon corn or maple syrup
250g plain flour
250g bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 tablespoons warm melted unsalted butter

In a large bowl, beat the yeast with the milk and syrup. Add the flours and the salt, and squidge the lot together with your hands until you have a soft, sticky dough and the flour and liquid have evenly combined. Pour over the warm melted butter, and then squeeze this into the dough. Scrape any remaining dough from your hands, cover the bowl and leave for 10 minutes. Rub 1 teaspoon of olive oil or corn oil on the work-surface and knead the dough for 10 seconds, ending with the dough in a smooth round ball. Wipe the bowl clean and rub with 1 teaspoon olive oil, return the dough to it, cover and leave for an additional 10 minutes. Repeat this light kneading twice more, at 10 minute intervals, then leave the dough for 30 minutes.

Grease and flour a deep loaf pan. Divide the dough into two equal pieces and shape each into a ball. Drop them side-by -side into the prepared pan, cover with a cloth, and allow to rise for 1 1/2 hours, or until almost doubled in height.

Preheat the oven to 210’C. Brush the top of the loaf with a little cream or milk, and bake for 15 minutes, then lower the heat to 176’C and bake for an additional 25-30 minutes, or until the top of the loaf is a shiny dark brown, and the loaf has come away from the sides of the pan. Remove from the pan, and allow to cool on a wire rack.

About two weeks ago, I was reading Steve Manfredi’s Seasonal Cook column in the weekend paper when a thought struck me. The featured ingredient was cavolo nero, that wonderful deeply green cabbage originally from Tuscany. One of Steve’s recipes was for his version of cavolo nero gratin. The gratin sounded very familiar, and even more familiar was the name of the chef he credited the recipe to, Cameron Cansdell. My weekend brain took awhile to finally click that they seemed so familiar because I used to work with Cameron at the bistro, and that a similar gratin had been on the bistro’s menu.

Memories of my time working at the bistro came flooding back, as did the taste of that amazing gratin which if I remember correctly, used to be served with panfried duck breast and confit duck leg. The gratins used to be made in elongated metal tins, and portions were scooped out as required. I could still remember how gloriously crunchy the golden crust was, and how naturally sweet and yielding the vegetables that lay underneath were. Ah, I just had to try the gratin again!

As it is difficult to find ingredients like cavolo nero near where I live, I used silverbeet instead. Silverbeet, also known as Swiss Chard or Perpetual Spinach, is a leafy vegetable that is part of the beet family and is popular in Mediterranean cooking. Regardless of whether you settle on using cavolo or silverbeet, the method for preparing this gratin remains the same, and trust me, the end result will make you glad that you gave this tasty recipe a go!

Silverbeet gratin is my contribution to this week’s WHB, hosted by Cate of Sweetnicks.

Cavolo Nero Gratin :
(serves 6; from Steve Manfredi’s Seasonal Cook column)

4 bunches cavolo nero, each about 150g
1 cup breadcrumbs, not too fine
100g melting cheese such as gruyere or fontina
1/2 cup grated parmesan
50g butter
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large brown onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
100ml cream
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Fill a large saucepan with water and bring to boil. Strip leaves from cavolo nero, discarding stems. Simmer leaves in the boiling, salted water for 3 minutes. Drain well, pushing residual water from leaves with the back of a ladle.

Preheat oven to 200’C. In a bowl combine breadcrumbs and the two cheeses [You can also add some freshly chopped herbs to this breadcrumb mixture if you wish. I included some thyme in mine].

Place a pan over medium heat, add butter and oil and, when they begin to sizzle, add onion. Lightly fry for 3-4 minutes until transparent. Add garlic and saute for another minute. Coarsely chop cavolo and add to onions and garlic. Saute for 2 minutes, then add cream. Turn heat to high to evaporate liquid until there is just enough cream to coat the cavolo. Season to taste, then remove from pan and spoon mixture into a gratin dish or ovenproof fry pan where the mixture will fit snugly and is 3-4 cm deep. Spread breadcrumb mixture over top of gratin and bake in oven for 20 minutes until golden brown.

Serve hot by itself or as an accompaniment to roast beef or pork.