.::|TheDish|::.

The Best Macaroons, Seriously

Last week I was in search of the perfect macaroon recipe for a holiday shin-dig we threw this past weekend. I tried one by Ina Garten, but found the use of sweetened coconut and sweetened condensed milk to be explosively sweet and sticky (I was bummed, I usually love the Contessa's stuff!). Well, we had holiday cookie bake-off at work the week before our party, which provided some much needed inspiration. The blue ribbon winner were in fact macaroons, shaped like pyramids, dipped in chocolate and topped with gold and silver and were neither too sweet nor too sticky; I knew this was the recipe.

I chose to make the little pieces of heaven as small snowballs rather than the larger pyramids, as most party goers prefer small bites of lots of little treats; and while I did dip them in chocolate, I chose to keep it simple and forgo the gold and silver. Well, it was quite the hit, and I had a couple people request the recipe; gotta share the love! The key ingredient here is unsweetended coconut. It's really hard to find – my coworker got it for me from a co-op in town – but it's the must-have ingredient that makes these particular macaroons so yummy. You can also purchase the kind featured in the photo here on Amazon.

Ingredients:
5 1/4 C unsweetened coconut
1 3/4 C sugar
7 large egg whites
pinch salt
2 T unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 t almond extract
1 t vanilla
Dark chocolate morsels

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350. Mix the coconut, sugar, egg whites and salt by hand until well blended. Blend in the butter and extracts. Refrigerate for at least an hour (I refrigerated for a couple hours, and they stuck together really well!). Scoop a small tablespoon onto your hand and form a ball. Place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet, about 1" apart. Bake until edges are golden, about 15 minutes. Cool completely before taking them off the parchment. Heat an handful of chocolate morsels in a small bowl in the microwave until melted, and dip each macaroon so half is covered by the chocolate. Place back on parchment until chocolate dries.

I forgot to take a photo in the mad rush to prep for the party, so sorry about that! But trust me, they were fab!

Estragon

Rating: 3 forks
We finally ventured out to the edge of our usual restaurant radius a few weekends ago and dined with friends at Estragon in the South End. It's a Spanish tapas place, dishing out some pretty authentic dishes. From the website:

Inspired by the supper clubs and salons of 1930s Madrid, Estragon brings old-world charm and a bohemian flair to the tapas experience. The menu focuses on the fresh and the simple, traversing the entire culinary landscape of Spain, and with an all-Spanish, all-affordable wine-list, a night at Estragon is like a night in Madrid –or the very next best thing! 

We started at the bar, and ordered-up a few libations: wine by the glass from their pretty extensive list of Spanish varietals, Estrella (a Spanish beer), and one of their specialty drinks called the Prickly Pear, which proved to be far too sweet for a friend. They don't have a full liquor license, so are restricted to beer, wine, and flavored alcohols (which seems a little silly to me, good ol' Massachusetts liquor laws). I glanced around and the decor was definitely mixed and funky, but comfortable; it's like dark and vintage meets whimsical, with chandeliers, vintage pictures, a retro checkered floor, a mix of high and low tables and loungey banquettes, and even an odd, risque mannequin propped at the hostess stand with only legs, lace and high heels. Definitely a European, slightly edgier feel, which I dig.

Our eating extravaganza was kick-off with a small bowl of complimentary blanched carrots in a spicy vinaigrette - delish! We shared a variety of tapas, such as Grilled Baby Leeks Romesco, Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Chorizo and Golden Raisins, Sauteed Mushrooms with Two Scrambled Eggs, Seared Pork Belly with Beluga Lentils, and Moorish Lamb Skewers. And while I love the small plates concept – you get to sample a little bit of this and a little bit of that – and each of these were "pretty good", none really knocked it out of the park for me; well except perhaps the Brussel Sprouts if you can imagine that, man they were tasty! I was anticipating more of a Ken Oringer's Toro experience, where the combination of the boisterous scene and the masterful dishes sends you into total sensory overload; though our wallets were thankful, the final bill was incredibly cheap unlike those we've racked-up at Toro.

Perhaps Estragon is in fact more authentic, and perhaps had it been in Madrid and not cornered between the South End projects, a hospital and high end loft condos it would have yielded a different review from me. I am not sure. I could go back, but am not really in a rush to.

Estragon
700 Harrison Ave
(between Harrison Archway & Brookline St)
Boston, MA 02118
617.266.0443
Website
[Image via Yelp]