Every
once in a while, I need to back away from the jeweler’s bench. 7 days a week
can be too much, and sometimes I need to switch gears to get my mojo back,
after banging away at the anvil for too long. I am fortunate enough to live in
a place where I can indulge any artistic craving I have. Northwest Connecticut
is chock full of schools and classes for just about any artistic endeavor.
Saturday, I discovered a new art form…The Petit Macaron.
These
aren’t the coconut macaroons you find at the supermarket…these are the
mouthwatering confections that my daughters brought home one day, in a small
box of 8 after a trip to NYC with their Dad. “Those are lovely, how much were
they?”, I asked as I watched them devour them with reverence. “I don’t know,
Mom, around twenty something dollars.” Huh? I didn’t partake in their
feast of the ambrosia of the gods, a) because they had nuts, and I’m allergic
to most, and b) I fainted when I heard the price for these mini-cookies.
Lucky
for me, The Silo, a local treasure located in New Milford CT was holding
a class on making Valentine’s Macarons at their cooking school held by reknown
Chef Kathyrn Gordon yesterday. I signed up, and took the class, and what a
treat!! (No pun intended).
First
of all, The Silo is incredible…I’ll get into that a little later. I used to
take my daughters there when they were very small to cooking classes for Mommy
and me, making GingerBread Houses for the holidays one year!!
I
dragged my BFF and partner in crime, Karen, to the Silo on a crisp, beautiful
Sunny Saturday morning at 10am. The class was packed!! Are the Macarons the new
Cupcake, I wondered? Just being in The Silo was a treat in and of itself.
Before
I can continue, I have to tell you about the Silo. Known officially as The
Henderson Cultural Center at Hunt Hill Farm, The Silo, is the cultural legacy
of Ruth and Skitch Henderson, the late, world reknown pianist, conductor and
composer, founder of The New York Pops,
and the original band leader of “The Johnny Carson Show”. It is a non-profit
organization dedicated to preserving the unique history of the farm, which was
lovingly maintained by The Hendersons. The Silo includes a Cooking School, the
Skitch Henderson Museum, the Hunt Hill Farm Land Preserve, the Gallery and The
Silo Store. To read more about this cultural oasis , check out http://www.hunthillfarmtrust.org/
I had to give you this background
history so you could understand my giddiness upon entering this rustic, country
kitchen on Saturday…I could have spent the entire day there!!!
Chef Kathryn Gordon, a lovely,
cheerful woman was there, with her assistants to teach us how to make
traditional, French macarons. In her down to earth, no-nonsense but good
humored fashion, she lead the class in making the macaron batter, piping the
cookies, and making a variety of mouthwatering fillings. We learned to assemble
the delicate sandwiches, and Chef Kathryn generously shared many secret tips in
getting them to turn out beautifully when making them at home. We made pink
swirled macarons with caramel fleur de sel filling, purple and gold macarons
with white mint ganache (my favorite!), red velvet macarons with cream cheese
filling, and pink/purple swirled macarons with homemade raspberry jam. The
results?? Mouthwatering…
I left the class with a generous
sampling of all the different macarons, and I just had to buy Chef Kathryn’s
book, and have her autograph it!!
 |
| Chef Kathryn Gordon (right), and myself |
Oh and guess what? The Silo will
now carry Alexis Gopal Jewelry…I left my business card at the register when
purchasing my book, and received a lovely email when I got home that they would
love to carry my jewelry line in their store. More blessings for 2013!!
Peace and love,
Alexis
