The Sweet Life

Ok, so it's finished, but not perfect (will it ever be?). I finally caramelized the sugar to the right amount of bitterness to better balance the nougat and chocolate mousse. But, I overcooked the caramel a little bit because it reached temp so fast after adding the cream, making it slightly firmer than I'd like (the previous caramel was much easier to cut). I'd already set the frozen nougat layer on the sponge and couldn't change that, so that means it smooshes out a little when I cut portions and when you cut it with your fork to eat. Overall, I am happy with the dessert as a whole; the flavors are pretty perfect. So, next time, I'll just reverse the nougat and caramel and be done with it. I'll be giving it away to friends tomorrow and probably Thursday. It's messier to eat than the original version, but this time the flavors are more distinct. Before they were all muddled together in a vague sweetness. Third time around it should be pretty perfec...

It's not every day that I'm struck with the lightning bolt of creativity. More days than not are culinary disasters. Case in point, the other morning I was craving pancakes, and got up to make them. My milk was frozen and so I used heavy cream that I thinned out. DID NOT WORK. No worries, I thought. I'll just make some toast. BURNED IT. So, I got back in bed and waited for lunch time. Macarons. Well, though I've made them successfully at work, I can't at home. They're beautiful, feet and all, smooth shell, but also HOLLOW. Yes, I've been humbled in a lot of my endeavors, but I carry on. I had countless notebooks, pads, paper scraps-not to mention pages bookmarked under "Recipes to Try," notes in my phone-laying around the house with ideas, thoughts, flavors, sketches, recipes (untitled, I might add and often just ingredient lists) scribbled in them that nag at me constantly. Some are small, like cupcakes for a friend's party, cooki...