Coconut-Almond Macaroons

Macaroons are traditional at Passover because they can be made without any leavening or flour.  A cookie that is gluten-free, contains no butter, oil or other added fat, and is Passover–friendly.  What more could a person want out of a tiny morsel at this time of year?  Good taste, that’s what.  

When I was a kid, we used to get macaroons out of a canister. Their chewy consistency and size were fine.  But even though they came in 3 flavors (almond, coconut and chocolate coconut), all the varieties tasted virtually the same – or rather they were all so sweet that any other taste was drowned out. 

I was determined to improve on those macaroons.  My dream was a cross between a macaroon and a meringue, light but flavorful.  After a few false starts, I got it right and my daughter named them Meringuroons.  You could add a bit of chopped chocolate or even dip them in melted chocolate once they have cooled, but I preferred to keep them delicate and tasting only – and most definitely – of coconut and almonds. 

As with spices, roasting or toasting an ingredient like nuts or coconut intensifies the ingredient’s smell and taste.  (See my post on roasting cumin seeds.)  The aroma and taste difference (between the raw and roasted or toasted version) is striking, especially when those flavors shine through, as they do in these macaroons.  If you can’t imagine what I mean, try a test before you do this recipe.  Smell and taste a bit of the raw chopped almonds and coconut, then toast a bit more of those ingredients – you smell and taste the difference, don't you?

Coconut-Almond Macaroons a/k/a Meringuroons

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Layered Vegetable Paté

When it comes to party appetizers, I go for glitz.  Layers, garnish, a nice platter, fancy serving knife implement - I’m all about presentation.  (Remember the caviar pie?)  Especially on New Year’s Eve, party food should look elegant. 

I tried the original version of this vegetable paté several months ago.  It was lovely but plain, nice but not a “wow”  in my book.  This layered version adds color and flavor.  The layers hold together because you mold them and then refrigerate the finished paté for several hours.  The end result pleases the eye as well as the palate.

Many chefs and others I respect wax poetic over how much better home-cooked dry beans are than canned ones.  (Joe Yonan, when I make your dishes I do try to cook dry beans, honest, I do.)  But for this recipe, I used canned beans - with the other flavorings and the processing step that mashes the whole beans, I don't think it made a difference.

If you hate cleaning up, then this recipe should appeal to you; the loaf pan doesn’t get dirty and you can use the food processer twice without cleaning it in between by processing the cannellini or alubias bean mixture before the kidney beans.

Layered Vegetable Paté

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Meringue Cookies

Did you know that you can make cookies while you sleep?  I’m not talking about mixing in a trance-like state; literally, you can put the cookies in, turn the oven off and go to bed, waking up in the morning to beautifully (and safely) baked cookies.  If that sounds appealing, then these meringue cookies are just what you need.

These sweet treats have several other attributes that endear them to me: they don’t contain any butter, oil or other fat, you can flavor them with an almost unlimited number of add-in options, and you can make them as small as a silver dollar or several times that size.

First, the ABCs of meringues

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