Sunday, December 19, 2010

Merry Christmas to Me, and You, and You, and You, and You

Having trouble getting into the holiday spirit? I know I'm not the only one. Some of you have been felled by flu, or drained by care-giver duties. Others challenged by snow from Georgia to New Mexico, ice upon your dock, or the need to keep your garden and chickens warm through an atypical Florida cold snap. And do any of us ever feel like we have enough time to get that ultimate Christmas "everything" done on top of the already demanding obligations of our everyday lives - even, ahem, if you live in Hawaii?

Sometimes, my friends, a little holiday attitude adjustment can be attained by indulging oneself. Which is just what my friend Cindie and I did yesterday, after tending to our "obligations." We called each other twice to make sure we were awake and on schedule, taking the new Eggy-mobile in for its 1000-mile check-up, picking up meds for Cindie and her husband and camera batteries for me, and tackling our Christmas food and gift shopping lists at Party Source, Findlay Market, and Avril-Bleh's. Phew.

Somehow we were done with our errand-running an hour and a half ahead of our scheduled lunch reservation at Jean-Robert's Table, a destination we'd been looking forward to for some time. Thankfully, they were able to seat us early and we indulged in a fine meal that melted our stress away. Merry Christmas to us!

I'll post about our delightful lunch another time. But meanwhile wanted to spread some holiday cheer. For my local readers, treat yourself to these macarons from Jean Francois and Taste of Belgium, the waffle stand at Findlay Market. You will not be disappointed! And for my long-distance readers, I wish I could send each of you a box, but apparently they're so delicate even Jean-Francois hasn't figured out how to ship them yet. So I hope you'll be content with a few photos and my best holiday wishes :)

On my last trip to Findlay Market with Cindie, before Thanksgiving, I brought home one of Taste of Belgium's limoncello-flavored macarons.
As soon as I tasted this ethereal confection and its flavor-forward limoncello filling, I knew I had made a mistake – by buying only one.

Les Macarons de Jean-Francois now have their own facebook page and e-newsletter, which is where I learned about their new winter flavors: peppermint candy cane, chocolate candied orange, eggnog, chocolate ganache, gingerbread, and pecan pie. So I treated myself to box, and settled in to savor them with a glass of eggnog last night. Although they’re not much bigger around than a quarter, these lovelies pack an amazing punch of flavor. I didn’t finish them all last night, but each one I tasted delivered exactly what it promised. The pecan pie filling was the essence of pecan pie, the gingerbread the epitome of gingerbread. And the chocolate candied orange made me swoon.

They're $12 a box, or 5 boxes for $50, which you can order at 513-381-3280 or info@jfmacarons.com. You could take your chances just showing up at Taste of Belgium's Findlay Market stand, although they sold out yesterday.

Who needs visions of sugar plums dancing through your head when you could have these? Sometimes the best holiday gifts are the ones you give yourself, including cutting yourself some slack and giving in to a taste of self-indulgence. Wishing you all a merry, merry.
Photo by Teri Campbell of TeriStudios and TeriShootsFood.com 
for Les Macarons de Jean-Francois

Cheers!
eggy

18 comments:

Jenny said...

are you kidding me? If I had these within eating distance I'd eat a whole box. This could be a very expensive habit. Great post.

Alessandra said...

Ciao Eggy,

Happy holidays to you and your family and the chickens and all your readers.

Limoncello macaroons??? Well, next time buy and eat one for me too!

ciao

Alessandra

Anonymous said...

Merry Christmas, my dear eggy woman! I, too, have been remiss in visiting blogs in recent days. Working, writing and walking seem to have taken over my life, but in a good way. Thanks for the info on the limoncello macaroons. OMG, you said the magic (lemon) word. Swoon!!! I may have to order me summathem! LOL.

Hope you have a wonderful holiday full of yummy stuff.

Cheers to you!
GG

Aunty Belle said...

Cruel Eggy! To tempt us so! (smile, wink)

Loved comin' along for yore delightful day.

Merry Merry Christmas!

Dani said...

Merry Christmas sweet Eggy. So glad you started a blog so we could all get to know you. ((hugs))

Boulder Locavore said...

What a darling post! Macaroons seem all the rage these days and why not? They feel so happy, don't they? I found you on Chef Dennis's blog. Look forward to your adventures!

LaDivaCucina said...

Awww Eggy, you made me feel all verklempt! And now I miss my dear bestie Fifi in faraway Sydney! Ahh the trouble we get into, the champers we drink...

I'm so glad Cindi and your luncheon helped break you out of the bad mood and into the holiday spirit.

Happy Holidays to you, dear Eggy, and thanks for your friendship too! (I was touched by your offer to come and help me for Sobe Food and Wine!) xo

moi said...

Oh. My. I need to figure out how to make those. Either that, or get on a plane. I've flown for lesser reasons.

Thanks for the inspirational post and I hope you and yours are enjoying the (spiritual) warmth of this Holiday Season!

Heff said...

All it takes for me to get in the Holiday spirit is making sausage-cheddar balls. Works every time !

Karl said...

Good afternoon Eggy,

Since those don't travel well, It's a good thing that champagne does.

All the best to you and yours for the holiday!

Sharon Rudd said...

Happy holidays, and thanks to everyone for stopping by!

Boxer, I fully intended to eat the entire box that evening. But after the four-course lunch Cindie and I had - plus a couple very filling glasses of eggnog, I decided to save a couple to savor another time.

Alessandra and GG, oh, yes, those limoncello macarons were to die for!

Aunty, wishing you much sweetness in the holiday season.

Dani, awww, hugs to you too, my dear.

Boulder Locavore, welcome, welcome! I look forward to your adventures as well - especially since you hail from near my old stomping grounds in Estes Park!

Dearest Diva, since the Sobe thing didn't work out, we'll just have to cook up another opportunity to meet up. You and Felix feel better, now, you hear!

Moi, I hear macarons are pretty tricky to make, but you are the queen of sweets :) And should you find yourself on a plane to Cincinnati, you must let me know!

Heff, those cheddar-sausage balls sound good to me. A merry Heff-mas to you and Donna.

Karl, thanks for stopping by! May your dock stay dry and ice-free. Cheers!

Anonymous said...

Yeah, hard to get into the spirit for me, lady friend wants me not, so Merry Christmas anyway. I know the true meaning of Christmas Charlie Brown.

Sharon Rudd said...

Glad to see you're back, Bama! I'll bet you can find some blogger love to perk up your holiday mood :)

Big Shamu said...

I can't think of one place here in KC that makes these delicate little sugar puffs of goodness. I will have to live vicariously through you but the bright side is you get the pounds. Which I have quite enough of thank you very much.

I hope you have the jolliest of Christmases and that Santa brings you exactly what you want AND your back up gift too.

Happy Holidays

Velva said...

Great post! At this point, my holiday spirit is stressed. I promise myself every year that this won't happen :-)

Happy Holidays to you.

Velva

P.S. Is that photo of the champagne glasses yours? Would you mind if I used it for a Wordless Wednesday?

Sharon Rudd said...

Shamy! Thanks for stopping by, and best wishes for a jolly holiday to you too!

Velva, so sorry to hear you are stressed. But at least you got to see that spectacular solstice eclipse! Alas, that photo is not mine; I have since found out who the photographer is and edited my post to credit him. Thanks, as always, for your support for my photos and for featuring them on Wordless Wednesdays. I will let you know when I find something else that is WW-worthy :)

MakingSpace said...

Yoyoyo, thanks for the aloooooha! LOL.

You know, my holiday season always starts in August, because that's when rehearsals for the Christmas music start. By December I'm usually done, and the actual holiday is pretty much an afterthought except for the kiddoes.

But if I had some of those macarons I think I could get into the spirit...

Kristen said...

Those macarons would brighten anyone's day. Hope you have a lovely Christmas.