From Ladurée NYC with Love

At what lengths would you go to show your family that you love them?

The other day I received a call from my cousin who was spending her last few hours in New York City before flying home. Mandy, she said, "Go check your email."

And when I opened my email, there were two new messages in my inbox.
One read "See, We Love You!"

The second, "We Love You"

There was no text in the emails--Text wasn't necessary...Just attached images:

Yes, my two favorite cousins (wink;) wink;) took time out of their short trip to NYC to stop by Ladurée to pick up a box of macarons for me!!!!!!!!

Even after several visits to Paris, I've never been to a Ladurée, and honestly, I had never really heard of Ladurée until I started blogging over three years ago.

In just a handful of days I will be visiting my cousin, now that she's back home, and I will get to see the coveted Ladurée macarons with my own eyes, and taste them for the first time. Fresh from the patisserie or not, makes no difference to me.

I'm also looking forward to having the sweet Ladurée box and bag. I know, I know. Silly, silly things make me happy, and my sweet cousins were kind enough to humor my strange request.

(And I know only my blog followers can understand my obsession with macarons and my adoration for the Ladurée style!)

Their willingness to do me this favor was such a wonderful display of love and kindness...and as it turns out, although I had full intentions of repaying them for the macarons, I was told "It's a gift. Don't worry about it."  

Wow! Gratitude. That's what's in my heart.

(If they are reading this post, here's my direct message to them: "Thank you! I love you!!

Love, Your favorite, cousin;)"

_{image 4 via Habitually Chic; images 1,2,3 via cousins of à la parisienne}

Merry Macarons!

I just wanted to share with you a fun little photo I took of my pistachio lemon butter macarons that I made a week ago for our ladies' church Christmas party.

I couldn't help but add the new French macaron images to my banner for some added Christmas spirit!

I am in the thick of several Christmas projects, and of course, I am behind {I can be an awful procrastinator}! So, off I go to finish my projects. And I appreciate your sweet comments about my handmade Christmas tree!
I hope you are all enjoying all of your Christmas gatherings and wish you safe travels!

Joyeux Noël!

_{image by à la parisienne}

Ladurée-inspired fête~~le menu, la table, et le thé

To all of you who have attended my Ladurée-inspired party thus far, thank you for your sweet comments regarding the invitations and décor. Now on to the most important element of my party planning-the food. Pretty invitations and a romantic atmosphere are nice but a delicious meal enhances the entire experience. An when throwing a Ladurée-inspired party, one must serve authentic French cuisine.

Months before the party I carefully planned the menu. Then I designed an actual menu to place on the table. Perched on top of a small, ornate easel, my French menu gracefully greeted each guest. I created mini menus, as party favors, and placed them at each table setting.

_{romantic table setting~shiny silverware, soft white napkins wrapped in rich champagne satin ribbon, and miniature menus}

I began planning this party nearly a year ago with a Ladurée theme in mind. I envisioned an all white table with gold accents. I wanted white linens and classy antique white plates with gold rims. Even though I searched for a year, I never found the plates that I was looking for...until YESTERDAY...yes, yesterday I found the set for which I'd been searching-three weeks after the party...C'est la vie.

Our lunch was a leisurely five course meal...comme les français, bien sûr.

All of the food was homemade by me-the day of the party-except for the crème brûlée. I want to thank Renée (my other sister-in-law) for helping me prepare the plates in between courses...You should have seen us scurrying around in the kitchen:)

LE MENU

L'entrée :

_{la soupe à l'oignon gratinée {French onion soup with cheese}}

This French onion soup was made following Rachel Ray's Recipe: French Onion Soup with a Sicilian Twist. I love the fresh rosemary cooked into the soup and the large homemade crouton {from a French baguette} that is covered with grape tomatoes and basil from the garden. This makes a delicious lunch all on its own.

La salade:

_{une salade verte au chèvre chaud {Warm goat cheese salade}}

When I studied abroad in France about 10 years ago, I remember eating warm goat cheese salads everywhere I went. This was my first attempt at bringing this salad to my home.
Simply slice chilled goat cheese, roll slices in flour, then roll in Panko crumbs and fry in the skillet with some olive oil.
Add fried goat cheese to a bed of green lettuces that have been tossed in a French vinaigrette-et voila! a classic French salad.

Le plat principal:

_{la bouchée à la reine {Chicken Friand}}

I never had Chicken Friand {la bouchée à la reine}in France, but it is my favorite dish at La Madeleine-a country French café chain here in the United States.
If you love puff pastries, chicken, and mushrooms, you will LOVE Chicken Friand!

Click here for the recipe.
And here's a little secret for a great tasting Chicken Friand-use a rotisserie chicken for the best flavor!

Le fromage :

Our cheese plate included:
gouda - not very French but delicious;
le fromage aux noix {cheese with walnuts- The BEST tasting cheese you will ever eat!}
and chèvre {goat cheese}

La crème brûlée:

My sister-in-law, Renée (the one who made Amelia's aqua birthday cake with white chocolate sea creatures) made the creme brûlée, and we all enjoyed torching the sugar on top~
It was so delicious we had to restrain ourselves from licking the ramekins clean.



Later that afternoon, we enjoyed un pause-thé {a break for tea}. We enjoyed drinking fresh loose teas such as Jasmine pearl tea, Imperial Pu-erh, and Earl Gray.
And as a gift, I gave each guest a vintage teacup and saucer as a party favor and souvenir of our special day together.

Along with our teas, we had homemade French macarons.
I enjoyed creating the uniquely flavored macarons just for the party while staying with the classic pale Ladurée color palette.

_{macarons by à la parisienne}

I used a butter cream base for all three macaron flavors:
pistachio-lemon;
cinnamon with fresh ginger zest;
& lavender/rosemary infused honey

By the end of the day, our souls were replenished not only by food by but also through convivial fellowship, and I was so thrilled (and relieved) that our fête surprise à la Ladurée had been a success.

I hope you have enjoyed your virtual glimpse of the party. I appreciate your visits and kind words of encouragement, and Felicia appreciates the birthday well wishes. Merci.

_{images by à la parisienne}

Une fête surprise ~ inspired by Ladurée

Vous êtes invités...

Here's a hand delivered invitation for you to attend la fête surprise that I hosted this past weekend.

This wasn't just any party; this party was specially designed for one of my dearest friends, who happens to be one of the most creative, talented women I know~~my sister-in-law.

Felicia deserved the very best party I could create, so what better inspiration to use than Ladurée?

Ladurée boxes inspired the invitations for the party.

The boxes were hand painted and given a beautiful one of a kind label on top. Then they were wrapped in a rich champagne double faced satin ribbon, but the real treat for the recipient was what was inside the box...

homemade pistachio macarons with a lemon butter filling...

made by yours truly.

Yes, I tought myself how to make French macarons~~just for this party.

More delicious party details to come...

_{images by à la parisienne}