Madeleines

So I FINALLY got two Madeleine pans last week from Crate and Barrel. Despite the warm weather, I had to try some out. After reading this and this about the mysterious and appealing little cookie-cake, I dove in. I made the Barefoot Contessa's lovely Coconut Madeleine recipe. While they did come out good (well, let's be honest, the ones that I didn't burn did), I learned that in buttering the pan I needed to make sure, since my pans are sort of non-stick, that there was no visible butter left before I floured the pan. The pans, by the way were great- nothing stuck and I got a nice golden color on the shell side of the cookies.

I actually made two batches, one with the coconut and on the second batch, I left out the coconut and added the zest from one lemon. Yummmm...... I think that I actually like the lemon ones a little better, just because they are a little more of a sophisticated flavor.

I also made the Barefoot Contessa's potato chips, from her "Barefoot in Paris" book. (Which is one of my favorite cookbooks of all time). I really love Ina Garten's food. One of my favorite recipes of all time is hers- her roast chicken over croutons from the Paris book. Soooo good, crispy golden skin, tender meat.... Lemony goodness.