I just looked up a recipe for homemade marzipan. The first and only comment was by someone who claims to be a culinary professional, stating that "authentic" marzipan uses almonds, sugar, corn syrup, and kirsch. I have my suspicions about the writer of this comment, because how many (high-end) professional kitchens use corn syrup regularly? I agree with sugar and even the kirsch, but I'd tend to leave out the corn syrup, though I suppose it might help to keep the marzipan moist for shaping:
Marzipan Basic Recipe
2 c. granulated sugar
2 egg whites
1/8 t cream of tartar
4 c. ground almonds
Confectioners' (powdered) sugar for dusting & kneading
Prepare a nonstick or wooden work surface with a dusting of confectioners' sugar, fill the kitchen sink or a large bowl with ice water, and have them ready.
In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat 2/3 c water with the granulated sugar until it comes to a boil.
Boil, covered, for three (3) minutes.
Uncover and continue boiling until it reaches 240 F on a candy thermometer. This might take a while.
Remove from heat, place in cold water bath, and stir vigorously until it loses its glass and becomes creamy.
Add ground almonds and egg whites, and mix over low heat until it thickens.
Pour onto prepared work surface and commence kneading, using powdered hands, until it comes to the right consistency for forming into desired shapes. Keep remaining wrapped in plastic to maintain moisture and pliability. It will dry out in a matter of a few days, so it's best to use it immediately.
I haven't tried this recipe yet because I don't own a candy thermometer (yet). I just ordered a candy thermometer from the Food Service Warehouse, an online vendor. Shipping was more than the thermometer itself, so I ordered two, one for me, and one for Peter (he doesn't own any thermometers, and I've got two meat thermometers and a digital one that doesn't clip onto the pot so it not quite as useful as it could be). At any rate, I figure it'll be a good addition to our kitchen.
Kat, Peter, and I ate our orange creme cupcakes with orange chocolate fudge frosting yesterday afternoon, and I find them rather tasty. Kat judged the frosting a bit heavy, but I figure it'll be fine for tonight, anyway. I suppose I can develop a recipe for frosting, but I'm in love with buttercream and I know that I will never make another frosting that I will enjoy as much as buttercream, so why bother, unless it's a recipe that goes specifically with something, like cream cheese frosting for carrot cake...
That reminds me that I have some fresh carrots from our CSA share, and cream cheese is in sale at a few supermarkets, so it might be worth baking and frosting a cake or two to give to Brian and Lorrie and to my folks. Brian's coming on Sunday to pick up Kat as she'll be staying with them in Temecula/Murrieta until Christmas Eve, when she'll fly to meet Mark in Colorado for the holiday week. I'll have the remainder of Sunday, plus all day Monday, to pack, which should work out fine. I plan to do the last load of laundry for this calendar year on Saturday afternoon after we have dim sum with Werner and Mika and go to the 99 Ranch Market mall-ette to order Peter's reading glasses.
Peter's not relishing needing reading glasses, as he'd been enjoying his "monovision" that has, thus far, allowed him to utilize one eye for distance and one eye for close-up focus. It's also time for me to get reading glasses. I'm just not sure whether I need one pair for when I'm without contacts, and one for when I do wear my contacts. When I'm wearing my contacts, I can probably just buy a pair from a drugstore, but for when I'm wearing my glasses, I might want a prescription pair to correct for my lack of both near and far clarity. I have two pair of frames, consisting of just the bridge and ear pieces, as the glasses are completely frameless. That is the type that Peter wants to buy. He likes that they are lightweight, and would delicately and lightly perch on his nose while the arms rest around his ears.
The first shop we looked in to buy glasses yesterday told him that they could not substitute one lens shape into another set of ear- and bridge pieces. After we left, Peter observed that that was likely the reason why their prices are about half of what I'd paid for my frames. The shop is not an "authorised dealer" and therefore cannot send the glasses to the manufacturer to have the glasses made up because they bought the frames without signing a dealer agreement with the manufacturer and therefore can offer them for a lower price. So for that lower price, one is limited to their existing stock. Peter wants to customise his glasses, as I had when I bought my second pair (my first pair still has its originally-sized lenses. I'll likely replace the current shape with a larger one the next time I use that frame for the new prescription.
So that pretty much finishes off Saturday: dim sum in the morning, glasses and laundry in the afternoon, finishing with an open evening, during which we'll likely try our best to use up ingredients from the fridge before our departure. Also that evening, Kat will pack for visitation.
I'm excited for Monday evening. Peter and I are planning to make one last gym visit on Monday. So we'll be leaving behind some sweaty laundry, but that'll be all right.
First, though, we need to finish this week. Tonight, we're celebrating Theresa's birthday. Tomorrow, I'm hosting a sushi dinner. On Friday, there is a party/potluck. Busy, busy, busy!
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