Like a Salad in a Bowl

Out of Revolution

Posted on April 26th, 2008 by likeasaladinabowl.
Categories: Uncategorized.

I have become obsessed with Madeleine’s. If anything, they make this Tilt-a-Whirl ride a bit more realistic. Sugar, this substance of sweetness, eggs, a thickener that comes from a plumed two legged football, salt mined from water, wheat that springs from this earth in a strange and uncommunicable process of ’science’ that you have to have a degree to understand, butter, a combination of cow and human, the former turns grass into milk and the latter turns this liquid into a chunk of fat that sticks on your knife, vanilla comes from what we call a bean which is held in a skin which hangs from a tree which grows from the earth, and then throw in the orange. Strange creature in color and formation, wrapped in an earth friendly disposable shell, that encases a skin which holds together wedges of small peaks filled with juice. And what is this juice? Sweetness, and tang, to accompany us on our spinning earth. Mix this up and we have a Madeleine. This too is a mystery. Chemically, how eggs combine to thicken, and how heat makes all of this rise and form into an edible sponge. But gastronomically, how everything is made agreeable to man - whether it is sugar unto children or stuffed mushrooms unto the French Apprentice, we consume and call it good. Our mouth realizes what our intellect cannot fathom.

The traditional Madeleine is usually made with orange, but this is a recipe for an Anise version of the French Madeleine:

You will need a Madeleine pan
Pre-heat the oven to 350F.
2 eggs, beat well
1/3 C sugar
1/4 tsp of salt
1 1/2 tsp of Vanilla
1 Tblsp of anise seed

Mix these ingredients well, starting with the sugar, salt and eggs, and then adding the rest.

Fold in 1/2 C of flour
then
Fold in 1/4 C of melted butter

Make sure it is combined well. Taste, and add more anise if needed.

Butter and flour the molds.
Using a spoon, fill the molds with the batter (this recipe is good for a pan with 12 molds)
Bake for 10-12 minutes; they’re ready when you can smell vanilla and they look golden on top. For extra measure, press on one and if it springs back they are perfecto.

Enjoy on your tilt-a-whirl ride.

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