Milwaukee!

Last month, Ian and I decided to get out of Chicago and go to Milwaukee for the weekend. Everything was in our price range and it was only a hop, skip and a jump away. So we took our little electric blue Zipcar up north to Wisconsin, where its official state motto is 'forward.' I kid you not. Wisconsin is so weird (I am looking at you cheese castle right across the border)!

Who knew what a cute little city Milwaukee was? There are so many breweries there, it felt like we were in Portland. I only got a few pictures, but we will be back.

Disclaimer: Most everyone tells you to visit the Lakefront Brewery when in Milwaukee. Don't. One, it isn't even near the lakefront, it is in some weird housing development off the beaten path. Two, they serve their beer in plastic cups, which is just wrong. Three, they only take cash and the atmosphere is college-esque. You have been warned.

Oaxacan Cinnamon Chocolate Macarons

I have recently become obsessed with food52.com. If the name didn't give it away, it is a blog all about food. Home cooks share and post their recipes, or adaptations of recipes for people to peruse at their own leisure. Since I am a lover of all things pickles, I was sold at 'Foodpickle,' an open forum for questions and answers on anything you might come across when cooking or baking.

Following, what seems to be my beginner's luck macaron, I attempted them again on three separate occasions with the same result: blech. There were ones that didn't rise, ones that weren't the right consistency and the list goes on an on.

For a party last weekend, I gave the Oaxacan Cinnamon Chocolate Macarons a go. The first batch failed miserably and were all grainy. The second batch, which I managed to salvage somewhat, had cracked. There were a couple good ones, but they cracked. They also didn't get the little feet they talk about around the edges.

There are various reasons as to why macarons crack; you overwhipped the whites, the heat was too high, the rack was too low, or you didn't stack two baking sheets when baking. This just goes to show that these delicious little French delicacies are complicated. I won't give up. Until next time, macaron.