Celebrating Les Misérables

This past Sunday was the premiere of Les Misérables on PBS Masterpiece! I've so been looking forward to this new series. That's right, a series! A full six episodes of French Revolution drama. I was especially eager to see the depth of the story, something we don't get as much of in the musical (which I love, don't get me wrong!) And while the Schönberg/Boublil songs are worth singing for months on end, a non-musical drama allows us to get more familiar with the characters.

The first episode has me thoroughly captivated. Great cinematography, music (background music, that is) and acting. It's always fun to recognize some of the frequenters of British television. Oh hey, that guy was in Indian Summers, wasn't he? My only wish is that I didn't know the storyline so well. It would be a tad more exciting if I didn't know, for instance, that the Monsignor gifts the silver candlesticks to Valjean. Of course, there's not much we can do about existing knowledge, is there? :)

I don't have much extra time this week, so I kept this dessert pretty simple. Almond macaroons in the colors of the French flag! The recipe is stupid easy.. just almond paste, sugar and egg white. I pressed some colored sugar into the dough before baking. They turned out just lovely, with a tender and slightly chewy texture. In fact, baking these cookies has somewhat assuaged my fear of the more finicky macaron, which is similarly made with almond, egg white, and sugar. (A few years ago, I had a bad run-in with a pavlova, which has made me swear of meringue-making as too difficult/impossible/challenging.) Maybe for my next French celebration, I'll give macarons a try.. Bastille Day picnic, anyone?

'Til next time,

Eva