Friday, March 20th, Portland celebrated Macaron Day to benefit Meals on Wheels. It was 2009 in Osaka, Japan when I first saw macaron fame rekindle. Still today, the magic of the macaron hasn’t lost its enchantment. Fifteen bakeries brought out special flavors to celebrate, and I was so happy to see Pix Patisserie bring back their Spanish Almond & Sherry macaron to the mix.
It was in November last year when I first tried this melt-in-your-mouth macaron. Imagine the lightness and sweetness of a macaron cookie, slightly salted on the outside with a Marcona almond on each end, and filled with Lustau Palo Cortado Peninsula cream in the middle. It was so spellbinding, I gave a shout out on Twitter. My fellow sherry lover @Criadera in Scotland responded in envy. I joked maybe we could do a trade for proper mince pies and a copy of the newest edition of Julian Jeffs‘ book SHERRY.
I couldn’t get the conversation out of my head. I love a little old fashion pen pal connection, and her Twitter feed and blogs have been a huge source of help on my own sherry journey. So Operation Macaron ignited!
Operation Macaron had unexpected hick-ups that I clearly did not research beforehand. 1) Placing a special order. 2) Keeping them cold, because macarons are very fragile. 3) Shipping them internationally from Portland, Oregon to Scotland.
Placing the order was the easy part, but even the they cautioned me about shipping them internationally. My original excitement deflated when considered the challenges. But my husband rekindled the fun when solving how we would keep them cold and safe for transport. Between IKEA icepacks, his industrial vacuum sealer and shipping them in the middle of winter, the odds were in our favor.
Imagine my surprise when I saw this picture appear on Instagram! Not perfect in appearance, but still tasty!
Weeks later I was even more surprised to receive a Christmas package of proper mince pies and a copy of the newest edition of Julian Jeffs’ book SHERRY.
The magic of this macaron was the beginning of a friendship between two sherry enthusiasts across the globe.
Sherry Sips ~ obsession from grape to glass 