First up was the classic French macaron. Delicious and fun. But as long as I have handy access to a French patisserie, I will leave making them to the professionals.
And, just a few days ago, in a BROILING-HOT LISBON, we learned how to make the famous pastel de nata, aka, Portuguese custard tarts.
This was my second trip to Lisbon, which I love. Wonderful, welcoming, warm people. Beautiful tiles! Excellent food and drink. More on all of this coming up.
My baby cousin Kay is a master of finding interesting things for our little extended family group of travelers, ranging in age from 10 to, um, shall we call it, near retirement, that is specific enough ;-)
In Rome we took a mosaic class . . .
. . . and learned to make pizza!
Spoiler alert! Both of those activities are things I continue to practice on my own ;-)
By the way, I think all of these were Airbnb Experiences, but will double-check with Kay. Together we can give you our best tips on how to find these.
Recently, in Lisbon, we took another mosaic class—lots of fun! Sardines are one of Lisbon’s motifs, so. . . .
But it was the custard tarts that reminded me so much of the macaron experience: really interesting and fun to do once. ONCE.
I had tried the tarts on my first trip to Libson, at this famous and beautiful place.
I thought then, this is so not my kind of dessert/treat. But they were delicious. I mean, REALLY DELICIOUS.
The first step in our workshop was the sugar syrup for the custard. So far, so easy.
But I did not realize the tart shell is puff pastry. So that was the first horror—making that seriously fussy product, the same thing you can buy at the supermarket ;-)
Yes, friends, that bright yellow rectangle is MARGARINE. A special kind, for professionals. Apparently using butter really prolongs the process, which is not amenable to a short workshop. I admit to being very taken aback!
Then came the seriously hard stuff—the rolling, the turning, the . . . I don’t even know what all.
We are nowhere near completing the tarts, but I have reached the length limit for Substack. Stay tuned for Part the Second!
I am with you in the “aback. Also, i think cousin kaye is my kind of woman.