Saturday with King Arthur

Last Saturday the King Arthur Flour people came to town.  Maria (http://twopeasandtheirpod.com/) put together a group that met for lunch and then attended the KA pie demonstration.  I was lucky enough to be invited.  It was great to meet some of the other local food bloggers and a local photographer.  They all have pretty impressive blogs and credentials (not to mention that they all have business CARDS).  I didn't.  I am told that I need to get some.  It's hard to think of my blog in terms of a business card or that I am even in their league. 

We met for lunch at Les Madeleines, a french bakery that also offers a lunch menu.  It was fun to sample and talk about their menu offerings with the other women.

This is a rather fuzzy picture of their signature item, Kouing Aman.  It is a french pastry creation that is crunchy, slightly salty, sugary and flaky all in one package (think of a crunchy, caramelized, croissant).  There is just no way to describe how good this item is.  I am told there are only six other bakeries in the country that make and sell these.  They are incredible and well worth the price.  They are in such demand that Romina, the owner, only allows you to buy 6 per customer unless you order these in advance.

This is my dessert choice which I  shared with the table.  It's a Financier; a little butter cake with

cranberries and quince.  It was slightly sweet and I liked it a lot.

Cristie shared her little lemon tart.  It was good too.

Tiff ordered a sandwich.  I didn't taste this but she liked it a lot. I did snag a french fry and it was wonderful.  I love the fry holder.

And here's Barbara's soup, with her Kouing Aman that she shared.  You can just see the beautiful salad on Donna's plate in the background (she contributed the colorful carrot curl from her salad for Barbara's garnish so we could make the photo lovely).  These women are seriously good food stylists as well.

I got to meet some wonderful women with whom I hope to get together 

again soon.  I mentioned a few of them above with their blog links.  Also, Becky's blog is Vintage Mixer.  You'll want to check out her reviews on the regional food scene.  It was fun to meet her friend Amy, who is a great photographer.  Heather, who is a food writer, and Anne, who is Donna's daughter and blogging partner, were all there as well.  I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know all of these women and you will want to check out their great blogs.

Next, on to King Arthur.  We had a great lesson on pie crusts from Jessica from their Vermont Education Center.  There were door prizes, and two of our group won.  Everyone got dough scrapers, coupons for on-line use, and some free yeast.  Pretty good freebies!  They have great products and it was fun to attend with new foodie friends.  Check out King Arthur's website for some really great baking products.  Unfortunately, you'll have to find your own food blogging friends and a french bakery for lunch.