WSO COVID camaraderie and chocolate goodness

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This article was published 20/12/2021 (1721 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Cellist Arlene Dahl has been able to string a few Christmas baking sessions together in between holiday concerts and a performance of Handel’s Messiah.

The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra member, along with several others in the troupe, including concertmaster Gwen Hoebig, principal bassoon Katie Brooks, and violinists Julie Savard, Elation Pauls and Sonia Lazar spent the early weeks of the COVID-19 shutdown in 2020 honing their cooking and baking techniques. They shared their results during video chats on Zoom, which proved to be more than just an online baking party.

The orchestra is a team, and they needed to maintain their teamwork when they couldn’t perform onstage together.

“It was a way to stay connected when we couldn’t get together,” she says. “Then we’d show the results and analyze why something didn’t work.”

The baking club has since joined in fundraising efforts for the WSO, including a Bubbles & Beethoven event in October 2020 that combined streamed performances with delivered meals, which included Sachertorte, the Viennese classic, and a German chocolate cheesecake the club made in a spare kitchen 529 Wellington wasn’t using during the pandemic.

“We brought all our KitchenAid mixers and spaced all out safe and properly and made 32 cakes in one day,” Dahl remembers. “We found out why we aren’t professional bakers.”

This fall, Dahl and the rest of the orchestra have spent more time creating music for live audiences rather than desserts. Besides WSO concerts, the musicians have supported Royal Winnipeg Ballet and Manitoba Opera shows as well.

Safety remains a high-priority after the first few months back, and Dahl says the strings section continues to wear masks when performing and is pleased audience members are doing the same.

“Having lived through 2020, we have to protect ourselves and our families,” she says. “Everybody is doing the right things to keep us safe.”

For her Chocolate Macaroons recipe, Dahl suggests investing in good chocolate.

“The trick is to have high-quality chocolate,” she says. “Using regular chocolate chips is just not the same as Callebaut and Valrhona chocolate.”

Chocolate Macaroons (Haystacks)

115 g (2/3 cup) semisweet chocolate (70 per cent)
30 g (1/4 cup) unsweetened cocoa powder
100 g (1/2 cup) sugar
283 g (2.5 cups) unsweetened coconut (shredded)
90 g (3 large) egg whites (lightly beaten)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract or paste
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350 F, 180 C, 160 C with fan.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a bain-marie, or on medium power in the microwave, slowly melt the chocolate. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the cocoa powder, sugar, shredded coconut, egg whites, vanilla and salt. Add the melted chocolate and mix thoroughly.

Using a scoop (#40 or 1.5 tbsp), arrange the macaroons on the baking pan about 2 inches apart. If you like playing with your food, dampen your fingertips with water, shape the mounds into pyramids or haystacks.

Bake for 15 minutes. The macaroons should still be soft in the middle. Cool for 5 minutes on the pan, then transfer to a wire rack.

Alan.Small@winnipegfreepress.com

Twitter: @AlanDSmall

Alan Small
Reporter

Alan Small was a journalist at the Free Press for more than 22 years in a variety of roles, the last being a reporter in the Arts and Life section.

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