I like you!

It's a bit dreary today down in HR. I decided to brighten my day (after having driven an hour and a half to/from VA Beach to buy a vacuum from a really nice lady and her adorable daughter) by trying out a dessert recipe I read in the February issue of Martha Stewart Living. The dessert was intended to be the grande finale for her V-day dinner, but I didn't have time to make it that day (and Ben put together an extravagant steak dinner with a decadent chocolate-chip cookie fudge brownie vanilla icecream chocolate and caramel syrup monster for dessert that we barely put a dent in). In any case, I decided to try out the recipe today.

Instead of using just raspberries for the pavlovas and the curd, I used a berry mix of blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries. I have to say, making the pavlovas is a time consuming process. Well, perhaps not as time-consuming as the croissants, but they have to sit in the oven at 175 degrees F for at least an hour and a half. That means that once I put them into the oven, I have to sit my impatient butt down and surf the interweb while G plays videogames and wait for them to finish and cool before I can even taste them. They'd better be worth it. . .

As a side note, while they're baking and the curd is sitting pretty in the fridge, I picked up a new cookbook/entertaining book yesterday while I was at Borders (trying to drown my sorrows with shopping). I Like You by Amy Sedaris. And Amy Sedaris does, in fact, rock! The book itself is a little eclectic. It's full of great recipes and ideas on entertaining (what to cook, what to drink, how to decorate, etc. . . ), and I found myself oddly enthralled by the pictures and illustrations seemingly randomly put on every single page. It's like she decided to just run wild with the format of the book. Definitely not your typical cookbook, but that's probably what makes it so great. Flipping through the book makes me want to decorate my (non-existent) den (in my imaginary house) with wood paneling and green shag carpet - circa 1970s. Now, back to the pavlovas. . .

After a few hours of slow s l o w s l o w baking in the oven, they came out pretty nice, like lavender clouds. Unfortunately, my impatience (and my fear that they would burn) got the best of me and they were taken out a bit premature. The outside was nice and crisp, but the inside was a bit chewy and stuck to my teeth. Paired with the berry curd, and strange consistency aside, it was perfect. The curd was not too sweet, and not too bland, but just right. It would probably be good with the croissants I made a few days ago. Next time, perhaps a little creme fraiche or whipped cream would be a good addition, but, alas, I had none on hand.

I'm off to Ben's for dinner. I wonder what he's making. . .