Just Desserts

You've heard of death by chocolate....
now prepare for Mortality by Meringue! But what a way to go....

Last Saturday found us both in the nest of the Legal Eagle and her Beau.
A delicious sherried chicken took care of the protein intake, but the Eagle is famous for her puds.This meal had one which approached perfection in its simplicity...

First take a Snowdon-sized mountain of fresh summer fruits



Then produce a veritable home made Mount Fuji of meringues, light, crunchy and irresistibly chewy in the middle...



Serve in good sized bowls, with cream or ice-cream (or Both!)



After dinner and its badinage, there was nothing else to do but indulge in a little light bondage bandage. Mrs P had an exam coming up and needed some willing victims for First Aid practice.

Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Sadly this is the only photo I managed to take that wasn't too blurred by the laughter-shake.

We leave you with



"Beau Brummel, or Pudsey's Revenge"...

Edible Proof

Up early this morning. It's half-term this week. My good lady had her birthday on Monday, and most of this week has been very laid back and indulgent. Late nights, waking up late, leisurely steaming bowls of porridge for breakfast.

But this morning I was up early. The cats were let in, their ears freezing, pads icy as they each stood up and rubbed a goodmorning scenting cheek up to my outstretched hands.

I read some blogs, then took up a morning cuppa to the birthday girl. I needed to feel that I was going to do something constructive with the day. That something was baking bread.

By Midday the loaves were cooling, and Bernard had warmed up next to the oven. The mists were clearing, and I had edible proof of my morning's work.

Shortcut Pastry

I love flans and quiches, but too often resort to buying ready-made pastry cases. It's just inertia, as I know I can make pastry in five minutes flat with a little help from my 20 year old food processor (a wedding present, thank you Mum!).

I favour a really rich pastry, say 14 oz flour, 7 oz butter, 3 egg yolks and iced water. Pastry this rich can be very crumbly, difficult to roll out and bake blind. A couple of weeks ago I tried out a couple of tips which I am pleased to pass on.

First, don't even try to roll out the pastry to fit the flan tin. Instead, roll the dough into a sausage shape when you make it (wrap it in cling film while you rest it). Then, to make the pastry case, just cut pound-coin thickness slices off the roll, and push them into the tin.








Just fill up any gaps as you go. It's so much easier than having the dough tear or stretch, and you don't waste any as off-cuts either.

The second tip is about baking blind. Usually the books tell you to line the pastry case with foil, then add baking beans to weigh down the pastry. I always find that the tinfoil sticks to the pastry, and it rarely shapes itself properly to the pastry case. So, don't use tinfoil, use clingfilm!

Don't worry, it won't melt at the heat used do bake pastry. It conforms perfectly to the shape of the pastry case, and never sticks.





The finished cheese and vegetable flan in all its glory...