The Salty Tart and a milestone

I know, I know - I promised the cherry pie recipe for today. But, it's like this, I'm tired, it's past 10:30pm and I got a little too much sun today. Tomorrow - for reals.

Instead, a quick post with a mini-review. Guess where I FINALLY went today? Oh, right, you already know because you read the post header. Yes - the Salty Tart! I was supposed to meet someone at the Midtown Global Market today for a work thing. It didn't work out (not-really-hypothetical question: if you were calling someone to reschedule a same-day meeting, wouldn't you leave a message, even if you were heading into a building with no cell reception? Or would you wait until the person showed up, having driven across town in a car with no a.c. and found a spot in the pay parking ramp?Hmmph!) but there was a silver lining, as usual.

I have to do a little write-up about a bakery for my baking class, and it's due on Tuesday. So, I did a short interview with one of the kind folks at the Salty Tart, and it even turns out he is a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu!

I didn't want to leave empty-handed but all I had was a dollar and I needed it for parking. Bummer! But wait.....if I bought something, they would validate my parking! The only thing I could get with my measly dough was a chocolate meringue (priced at buck plus tax). You know I'm not a big fan of meringues, but it was chocolate and I wanted to try SOMETHING. Plus, what kind of dummy pays for parking when they could get a meringue instead? Not this kind.

So, how was it, you're wondering? Seriously delicious! Crispy on the outside, gooey inside a little like a toasted marshmallow, deeply chocolatey, and with surprise crunch from bits of cocoa nibs inside. Score! I ate it all while still in the car.

I'm hoping to be back at the Salty Tart at some point with a bigger budget.

Anywho, guess what my milestone is? This is my 300th blog post!

School Project

This Thursday we have our final project for this six week term. We are to present a dessert table that includes products from several different categories. Everyone in my class has been thinking all term about what his/her theme will be. Mine is Garden Party. Above is a rough sketch of my products and garnish/presentation. My idea was to draw all of the desserts individually and then I'll cut them out so that I can play around with different arrangements on paper.

Below are practice meringues I made last week. I never could get the hat shape to work out. I hate to give up but I had to come up with something that would definitely work because the meringues are the first thing I'll have to prepare (since they keep quite well.) So, my new idea is meringue flowers on lollipop sticks. Can you tell from my sketch what their container will be?

Eton Mess

Most people I know are not big meringue fans. Sure, they'll eat it on Lemon Meringue Pie but that's really about it. And, to tell the truth, I'm no exception. The dry texture and pure sweetness of a meringue "cookie" is too much. However, it's the intense sweetness and crunchy texture that makes meringue such a great component in this dessert!

Eton Mess is named after a posh British school where it was invented. It consists of strawberries, cream, and meringue pieces. Mine isn't traditional because it is A) not mixed into a "mess" for aesthetic purposes and B) uses chocolate meringue bits instead of the traditional plain vanilla. The best part is that it takes very little time to prepare and all of the components can be made in advance and assembled at the last minute (to keep the meringue pieces crunchy)

There are lots of recipes around the interwebs for both meringue cookies and Eton Mess. Here are just a couple links:

http://www.allrecipes.com/HowTo/Perfect-Meringues/Detail.aspx

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/nigella-lawson/eton-mess-recipe/index.html