Eton Mess
In my sophomore year of high school I met two girls who would soon become my best friends. At first glance, it was an unlikely friendship. One of them was a champion equestrienne who also made it to class president, and the other was a self described tomboy because she said she loved sports and rock music, except that everyone else thought she was a was a heartthrob. And then there was me. Truth be told, I felt very boring beside them – no hobby to keep me busy, I had no inclination to excel at school and had no string of admirers in the background. But despite all this, somehow, we just clicked. We’d take turns having sleep overs at each others houses, chatting until all hours of the morning about boyfriends (theirs) and heartbreaks (also theirs). We also talked about what we were going to do and where we were going to be “ten years from now” (we all wanted to be lawyers) as we gorged on junk food until we felt sick. We called ourselves PT&T, the first initials of our names.
One of the things we always agreed on was that we would make sure to go to the same University when we graduated. Which, for one reason or another, never happened. In fact, we all went to different schools and all took different courses. After University, I went to work for a bank, one of them continued her passion of horse jumping (and yes, eventually made it to the Olympics!), and the other one continued to break hearts and became a TV personality.
Despite the lack of contact, we were still always fiercely loyal and protective of each other. I remember once when I started dating my now husband, he told me that the “P” of PT&T had told a friend of his that “he’d better make sure to treat Trissa well, otherwise, she would come looking for him”…. and, when it really mattered (like my wedding), we would still be there for each other (they were my bridesmaids).
Sadly, years have passed since I last saw them both. Once in awhile, we text or email each other a birthday or Christmas greeting… but we’re all living on different continents and have gone on to do totally different things… as I said – it was an unlikely friendship.
But I’m still hopeful that one day we’ll have a PT&T reunion – and I know when we do – the conversation will pick up as if we were back in one of our houses, having another one of those sleepovers where there really is no sleeping – just lots of talking and making up for lost time… and of course, still gorging on the junk food.
The more I think about it – the more I realize that blogging is a little bit like an old friendship. You may have noticed the long absence lately – and how rude of me to be gone for so long without a word or explanation. But I know, you’ll forgive me and allow me to pick up where I left off.
Eton Mess
Eton Mess
For the Eton Mess
The inspiration for this Eton Mess comes from a recent dinner at District Dining which is Chef Warren Turnbull’s rendition of this classic dessert.
- 3 egg whites
- 150 grams caster sugar
- pinch of cream of tartar
- 250 ml cream
- 1 vanilla bean, scraped
- 50 grams icing sugar
- 250 grams strawberries, quartered
- Raspberry Sorbet (recipe follows)
- Edible Flowers
- Fresh or frozen Raspberries (for topping)
- Preheat the oven to 140c (fan forced). Beat the egg whites together with the cream of tartar in a bowl until frothy and then gradually add the sugar until stiff peaks.
- Spread the egg whites on a tray lined with baking paper and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
- In a separate bowl, beat the cream until soft peaks and then gradually add the icing sugar and vanilla seeds, making sure not to overwhip the cream.
- Add the strawberries to the cream and gently fold in.
- To assemble, crumble the cooled meringue over the strawberries and cream and top with some raspberry sorbet, edible flowers and fresh raspberries.
For the Raspberry Sorbet
This recipe is done on the thermomix. Feel free to use your own recipe or store bought if necessary.
- 75 grams caster sugar
- 150 grams frozen raspberries
- 1 egg white
- Place the sugar into the TM bowl and mill for 10 seconds on speed 9
- Add the raspberries followed by the 350 grams of ice and egg white. Slowly turn the speed dial to speed 10.
- Use the spatula to assist in the incorporation of the raspberries with the ice.
Trissalicious 