Tonight I had two things on the agenda, studying for those two tests that are sitting there dauntingly on my calendar for tomorrow morning. I tried my best but five thirty came around and enticed me with an unopened bottle of red and the allure of a sweet, rich pasta dish for one. Admittedly I snapchatted my meal to more than a couple of people. I opened up my books and sat down to study with a glass of wine in one hand and a fine tipped Biro in the other.. Then my mind wandered to the egg whites I had in the freezer. All it took was one dip in the sink to defrost them. What's a quick fix for a girl who's dying for a dessert, a poor student with only sugar and egg whites? Italian meringue perhaps?
While "Under the Tuscan Sun" was downloading, I heated a few large teaspoons of sugar with a couple of splashes of boiling water. Add a few drops of vanilla essence and beat it into some egg whites until it becomes a silky, sticky bowl of goodness. Spoon it into small mounds onto a baking tray and leave it in the oven at 100ºC for however long you can manage waiting. While their in the oven, pour yourself another glass of wine, like me, and leave some mixed berries in a pan with some brown sugar to warm up.
Let the meringues cool. Generally I'd say leave them in the fridge but after three glasses of wine and trying desperately to avoid studying, I just let them cool to room temperature. Then, if you've got awesome parents like mine, use a gourmet dessert blowtorch to crisp up the edges and give it a bit of colour. Assemble one or two meringues with some of those warmed berries and devour it.
Watching Under the Tuscan Sun is making me want to run away to Italy. We can all dream. Me from my little table with the red and white checked table cloth, signing off.
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