Strawberry Pie Soup

Today is my father's birthday and yesterday we had a family dinner for him at my house. Being that it was as hot as the ninth level of hell here yesterday, I chose to do a cold supper. Cold supper, for those of you who don't know, is a meal that is exceedingly pleasurable for those eating it, but involves 10 hours of hard work over a hot stove in 100 degree heat with 98 per cent humidity for those who have to actually cook it.

Dessert was Dad's favourite... strawberry pie. Not the fake type with strawberries sitting on top of custard or cheesecake in pie shell, but the real nothing-but-strawberries type. I thought I would try out a new recipe (because we all know that the very best time to try out a new recipe is when you are having an important dinner party). This new version came from "Cook's Illustrated", a magazine I have the utmost respect for. I have never once had a failure when using one of their recipes. Until today.

I have no idea what went wrong. It looked fine when I put it in the fridge in the early afternoon. But during the 5 hours it sat there, it unjelled itself and became a soggy, runny mess. It tasted great, but looked awful. It was, in fact, strawberry soup in a pie shell.

Solution: strawberry pie soup became "Chilled Strawberry Compote Served on French Vanilla Ice Cream".

All of this reminded me of a Christmas dinner a few years ago. I spent three whole days making a Raspberry Mocha Trifle. I made the lady fingers from scratch. I made the custard, the mocha cream. I candied my own raspberries. I purchased an entire flat of raspberries from a local restaurant supplier in December. Do you have any idea how much that costs!?!

The trifle was a work of art. It was "Gourmet" cover worthy. It looked and tasted like a million bucks. Alain Ducasse would have wept with joy had he been invited to dinner that night. But not my mother-in-law. Oh no. Not her.

When I proudly placed this three day $200 work of art in the middle of the dining room table, my sainted mother-in-law claps her hands and says, "Oh Goody. Abortion for dessert".

I don't cook for her that much any more.

I am just glad she wasn't there last night. I don't even want to tell you what strawberry soup pie looks like.

Project Catwalk

Well I just finished watching the latest installment of the UK version of Project Runway and I am inspired. Unfortunately it's a bit sucky to become inspired to sew at 2:30 in the morning. Maybe I should tape it and watch it early in the day instead of in the middle of the night.

While the clothes in this episode were as fugly and as unimpressive as always, I can't help but be impressed that they can create these outfits in such a short time period. Maybe I should set insane deadlines for myself and have my husband come in and give me useless critiques a la Ben De Lisi (he is so not Tim Gunn). Then maybe I could actually finish something. I still have unfinished garments from the eighties in my sewing room. Of course, they've been there so long, they are back in fashion again. Unfortunately, I am no longer a size 6. Only a master procrastinator can out grow her clothes before they are actually finished!

Reading: False Impression by Jeffrey Archer
Knitting: Still "Kate"