In the Pink
I was looking at some other blogs earlier this week and found one that I really thought was such a great idea. I have been working on that challenge all week. I found this challenge at la dolce vita and wanted to enter my Pink contribution. I have had this recipe for a few years when I first found it in Cooking Light magazine. I used it in the orginial form several times to some great reviews by my clients. So I thought that this would be an easy recipe to alter for the Pink food challenge. So here is my entry. I so enjoy showing the process of making things so there will a lot of photos here. Please scroll down through the process so you can see it from beginning to end...no peaking before it's time! The first thing that I did was to beat the egg whites to stiff peaks. Since I chose this recipe for the possibility of being PINK I added some food color on a tooth pick to the egg whites. When I did this, I wasn't exactly sure if the pink would show up. I took this picture to show you the contrast between the red Kitchen Aid and the pink. Then I took a piece of parchment paper and drew little circles to fit the size of the pan. I loaded the pastry bag with a star tip and then piped around the circles filling in as tighly as I could. Then I pipped up around the outside of each circle to make a low sided cup as shown on the sheet pan photo.
Then it bakes in the oven for 90 minutes or so. Since I made smaller circles than the recipe called for I did set the timer for 60 minutes and then test them and decided to go the full 90. After the meringues rested in the turned off oven for 30 minutes, I took them out and put them all into a zip lock bag. I tried this last week and went to bed with the sheet pan sitting on the counter. When I woke up the next morning and tested them, they were soggy. So put them in a zip lock bag right away. You can even assure that nothing happens and wrap them in foil, then put them in the plastic bag. Either way, you can't leave them out over night or even for just a few hours or they get really soft. I had so much meringue left over that I made little star cookies too. Then I made the filling and spooned that into the little cups and topped them with the berry mixture.
This is a dessert that is meant to eat the moment you spoon the berries on top. The juice will soak into the bottoms and they get soggy. So if you use the recipe for a party, you can do the meringues in advance and assemble and eat on the spot. Meringues with Fresh Strawberry and Chocolate Mascarpone

Cooking Light magazine

2 large egg whites (room temperature)

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 TBS sugar

1 TBS cocoa powder, unsweetened

6 TBS Mascarpone cheese, softened (or about 3 ounces)

1 tsp milk, nonfat

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

3 1/2 cups strawberries, fresh, about 1 1/2 quarts quartered

1/4 cup sugar

Directions:P

Preheat oven to 225 degrees.

Cover baking sheet with parchment paper and draw 6 4 inch circles on paper. Turn paper over, secure with masking tape. Place egg whites and cream of tarter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until foamy. Gradually add 1/2 cup sugar, 1 TBS at a time, beating until stiff peaks form (do not underbeat). Divide egg white mixture evenly among the 6 drawn circles on baking sheet; spread to fill circles using the back of the spoon.

Bake at 225 for 1 1/2 hours. Turn oven off; cool meringues in closed oven for 30 minutes. Carefully remove meringues from paper. Cool completely.

To prepare chocolate mascarpone, sift together 1 1/2 TBS sugar and cocoa. Combine, mascarpone, milk and vanilla in a small bowl; stir just until combined. Stir in cocoa mixture.

To prepare berries; toss 1/4 cup sugar and let stand 15 minutes.

Place 1 meringue on each of 6 plates; spread about 1 1/2 TBS of mascapone mixture on top of each meringue. Top each serving with about 1/2 cup strawberries mixture. Garnish with mint spriges.

Yield: 6 servings.