Meringues

I decided to have a friend over for tea a few weeks ago to celebrate the royal wedding.  One of the cookies I decided to make was meringues.  A light sweet dry cookie I have loved since my grandmother made them for my sisters and me when we were kids.

     I started with the basic vanilla and quickly found myself adding crushed toasted hazelnuts.  I am not sure if this would technically be a Rocher, but it was a big success.  The flavor and texture of the nuts mixed harmoniously with the vanilla sugar I used in the meringue.

    The Next time I made them I was out of superfine sugar and found out the difference between the two.  The granulated sugar made for a more granular texture.  Lesson Learned.

Last night I found myself thinking about making this cookie once again.  I decided to try a rose meringue and by mistake added three drops of rose oil instead of one.  I ended up with the equivalent to a hand soap cookie.  It was not good.  Today I got back up and decided to try a chocolate meringue with Bergamot oil (This is what gives Earl Grey Tea its distinctive flavor).  One drop and and it made for a perfectly seamless cookie.   I have the meringue bug and will update with other flavors.  I do intent to try the rose again.....

Lessons learned for meringues:
1.  Use Superfine sugar
2.  If you add cocoa powder fold it in.
3.  If you decide to use flower essence start with one drop.

Next I will be talking about new albums for the Summer:  Bon Iver, The Strokes, Beastie Boys, Fleet Foxes and more.  I usually start my annual summer mix Memorial Day weekend! 

Stock and pulled chicken.

After making chicken stock the other day I seperated out the chicken meat and tossed it with some home made bbq sauce.  It was fantastic!  Never throw out your meat when you make stock.  It can always be used for something else.