Merry Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS! from Maree

Hi all,

It's midday Christmas Eve here in New Zealand.

So far today I've had a haircut, bought a last minute Christmas present, made one lot of chocolate pastry for tomorrow's Chocolate Brownie Pie, and one lot of sweet shortbread pastry for tonight's lemon curd tartlets. I still have the pie filling and the tartlet cases to bake, tomorrow's breakfast to prep, and a salmon quiche to 'whip up' for tonight's light dinner before we head out for Christmas Eve drinks with friends.

And I've just found out I have an unscheduled trip out to my mom's because it turns out she's not going to come over for Christmas day, and I hate the idea that she won't have her presents to open for Christmas Day -- only about a 40 minute drive each way through Auckland traffic. Happy Joy.

And in between all that, I've received the proof for my Feb release, Scent Of A Man, and I'm frantically trying to get the line edits done and away asap, while still playing host to my in-laws.

Sound familiar?

I bet it does! They don't call it the Silly Season for nothing. *eye roll*

One thing I don't have to worry about, though, is cooking the pavlova for dessert tomorrow. My husband and my son are the pavlova experts in our family. They make THE BEST pavs! Must be a guy thing, 'cause no matter how hard I try, and what recipe I use, I just can't top their efforts.

Don't know what a pavlova is?

This is a pavlova:

And the perfect pavlova is crunchy on the outside and marshmallowy on the inside. Mmm mmm!

So because it's Christmas, I thought I'd give you all a special Christmas present, and share my husband's recipe. It's a very old recipe, given to him a couple of decades ago by a family friend who is well-known for her down-home country cooking.

And how impressed was I, when I first met my husband, and he had his own recipe book full of hand-written recipes, including this pavlova? Pretty darned impressed, I'm telling you! There's nothing sexier than a man who cooks a meal for you from scratch on your very first date. (He cooked me Beef Stroganoff -- little wonder I ended up marrying him *VBG*)

So here's the recipe -- please share it with those you love!

Mrs Kerr's Pavlova

6 egg whites
12 oz sugar
2 teaspoons vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
2 teaspoons cornflour

Heat oven to 250 degrees F (125 degrees C)

Beat egg whites till stiff, then beat in sugar a little at a time.

Add vinegar, vanilla essence and cornflour and gently fold into egg white mixture.

Cover a baking tray with a piece of tinfoil, and scrape egg white mixture out onto foil.

Using a spatula, form the mixture into a circle about the size of a dinner plate.

Bake for 1 1/2 hours total -- turning oven off after 1 hour.

When cooled, decorate with whipped cream, and fruit or chocolate shavings.

How easy is that? Enjoy!

Have a wonderful Christmas, and I'll see you next year.

Hugs,

Maree