Light, Fluffy and Oh, So Good!

 

     You are seeing a "theme" in my cooking style lately. It is all about eating healthy without giving up anything...like dessert! Valentine's Day we decided to avoid the crowds and have dinner at home. We had filets, salad and baked potatoes for dinner. I wanted to make something special for dessert and I found a recipe online from Taste of Home that was just perfect for us. I made a few minor adjustments and put it through a calorie counter. Each slice of 1/12th of the torte has 151 calories without whipping cream. I added 2 T. of Reddi Whip real whipping cream for an additional 15 calories.  

 

     Strawberry Schaum Torte

 

Ingredients:

8 egg whites

1 T. white vinegar

1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. salt

2 cups sugar

2 cups sliced strawberries

whipping cream (optional)

 

Preheat Oven to 300 degrees

Grease a 10 inch springform pan (I used Pam)

 

 

     Place egg whites in a bowl and let them stand 30 minutes to room temperature. Add the vinegar, vanilla and salt and beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar and beat until glossy and stiff peaks have formed. Beat long enough for the sugar to be almost completely dissolved. See picture below.

 

Spread into the greased springform pan.

Bake at 300 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until lightly browned.

 

 

Remove from the oven and put on a wire rack to cool.

The meringue will come out of the oven very puffy and pretty.

 

 

Then it falls to smashed and ugly!

 

 

When cool, remove the sides from the

springform pan and place on serving plate.

 

 

     At this point, if you are serving a group...you could put the berries and whipped cream on the entire top of the torte. We were only using 2 slices, so I decorated each piece and put the rest in a container in the refrigerator. It was perfectly delicious for a couple of days after it was made. It is very light and soft. It was the perfect ending to our meal without making us feel stuffed.

 

 

 

     I'm often asked if we really use the tablescapes that I set. The truth is...not often. Last week I showed the table set for a Valentine brunch. That table wasn't used. The picture below shows how the table really looked for the two of us on Valentine's Day.

 

 

I am joining Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch for

Tablescape Thursday and

Michael @ Rattlebridge Farm for

Foodie Friday

Valentine Brunch

 

     Well, the day has arrived when we think about pink, red and chocolate! I decided to do something different this year and set my table for brunch. I found the polka dot egg cups in Florida at Christmas and I used them as the inspiration for my table. I don't actually have a lot of Valentine decorations, so I'm sure you have seen most of these things on other tables I have done.

 

     I actually had white coffee mugs on the table and I decided to get a little "tacky" and put a Valentine mug at each place setting. After all, Valentine's Day is a fun holiday.

 

 

     Both plates are from Crate and Barrel, paired with sterling flatware. I rolled the napkins into rosettes and placed them in the egg cups.

 

     I really wanted to show you my beautiful new tablecloth (the napkins actually match, you just can't tell with them rolled). It was a Christmas gift from my Dad. He bought it on some island when he took a cruise in last fall. The photos really just don't do it justice. It is gorgeous and would have looked even better if I hadn't been too lazy to go get the leaf for the table!

 

 

I've had this cocoa pitcher for many years.

It wouldn't be breakfast without a little cocoa...

 

...and of course, heart shaped marshmallows.

 

     I used small cordial stemware as juice glasses. I get a kick out of mixing the sterling and crystal with the silly coffee mugs. I think you should always have a little something unexpected on the table.

 

 

     I did put pink and red candles on the table,

 but I'm not sure they were needed for brunch.

 

This photo is to show you just how lovely the tablecloth is.

As I pointed out, it would be even prettier if I had made the table larger.

 

I am joining Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch

for Tablescape Thursday. Please stop and say hello.

 

 

I'm also joining Kathleen @ Cuisine Kathleen

for Let's Dish!

 

 

A Touch of Romance

     The menu on my table today is a bit unusual. Click on the picture to enlarge it and you may decided that you are glad you aren't having this meal. I love trying to imagine what it would have been like to be on that ship in 1911. I'm sure the table was elegant, the women were in beautiful gowns and the service was impeccable. I added the menu to my tablescape as this weeks "touch of whimsy" for my Valentine's Day setting. You can see the wine list later on in the post.

Please excuse the smudge on my photos.

I took a food photo before these and had a dirty lens and didn't know it!

     This table doesn't really need much explanation. The white plates are Certified International China and the red plates as well as the ruffled red and white salad plates are Crate and Barrel. I used a pink/red flatware to tie in the pinks in my centerpiece. 

Red roses, pink and red tulips, red netting and

candles reflect off a large circular mirror.

The tiny pitcher is actually a Crate and Barrel soy sauce pitcher,

but I loved it because it was so tiny. It had to come home with me.

They just don't make Valentines the way they used to.

I am joining Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch

for Tablescape Thursday.

Please visit our lovely hostess.