4th of July Pavlova.

My mom is the most extraordinary cook, no doubt about it. I remember as a child the incredible dinner parties she would have – 10, 12 people at a time. I used to love waking up the morning after to survey the dinner table, wine glasses half full, home made chocolates on pretty plates half eaten, remnants of a game they may have played (charades anyone? this was the 70’s after all) But the best part was opening the fridge to find the left overs….fillet, scalloped potatoes, cucumber mousse and….pavlova! My pavlova looks nothing like my moms did, but if I keep on practicing I might get there!

 

 

 

Pavlova, I have since discovered, was invented after the famous ballerina Anna Pavlova toured Australia and New Zealand in the 1920’s. No one knows which of the two countries came up with the idea first , but the beauty is in its simplicity – soft chewy meringue topped with cream and  fruit.

So as an homage to the 4th of July, here is my version with red, white and blue. I am no food stylist by any stretch of the imagination, but I had a lot of fun making it. The recipe comes from Epicurious.com and you can find it here.

Happy 4th of July!