raspberries & cream with meringues

Spontaneous dinner parties are the best. So when our friends Judy and Don showed up in San Francisco on their surprise honeymoon, we had them over to celebrate on the fly. It had to be the simplest menu ever (I didn’t even go shopping until 5pm) and it was, especially dessert, which I whipped up after I cleared the dinner plates. But what to call this dessert? It’s not a parfait (that’s layered); it’s not a mousse (that’s eggy); it’s not chiffon (that’s fussy). It’s sort of like a smashed pavlova. Just whip cream, smoosh meringues, and stir in raspberries; the amounts don’t even matter. In England, they call this Eton Mess. That’s too British for me. So I’ll stick with whatchamacallit and know that it’s the easiest dessert to earn rave reviews. Updated 2020

ingredients

1 cup chilled heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 oz purchased vanilla meringue cookies (about 10 small star-shaped ones)
1 basket (about 6 oz) raspberries

directions

Beat the cream with the vanilla until softly whipped. Put the meringues in a plastic bag and gently crush with your hands. In a bowl, fold the whipped cream, crushed meringues, and raspberries together. Divide among bowls and serve, or refrigerate for up to a few hours.