Blueberry Hand Pies, Lemon Sherbet with a Meringue Swirl, and Palm Sugar Caramel
A high turnover rate is a chronic issue in the restaurant industry, and in recent months the pastry department has seen more than our share. When I was hired, I was trained by D who had been with the restaurant for a little over a month. She left about a month after I arrived and was replaced by C, who decided after a month that she wanted to go back to school. When C quit two Fridays ago, my chef did what any boss who doesn’t want the hassle of training yet another person does, she hired the intern, which was a good move because our intern is smart and capable; however, she couldn’t be ready to work full time for another week. Therefore, for the past week, my boss and I have been splitting the department between the two of us, and Sunday Supper by necessity needed to be something fast and fool proof.
I have always had a strong love for pies, and I especially liked the idea of sending out personal pies that were clearly not tarts. The blueberries we have been getting in have been delicious, so I used that as a filling and encased it in a standard flaky pie dough. I wanted to serve the pies warm with ice cream because there is nothing better then pie with ice cream; however I wanted to do something a little different — but still easy. Blueberry and lemon are a classic combination, and lemon and meringue go together. When meringue freezes it becomes the consistency of marshmallow. I thought that using this as a swirl in ice cream would be the kind of cool twist I was seeking; but that marshmallow texture kind of got lost when the meringue was incorporated into the ice cream. To create a texture contrast, I switched to a lemon sherbet, which still has the smooth dairy mouth feel, but is also just a little icy, which makes the meringue swirl more noticeable. A line of caramelized palm sugar finished the plate, providing a nice contrast for both the look and the taste.
This dessert was definitely a people pleaser. It is easy, pretty, delicious.
