Wednesday, April 12, 2006

"Heatproof"--A Concept Best Left Untested

My ongoing obsession with egg whites beaten to various kinds of peaks means that I'm the prowl for something to create beyond meringues. So there was no way I could pass up the challenge of French Almond Macaroons.

Perhaps I would have been able to pass had I known the peril that awaited. You see, in order to create the buttercream to sandwich the macaroons together, I was to "heat egg whites and sugar in the heatproof bowl of a stand mixer". Having only one stand mixer, and correspondingly, only one bowl, I naively assumed the one I had was the heatproof one.

Do you see where I'm going? Too bad I didn't. Let me just confirm your suspicions; I set the bowl with requisite egg whites and sugar over the pan of simmering water. I whisked and simmered until the plastic ring that connects the bowl with the body of the mixer was thoroughly and irreparably warped.

Sad, sad day. For one thing, I had to finish the buttercream with my hand mixer--horrors! Or maybe I should say hallelujah; at least I still have a hand mixer sitting around for moments like these. For another, I assumed I would need a new bowl, which would likely not be worth the price. I would be left sans stand mixer, desperately wishing I had just stepped to the plate back when I originally bought the machine.

Thankfully, this second assumption of mine was wrong, and if "standard shipping" is on my side, by tomorrow or the next day, my brand new "gasket" should arrive here and put me and my stand mixer back in business. All for the bargain price of... $1.00 (plus shipping, of course)! Who wants to come over for some macaroons this weekend?

1 comment:

Ricardo said...

I am in! This was a very funny Jamie-like story. You also get a star for being the frugal shopper of the month.