trifling with trifle
Last Christmas, I decided to make a trifle for Christmas dessert. Since I didn't have a recipe, I based my experimentation on my vague memories of how my late mother-in-law did hers. It was - well, not quite a disaster, but it was easily the ugliest trifle ever assembled. I remembered very well how my MIL's trifle tasted, and this one tasted pretty good, but recreating its appearance posed a huge challenge, obviously.
This year, I bravely (or stupidly) decided to try again. I found a recipe online that had pictures of what the dumb thing is actually supposed to look like, which was a huge plus. It calls for cake instead of ladyfingers, and I've been listening for my MIL's commentary about that (she occasionally will somehow make herself heard in my head). So far, she either isn't interested or she's waiting to see how it turns out.
I'm also planning on adding frozen strawberries and blueberries to the mix, as suggested by the online recipe (they thaw while the trifle chills in the fridge). Again, MIL hasn't had an opinion yet, although she used only diced peaches in her trifle. She also put a lot of sherry in it, which I'm leaving out because of the numbers of underage people I'm having over...in addition to the fact that the sherry always left a taste that needed to be acquired to be really appreciated. (I thought of adding Triple Sec instead...)
Pretty much the only things I'm not changing are the custard (Bird's brand) and the whipped cream. Oh, wait. I'm not going to sweeten the whipped cream as MIL did. Guess that leaves the custard.
My plan is to serve up the trifle as though I did this kind of thing every day, and keep my "ears" open for MIL's reaction. I like to think she'd be pleased by my carrying on the tradition, even if she's appalled by the confection itself.
This year, I bravely (or stupidly) decided to try again. I found a recipe online that had pictures of what the dumb thing is actually supposed to look like, which was a huge plus. It calls for cake instead of ladyfingers, and I've been listening for my MIL's commentary about that (she occasionally will somehow make herself heard in my head). So far, she either isn't interested or she's waiting to see how it turns out.
I'm also planning on adding frozen strawberries and blueberries to the mix, as suggested by the online recipe (they thaw while the trifle chills in the fridge). Again, MIL hasn't had an opinion yet, although she used only diced peaches in her trifle. She also put a lot of sherry in it, which I'm leaving out because of the numbers of underage people I'm having over...in addition to the fact that the sherry always left a taste that needed to be acquired to be really appreciated. (I thought of adding Triple Sec instead...)
Pretty much the only things I'm not changing are the custard (Bird's brand) and the whipped cream. Oh, wait. I'm not going to sweeten the whipped cream as MIL did. Guess that leaves the custard.
My plan is to serve up the trifle as though I did this kind of thing every day, and keep my "ears" open for MIL's reaction. I like to think she'd be pleased by my carrying on the tradition, even if she's appalled by the confection itself.