I struggle to reconcile my contradictions, sometimes. I can be a book snob, but secretly loved it when my oldest niece requested that I read the Harry Potter series, so that we could discuss the novels’ themes. I love trying new restaurants and exploring interesting shops, but I’m horrified by the displacement of the poor that’s happening in some of our newly hip neighbourhoods. Suburban-raised and city-dwelling, university-educated and a little downwardly-mobile, my contradictions are predictable, but bothersome all the same.

One contradiction I’m not so bothered by is my love of both old fashioned, family-style cooking and complicated, elegant fare. I’ve been making simple cookies like Snickerdoodles and Chocolate Crinkles since I was a child, but I was just as happy to learn how to make this week’s French Fridays recipe, Îles flottantes. Especially since, like so many of Dorie’s recipes, it’s easier than it looks.

Dorie’s recipes for both the meringue and the Crème Anglaise divide nicely, so I was able to make just enough for Kevin and me (there may have been seconds involved, but I’m pretty sure there are no witnesses to attest to that).

I thought about making some of Dorie’s Bittersweet Chocolate Sauce to serve with the Floating Islands, but instead ran down the street to Woodland Smokehouse and Commissary and picked up some Earnest Ice Cream. Their pints, in adorable, and returnable, little jars, are just indulgent enough for the two of us. I passed over Whiskey Hazelnut, Tahitian Vanilla, and Cardamom, settling on Milk Chocolate, instead. It’s like a Dairy Milk in a jar and was a perfect counterpoint to the intense vanilla of the Crème Anglaise.

I’m quite positive that I’m going to continue to be of two minds about a lot of things, but not about this dessert. Now, if I can just manage to make it to Dîner en Blanc next year, I think I’ve got a perfectly elegant picnic dessert up my sleeve.

You can find many other blogged descriptions of this week’s FFWD recipe here: Floating Islands