K and I hosted a small Halloween party last night. A few close friends and most of my family were involved – and everyone had at least some semblance of a costume.

K worked her magic with the decorating…

…while I stuck with what I know best, eatingpreparing food. These oreo truffles were a smash hit:

And, the pièce de résistance, spooky ghost meringues!

Oh, wait. Did you think those were my little sweet ghosts? They aren’t. That’s the photo from Heidi Swanson’s recipe. Unfortunately, meringue has proven to be out of my league.

Exhibit A:

He looks like a sad, arctic peep. Or, bird poop. Neither particularly cute nor appetizing.

And, the really pathetic part is that it took me about 2.5 hours to create these little piles of misery. I whisked and whisked, and yet the egg whites never rose. Stiff peaks eluded me. After an hour, I gave up and piped these guys out, watching as they slowly folded in on themselves.

I baked them, hoping that maybe looks wouldn’t indicate taste. They still had a chance. To let them completely dry out, I left them in the oven after I had turned it off.

And then…and then…..I forgot they existed. K asked me to preheat the oven for her brownies, and I happily obliged. Minutes later, the charming smell of burnt meringue filled the air.

I managed to get them out before they turned brown or crumbled, but they were already cracked and brittle. They were never meant to be.

It was a Halloween tragedy, which, I suppose, is fitting.

This one was taunting me:

Just keepin’ it real over here at Homage, and letting you know that no one’s perfect. (Right? Right? Please, tell me I’m not the only one who has ever fried a dumpy meringue ghost…)

Hope your weekend was spooky,