Marshmallow Madness!
Well, the big day has arrived, friends. Like a sweet, fluffy, puffy brand new baby, my first cookbook all about the art of homemade marshmallows becomes a part of the cookbook world today! I hope you’ll pick up a copy, cook from it, and of course report back.
Even if I hadn’t written it, I’d tell you that it’s a super fun little book, full of all sorts of flavors and riffable recipes, baking tips and crafty edible gift ideas. It’s got everything from the classics like vanilla and chocolate, to fresh and fruity flavors, boozy cocktail-inspired mallows, stuff for the adventurous foodie types (I’m looking at you, Maple Bacon and Pineapple-Rosemary) and novelty flavors for kids of all ages (bubble gum and Kool Aid mallows, anyone?). There’s even a dessert section that teaches you how to incorporate homemade marshmallow into a bevy of sweet treats, and how to transform it into irresistible frostings and fillings. Overall, it’s a glorious celebration of sugar in which I hope you will fearlessly partake.
You know, the whole time I was writing this book, testing recipes and generally living life like a Morgan Spurlock documentary while surrounded by unfathomable amounts of white sugar and corn syrup, I thought about you guys. I thought about how you might use this book, and what you’d need to know to have the most fantastically enjoyable marshmallow-making experience possible. So I hope all of that comes through and that you have a heck of a great time working from this little book. Enjoy!
Pick up a copy of Marshmallow Madness! at your nearest bookstore (harassing them if they don’t have it on their shelves), or order a copy from the good folks at Amazon.
Marsh Madness is Here!
If you’re looking for a great way to make your head explode, might I suggest writing a book and waiting for it to come out? Yeah, that’s about where we’re at around here. The big day is this coming Tuesday, February 28th, when Marshmallow Madness!, the puffiest book ever (literally–a squeezable cover, people!) hits shelves. We’re pretty pumped. And the best part is that some amazingly creative people have already starting mallowing from the book. I know!
It’s called Marsh Madness (I understand that this is wordplay with some sports thing? Baseball? Lawn Bowling?), and it’s a fun collaboration with the ever-inspiring folks at Serious Eats. Basically, for the next several weeks, scads of bloggers will post their own riffs on marshmallow recipes from the book, and I am charged with the insanely difficult task of picking a winner, who will win an entire library of cookbooks from Quirk Books AND a $100 gift card to Williams-Sonoma (I was pained to learn I am not eligible to compete). Looking at what’s been posted so far, I’m already plagued with a serious case of “why didn’t I think of that?!”, as well as a strong need for bourbon in order to settle down and actually pick a single winner. I-yi-yi.
I highly recommend checking out the incredible creations that have already been thrown to the interwebs, like these Maple-Bacon S’mores from Kitchen Konfidence; Chai-Spiced Pistachio Marshmallows from Teenie Cakes; Peanut Butter Cocoa Krispie S’mores Bars from Love, Veggies, and Yoga; Kitchen Parade’s Orange-Kissed mallows; and Blood Orange Marshmallows from Sweets by Sillianah.
Mind blown, ladies. Mind. Blown.
Here’s the rundown of all the fabulous bloggers who will be engaging in sweet, sweet mallowing making and getting the fluffy, puffy word out about Marshmallow Madness! over the next few weeks. And lots of these good people are holding giveaways for a copy of the book to boot. Major! Check ‘em out, get inspired, and help me pick a winner! (Please. Help me. Ack!)
West Coast Bracket
2/20: Serious Eats
2/21: Kitchen Konfidence
2/22: Love Veggies & Yoga
2/23: TeenieCakes
2/24: Kitchen Parade
Southwest Bracket
2/28: BakedBree
2/29: Homemade Quirk
3/1: Barbara Bakes
3/2: Foodie Bride
East Coast Bracket
3/5: CleaningPlates.com Special Podcast Recap
3/6: Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice
3/7: Small Kitchen College
3/8: Culinary Cory
3/9: The Queen’s Notebook
Southeast Bracket
3/13: Ice Cream Before Dinner
3/14: The Kitchenarian
3/15: Nibble Me This
3/16: Love & Olive Oil
Chocolate Malt Madelines
Holy bananas, people, it’s Valentine’s Day tomorrow! How did this happen? I swear I’m totally one of those old people now that walks around proclaiming that it was just Christmas! and I don’t understand this iPhone! and what on Earth is a Nicki Minaj?!
Where’s my Sanka?
Anyway, it’s here–the holiday that’s not actually a holiday, but you’d really better observe it in some manner for the ones you love, lest you feel really guilty. I’m a fan of the little things on Valentine’s Day, myself. I like a little thing of flowers, chocolates, a nice card, sweet little tokens like that. Please don’t escort me to a heart-shaped hot tub with rose petals floating in it and Sade playing in the background, or give me a giant teddy bear holding a velvet heart that contains an ugly necklace that I have to wear all the time and pretend to like it. I may not physically drop kick you, but I will be doing just that, in my mind. Keep it sweet, keep it simple.
To me, edible gifts are the perfect kind for faux holidays like this one. And even though God has nothing to do with turning February 14th into an emotional carnival for so many people, I’m sure that the good Lord would insist that if you are going to participate in some Valentine’s Day gift giving, you best include chocolate. It’s the right thing to do.
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Vegan Blood Orange Cupcakes
Now, I’m not going to pretend like you all come to this site wondering what’s going on with my diet and exercise regimen. No, I’m well aware that most people come here looking for cookies. Or cupcakes. Or (YAY!) candy. I don’t blame you. These things make life worth living. But recently I threw a wrench in the whole thing, what with all the posts on juice cleanses and oatmeal-y things for breakfast. And after all that overhauling, I’ve found that maybe dairy and I don’t have the legendary love affair going that I once thought we had. So I’ve been watching the dairy intake. It’s become like a dang commune around here! Outrageous! This must be stopped.
But guess what? It turns out I’ve totally got wi-fi here in my hemp tent, and I have to tell you about these cupcakes I made the other day–moist, sweet, totally scrumptious cupcakes with a cloud of creamy, dreamy frosting. Decidedly the sort of thing that you probably, actually came here for.
EXCEPT THEY’RE VEGAN. Ha! Sucker.
Cozy Baked Oatmeal
I suppose in the way others obsessively look to icons of style for inspiration about what to wear, or celebrity designers’ coffee table books to figure out how to redecorate their living rooms, I idolize food people. Which might explain this 1980s gym teacher getup I’m currently sporting and why 75% of my furniture involves particle board, but dang, check out my fly cake pan collection!
Anyway, rather than just craving certain dishes, I go through phases of who I might like to eat like during a given week and embrace it with a restraining-order-level dedication. Typing that out makes me realize how totally weird that is. But there you have it.
Baking Blogger Completes Juice Cleanse, Lives to Tell the Tale
Ever wanted to try a juice cleanse, but find the whole thing so crazy and overwhelming that you just leave that madness to old hippies and Gwyneth Paltrow? Well, I’m here to show you that it can indeed be done by people who really, really like to eat. Which is to say normal people. Even though the experience is really anything other than normal, but kind of in a good way. If you like really verbose blog posts with lots of personal information, then you’re in the right place! Grab a doughnut and settle in; things are about to get real, people.
Chocolate-Slicked Toffee-Oat Tiles
This is it, people. I’m getting down and dirty and a little bit crazy. Starting tomorrow, I’m going all Gwyneth Paltrow-level insanity and starting a 3-day juice cleanse. The fancy kind that some glossy, lithe delivery person brings to your house. I KNOW. But for now, there are these freaking great Chocolate-Slicked Toffee-Oat Tiles, which were kind of my last hurrah before embarking on a week of living like a deranged Hollywood starlet wannabe. My enthusiasm is palable, yes?
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