Marshmallows

A few Sundays ago I headed to the one of my best friend's parent's house to make marshmallows with her younger sister, Sasha. We had a lot of fun tackling this simple project and then I had the pleasant surprise of joining their family for dinner. It was great to catch up and relax with people who have known me for half my life... The only thing that would have made it more fun would have been having Vika, Rafe and Fiona there too.

As long as you have a mixer, marshmallows are so easy to make that you have no excuse not to skip Peeps and make your own Easter treats. Plus making your own marshmallows means you can choose your own color(s). While homemade marshmallows aren't healthier, but they certainly are tastier and have a softer texture than store bought marshmallows. They will literally melt in your mouth. They also will coat many things with their sticky residue, but clean-up is easy. Carefully fill the mixing bowl, saucepan, etc. with very hot water and the sugar will dissolve away on its own.

Next time I make marshmallows I'm going to try coating the pan directly with the oil, spooning in the rice flour/confectioner's sugar mixture and carefully rotating the pan to coat it with the mixture to see if the liner can be avoided to make things a touch greener. I'll let you know what happens...

One last note - making the marshmallows takes less than an hour but keep in mind that they require at least 6 hours of setting time.

Homemade Marshmallows
Lightly adapted from Molly at Orangette's Marshmallows and Nicole of Baking Bite's Marshmallows - both of which appear to follow Thomas Keller of French Laundry fame's lead.

1/2 cup cold water
3 envelopes of unflavored gelatin (1/4 ounce each or 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 teaspoons as per David Lebovitz)
2 cups granulated sugar (I used white.)
2/3 cups light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water
Saran Wrap or Foil
Olive Oil
Food Coloring (optional)
Vanilla Extract to taste
1/2 cup Confectioners' sugar
1/2 Rice flour

1. Pour 1/2 cup cold water into an electric mixer's bowl, sprinkle the three packets of gelatin over it. Soak for 10 minutes. Don't be alarmed when it looks dry as that is normal.
2. Combine the sugar, corn syrup, salt and remaining 1/2 cup of water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil hard for 1 minute. Taking care to not let syrup crystallize on the sides of the sauce pan.
3. Carefully pour the very hot syrup into the gelatin and turn the mixer up to high. Beat until the mixture has turned bright white and looks thick (approximately 15 minutes).
4. While the mixture is beating, line a 13 x 9 x 2 inch pan with plastic wrap or foil. Pour a bit of olive oil onto a paper towel and coat the liner's surface lightly with it. If desired, drizzle food coloring on the surface of the liner for a festive touch.
5. Return to the fluffed up marshmallow and add the vanilla. Continuing to beat the mixture until it is fully incorporated.
6. Scrape the mixture into the pan and spread evenly using a lightly oiled spatula.
7. Let the mixture sit at least 5 hours; I usually let it sit overnight.
8. Combine the rice flour and Confectioner's sugar. Generously dust the surface of the marshmallow block with the mixture, remove it from the pan flipping it upside down. Peel off the pan liner and coat surface with the flour/sugar mixture. Using a lightly oiled pizza wheel (a knife or scissors will work too!) cut the marshmallow into the desired size. Coat each block in the flour/sugar mixture to prevent sticking.
9. Store in a covered container at room temperature.

Our finished product ready for consumption. Yum.

Hydrated Gelatin

The sugar-syrup mixture getting ready to get hot.

I decided the syrup mixture was ready at this time and checked the temperature out of curiosity. Molly's 240 degree temperature was dead on with the one minute boiling time.

Prior to mixing the gelatin and syrup mixture.

Neon food coloring dots are in place. Don't try painting them on an oiled surface with Q-tips. It won't work.

Ooey, gooey marshmallow that is ready for pan placement.

Sasha smoothing our product out. Hands work too.

Pretty colors appear at the bottom of the pan while the top stays brilliantly white.

Other marshmallow recipes I have bookmarked:
Champagne Marshmallows
Chocolate Malt Marshmallows (I love malts.)
I also have added peppermint extract and red food coloring to marshmallows before to make them peppermint. They were a fun Christmas-time gift.

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Peach Mupcakes with Mascarpone Frosting/Cointreau-Peach Buttercream

On September 9, Leslie posted about our Spain planning/Ratatouille viewing where she served Thomas Keller's very delicious and complex Ratatouille recipe and I brought Peach Mupcakes with Mascarpone Frosting or Cointreau-Peach Buttercream. These mupcakes are a delicious adaptation of the Mango Chile Cupcakes with Key Lime Frosting from April's movie night. All 8 tasters agreed.

Clearly the recipe is out of season but I suspect using frozen peaches would work and two orange events were last weekend, Halloween and the ING NYC marathon, making it kind of timely. The cupcakes are moist, light and not overly sweet. Mascarpone Frosting** lets the cupcakes flavor shine without being overly sweet. Unfortunately it quickly disintegrates in heat (or if you overbeat it) thus the Cointreau-Peach Buttercream. The buttercream was a result of my not having milk and decided on a whim to substitute the two handy liquids. It was exciting to discover that buttercream doesn't have to be restricted to milk, butter, confectionary sugar and extracts.

I highly recommend making these cupcakes and your own variations. I'm thinking my next batch should be apples/apple cider and a maple or brown butter frosting.

Peach Mupcakes

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons butter, at room temperature (I used salted and it was fine).
3/4 cup soy milk, at room temperature (any milk would work)
1/4 cup peach nectar, at room temperature
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 egg, at room temperature
3 peaches, blanched, peeled and cut into cubes*

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Line or grease and flour 12 wells in a cupcake pan. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg, mix thoroughly. Add flour, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt to the butter mixture. Add the milk and peach nectar to the rest of the batter and beat until well combined. Fold in peaches. Fill each well 2/3 of the way full. Bake about 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted the center of a cupcake comes out mostly clean. Cool briefly in the pan, then remove cupcakes to wire racks to cool completely before icing. Ice.

*Bring water to a boil. Cut a cross into the bottom of the peaches. Add to boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain. Peel as soon as you can handle them.

**I forgot to bookmark which recipe I used for the marscapone frosting, but I'm sure you can findn a good one via the every useful Food Blog Search to the right.

Molly's piping skill! It was my first time using the pastry bag...harder than it looks...but not bad.

Carrot, Beet and Basil Salad

On very rare occasions, I throw something together on my own that is not only edible but something I want to share. This carrot, beet and basil salad came together right before my weeklong trip to Nagshead when I had these ingredients on hand and figured why not put them together? It is naturally sweet, has lots of crunch and doesn't require much heat making it perfect for summer.

Carrot, Beet and Basil Salad
3 beets, peeled and diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
1 white onion, diced
1/2 c. basil, torn or chopped roughly
1-2 tbsp. creme fraiche (optional, I had it on hand)
salt to taste (not much for me personally)

It's easy enough to assemble. Dice the onions first and while preparing everything else, steam them lightly to remove some of their bite. Everything else stays raw. Combine ingredients in a bowl and toss to combine.

Zucchini Recipes (for Jaime)

Earlier this month, Kalyn posted an entire blog entry on using up zucchini, which might help. I tried the Roasted Zucchini with Green Onions, Feta Cheese and Basil this week. It has a good flavor, but is a little juicy for my taste. I also found it to have an intense aftertaste/effect, which I never appreciate.


I also tried a variation on this Zucchini Carpaccio this week. I have had it bookmarked since it was posted last July...I'm glad I got around to trying it. As I don't have a food processor or mandolin and tend to be lazy about food aesthetics, I made it into a salad with thicker (but still thin) pieces of zucchini and carrots. The combination of flavors is great and it doesn't require you to heat up the oven. Win!

I also have this recipe for zucchini strand spaghetti bookmarked to try and am tempted by the zucchini recipes that were covered in Animal, Vegetable, Mineral.

Black Bean (Pasta) Salad

After discovering that Sunday's Green Market on my street doesn't really close at 5:00 pm, I was stumped about what to eat this week without going broke. I spontaneously came up with the salad below; however, it might not be spontaneous as it is entirely like that I stole the mixture of ingredients from one of the numerous recipes I have read. Either way, I thought it went well and have recorded it below for posterity.

Black Bean Salad

One 15 ounce can of Black Beans
1/2 small white onion
1 bunch Italian flat parsley
1 jar sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil
1 large cucumber
1 block of organic feta cheese
2 cups of Gemelli Pasta
1 large bowl with a lid

1. Put the 2 cups of pasta on to boil following the boxes instructions.
2. Open the black beans and put them in a colander. Rinse and drain them.
3. Cut the onion, 5 of the sun dried tomatoes, and the cucumber into cubes (or whatever you want - I'm way to anal and thus a very slow cook). Place the chopped ingredients in the bowl.
4. Add a little bit of olive oil from the jar of tomatoes to the mix.
5. Add the black beans and stir everything.
6. Drain the pasta and rinse with cool water. Add it to the mix.
7. Cut 1/4 of the cheese block into cubes and toss into the salad.
8. Enjoy.

In retrospect, I would add the feta cheese as desired whenever you plan to eat the salad. It loses it's flavor if you let it sit overnight. I just added more cheese when I ate it on subsequent nights.

Obviously, you can omit the pasta. I just enjoy it and can "afford" to eat it since my parents suggested I force feed myself a little. They feel I'm too thin; Vika just says I'm NY thin. It's all a matter of opinion.

Making your own salad dressing Part II

Yet another NYTimes article on Salad, The Well-Dressed Salad Wears Only Homemade by Mark Bittman, has me thinking about Laura's salad making skills. Maybe one day I'll be able to master the art of making my own dressing too (as long as I continue reading the daily headlines via email and practicing).

Here's his recipe: "The simplest dressing, vinaigrette, is this: around three parts oil to one part vinegar or lemon juice, salt and pepper, and maybe some added flavor. This may be an herb (a pinch of dried tarragon is good, fresh chives better) or a condiment (Dijon mustard is classic, and a splash of soy sauce is amazing). There might be a bit of onion, garlic (easy on this), scallion or shallot. Combine them with a fork for a “broken” dressing, or with a whisk or a blender for a lovely, creamy emulsion. Presto."

Salad Inspiration

Recently I read a NY Times article, Vegetable Love, Requited, which caused me to crave a good salad. I love restaurant salads, but I never enjoy my own salads nearly as much. This probably has to do with my ingredient list consisting of lettuce, carrots, cottage cheese, and perhaps tuna fish, but I digress.

The author, Celia Barbour, obviously finds making salads intuitive. If only I were so lucky... Her best piece of advice was to simply turn your favorite recipe into a salad for a satisfying result. This idea may not be novel to you, but it was a revelation to me that needed to be immortalized here along with a few other ideas:

• a simple salad dressed with a made to taste concoction of oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. (This made me miss summer and one of my best friends Laura, who had this recipe mastered.)

• butter lettuce mixed with craisins, sliced apples, & goat cheese (I made this immediately after reading the article using romaine lettuce and it is amazing. You have to try it).