Pumpkin and Spice

I was really looking forward to going to work today. I always like work, but I was genuinely excited about my shift today. Why? Because I was going to get to make one of my favorite things to make... Marshmallows!

One of the desserts we're featuring this week is a S'mores tart- a graham cracker crust with a dark chocolate filling and a layer of marshmallow. Last night, D was grumbling that we were going to have to make marshmallow to top the tarts with tonight. I immediately perked up. "Oooooh, really?! I love making marshmallows!"

D looked at me incredulously and said, "Really? Good. They're all yours. Here, I'll even write your name next to it on the prep sheet so no one else does it."

And, seriously, that was the reason I was excited about work today. I really do love making marshmallows- I'm not sure why. Maybe because I like eating them, but it has to be deeper than that, because I like eating a lot of things that I don't nessecarily love to make. (ahem, cheesecake, I'm talking to you.) One thing I've learned on my externship, though, has been that everyone likes to make different things, and it doesn't always make sense.

And, since marshmallows are one of my favorite food groups (they are a food group, right?) I had to try a slice once it was plated. My conclusion? I like the idea, and it was really good, but to me the proportions were off. Personally, I think the dominant flavors of a S'more are marshmallow and graham cracker. Chocolate is important, but there's a lot more graham cracker and marshmallow than there is chocolate. The tart's predominant flavor was chocolate, followed by marshmallow, then a faint hint of graham cracker.

Actually, with some toasted almonds mixed into the chocolate filling, this could have been another favorite flavor combo of mine- Rocky Road.

Really, I was very inspired by the dessert, and it made me wish I was at home where I could play around with the ideas that are bouncing around in my head. I guess that'll all have to wait.

Oh, and on a totally unrelated note, one of my New Year's Resolutions this year was to get all the recipes I've posted filed into my "Recipes" tab. (Others included losing the weight I gained in pastry school and "dressing cuter".) So, you'll notice that slooowly more and more recipes will appear in the tab. In the tab, you can search for recipes by typing in keywords, and the recipes are easy to print! My goal is to have this done in the next month or two, and then to just keep it updated as I go along. I'm hoping you all will find this to be a useful feature.