Adventures in candy

Just a quick post on my adventure in making some handmade Marshmallows today using Alton Browns recipe. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/homemade-marshmallows-recipe/index.html
Defiantly not a simple recipe but did turn out to be easier than I thought it would be!

 I used the pulp of one Vanilla bean instead of the vanilla extract, it gave me little flecks of vanilla throughout the finished marshmallows, which I liked!

Make sure your spatula is well sprayed with a pan spray before scooping the marshmallow mixture from the mixing bowl, it made it easier to spread into the prepped pan, work fairly quickly as it didn't take long for the mixture to start to set up...I used a 9 x 13 foil pan.

After 4 hours I flipped them out onto dusted foil and used a pizza cutter to cut them into pieces dusting after each cut.

After tasting these wondrous fluffy little bites, I know that Ive been fooled for all these years by those bagged cloyingly sweet globs that are known as Marshmallows, and will most likely never buy another bag of them again.

The recipe made a nice pile of marshmallows (40 to 50 pieces) and I noticed that the next day the vanilla flavor was much more pronounced!

Only a few spots left!

Here is the link Valentine’s Dinner at the Lamoni Community Center | Lamoni IA

Valentines Dinner 2013

Valentine Menu

5 Courses

$20.00 per person

Chefs TC and Robert Johnson

will be offering this wonderful

five course Gourmet dinner at the

Lamoni Community Center on

Thursday February 14 at 6:30 p.m.

By Reservation Only call today!

641-784-6742 or 641-344-7420

Appetizer

Focaccia Antipasto

Handcrafted Focaccia bread with Charcuterie

and Artisan Cheese

Soup

Spice Roasted Peach With Creme Fresh

Salad

Classic Caesar

Main Entree choice of

Pan Seared Center Cut Pork chop

Or

Meltaway Sirloin Pot Roast

both served with

Homemade Mashed Potatoes and Roasted Vegetables

Dessert

Fresh Lemon Cheesecake with Brandy Marinated Strawberries

Larkburger = Tasty

On a recent trip through Colorado a long time friend recommended we eat at "Larkburger" a small burger spot near Coors Field in Downtown Denver.
 A very busy Downtown Denver made parking a bit of a challenge but we found a spot about 4 blocks away and walked back to the small mid-block building.
   The "feel" of the place was good right off the bat, people in the small seating area looked happy and were devouring their orders, this is always a good sign.
   We waited in a short line to order and were greeted with a smile and welcome by the counter person, she was helpful and well versed with the menu, after helping us with our choices she thanked us for choosing to eat there.
    With tray in hand we headed to a table to wait on our food, a short nine minutes later our food was at our table, we were thanked again for choosing Larkburger.

My wife had the Larkburger namesake 

and I had the Truffleburger   


 To accompany the burgers we of course had fries!
My wife had their house fries with are thin cut and seasoned simply with sea salt!


 I had the Truffle Parmesan version.



   

First off the burgers were cooked exactly the way we asked, mine a perfect mid-rare...my wife's spot on well done, the toppings were fresh and delicious including the truffle aioli on mine which was spectacular!

 The fries were just as tasty as the burgers, fresh, crispy, and perfectly seasoned, once again hitting a home run with the truffle parmesan version!

The long and short of it is if your in Boulder or Denver make sure you get into Larkburger and give them a try!