Marshmallow Madness!

After you make your first homemade marshmallow, you will NEVER go back to those artificial ones that come in a plastic bag! And after you get your hands on Shauna Sever's new cookbook all about marshmallows, you might spend endless weeks making marshmallows in all shapes, colors, and flavors! 

Marshmallow Madness!, recently released on Amazon and bookstores in your city, is by Shauna Sever and printed by Quirk Books; she is best known for her delicious blog "Piece of Cake".  Her approachable personality and simple recipes create confidence in first time bakers. She'll bring you in with her casual and knowledgeable voice, and take you step by step, in this case, in making the best tasting marshmallows you've ever tasted!

When I received my review copy of Marshmallow Madness!, my hands started squishing the puffy book. Creatively bound in puffy material and a book cover filled with colorful mallows, it invites you to peruse its pages and find just the right recipe for you. I decided to recreate her Key Lime Pie Marshmallows, light green mallows with bright lime flavor and added crunch with a sprinkling of graham cracker crumbs.

A dessert all in itself, these marshmallows are the type of creative genius you'll find in her book. Other recipes I'll be trying: Malibu Marshmallows, Maple-Bacon Marshmallows, and her Mango-Chile-Lime Marshmallows! Also, you can check out #marshmadness and see what other bloggers made!

Thanks to the generous folks at Quirk Books, today I'm sharing Shauna's Classic Vanilla Marshmallow recipe, a great starting point for those making marshmallows for the first time. Mastering this recipe will let you experiment with more flavorings by adjusting the extracts you add! But that's not all! Like I said, Quirk Books are really generous tweeps and are giving away THREE puffy copies of Marshmallow Madness to three Cooking with Books readers. Scroll down to enter!

Classic Vanilla Marshmallows

Reprinted with permission of Quirk Books from "Marshmallow Madness" by Shauna Sever, 2012

Makes: About 2 dozen 1 1/2-inch mallows

THE BLOOM
4 1/2 teaspoons unflavored powdered gelatin
1/2 cup cold water

THE SYRUP

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup, divided
1/4 cup water
1/8 teaspoon salt

THE MALLOWING

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup Classic Coating plus more for dusting

Lightly coat an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with cooking spray.

WHISK TOGETHER the gelatin and cold water in a small bowl and let soften for 5 minutes.

STIR TOGETHER the sugar, 1/4 cup of the corn syrup, water, and salt in a medium saucepan over high heat. Boil, stirring occasionally, until the temperature reaches 240°F. Meanwhile, pour remaining 1/4 cup corn syrup into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Microwave gelatin on high until completely melted, about 30 seconds. Pour it into the mixer bowl. Set the mixer speed to low and keep it running.

WHEN THE SYRUP reaches 240°F, slowly pour it into the mixer bowl. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 5 minutes. Increase to medium-high and beat for 5 more minutes. Beat on the highest setting for 1 to 2 minutes more and beat in the vanilla; the finished marshmallow will be opaque white, fluffy, and tripled in volume. Pour it into the prepared pan, using an offset spatula to smooth it into the corners. Sift coating evenly and generously over top. Let set for at least 6 hours in a cool, dry place.

Use a knife to loosen the marshmallow from the edges of the pan. Invert the slab onto a coating-dusted work surface and dust it with more coating. Cut into whatever size pieces you wish (a pizza cutter works great for squares). Dip the sticky edges of the marshmallows in more coating, patting off the excess.

Variation: Super vanilla-ize these mallows by adding a scraped vanilla bean or dab of pure vanilla bean paste along with the vanilla extract.

 Marshmallow Madness Giveaway!

To enter, leave ONE comment on this post telling me your DREAM marshmallow flavor. The comments are the official entry, there is no purchase necessary, void where prohibited. Three (3) winners will be chosen randomly. Prizes will be shipped by publisher. The contest ends Sunday, March 25th, 2012 at 11:59 pm Eastern. The winner will be announced on Monday March 26th. 

Disclaimer: Quirk Books sent me a review copy of this book, but I was under no obligation to review or host giveaway.

The Lodge Cast Iron Cookbook: Irish Soda Bread & Giveaway!

This week is a lucky week for you readers! I couldn't control myself and have not one but TWO fantastic giveaways for you this week. The first one was the True Lemon giveaway, so make sure to enter that one. The second one, I just couldn't resist. Nothing says St. Patrick's Day more than a loaf of Irish Soda Bread, so that's what we're sharing today. And not just any Irish Soda Bread recipe, but one from the brand new "The Lodge Cast Iron Cookbook published by Oxmoor House. Scroll down and you can enter this weekend only giveaway!

Although I am a newbie to cooking in cast iron, it's something that's been around for MANY years and is now luring even more cooks, bought home cooks and restaurant chefs, to cook in cast iron. Lodge Manufacturing is the ONLY domestic manufacturer of the cast iron pan! Unbelievable that they've been making "America's Original Cookware ™ " since 1896. Well, what is better to accompany great cookware than a great cookbook to go with?

The Lodge Cast Iron Cookbook not only features 200 recipes and photographs from cookbook authors and chefs, but is a sort of scrapbook of memories for those sharing their recipes with us. Alongside most recipes is a small memory about the dish, who inspired it, and how long it's been in their family.

Other great chapters in this book includes one of the most important things about cast iron: how to care for it, renew, maintain, and cook from it for many years to come. This has been one of my ongoing studies because I started seeing rust on my pan lately. After reading the book, I took care of reasoning my pan with some fat and heat in the oven, and it's perfectly seasoned again.

You'd think cast iron is limited, but this book showcases the wide range of items you can cook and bake in it. Some chapters are: Breakfast, Cooking Outdoors, Cornbread (an entire chapter on it!), Desserts, Breads, and more. Today we're baking in my cast iron skillet and it's a delicious Irish Soda Bread!

Maggie Doherty’s Irish Soda Bread

Reprinted with permission from Oxmoor House

Maggie Doherty was cookbook author Peggy Fallon’s mother, who swore by cast iron when it came to her soda bread.   Makes one (9-inch) round loaf

4 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups raisins (preferably 1 cup

each golden and dark raisins)

2 cups buttermilk

1 large egg, lightly beaten

­1.     Preheat the oven to 375°. Generously grease a 9-inch cast iron skillet with vegetable shortening.

2.     Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl; whisk gently to blend. Stir in the raisins to coat with the flour mixture. Make a well in the center and add the buttermilk and egg; stir until a stiff dough forms. (Use a wooden spoon if you must, but the most efficient way to mix this soft, sticky dough is with floured hands. Alternatively, the dough can be mixed in a heavy-duty stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.)

3.     Remove the dough from the bowl and mound it into the prepared skillet, roughly forming a round loaf. (Don’t be concerned that it won’t hold its shape; it will be corrected during baking.) Lightly moisten your hands with water to smooth the top. Using a serrated knife dipped in fl our, score the top with a large X, about 1⁄2-inch deep. (This will ensure even baking, and it will also scare away the devil, according to Peggy’s mother.) Bake until the loaf is golden brown with a firm crust and the bottom sounds hollow when tapped with a knife, about 1 hour.

4.     Remove the bread from the skillet and let cool on a wire rack at least 30 minutes before cutting into 1⁄2-inch-thick slices. Serve warm, at room temperature, or toasted, with or without butter.

Giveaway: Want to start cooking with Cast Iron?
Thanks to the generous folks over at Oxmoor House and Lodge, we have a great giveaway prize for one winner! You'll receive a copy of The Lodge Cast Iron Cookbook and a 12-inch Cast Iron Skillet from Lodge. See below on how to enter.


How to Enter (please leave a separate comment for every action done.)

• Head on over to Lodge Manufacturing and tell me what other piece of cookware you'd love to have.
• Follow Lodge Cast Iron on Twitter
• Follow Cooking with Books on Twitter
• Follow Cooking with Books on Google Friend Connect
• Tweet the following message: Enter to win The Lodge Cast Iron Cookbook and 12 inch skillet via @nella22 and @LodgeCastIron! #giveaway http://bit.ly/A4DrUx

The comments are the official entry, there is no purchase necessary, void where prohibited. One (1) winner will be chosen randomly. Prize will be shipped by sponsoring company, US mailing addresses only. The contest ends Sunday March 18th, 2012 at 11:59 pm Eastern. The winner will be announced on Monday March 19th. This post is sponsored by Oxmoor House, and as always opinions are basely solely on my testing (and tasting!). No monetary compensation was received.

Hot Chocolate Poached Pears

'Tis the season to cook and bake with pears! This time, instead of the usual poaching pears in wine/port/sherry or any other red colored liquid, we're going to be poaching them in another quintessential winter drink: hot chocolate! Thanks to the inventiveness of Colby Garrelts and Megan Garrelts, authors and chefs of the Bluestem cookbook, these pears have come to live in my kitchen for the past 2 days and we've had one for dinner for the past two nights.

For the past two weeks, Virtual Potluck has joined forces with Taste on the N8tion, creating Valentine's Day menu that include great drink pairings. Here's a little about Taste on the N8tion:

N8tion.com is a web television and radio network covering a wide variety of topics from music to entertainment. Produced out of our Atlanta studio, our web shows feature guest experts, music artist, business founders,music producers, movie stars, comedians, technologists and CEO’s — all keeping you up to speed on what’s happening with a fast and funny style. Informative and entertaining, N8tion.com is the place for whatever your interests may be.

The company was founded in 2010 by Myron McDaniel and Otis McDaniel and is based in Atlanta, GA.

You can head on over to The Groovy Foody for more recipes, as well as check out these past menu ideas:

• Sweet Potato Wontons by Diabetic Foodie
• French Onion Soup by Thyme in Our Kitchen
• Valentine's Day Spaghetti by Cookistry
• Chocolate Lover's Cheesecake by Farmgirl Gourmet

• Herbed Smoked Salmon Mousse Croute by Tara the Foodie
• Pomegranate, Beet Root and Blood Orange Sorbet by Groovy Foody
• Cheese Fondue by 30AEATS
• Chocolate Covered Mascarpone Layer Cake by Food Hunter's Guide to Cuisine

These pears are decadent, without being overwhelming. You can use your favorite chocolate to poach them in, as well as adapt the spices. We added a few cardamom pods to enhance the holiday flavors even more. Make these the night ahead of a dinner party and re-warm just before serving.

Hot Chocolate Poached Pears

Reprinted with permission from Bluestem: The Cookbook by Colby Garrelts and Megan Garrelts,

 with Bonjwing Lee/ Andrews McMeel Publishing

This is a comforting and lovely alternative to wine-poached pears. Letting the cooked pears steep

in the chocolate poaching liquid overnight helps intensify the chocolate flavor. These pears are

best served warm. This recipe can be doubled.

Serves 4

3 1/4 cups water

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 cinnamon sticks

1/2 teaspoon allspice berries

3 cloves

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tablespoons dark rum

Pinch of salt

2 semi-firm ripe pears, peeled, halved, and cored

1. In a large saucepan, bring the water, sugar, cinnamon sticks, allspice, and cloves to a simmer over medium-high heat to dissolve the sugar. Add the chocolates, cocoa powder, rum, and salt and whisk until the chocolate is melted and smooth. 
2. Add the pears and poach them for 45 minutes over low heat. Turn them over once halfway through the cooking process so they cook more evenly. They should be tender enough that a knife inserted in the thickest part will easily slip in and out.
3. Keep the pears warm until ready to serve. If you’re not using them right away, you may refrigerate the pears in their poaching liquid in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
4. To reheat, warm the pears in their poaching liquid in a saucepan over medium-low heat and drizzle the sauce over it before serving. 

Check out the video TheN8tion has developed specially for Virtual Potluck!

What's your favorite way to cook and bake with pears? Do you have a favorite pear variety?  
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