sugar and spice

Food Network ran an old episode of "Good Eats" tonight that seemed familiar even though I had not seen it before. Alton Brown cooked up some homemade protein bars and a healthier alternative to Rice Krispies Treats. Last year, I wrote about the Brown Rice Crispy Bar when one of my brothers-in-law made something similar, using the "Good Eats" recipe as a guideline.



My sweet tooth must be acting up again. Earlier today I was reading a recipe for Roasted Blackberry Chipotle Brownies and wondering if I could talk my wife into making a batch the next time we need to donate something to a church bake sale or other event. Of course I would keep a few for myself. I like the idea of swirling the spicy sauce into the chocolate batter. Anne Traver at Fischer & Wieser sent me that recipe and several others along with a bottle of their new sauce.

I used the opportunity to call Anne to say thanks. While I had her on the phone, I asked about the Pomegranate & Mango Chipotle Sauce currently in my refrigerator. The sugar in the sauce crystallized in the fridge, the same way honey does when it gets too old or too cold. Anne is a former home economics teacher now in charge of testing recipes and creating new ones. She advised me to place the bottle in some hot water to melt the crystals. Or better yet, spoon out just what I need into a little bowl and then heat it. For lunch, I usually microwave five ounces of chicken and then top it with the pomegranate sauce or the Original Roasted Raspberry Chipotle Sauce. Lately I've been putting the crystallized sauce on the cold chicken and then microwaving it.

UPS had trouble reading my house number on the package from Fischer & Wieser. They sent me a postcard saying that they had tried to deliver it to a non-existent address. Of course the postcard also had the wrong house number. Fortunately the USPS figured out how to get the card to me. The postcard came on Friday and said that they would return the package to the sender on Monday if I didn't come pick it up at their Callahan Drive location before they closed that night. Instead I called the phone number on the card, got them to correct my address and deliver the package to me on Monday.

nothin' like the face

Some country singer is pushing s'mores on TV. Since when do smore's need to advertise? The three ingredients were also featured in this week's Wal-Mart sales flyer. Photos of smore's cupcakes have been catching my eye lately too. A few weeks back I spotted a new Little Debbie version of S'mores, right next to their Devil Dog look-alike.



Tonight I'll have to satisfy my sweet tooth cravings with a Special K Protein Bar.

how 'bout a monster for breakfast

The rain today made it feel right to stay in my pajamas and plop down in front of the TV with a bowl of cereal. The only difference from childhood was that my bowl now contained exactly ¾ cup of Kashi GOLEAN instead of something with marbits. And that I was watching EWTN instead of Saturday morning cartoons. I had another childhood flashback last week when I saw a box of Quisp at Dollar General.

After finishing breakfast, I clicked around the Internet for a while. Coincidentally I found more cereal reminders. First I saw a funny movie poster that wonders what it would be like if they made a live-action film about Count Chocula. Then I saw an older Count at an imaginary cereal mascot reunion.

Last Halloween Jimmy Kimmel dressed as the Count while the rest of his on-camera staff dressed as other cereal icons. Together they looked like Chris Burney's arm. A couple of years earlier my friend Bean wore a Count Chocula costume to the KROQ Halloween party.

Before last Tuesday's Einstein Simplified show, Dave Snow and I thought of a new twist for the "Race for Coffee" game. Instead of sending someone across the street for coffee during a guessing game, we can send them to the Knoxville Pearl for a bowl of cereal and milk. I visited the place when it first opened and saw the images of the General Mills cereal monsters painted on the wall.

for peeps' sake

The amount of publicity that Marshmallow Peeps receive every Easter is mind boggling. Most of it seems to be fan-generated rather than coming from the company's press releases. As a lifelong Peeps lover myself, I can honestly say that I was a big fan before it was cool. For example, I once brought a package of purple Peeps to a glacier near Mt. McKinley in Alaska.



The Peeps will be featured tomorrow on CBS News Sunday Morning. Rita Braver's report will include a film I told you about in April 2007 and an artist that I told you about in March of last year.

Mary Constantine of the Knoxville News Sentinel posted a video showing how to use Peeps and chocolate chips to decorate a Peeps Sunflower Cake.

Meanwhile in Washington, the WMATA is using Peeps to get baseball fans to ride the Metro to the new Nationals Park.

Speaking of DC, the Washington Post got some tremendous entries in their second annual diorama contest. Out in Washington State, the readers of the Seattle Times created some great Peeps art.

When I showed my wife a cute picture of a Peeps costume for toddlers, she honestly asked if it came in my size.

When my daughter celebrates Easter tomorrow, she'll have a care package that my wife mailed to her. It contain some of the brand new Peeps Tulips.



A New Jersey columnist writes that he can't eat just one Peep. Can't say that I blame him.

unflattering imitation

Like Jimmy Durante used to say, "everybody wants to get into the act." Since Marshmallow Peeps are the top selling non-chocolate Easter candy, it makes sense that other companies want to compete. I'll cover the copycats today and save the real deal for tomorrow.

A while back I wrote about a similar Christmas candy called Marshmallow Pals. They are also made in an Easter version. I saw more sugar coated marshmallow things at Wal-Mart this week. Palmer now makes a Marshmallow Baby Binks in addition to their chocolate bunny with the same name.



Nestled among the Peeps, I spotted some animal-shaped marshmallows made by Barton's Candy. Their Barn Yard Buddies looked more like Barn Yard Blobbies to me.The creatures pictured below are supposed to be cows, pigs and frogs.



The odd shapes reminded me of an old Bob & Ray bit about a warehouse that stored its chocolate Easter rabbits too close to some steam pipes. My radio idols did a fake commercial for Chocolate Wobblies. Each one was guaranteed to have a ribbon hidden somewhere inside it.

yuck boo yum

Supermarket shelves are currently stocked with a variety of Easter candy, including a couple of items that I hadn't seen before. Sam's Club had a big stack of Edible Easter Grass made by Galerie au Chocolat. If you've ever ended up with plastic grass stuck to your jelly bean, edible grass seems like a fine idea. However if it's made of white chocolate, it could end up as a melted mess in the bottom of your basket. Yuck.



Milk chocolate fans usually want their bunny, whether hollow or solid. The package for Palmer's Too Tall Bunny amused me while I was at Food City the other day. You see, his ears are so big, they don't fit in the box. My enthusiasm quickly waned when I saw some guy with annoying sound effects prove on YouTube that the bunny is not too tall at all. The box has a false bottom. Boo!



I'm more of a dark chocolate and marshmallow fan. The folks at Candy Blog have described a Lindor Truffle Egg that sounds pretty good. I couldn't find any of them but I did see a different holiday treat at the Food City on Morrell Road. Until now, I had always thought that people who keep Kosher were denied the pleasure of eating marshmallows. That includes Marshmallow Peeps which are not Kosher even if they are "always in season" nowadays. It's because marshmallows are made with gelatin and gelatin is made from animal bones and connective tissues, hence the non-Kosherness. Anyway, this store has a pretty big selection of Passover products. Wedged in among the Manischewitz were packages of Granny's Toasted Marshmallows by Rokeach. So how does a bag of marshmallows get a Pareve insignia on the label? Turns out that these coconut-covered treats are made from "kosher fish gelatine." Yum?

s'möres-gåsbord

There are rules prohibiting me from clicking on the ads on my own site. However if one of them should pique my interest, I can easily open a new tab and navigate my way to the site mentioned in the ad. That's the path that brought me to some good looking pictures of Plush Puffs Gourmet Marshmallows. They make several specialty flavors including Simply S'mores. In the Los Angeles area, you can hire the Plush Puffs crew to set up a s'mores bar at your next party. I need to keep that in mind when I visit.

Last weekend my wife and I bought a s'mores dessert at Mimi's Cafe. Rather than eat it in the restaurant, we took it home for another day. Our waiter had the kitchen staff put it in a to-go box without heating it. They also gave us little containers of chocolate and caramel topping. The next day I put the dessert on some foil and stuck it under the broiler.



My wife drizzled the toppings over the warm s'more, trying to emulate the photo on the menu at Mimi's. We were happy with the results even if it didn't look quite as fancy as it would have at the restaurant.

reaches across the room

The time of our arrival at the local art house cinema would determine which Oscar-winning movie we saw today. If we could get there before 4:30, we would see "No Country for Old Men." As it turned out we saw "There Will Be Blood," which will always be known as the "I drink your milkshake" movie. I found it easier to stop trying to figure out the unexplained plot details and just concentrate on the character study of crazy Daniel Plainview.

Afterward we went to Mimi's Cafe for dinner. While we were placing our order, some other servers brought an array of huge desserts to the family sitting at the next table. We asked our waiter to tell us what five different things they had ordered. The Triple Chocolate Brownie and the Bananas Foster Mud Pie were especially large.

We behaved ourselves by each ordering a salad and splitting one entree between us. When we got our check we saw that the total was five dollars less than the amount of the gift certificate we had. On an impulse we ordered a dessert from the special, seasonal menu, choosing the one thing the family at the next table had skipped. My decision was pretty much based on the photo alone. Although the description of Mimi's S'mores sounded good too: "Layers of toasted marshmallow cream, chocolate crunch and a cinnamon graham crust. Served warm and topped with caramel and chocolate sauces."

We told our waiter that we were going to save it for another day. He had them put it in a carryout box without heating it up. They put the chocolate and caramel sauces in little containers on the side. Now we have to decide whether to freeze it until after Easter or to eat it tomorrow on the grounds that technically Sundays don't count as part of Lent. Either way, we'll need to toast the top of it and drizzle on the sauce to make it look like the picture.

fork a stick in it

After the 4:00 p.m. dinner show at the Dixie Stampede on Wednesday, we were ushered out of the arena past a display of stick horses from WHOA, the Woodin-stick Horses of America. I have looked at their website and cannot figure out why they insist on misspelling it "woodin" instead of wooden.



The night was still plenty young, so we headed to Gatlinburg for more sightseeing. I saw a bunch of marshmallow treats in the window at Kilwin's. They had chocolate covered marshmallows on sticks as well as chocolate covered Rice Krispies Treats on sticks. The Poofy Ropes and Poofy Pops were bargain priced but I wasn't interested in strawberry-flavored marshmallow poof.



It was only 7:15 p.m. when I took a picture of the Gatlinburg Inn. All the lights were out. Because of the prominent placement of the AARP logo on their sign, I assumed that the residents had gone to bed for the night. It turns out that they are closed until April 1. It also turns out to be the place where the song "Rocky Top" was written in only ten minutes, presumably not in the winter.

stick in the mud

Two years ago our friend Kathy made some cream filled cupcakes for the annual parish bake sale. I desperately wanted to try one but it was too early in my weight loss program to risk it. I saw Kathy after Mass today and asked if she had baked them again this year, now that I can afford to have one and count it as my starch and fat for the day. Kathy said that instead she had made something I would really enjoy: marshmallow snowmen. As soon as I saw them, I thought Kathy might be pulling my leg. The "snowmen" were covered in chocolate and were wearing Santa hats. My son compared them to the muddy snowman in "To Kill A Mockingbird." I thought of a not so literary reference. To me they looked like a character from "South Park." Not just any "South Park" character, but the one that triggers my gag reflex and keeps me from ever watching that show. Kathy feigned ignorance but I think she's too smart to not see the resemblance.



The unusual treats were well received at today's bake sale. My wife bought one for me while I snapped a picture of the remaining marshmallow men. They were all sold in a matter of minutes. Kathy called them snowmen but I'll call them Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Santas on a Stick. To make them, she put three marshmallows on a lollipop stick and enrobed them in melted chocolate. She dipped the tips into white chocolate that had been dyed red and then piped white chocolate to make the whites of the eyes and the decorative squiggles. You can use a Ziploc bag with the corner cut off instead of a pastry bag. The mouth is made with the same red chocolate as the hat. A couple of chocolate chips complete the eyes. You might want to skip the Santa hat, add antlers and try to make chocolate reindeer instead.

ghostly things are gonna happen

Halloween is getting close. I can tell by an increase in the number of search engine hits I've been getting for the blog entry I wrote a year ago (exactly) about the novelty song "Halloween Spooks." Check out this mash-up video of the song with "Dark Shadows" footage.

The trick-or-treaters who come to our house this year will be gifted with new Spooky Friends from the makers of Marshmallow Peeps. My wife bought a bag of them and I must admit that I have already tried one and liked it. The individually wrapped piece of sugar-coated marshmallow goodness was perfect for me. The wrapper was somewhat difficult to open, which helped me eat only one. The problem I have with the traditional Peeps package is that once I open it, I want to eat all twelve or fifteen Peeps within.

The bag of Spooky Friends says that it contains "about 54 individually wrapped pieces." At the supermarket today I saw a package with ghosts, mummies and pumpkins. Until I looked it up, I thought the mummies were space aliens. The bag my wife bought has skulls, bats and spiders. The individual wrapping caused the company to outsource the manufacturing to China. As long as they're not coated in lead paint, I'm fine with it.

once, twice, three times a mallow

The Union Square Marshmallow Fluff Fest has been turning up in my search results lately. Some people searching for information about it are finding what I wrote about last year's festival. My blog entry got linked from the official site. Unfortunately they think my name is Frank Miller. The second annual Fluff Fest was held today in Somerville, Massachusetts. Like everyone else, they must have scheduled their festival around the Vols.

Whoopi Goldberg was waving a box of Mallomars on "The View" this past week. She said it was the first day that the seasonal treat was back in stores. I've also gotten a few page hits recently from people searching for Mallomars. I wrote about buying some last October. Maybe they'll have some tomorrow when I go to buy salad.

I didn't see any Mallomars the last time I went to Wal-Mart. As I pushed my shopping cart past a refrigerated case, I thought I saw some miniature marshmallows out of the corner of my eye. Marshmallows in the refrigerated section? Yup, they're part of a S'mores Dessert Pizza.

the nature of my game

The new Oreo Cakesters looked like something I would enjoy. I spotted them about three weeks ago at a Waldbaum's in Southampton, New York. The temptation was strong but I chose to leave them on the shelf, figuring that I could get some when the product reaches Knoxville. Besides, I wasn't about to be deterred from finding the true object of my supermarket quest.



While in New York, I wanted to buy a box of Drake's Cakes. I chose a box of Reduced Fat Devil Dogs and put it in the freezer when I got home. I haven't eaten one yet. I limit my sweet treats so I don't gain back the weight I lost. I did see a suggestion on the Internet to try eating the Devil Dogs frozen for a cool summer treat.

It was very hot again today. Instead of having a frozen Devil Dog, I decided it was about time to thaw out the egg nog that has been in my freezer since December, 2005. The Christmas staple tastes great in August. It immediately put me in mind of colder weather. More dairy stores should sell it year round.

There was something else I noticed at Waldbaum's. They had Mallow Pizza and Mallow Hot Dogs. I thought this might be my only opportunity to capture these unusual items for my photo food safari. It wasn't. A couple of days after I got home, I saw Mallow Burgers and Mallow Fries at a Kenjo Market in Maryville.

sweet teeth

The staff at Garde Bien offered me a cupcake when I arrived for my haircut today. They were celebrating the birthdays of an employee and of a favorite customer, Carol Bass. I first met Mrs. Bass at the salon on the day of my makeover. After I finished my cupcake, I realized that I had forgotten to try eating it sandwich style. Cupcakes are an infrequent treat. I'll try to remember to put the icing in the middle next time.

Today's newspaper had a recipe for a different sandwich style treat. The Mint Chip Monster is made by splitting a chocolate snack cake and putting ice cream in the middle. Kids can decorate it to look like a monster. The idea for a fun food is reminiscent of the hamburger cookies I saw at a swim meet last year.

I briefly flipped past the AFI special on CBS tonight. They were up to the movie "Nashville" in their countdown of the top 100 films. In the clip, I heard a reference to the Grand Ole Opry, sponsored by Goo Goo Clusters. It got me wondering if the candies got their name from the initials of the Opry. They didn't. The Goo Goo website points out that the candies have been around 13 years longer than the Opry.

the same but different

Each student brought a different dessert to a recent event at school. I couldn't go but my wife did and made me wish I had. She said I would have loved the S'mores Chocolate Chip Cookie Sandwiches. The cookies are similar to regular chocolate chips but with half the flour replaced with graham cracker crumbs. A slightly melted marshmallow gets squished between two cookies. Maybe I can get her to make them for my birthday this year.

Earlier today I tasted a new twist on a well-known marshmallow recipe. We are in Virginia for a family gathering this holiday weekend. One of my brothers-in-law made something similar to the classic Rice Krispies Treats. He started with a recipe from "Good Eats" on Food Network. Although the TV recipe calls for puffed brown rice, he used organic Kamut Puffs because that's what he had in the pantry. Instead of flax seed oil, he coated the pan with olive oil, again because it was handy. Like the recipe, he added chopped almonds and assorted dried fruits to the mixture. It was fantastic. I may never want regular Rice Krispies Treats again. Sorry Snap, Crackle and Pop.



The main course at today's feast was BBQ from a place called The Barn Door Restaurant & Catering Company. The pulled pork was excellent but the item that had everybody talking was their "Hawg Wings." They seem to be small rib bones with a lot of meat on them. Either that or they found a way to make the proverbial pigs fly.

fluff stuff

An interview with Susan Olsen was posted to the TV Squad site yesterday. In it, she talks about her fondness for radio and acknowledges that her current nickname is "Fluff." I had the pleasure of working with Susan at the short-lived Comedy World Radio Network. Every now and then she will email me marshmallow related links for sites like Bunnyocalypse. Last year I mentioned that the contents of the Marshmallow Fluff jar on Susan's mantle that had started to separate. I suggested she turn it upside down for a while but that only revealed a small break in the jar's seal, creating a sugary mess. Meanwhile, I discovered that her friend, "Fake Jan," posted a link to Susan's blog. I'm sure I will enjoy reading it.

peepalicious

Happy Easter! Here in Knoxville, it's colder than it was this past Christmas. That's why I'm wearing the thermal "Chillin' With My Peeps" shirt made by Trau & Loevner that my wife gave me for Christmas. It's just like one that was sold on eBay.

Every year around this time I enjoy getting emails from friends who think of me when they come across a link about Marshmallow Peeps. My friend Bean wants to know why I'm not headed to Sacramento for next weekend's annual Peeps eating contest. He's seen the old photo of me stuffing my face with Peeps. The architect friend who invited me to join LinkedIn sent me a link to a page about Peeps in a college library.

Last month I told you about a Peeps art contest for readers of the Seattle Times. Today is the day for several newspapers around the country to reveal the winners of their Peeps contests. We'll go ahead and start with the Seattle Times. I don't know which is weirder, "Peep CSI" or "Borat Peep." My sister's husband tipped me off to the Washington Post Peeps Diorama Contest. I liked the Batman & Robin scene, which is number 3 in their slide show.

Several other newspapers are on the Peeps bandwagon. Of the artwork submitted to the Ocala Star-Banner, I like the Peep magician best. The St. Paul Pioneer Press and the Camden Courier Post both have many fine submissions. The Ann Arbor News set their slideshow to music. Don't forget the Binghampton Press & Sun-Bulletin or the Miami Herald or the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Columnist Lisa Ramirez of the Middletown Times Herald-Record spells out the differences betweens Peeps people and Cadbury Creme Egg people. Oh yeah, her paper had readers submit Peeps photos too. All of this Peep Culture will help us get ready for next year's Peeps documentary film, "Power of the Peep."

five unrelated paragraphs

Like me, the writers at Entertainment Weekly noticed the extra seven minutes worth of "American Idol" that we'll get on Tuesday. At least I got it posted the day before they did.

Scott Weiland trashed a room at Burbank's nicest hotel, The Graciela. I stayed there once. The service was top notch. The staff gave me some free deodorant to replace the antiperspirant gel that the TSA wouldn't let me carry on the plane at the time. Staying at The Graciela was a rare treat. Usually I stay at the Safari Inn, which has been used as a filming location in several "C.S.I." episodes including one that aired only a few weeks ago.

A long time ago I mentioned something about radio stations named Froggy or K-Frog, etc. Froggy 101 in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is now capitalizing on the use of their bumper sticker on "The Office."

My post about the Seattle Times Peeps Contest prompted my sister's husband to send me an article about the Washington Post's Peeps Diorama Contest. It may be the beginning of a trend. The St. Paul Pioneer Press is having a Peeps Diorama Contest too.

Michael Crawley emailed me to ask for a plug for the Detroit Dave benefit concert this Thursday night at the World Grotto. Michael says:

The lineup includes Todd Steed and the Suns of Phere, The Labron Lazenby Trio, Scott Miller, Dave Landeo, Karen Reynolds, The Macdaddies, RB Morris and Hector Qirko, Matt Woods, Tall Paul and The Bearded. Also slated is a special reunion of Crawdaddy, with the four original members: Rick Wolfe on bass; Steve Brown on drums; Michael Crawley and “Detroit” Dave himself, hopefully. All proceeds go to help Detroit Dave with medical bills and daily living expenses.

counting the days until Easter

One link led to another, which led to another, which eventually made me want to do a Google search for the Seattle Times Peeps Contest. Marshmallow artists have until Wednesday to submit their creations for 2007. I think it will be tough to top last year's Marilyn Monroe mosaic. More Peeps art can be found at PeepsShow.com or at Dave April's gallery. The evolution picture is great. I really like the frying pan photo too.

comparison shopping

Kroger is missing an opportunity. Instead of giving their store brand the simple name "Kroger Yogurt," I think they should call it "Krogurt."



While I was shopping at Kroger, I noticed that they were selling the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue right next to the alcoholic beverages. Why not in the produce or bakery sections too?



Just in time for Lent, I spotted a product at Sam's Club for kids who are reluctant to try seafood. Who can resist a fish and cheese nugget with a name stolen from a "SpongeBob SquarePants" cartoon?



Meanwhile back at Kroger, they're ready for Easter with the new green Marshmallow Peeps. Why wait? The Peeps website says they're perfect for St. Patrick's Day. You can see them just over the shoulder of the inflatable Hershey's Bunny.



Food City is now offering Peeps brand sugar-free marshmallow chicks. The package has the same warning as most sugar-free candies: may cause laxative effect.



Now for a comedy quiz. Did you catch the add-your-own-punchline opportunities? You should have at least come up with melons, buns and poops. Any more? Post them in the comments.

once you go dark

As St. Valentine's Day draws near, chocolate is everywhere I look. Last week I wrote about some "healthy chocolate" and some Mozart chocolate, which elicited an interesting comment all the way from England.

I set the TiVo to record a couple of chocolate shows while I was out improvising tonight. With so many of my regular series to record last night, tomorrow night and Thursday night, I didn't want to entirely miss "Covered in Chocolate Week" on Food Network. The festivities will be capped off with a full day of chocolate programming on Sunday. Their website is loaded with chocolate recipes. This recovering marshmallowaholic must try S'more Brownies someday.

In addition to the TV listings, chocolate is calling to me from my mailbox. A Sam's Club magazine arrived the other day. It was full of intriguing recipes like the Hershey's Chocolate Mousse Box and enticing products like Chudleigh's Lava Cakes (a molten ganache center surrounded by decadently rich chocolate cake). I'm no connoisseur but an article about which wines go with which chocolates has me wine-curious.

old buddy old pal

The snow flurried fast and furiously at lunchtime today. If the temperature had been below freezing, we might have had some actual accumulation in Knoxville.



I thought the snowflakes might make a nice backdrop for a photo of a new marshmallow candy that my wife bought for my Christmas stocking. Marshmallow Pals are made by Frankford Candy. They are decorated with icing, which gives them a lot more detail than Marshmallow Peeps. The shapes reminded me of the delicious marzipan candy that my sister's husband wants every Christmas.



There's no sign of the Christmas pals on the Frankford website but I did see some Marshmallow Pal bunnies and birds toward the bottom of their Easter page. A website called Groovy Candies sells a Halloween version of the Pals. I need to look up how much I'll have to swim to burn off the calories in each Marshmallow Pal. I recently learned that I would have to walk almost a mile per Pal.

just dessert

Wal-Mart had three shelves stocked full of Mallomars when I resisted the urge to buy some. On my next trip to Wal-Mart six days later, there was only one shelf left. Obviously I needed to buy a box before it was too late. The key to my successful weight loss has been portion control. Tonight I opened my box of Mallomars and ate only two cookies, just like it says in the Nutrition Facts panel on the label. In the old days I would have eaten half the cookies in the box. The package has an interesting bit of trivia printed on it. It says that 70% of Mallomars are sold in the New York area, which reminds me: Lets go Mets!!