Moving into a new house is like getting to know a new partner - one that you met during a crazy week of jet-lagged, caffeine-fueled speed dating a few months ago and with whom you now find yourself in a long-term, committed relationship. It takes time to discover the personality of a house. You find wonderful little gems you didn't even know were there and strange little quirks you had no idea existed. It's fun - a puzzle, a lovely little treasure hunt. One new quirk that I will have to contend with is my stove. The poor little thing, its temperature varies widely. Some days it's cooler than expected, other days it's hot hot hot. While I wrangle with my temperamental appliance, I've been satisfying my dessert cravings with milkshakes.
After a brief affair with the fresh watermelon milkshakes from some local joint, my love has turned to roasty, toasty, puffy, pillowy marshmallows in shake form - the Toasted Marshmallow Milkshake, perfect for the end of Summer, sliding into Fall. I heard mention of such a thing on a late night Food Network show and instantly became capital-O Obsessed. Who doesn't love toasted marshmallows? Is there a more evocative childhood memory than gooey s'mores with sticky marshmallow fingers? Imagine slurping that memory through a straw. Ahhhh, it's so unbelievably simple and so maddeningly unforgettable. I have tried several iterations of this shake with various brands of ice cream and marshmallows, settling on the general recipe outlined below. The amount of ice cream that actually fits in my scoop varies with my mood, so some times these come out quite thick and chunky and other times they are thinner and disappear up the straw in a matter of minutes. Adjust according to your own shake consistency preferences. The key here is to blend the marshmallows in at the very end with a quick pulse or two just until they are broken up. That way you get gooey patches of marshmallow with each slurp.
The Toasted Marshmallow Milkshake
8 scoops vanilla ice cream (I've settled on Haagen Daz)1/3 cup whole milk
1/4 cup whole milk plain yogurt (This helps temper the sweetness; I use Stoneyfield Farm)
12 large marshmallows (for some reason my supermarket does not carry the usual Kraft Jet-Puffed, so I use some brand call Campfire)
Toast marshmallows under a broiler, or, if you're frisky, over a flame until they just start to darken evenly (you want these guys dark and crunchy, but not black and bitter).
Put the milk, yogurt, and then ice cream in the blender, in that order. Blend just until you get the "doughnut" effect — when the shake creeps up the sides of the blender with a hollow core.
Add eight of the toasted marshmallows to the blender. Poke them down and whirl until they're just broken up and distributed evenly. Do NOT overblend.
Pour shake into two glasses and top each with two marshmallows.
Proceed to enjoyment. This recipe makes two modest servings or one very generous shake.
(inspired by a recipe from Stand via Gourmet.com)