We’ve started an annual holiday tradition: invite some friends over, light up a fire, and roast s’mores. Last year I shared a recipe for making homemade peppermint marshmallows, but this year I thought I’d share some tips that don’t involve any extra steps. And to be honest, we discovered we really liked the way jet-puffed marshmallows roast best, and prefer the homemade ones in hot cocoa.
All you need for the perfect s’more are good coals for indirect heat (which means a fire that’s had some time to burn), long sticks, a little patience, and a variety of toppings.
We used Snappers—which are available at Target—after the company had sent over a box of samples and we realized their clusters of pretzels and chocolate are perfect for this. The brand started making clusters of caramel or peanut butter with chocolate and pretzels (a little like a chocolate turtle), and just started offering holiday flavors, too: Dark Chocolate Peppermint, Mint Chocolate Cinnamon Caramel, and Dark Chocolate Caramel Fudge. (See below to win a selection.)
Aron ordered a new set of extendable roasting sticks like the ones he had as a kid and we set up a station with Snappers, marshmallows, and graham crackers. Egg Nog and mulled wine or cider, optional.
“The Work We Do” is an interview series that asks creatives with daydream-worthy jobs how they got where they are—and what it’s like to live a day in their shoes. Today, I’m thrilled to feature Phoenix-based food blogger and entrepreneur Jessica Helgeson.
Jessica Helgeson and I first met (online) after I shared one of her recipes here nearly two years ago. Since then, as you know, she contributed a series of delicious recipes to Hither & Thither, many with video companions on her site SEE Salt. In that time, I also realized that I knew Jessica from somewhere else: Along with millions of other people, I watched her get married on The Today Show the same year I was planning my wedding. I recall it so well!
She’s just launched a private label of her own fleur de sel (named See Salt, appropriately) and so I was thrilled when she agreed to be interviewed for a Work We Do feature. (And of course I couldn’t help but ask her about that wedding, too—even if it were nearly ten years ago.)
For the first time in years, we traveled for Thanksgiving: I have family who live in Sun Valley, Idaho, and we were thrilled to spend the holiday with them. My Aunt and Uncle moved there from California years ago, to be closer to my cousin (who also lives there with her family), and have never looked back. This was the first time Aron and I got to see why. What a gorgeous place! We can’t believe it took us so long to visit.
While the trip was really about seeing family and relaxing at their home, we got a small taste of what the winter season can hold there… Keep Reading >
