Meet Alise...
Alise currently works for Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese in Waterloo, Wisconsin as their marketing coordinator and cheese affineur (aka, cheese babysitter). She grew up on a dairy farm in central Minnesota and has since developed an obsession for the specialty cheese industry. Alise spent two years working for an aged cheddar cheese company in southern Vermont, one year as a food broker and the past two years blogging about her experiences (as well as her full-time job).
Alise's bottom two refrigerator drawers are full of cheese.
As a food lover, Alise loves chocolate, medium-rare steaks smothered in bleu cheese, red wine, craft brews and a tall glass of cold milk.
She says, "I don't believe in diets. I exercise so that I can eat." And, she will never be a Packers fan.
Homemade Raspberry Marshmallows and Mexican Hot Chocolate
It's the middle of winter and if you're like me, you stare out the window during work dreaming about cuddling up on the couch with the biggest blanket you can find and a cup of hot cocoa. Actually, I thankfully don't sit at my desk all that often – but when I do, you know what I'm doing.
I've joined the craze of spending pointless hours on Pinterest. The good thing about it – is that I find awesome recipes without reading a single thing. I'm a 'learn by doing' or 'seeing' kind of person, so Pinterest (a website full of photos) has been great for my recipe-finding binge. I came across homemade marshmallows one day and decided to check it out. I always see them in specialty shops, costing about $5.00 for 4 marshmallows. I wanted to know what the hype was all about. I hope you're not a sucker for spending that much on 4 marshmallows because guess what, they're really easy to make! Valentine's Day is coming up folks – don't delay!
The marshmallow recipe takes only 15 minutes to make, but needs to set for at least 4 hours. Feel free to make these a day or more in advance so that you have them on hand when you want them. The Mexican Hot Chocolate only takes a few minutes to heat up, so you and your honey will be cuddling in no time.
Homemade Raspberry Marshmallows
Adapted from Slashfood.com
0.75oz unflavored gelatin (3 envelopes of Knox gelatin)
½ cup cold water
2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup light corn syrup
¼ cup water
¼ teaspoon salt
½ tablespoon raspberry extract
½ tablespoon vanilla extract
6-8 drops neon pink food coloring, depending on desired color
Confectioners sugar
Cornstarch
Line a rimmed cookie sheet with plastic wrap and lightly oil it. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, sprinkle gelatin over ½ cup cold water. Soak for about 10 minutes (or while you're preparing the next step).
Meanwhile, combine sugar, corn syrup and ¼ cup water in a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to a rapid boil and boil hard for 1 minute.
Pour the boiling syrup into soaked gelatin and turn on the mixer, using the whisk attachment, to high speed. Add the salt and beat for 12 minutes. After 12 minutes, add in the raspberry and vanilla extracts and food coloring. Beat to incorporate.
Scrape marshmallow into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Take another piece of lightly oild plastic wrap and press lightly on the top of the marshmallow creating a seal. Let mixture sit for a few hours, or overnight, until cold and firmly set.
In a shallow dish, combine equal parts cornstarch and confectioners' sugar. Remove marshmallow from pan and cut into equal pieces with scissors or cookie cutters.
Dredge each piece of marshmallow in confectioners' sugar mixture.
Store in an airtight container for up to 20 days. Makes about 40 large marshmallows, depending on the size you choose to cut them.
Mexican Hot Chocolate
Adapted from Running to the Kitchen
2 cups whole milk
1 cup water
1 ounce dark chocolate chips
1 ounce dark chocolate cocoa
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon chili powder
pinch of salt
Combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan over medium high heat.
Stir to combine and heat until just before boiling.
Top with your homemade marshmallows!
Thank you Beth, for inviting me to be a guest on your blog today. It's been a pleasure!
Alise currently works for Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese in Waterloo, Wisconsin as their marketing coordinator and cheese affineur (aka, cheese babysitter). She grew up on a dairy farm in central Minnesota and has since developed an obsession for the specialty cheese industry. Alise spent two years working for an aged cheddar cheese company in southern Vermont, one year as a food broker and the past two years blogging about her experiences (as well as her full-time job). 
