Yes you can (make homemade marshmallows)

It never fails.  Every time I bring homemade marshmallows to a party people have the same reaction, "You can MAKE marshmallows???"  Yes, you can.  They are actually quite easy and all you need are a few ingredients and a stand mixer. 
Marshmallows are probably my number 1 most requested recipe.  They taste totally different from those rubbery store bought marshmallows.  They are light, soft, pillowy, and sweet.  They melt beautifully, go great in hot chocolate, or are perfect on their own. 
I got the idea to make marshmallows after an episode of "Barefoot Contessa" of course.  She made toasted coconut marshmallows and I couldn't believe how easy she made it seem.  I found the recipe in her book and found all of the ingredients in my pantry.  20 minutes later, I had homemade marshmallows.  My husband (or I) couldn't believe the difference.  What appeared to be a mystery food and one that seemed impossible to duplicate was uncoded and everyone has the ability to make them for themselves. 

This recipe comes from Ina Garten's cookbook, "Barefoot Contessa Family Style" (copyright 2002) on page 211.  The recipe is simply titled "homemade marshmallows"

3 packages unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
powdered sugar, for dusting

Combine the gelatin and 1/2 cup of cold water in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and allow to sit while you make the syrup.
Meanwhile, combine the sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. 
Raise the heat to high and cook until the syrup reaches 240 degree on a candy thermometer (soft ball)
With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the sugar syrup into the dissolved gelatin.
Put the mixer on high speed and whip until the mixture is very thick, about 15 min.
Add the vanilla and mix
With a sieve, generously dust an 8x12 in. nonmetal baking dish with powdered sugar
Pour the marshmallows in the pan and smooth the top (wetting your knife or fingers will make it not stick)
Dust the top with powdered sugar
Let them stand uncovered overnight until they dry out
Cut marshmallows into squares and dust edges with powdered sugar

Pretty simple, don't ya think?  A few words to the wise that I've learned: 

• Water on your fingers or knife will make the marshmallows not stick- however, don't soak your fingers because you don't want your marshmallows wet.
• Powdered sugar makes the marshmallows not stick together, so don't be afraid to use it, but tap the excess off.
• Don't be afraid of the mess!  I was terrified at first seeing all of this white goop on my counter, but it's pure sugar- hot water will clean it up with ease.
• Substitute vanilla for peppermint extract or any other flavoring of extract- however just add 1/4 teaspoon of other extracts because the flavor will overpower the marshmallows.
• Use cocoa powder instead of powdered sugar for a chocolate flavor.
• Wrap the marshmallows tightly in tupperware or a plastic bag and store in the frig to make them last a long time (I've kept mine for a few weeks).
• Put on skewers to roast over an open fire (or hot grill) or use a kitchen blowtorch to toast the marshmallows and eat plain or as S'mores.  Trust me, nothing is better than that.

Sometimes store bought is ok

I've recently been burnt out on cooking.  That happens every once and awhile for me.  I cook day in and day out, but there comes a time when I don't want to step foot in the kitchen.  However, I wasn't going to resort to fast food.  I needed to look elsewhere for a decent and healthy meal.

Ina Garten was the owner of a speciality food store called "Barefoot Contessa" for over 20 years.  They specialized in ready made food that was tasty and easily carried out.  Since I live in St. Louis (a pretty decent size city), I thought why not try take out food from speciality grocery stores or even chain stores?  My first stop is a local grocery store on Kingshighway called Straub's.  I love Straub's for a variety of reasons- they're local, they offer fresh produce, meats, and cheeses, their bakery is awesome, and they carry local products from pizza to cheese to cookies to cake.  They have a "famous chicken salad" and one bite in, you'll realize why it's famous.  It's incredibly simple:  shredded white meat chicken, celery, and a mayo based sauce.  I'm not sure what else is in the sauce because no flavor particularly stands out, but it doesn't have a gloppy mayo taste.  It's so well seasoned that it's just perfect. 

Then, I wanted to sample their cake.  Granted whole cakes and slices are on the expensive side ($4 for a slice and between $10-20 for a small whole cake), they are worth it if you're in the mood for cake, but not in the mood to bake it yourself.  I could pronounce the ingredients and nothing alarmed me (flour, butter, sugar, baking powder, vanilla, etc) and the cake was moist with lots of flavor.  My favorite is their strawberry shortcake.  I bought one slice one day and went back the next day to buy them out of it.  It is that good.

My other stops included Whole Foods (the chain) and Dierbergs (a grocery store in St. Louis).  While the take out food was good at both of these, they didn't quite compare to Staub's.  I really like the salad bar at Whole Foods because the possibilities are endless.  They offer every kind of veggie you would want on a salad with plenty of main course dishes as well.  They also didn't offer iceberg lettuce- just really good and flavorful types of lettuces.  Dierbergs also has a great salad bar with fewer options.  However, they're cheaper, so that's a plus.  Whole Food's deli is much better than Dierbergs because they offer a range of vegetarian dishes and really healthy foods (lots of veggies) while Dierbergs mainly sticks with fried chicken and mayo based pasta salads.  Again though, Dierbergs is cheaper, but it depends what you value (price over taste and quality).

I think both have great dessert choices.  I'm a fan of Dierberg's cake and they offer probably at least 5-10 different kinds a cake a day.  Whole Food's desserts are also quite good with my favorite being the vegan chocolate chip cookie (remember that just because it's vegan doesn't mean lower fat/calories- it has the exact same amount of calories as a regular cookie).

Anyway, I'm still new at this take out food concept so I'm still exploring my choices.  Next I think I will sample the smaller local joints across various neighborhoods in the city.  That sounds like fun.