The flight over London proved a memorable moment for me as an adult, as I relived my childhood. Playwright Barrie is genius, capturing the childlike sense of joy and mischief that captivated me, oh so many years ago. I left with a greater sense of childhood, one which can be easily forgotten amidst a heavy work schedule and endless activities with the little ones out of school. I was thankful for the opportunity to remember all the antics of Peter Pan, The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up, and his arch nemesis, Hook, and devoted pixie, Tinker Bell.

I encourage you to go and rekindle your inner child and while your imagination runs wild- perhaps a nostalgic cup of cocoa? Often mentioned during the play, I couldn’t resist the recommendation of Actress Shannon Warrick who plays Mrs. Darling. We met after the show and I asked her for her thoughts on a Pan-like food. She remarked, “Well it must be cocoa! We talk about cocoa the entire performance and then back stage we eat marshmallows – it would be perfect for your blog.”

She was spot on! And to up the anti, this is one of my coveted recipes for true yummy-ness in a cup.

Frozen Hot Cocoa with Marshmallows & Hundreds of Thousands

Cocoa Ingredients

6 half-oz pieces of a variety of your favorite chocolate, chopped or chips are fine too
2 tsps store bought hot chocolate mix
1 1/2 TBS sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups milk, set 1 cup aside
3 cups ice
whipped cream (optional)
chocolate shavings (optional)

Marshmallows with Hundreds of Thousands Ingredients

I bag large size marshmallows
6 oz milk chocolate, chopped or chips
sprinkles (British nomenclature is Hundreds of Thousands)

Marshmallow Decoration

Line a baking sheet with wax paper and set aside. Set sprinkles in small bowl and set aside.

In a small-size microwave safe bowl, heat the milk chocolate, stirring every 15 seconds to make sure chocolate does not burn. When chocolate is melted, take marshmallows and dip top of candy in chocolate and then quickly dip in the sprinkles.

Note: Large sprinkles do not melt as easily in the chocolate and are much easier to work with when dipping the marshmallows.

Frozen Hot Cocoa Directions

Take 1/2 cup of milk out of refrigerator and bring to room temperature.

Chop the chocolate into small pieces and place in an microwave proof bowl, stirring every 30 seconds until melted.

Add the cocoa and sugar, stirring constantly until thoroughly blended.

Slowly add 1/2 cup of the milk and stir until smooth.

Let the mixture sit and cool completely until it is room temperature.

Place the cooled chocolate mixture, remaining cup of milk and the ice in a blender. Blend on high speed until the mixture is smooth and slushy.

Pour into a wide mouth glass or cup and top with whipped cream, marshmallows and/or chocolate shavings. Suitable for eating with a spoon or a straw.

Milena, 'Wendy' (Abby Ford), Gina, 'Peter Pan' (Nate Fellows), Secondo and Prima at the after party with cast members.

More about the play…

In this production of PETER PAN:

• 12 projectors, delivering 360 degree projection
• 400 square miles of virtual London were rendered
• The world’s first fully 360 degree projected movie for live theater performance
• The tent, which stands 100 ft high was shipped via boat, 6,000 miles from London to San Francisco.
• 100 computers took 4 weeks to create the images – it would have taken 8 years for a single computer to render

A few of my favorite Peter Pan quotes:

Second to the right and straight on until morning.. (location of Neverland and corresponding stars on the chocolate dipped marshmallow in the photo)

To live would be an awfully big adventure.

Your saving my life, what a great thing to do.

When the first baby laughed for the first time, its laugh broke into a thousand pieces, and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies.

Guimauve- French Marshmallows (Photo Credit: www.keldelice.com)

By the early 1900′s, marshmallows were available for mass consumption and began appearing in American five-and-dime stores. Marshmallows quickly became an integral part of American desserts and side dishes, sweet treats (such as ambrosia, s’mores, Rice Krispies Treats) and, of course, as a condiment to hot chocolate.

Americans are believed to be the largest consumers of marshmallows, followed only by the French. Pâté de guimauve is traditionally shaped in the form of long thick ropes or “lanyards”. French confectioners have been known to display these lanyards in beautiful tall glass apothecary jars. Some of the most exclusive Parisian restaurants are said to offer guimauve as a post-dessert, finishing touch to a meal. The lanyards are “snipped with a flourish by the waiter” into small “pillows” at the patron’s table.

I took my first dive into what I used to consider a baking ingredient. And well, my pillows tasted just like the store bought ones only they were square. If that wasn’t enough, I had to up the anti and make the s’more a bit more I-talian. How you ask, with a simple flick of the wrist into the Nutella jar the damage was done…oh wait, and then a splash of chunky peanut butter on top of my home made marshmallows, gently broiled, and slathered onto a graham cracker. The result = sticky fingers, an added increment to my waste line and a nice gooey smile on my face. T’was all good.

I-Talian Smore

Fluffy Squishy Puffy Marshmallows
Adapted from Gourmet, December 1998

Ingredients

1 cup confectioners’ sugar
3 1/2 envelopes (2 tablespoons plus 2 1/2 teaspoons) unflavored gelatin
1 cup cold water, divided into 1/2 cup
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large egg whites
1 TBS + 1 tsp vanilla (favorite substitutions: 2 tsps mint or orange extract)
food coloring (optional)

Directions

Take a paper towel and lightly oil the bottom and sides of a 13x9x2″ rectangular metal baking pan. Use a colander or sifter with a small amount of powdered sugar to dust bottom and sides of the pan.

In the standing electric mixer bowl, add 1/2 cup of very cold water and sprinkle gelatin over water, being careful not to let all of the gelatin clump in one place. Let stand to soften. (If you do not have a standing electric mixer you can do this first step in a large bowl).

In a medium-size (approximately 3-quart) heavy saucepan over low heat add sugar, corn syrup, second 1/2 cup of cold water, and salt stirring with a wooden spoon or candy spatula, until sugar is dissolved. Increase to medium-high heat and boil, without stirring, until candy thermometer registers 240 degrees, approximately 12 minutes. Remove pan from heat and pour sugar mixture over gelatin mixture, stirring until gelatin is dissolved.

With standing or a hand-held electric mixer beat mixture on high speed until white, thick, and nearly tripled in volume, about six minutes if using standing mixer or about 10 minutes if using hand-held mixer. (The hand held mixer does tend to take a little longer and might even need to go beyond 10 minutes.)

In separate medium-size bowl with cleaned beaters whip egg whites until stiff peaks are formed when the beaters are removed. Gently beat whites and vanilla (or other flavoring) into sugar mixture until just combined. Pour mixture into the oiled baking pan. Sift 1/4 cup confectioners sugar evenly over top. Chill marshmallow in the refrigerator, uncovered, until firm, approximately three hours, and not longer than one day.

To remove from pan, run a thin knife around edges and invert pan onto a large cutting board. Lifting up (or peeling back) one corner of inverted pan, with dry fingers to loosen the marshmallow and ease it out of the pan and onto cutting board. With a large knife, or oiled pizza cutter, trim edges of marshmallow and cut marshmallow into roughly two-inch cubes (you can cut them smaller but I love these large oversize pillows of candy). Sift remaining confectioners’ sugar back into your now-empty baking pan, and roll the marshmallows through it, dusting all sides.

Makes about 48 2-inch cubed marshmallows.

Keep marshmallows keep in an airtight container at cool room temperature for 1-2 weeks.