Friday Faves and Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookie S'mores Recipe

S’mores. The quintessential summer experience. I could have said treat, but really, isn’t the act of making s’mores more of an experience?

It’s not like the recipe is a toughie: graham crackers, chocolate bars and soft, gooey marshmallows. Not a lot of ingredients, not a lot of time invested. But the care and crafting that goes into making a s’more. Now that’s a skill.

In honor of National S’mores Day, I’m presenting to you my personal guide to strategizing the best approach to the toastiest roasted S’more and my top 10 list of this week’s favorite things.

Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookie S’mores
makes as many as you have stamina to roast

ingredients:
large campfire marshmallows
honey graham crackers
chocolate bars broken into halves
Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies or nutella, coconut, nuts, whatever you crave
a hot fire
a lot of patience

Step 1: Choose the perfect grilling utensil. Select something long and hopefully semi-straight. Where are all of those old dry-cleaner hangers when you need them? Will a stick work best? But how sharp will the end need to be? Maybe you should give in and invest in some permanent tools.

Step 2: Take position. Aim for the center of the longest part of the mallow. Keep it steady and straight, striking through the other end while careful not to pierce it too far or else removing marshmallow post-roasting will prove gooey.

Step 3: Claim your territory. Analyze the fire. Where are the flames flickering the hardest and where are the embers burning brightest? If you like a lightly toasted marshmallow, go for the embers nestled under the woods. If you prefer a charred mess, head straight for the flames.

Step 4: Watch it or you’re toast. Carefully rotate marshmallow. Beware of lopsided roasting which could result in a dropped s’more. Or worse, a flaming mallow. Get out of there soldier, get out! It only takes a second too long in the heat of the moment before your s’more goes up in flames.

Step 5: Put ingredients on standby. Graham crackers? Check. Chocolate? Check. Mint Girl Scout Cookies? Check and check!!

Step 6: Open mouth and devour. Have wet wipes and large glass of milk nearby for clean up support.

And now, a few Friday Faves.

1. My sweet lil’ sis spent a few weeks in Provence this summer and sent me these as a little gift. I’m not sure if I can bear to wipe a dish with them they’re so pretty Get yours here.

2. I discovered Alina’s blog this week and was quickly besotted with this Russian living in Texas’ Carrot Cake with gorgeous photography and styling.

3. Speaking of food styling and gorgeous photography, don’t miss Sylvie’s interviews and tutorials in her Summer Food Photography Series. I am obsessed. Did I mention she’s giving away a copy of Adobe Lightroom4?

4. Do you need a little blog focus? Or re-focus? Do you need new ideas about what content you’re creating. Or more importantly what aren’t you creating that you should be? It seems like I am always looking for ideas for improvement, going to conferences, reading tutorials, etc.

But I have a secret weapon that guides me in a personal, one-on-one way that I haven’t found anywhere else. Her name is Courtney.

Can I tell you that FoodieCrush wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for her? That I wouldn’t have had a plan to quit my full time job to go out on my own? Honestly, its true. And I’m going to share her with you, because she always shares with me.

Here’s how you can work with her to discover the blog you never knew you possessed the skills to create, or leave the job that’s tying you down and live the life you crave. Do it. Seriously. The best investment you’ll make all year. Maybe ever.

Our Life Recipe – Todd Porter, Diane Cu & Sierra from Todd Porter & Diane Cu on Vimeo.

5. Emily’s post reminded me of how I bawled my eyes out at the Evo Conference after watching this video from White on Rice. Just try to get through it without a tissue, I dare you.

6. Which leads us to another great conference I’ll be going to. I’m boning up on my Dirty Dancing moves to shake off the nerves when I speak at the Mixed Conference in December, held at the same hotel the ultimate chick flick of 1987 was filmed. Oh and KitchenAid is giving away a 7 quart mixer to anyone who buys a ticket before August 13. As if you needed any other incentive to play Patrick Swayze to my Jennifer Gray…

7. Time to update the RSS feed again with another ‘best of’ food blogger list. Are there some new faces you didn’t know about? Tell me who are your faves, or maybe who’s missing from the list.

8. Kevin gives us 10 more reasons to LOVE bacon

9. As of Sunday the Olympics are offically closed but thankfully our obsession with Kate will continue to burn bright. I mean seriously! Can I have a bigger girl crush? I digress…back to the Olympics (see what she does?) Although this Olympic themed party is for Emily’s 3 year old it could easily be adapted for a grand finale, Olympic sized get together. Torch cupcakes? You bet! Enjoy them now, it’s four more years until we meet again.

10. And if you haven’t downloaded my free August 2012 Food Blogger Calendar so you’ll know when all the cool themed foodie days are—like National S’mores Day—what are you waiting for? August is almost half way gone!

Thanks for reading and please keep in touch. Subscribe to Foodie Crush and follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest and check out Foodie Crush magazine and Cookie Cravings cookbook.