Juli has
submitted these PEEP recipes (found at rec.food.cooking) and
volunteered to bring PEEP S'mores makin's!
PEEP salad
The pink or yellow peeps are better for this. Lavender ones make
the salad greyish...shudder.
10 Peeps, whole
3 just ripe bananas, 1/2 inch dice
2 large navel oranges, sectioned, 1/2 inch pieces, and juice from one
more
12 maraschino cherries, halved
1/2 cup shredded coconut
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon orange-flavored liqueur
1/4 cup finely chopped macadamias, or pecans, or almonds
Mix all the ingredients, allow to macerate for a couple of hours,
stirring a few times.
Serve as dessert with coconut cookies.
From an esthetics point of view, it's best to eat this "treat(?)"
the same day it is made. But it's better the next day, after the
Peeps have dissolved a bit...and you can't see <involuntary
shudder> their eyes anymore. (Which is why I'm only an honorary
Elbonian, you see.)
PEEP S'mores
You can do this with graham crackers and milk chocolate, but the
result looks rather disgusting, as though the bunny had fallen into a
mud puddle...or worse.
I recommend you try white chocolate and flat sugar or coconut
cookies. For an extra, festive touch, add some sprinkles to the top
cookie before putting your S'More in the microwave.
Each S'More requires 2 marshmallow Peep-style bunnies, 2 cookies,
2 squares of white chocolate bar candy, and optional 1/4 teaspoon
sprinkles. Arrange them so that there are bunny ears sticking out
from under the cookie.
These are assembled and heated in the microwave (or conventional)
oven just as you would regular S'Mores.
I must caution you against doing these over a dying campfire,
however. Not only is the sight of a marshmallow bunny on a stick
unnerving, the ears usually fall into the fire, since they are the
most vulnerable part of the bunny. You could try eating the ears off
before inserting the stick, I suppose, but then what would be the use
of using bunnies? The whole esthetics of the experience will be
diminished.
Peeps on a stick, though, are hilarious! Their little faces puff
up and distort into the most comical expressions I've ever seen. But,
then, whose wouldn't, right? I mean, having a twig shoved in one end
and out the other, then being held over fiercely glowing coals until
your skin is toasted and your insides begin to ooze and blister.
<Snort-wheeze-chortle-gasp-and-pant>
I think I may have quit my therapy sessions too early. Is there a
MAAA (Marshmallow Animal Abusers Anonymous) meeting anywhere today?
No-o-o-o! Please don't take my Easter basket away! I'll be good, I
promise! I won't touch them, not even the purple ones, which even God
must despise...just let me keep my basket...pul-l-e-e-e-e-z-e!
<whimper-sniffle-sob!>
And I promise not to dress them up or make them act out the
crucifixion scene or tie a string around their necks and tease the
cat with them. Just please don't take away my backie.
Please.
PEEP: Blue Danube Peep Bavarian Cream Pie
Violets are now in the ground, so I can turn my attention to
culinary matters. Or, should I say, pseudo-culinary matters?
Just finished reading an article in the local paper about Peeps.
Did you know each little box of 5 Peeps in a 3-box package is
referred to as a family? How quaint. Each Peep is worth 32 calories,
no fat or cholesterol. Each 'family' is 160 calories.
This pie requires one cookie crumb- or graham cracker crust. The
pink Peeps look nice in the chocolate cookie crust. The blue...well,
the blue ones rank right up there with those abominable lavender
chickies, in my opinion, so use whichever crust you like for them.
Ingredients:
1 cookie crumb pie crust
1 four-serving box blue gelatin
1 cup boiling water
1 cup whole milk (or half-and-half/light cream)
3 cups cold, but thawed non-dairy whipped topping
2 tablespoons Curaco (sp?) or similar blue liqueur
15 (1 package of 3 boxes) blue Peeps
1 cup fresh blueberries for garnish
Freeze crust while you prepare the pie filling. Pour one cup
boiling water over gelatin in heat proof bowl. Stir to dissolve
gelatin. Add 1 cup cold milk and liqueur. Blend well and refrigerate
until gelatin has thickened, but not set firm. Fold in thawed topping
to chilled gelatin mixture. Mix completely so that no streaks remain,
but avoid overworking. Spoon filling into frozen crust. Snip apart
each family of Peeps. Arrange in concentric circles atop pie filling.
Use fresh blueberries to fill in gaps between Peeps. Refrigerate for
at least three hours.
Peeps refrigerated for longer than 36 hours will begin to "weep"
and ooze melted sugar. With the blue or lavender Peeps, this is a
particularly disgusting sight.
Serve with Blue Genie cocktail or blue Kool-aid.