Ham Sandwich Indicted!

It's the holiday season, kids...the time of year to dig out old traditions, dust off old recipes, and wax poetic about the past.  Unexpectedly smacked by a wave of nostalgia, this past weekend I channeled the ghost of my paternal grandmother, Bertha, and busted out a classic German cookie recipe.  We called them "German S Cookies" and after searching the Internet for recipes, apparently so does everyone else...I guess it goes to the practicality of the German mindset. They're not much more than a basic shortbread, with the addition of egg yolks and lemon zest, but it's their simplicity that makes them so enjoyable. They're just slightly sweetened, the sort of cookie you can graze on absentmindedly while enjoying some eggnog at a holiday party. As far as I can tell, the "s" shape might relate to similar cookies called  Spritzgebäck   that are made with a cookie press and shaped into random letters/shapes. One recipe ( this one), refers to them ...

Brunch. That amazing combination of breakfast (eggs a million ways, waffles, sausage gravy) and lunch (Bloody Marys) that is situated just late enough in the day that you don't have to set an alarm to get to it on time.  Fancy or casual, eggs Benedict or eggs over easy, it's easily tailored to suit your mood (or degree of hangover).  If you're a brunch fan--and seriously, who isn't?--the talented (and wonderfully dedicated to a cause) Nick Dekker just published a spectacular book ( Breakfast with Nick , natch) on all the great places in Columbus to get your breakfast (and by proxy, brunch) fix. He does an excellent job covering everything from greasy spoons, to doughnut shops, to upscale brunches.  If you love breakfast, you should totally buy this book--it's an excellent reference guide, showcasing off the beaten path holes-in-the-wall as well as classic standbys. Reading it on an empty stomach will make you very, very hungry. ...Anyway, while Nick has...

What exactly is a marshmallow? We toss them in hot chocolate, melt them into Rice Krispie treats, and top our sweet potato casseroles with them.  They're obviously made with (a lot) of sugar, but what else gives them that soft, melty-chewy texture?  And can you make them at home?  (The answer to that last one is an unequivocal 'yes.') Per Wikipedia (and other assorted websites), the marshmallow first appeared in ancient Egypt, where Egyptians used sap extracted from the marsh-growing mallow plant ( Althaea officinalis ) to create a type of candy; in the Middle Ages they used it medicinally   to soothe sore throats. The French later used the sap in combination with whipped egg whites and sugar to produce a meringue called   pâte de guimauve,   but it was apparently very labor intensive to whip to the desired consistency.  Sometime in the 1800s, producers determined that they could use gelatin mixed with corn starch to get to the right chewy/fluff...