I need to blog this, because I make it often enough that I get annoyed about having to find my favorite recipe in a cookbook.  Yet somehow I don’t make it often enough to have the exact proportions memorized.  Digitization, here we come.

This makes about half a cup, which is more than we need in a sitting, but it’s as far down as I can reduce the recipe reliably.

Aioli

• 1 egg yolk + half an egg white (just approximate)
• a dab of dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp salt (or 1 tsp kosher salt)
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice (I’ve used lime too)
• 1 large clove garlic or a couple of small ones, peeled
• 1/4 cup olive oil mixed with 1/4 cup mild-flavored oil (canola, peanut, whatever)

Place yolk, white, mustard, salt, lemon juice, and garlic in a food processor.  Pulse until the garlic is well-minced.  With the motor running, veeeeeeery slowly drizzle in the oil blend—just the thinnest drip.  Once you’ve got a good emulsion going, you can dribble faster, but let at least half the mixture get well emulsified before you get brave.   It should get pretty thick, and it will thicken further when refrigerated.

You can refrigerate this for a day or so, but don’t let it go much longer than that.

I was trying to get the boys organized to take them out for lunch, but Miles was absorbed in an imaginative game.

A:  Are you getting hungry for lunch?

M:  Yeah.

A:  Okay, let’s go get some clothes on.

M:  No, I mean after I save the world.

Background:  when Miles makes a demand, I often say, “Can you ask more nicely than that?”  He then tacks a “please” on the end.  I usually let it pass at that level, but Denny often makes him repeat the whole sentence politely.  Denny has recently rejoined us after being away for a few days.

M:  More graham crackers!

A:  Can you ask more nicely than that?

M:  Please.  (pause)  And I warn you, do not boss me around into saying the whole thing.

I saw this idea somewhere, and I thought Miles would have fun doing it.  Lo, I was right.  It was really quite easy.

1.  Take your favorite sugar cookie dough (I confess we used store-bought for this quickie project) and roll it out.

2.  Use a cookie cutter or do like we did and use a drinking glass to cut out pretty big circles (maybe 3″ in diameter).

3.  Bake cookies as directed.  Cool completely.

4.  While the cookies are baking and cooling, work on the marshmallows.  Take as many big marshmallows as you have cookies and snip off part of one edge.  That will make it sit at an angle on the cookie and make it look like the snowman is looking down at his ruined body in horror.

5.  Decorate the marshmallows with decorator frosting, sprinkles, whatever you like.

6.  Take some white frosting and warm it up.  It took about 15 seconds in my microwave to get a nice liquidy (but not TOO liquidy) consistency.  Using a spoon, pour an irregular blob of frosting onto the cookie.  Place the marshmallow.

7.  Let it set for a few minutes, then add more decorations, like sprinkle buttons and stick arms.  If you have the time and patience, you could add even more things, like fallen tophats and scarves.

8.  Munch munch munch.