Ringing in 2011 with a Top 10 list, and a Giveaway!

Happy New Year friends!  2010 has officially come to a close, and what a year it has been.  On the rollercoaster of life, this blog has been a consistent high point, and I get such happiness from sharing my love of food with each of you every day. Throughout this past year, I hope The Cilantropist has given you delicious recipes that helped you experience the simple joys of eating well and sharing good food with friends and family.  I have so many exciting ideas to share with you in 2011, and I can't wait to get started; I hope you will continue to pull up a comfy chair and follow along with me on my adventures.  

But first, lets take a little look back at 2010 and your favorite posts and recipes!  I chose the Top 10 based on pageviews, twitter, reader comments and emails; not surprisingly, many of the top posts were from Project Food Blog, where I made i my mission to put my very best food forward and improve the quality of my blog by leaps and bounds.  So, without further ado, here are the The Cilantropist's Top 10 post of 2011!    

1. The post where I shared my lunch menu for A Presidio Picnic, with Italian Pressed Sandwiches is by far the most viewed post on The Cilantropist.  The post includes a recipe for Sopressata and Provolone Italian Pressed Sandwiches, which I also made for a post-Project Food Blog Celebration, and is the most popular recipe with readers.  For the lunch, we also enjoyed Parmesan and Gruyere Cheese Straws from Barefoot in Paris by Ina Garten, as well as Spiced Pear and Cranberry Pocket Pies.  The Pocket Pies were a huge hit as well, and I can't wait to make them this summer with peaches! 

Making S'mores from Scratch: Homemade Marshmallows and Graham Crackers

I have great news!  I have advanced to the fourth round of Project Food Blog!!!  Thanks SO much for you all your votes, and I hope you will continue to support me during this round!  Voting is officially open, so check out my entry on Foodbuzz and vote here!  

This thrilling news means that I have another post for you this Sunday that is part of the competition.  I hope you all enjoyed my Luxury Dinner post from last week, but this time I wanted to focus on something a little more lighthearted and fun.  And honestly, can you think of anything more fun than s'mores?  I can.  S'mores made with homemade marshmallows and graham crackers.  Oh yeah.  These are the real thing, no jet puffed pillows or plastic enclosed crackers here.  

When I decided to go camping this weekend, I knew the trip could not be complete without sweet graham crackers, rich chocolate, and sticky, gooey marshmallows for s'mores.  So make sure you keep reading all the way until the end of this post, so you can check out some serious flames as we toasted the marshmallows over our campfire.  No plans to go camping anytime soon?  No worries, there is no shame in toasting these babies over your grill or gas burner on your stovetop.  In fact, I completely support any methods that allow you to enjoy a delicious s'more; just make sure you don't burn your house down in pursuit of marshmallow goodness. 

To tell you about my experience of making these marshmallows and graham crackers, I am going to do things a little differently this time.  While I usually regale you with kitchen tales and general ramblings, and then share my recipes  at the end of my posts, this time I will be walking you through step-by-step how to complete each recipe.  There are loads of photos and helpful tips, so making marshmallows and graham crackers on your own should be easy-peasy.  And let me tell you, the graham crackers were good, but the marshmallows were out-of-this-world.  Truly, they are nothing like the ones you can buy in the store, and I will definitely never buy them again!  If you want a printable recipe, I will be adding to this post by the end of next week.