TOASTED MARSHMALLOW GELATO MILKSHAKE

So I'm pretty excited because twice in a row now I've kept my resolution where I'm going to make something new and special in the kitchen once a week. And I have this thing for photographing food - like, I love it so much. It's my version of a zen rock garden. I could spend all day just moving the tiniest of details ever so slightly....

Lately I've been on this dessert kick, but with a trip to Mexico in my very near future and seeing my super-healthy friend's blog post here where she looks all hot and model-y, I think that my food post next week might have to be vegetables.... (I say that now, but I'll probably, totally make cookies - we'll see).

Anyways...

Toasted Marshmallow Gelato Milkshake..... with Homemade Almond Whipped Cream

(I used almond instead of vanilla extract in the whipped cream because the nuttiness goes so perfectly with the woodsy/campfire-y taste of the milkshake - and I had a little left over from my cake last week - perfect! HOWEVER, you don't have to use almond extract in order to make this recipe. You can make normal whipped cream. Or no whipped cream. It's really not about the whipped cream.)

For the Milkshake // makes 2 servings

18 large marshmallows
1/4 cup of milk
2 cups of vanilla gelato

1. Preheat the broiler.

2. Place gelato and milk in blender (as the marshmallows are easiest to deal with right away before they've cooled and hardened again, I like to have everything ready to go when they come out of the oven).

3. Place the marshmallows on a foil-lined baking sheet and broil for 3 minutes.

4. Add the charred marshmallows to the blender and mix until the marshmallows disappear and it's the consistency of, well, a milkshake.

For the Whipped Cream

1 cup of heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon of confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon of almond extract

1. In a large bowl (I read somewhere to chill the bowl and whisks before using), whip cream until stiff peaks are about to start forming. Add vanilla and sugar and beat until peaks form. Don't over-beat to the point it starts looking like butter.