Jillian was coming to spend the Mardi Gras weekend with Norm and me. Why would a twenty-somethings choose to spend a quiet weekend in the country rather than to partake of the raucous good time in the Big Easy?

It must be the cooking! Well, partly anyway. And because I have such sweet sweeties, I just had to have something waiting for them when they walked through my kitchen door.

I found this idea in our grocery store’s monthly circular, but I tweaked it a bit as I always do – you know, to make things a little more “me.”

Chocolate- and Candy-Covered Marshmallows

Yield: 30-35 marshmallow candies 

Ingredients:

1 bag large marshmallows
1 cup chocolate chips, melted
1 cup royal icing
various candy decorations

• Arrange the marshmallows on a sheet of waxed paper and insert a toothpick into each one.
• Pour the candy decorations into dishes.
• Melt the chocolate in the microwave according to package directions.
• Make 1 cup of royal icing.
• Let the chocolate cool slightly so that the marshmallows don’t melt when you dip them.
• Dip a marshmallow in the chocolate or the royal icing.

• Then dip (sides first) marshmallow into the candy and coat the icing.
• Dip a conversation heart into the icing then stick onto the top of the marshmallow.
• Cool and eat when the icing hardens.

Low and behold, what was the first thing Norm did when he sauntered into the kitchen? He headed straight for the oak table and popped a whole Valentine into his mouth. “Mmmmmmmmmm. That’s good,” he drawled in his unapologetically charming Southern accent. Happy Valentine’s Day (and Mardi Gras!), y’all. Laissez les bons temps rouler!