I went to big lengths to make a fancy dinner. What stole the show? The 16 dollar table top hibachi grill we used for indoor S’mores.

Does it sound like I’m complaining? I’m not. I love anything that garners oohs and ahs. And considering how simple this was to do, this did in a big way! And let’s face it – while summer may be the season for s’mores, it’s often too damn hot for a campfire, building fires are often a task, keeping them lit a chore, and putting them out a pain. Okay, I’m not this negative, but let me tell you, on a 90 degree day, forgoing the hassle of a fire is a relief in of itself. This mini table top grill, a plate of s’mores fixins, and sitting inside at your table? That’s the perfect blend of showmanship and convenience.

The tabletop grill is roughly the size of a large coffee mug. You fill it with sterno fuel, light it, and the party begins. Realistically, because the grill is small, I would say it’s best to have one for every two people. We had a dinner party for six people, and while we had three, we could have been fine with two. I do find though, that it’s most fun to partner up with another person and have one per couple. The grill is small enough that you’ll only realistically be able to roast one marshmallow at a time.

My dog Friday was captivated. His dreams of trying one went unfulfilled.

We did want to add a slight twist, so in addition to the typical Hershey bars, we also added in the ‘thin’ Reese’s peanut butter cups. Of course, peanut butter is a crowd pleaser, so that was a hit too. I’m tell you, your friends and family will really enjoy the whole experience!

There are lots of links for table top hibachi grills, but to find the one I got, visit my Amazon storefront, where I list my cooking and Snackist favorites!

Of course, with any fire, you have to use caution. Sterno is regularly used indoors, but because this is not your traditional use, you want to exercise caution and not let kids run wild without supervision.

A pudding fit for a queen…or anyone who likes British desserts.

I think I would like to be a member of the royal family for no other reason than to have full access to a premiere chef with an envoy of desserts in his arsenal ready to be whipped up at any given time. I’d want my royal title to be Prince of Desserts. I would want to sit a top my royal scone. And I would surely let my kingdom eat cake. But since this all sounds like a delusional daydream brought on by low blood sugar, perhaps I should just learn how make one of the Queen Elizabeth’s favorite desserts from her former chef, Darren McGrady. Luckily for me on the latest installment of his YouTube series, McGrady shares a dessert recipe fit for royalty.

According to the former royal chef, Summer Pudding is one of the Queen’s favorite desserts and is perfect to make this time of year. The pudding is dairy free showcasing mostly bread and berries and was a healthy alternative to some the heavier puddings Britain was famous for back in the 19th-century. The Buckingham Palace chefs nicknamed the pudding “Grease Pudding” as they would often insert its name into the lyrics from the hit musical; “Summer pudding, happened so fast…Summer pudding, had me a blast.” McGrady even sings a few bars before realizing that we are really just here for the desserts…Luckily he is an expert at making desserts and nice enough to share his secret ingredient too (spoiler alert: vanilla paste), making this tutorial totally worth watching!

Summer Pudding

Ingredients:

2 lb mixed berries (strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, and cherries)

1 ½ cups sugar (optional)

½ cup water

8 slices hearty white bread, several days old

1 tsp vanilla paste

sprigs of mint for garnish

1. In a large pan add the cherries first, along with the sugar (optional)
2. Once the cherries soften, add the strawberries, then the blackberries, and then the blueberries
3. Let simmer
4. Meanwhile, slice the bread. Create a circle to fit the bottom of a bowl. Piece the rest of the bread together at an angle to mold to the shape of the inside of the bowl.
5. Add the raspberries to the berry mixture
6. Drizzle fruit with McGrady’s “secret ingredient” aka vanilla paste
7. Drain the juice from the fruit mixture
8. Dip the circlular bread into the juice and lay on the bottom of the bowl
9. Do the same thing with the rest of the bread until you create a mold
10. Spoon the berries into the middle, adding some more bread on top
11. Refrigerate for around six hours, saving some leftover juice for later
12. After taking it out of the fridge, gently remove the pudding from the bowl by using a spatula to ease out the edges, then turn it upside down, giving it a little shake, and lift
13. Drizzle the remaining juice and place the mint on top of the pudding for garnish.
14. Voila! Your royal dessert is ready!

There you have it, a berry good dessert that would make any peasant feel like queen for a day…or at least a meal. You can check out more of McGrady’s royal creations here!

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Perfect for making sure your celebration is a hootie-hoot.

The grill gets all the glory at 4th of July celebrations but what cookout would be complete without a little patriotic dessert? Well luckily for us the confectionary queen Carla Hall gave a virtual appearance on The Talk earlier this week and shared a recipe for her Mixed Berry Shortcake Mug Cake. And let me just say it looks good enough to stick a flag in.

In my opinion Carla can do no wrong. Her recipes match her cheery disposition so you know anything she makes is going to put a smile on your face. This recipe seems pretty straight forward even though it contains the word “macerate.” (Don’t worry though, that’s just a fancy way of saying the fruit will soften as you let it sit.) The best part about Carla’s celebratory confection is that eating the entire mug is much more calorie conscious than eating an entire sheet cake so you are really doing your body a favor here. It’s simple math really.

Here’s the recipe:

Then you just assemble the dessert with the cake on the bottom, berries in the middle and the whipped cream on top and voila the perfect Independence Day dessert is complete. If you want to see Carla make the dessert from start to finish check out the video below!

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Wednesday, hosts @CarrieAnnInaba and @MarieOsmond team up and help Emmy-award winning TV host and chef @CarlaHall prepare a mixed berry shortcake mug cake. Head to thetalk.com for this recipe.

A post shared by The Talk (@thetalkcbs) on Jul 1, 2020 at 4:24pm PDT

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