Because sometimes you just need a milkshake.

I read a quote in a magazine the other day that described me so perfectly, I wanted to tear out the page and paste it on my wall. No, I wanted to get the quote screen-printed on several different t-shirts of various colors, so that I could wear said quote-shirt as often as possible:

"One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating." --Luciano Pavarotti

If that doesn't give you a warm, fuzzy feeling inside, I don't know what will. I love food. 

Mike received a cookbook for Christmas entitled "The Good Stuff Cookbook: Burgers, Fries, Shakes, Wedges, and More". We've pored over it a few times, drooling over the pictures of various delicacies, and waiting for the day when we would pig out on an entire meal from this cookbook. We had the recipes picked a few weeks ago (yes, seriously) for our burger-fry-shake extravaganza and it all went down on Friday night.

And before you feel bad for me over all the calories I'm sure I consumed, just stop. Remember the credo: "Everything in Moderation."

We made burgers, that were neatly wrapped in wax paper to catch the delicious drippings of the sauced bun, roasted mushrooms, caramelized onions, and two types of cheese. We made our own fries that were coated in sea salt, thyme, and rosemary. We also made toasted marshmallow milkshakes that were to DIE for. All of these components took quite a while to make, so when we finally did sit down to eat, it was well into the night. But as grease dripped down my chin, Mike and I made eye contact over those delicious burgers, and with expressions of glee and full bellies, we agreed that our gorge was worth it.

Since my picture didn't turn out very well, this is a picture of our burger at the restaurant The Good Stuff Eatery in Washington, DC. Someone please go there....right now!

And since I won't be having another night like this for a while, here is the recipe for the toasted marshmallow milkshake. If you make it, I promise to live vicariously through you.

Toasted Marshmallow Milkshake (double yum)--Serves 4

• 1 16-oz bag of jumbo-sized mallows
• 2 cups whole milk
• 2 cups creamy vanilla ice cream
• 1 T sour cream

Preheat the broiler. Reserve 4 marshmallows for garnish, and place the rest on a baking sheet in a single layer. (I recommend lining your baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon sheet, because the little buggers do get sticky/messy.) Place the pan under the broiler and cook, stirring a few times, until completely charred. (Be careful to watch them, because they take a minute or two to become golden, but after that you could very easily pull out a pan of flaming mallows like I did. They were a bit charred, all right, and I was afraid I had ruined the shake and that Mike would be sad, but the char was nice, because it tasted like a campfire in my mouth...in a good way.) Cool the marshmallows down. Take the four reserved mallows and toast until lightly golden. (Or do what we did and use a creme brulee flaming device...its fun and you don't have to watch the oven as much.) Add milk, ice cream, sour cream, and mallows to a blender and blend for 5 minutes. The color of the shake will turn darker, depending on how burnt your mallows are. Pour shake into 4 glasses, top with your golden marshmallow, and ENJOY.