I realize that many of you are probably still feeling full from heaping plates of Thanksgiving turkey, pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes and ladlefuls of gravy. If that is the case, you may want to turn away and revisit this post when you are feeling hungry again. On the other hand, it doesn’t hurt to look, right?

After making Scotch Eggs from the Foodista Cookbook, Brad and I decided we had to make these No Bake Frozen S’more Bars. I mean, no baking? Yes please! And since they are frozen, you can keep them in the freezer for the perfect surprise dinner party dessert.

I found the bars to be easy to make, full of wonderful flavors (how can you go wrong with marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate?) and delightfully delicious to look at. I had to make one substitution- I couldn’t find graham crackers here in Tokyo, so I bought some waffle-like cookies that worked beautifully. They were crunchy and added the perfect amount of textural contrast. The addition of vanilla yogurt, though unexpected, adds a nice tang to the chocolate to cut through some of the richness.

I’m gonna be honest- this dessert is not for the faint of heart. It is rich, gets all over your fingers, and it is very addicting. You’ve been warned! Click here for the recipe: http://www.foodista.com/recipe/F83XLSFV/no-bake-frozen-smores-bars.

Today I was riding my bicycle home from work thinking about how different this year has been. The first two years living here in Tokyo were slow-paced. Life seemed to drag by slowly. Slowly but sweetly. Oh yeah, and sometimes bitterly. Moving to a new country when you’ve lived within the same small radius for 20-some odd years is one of those things that conjures up a wealth of feelings. Feelings you didn’t know you had and that sneak up on you in the middle of the night. Yes, the first two years were a roller-coaster ride of confusion, shock, and excitement, but also calm, quiet, moseying-along type moments.

This year, on the other hand- the hand that isn’t even attached to the same body- has been nothing like that. It’s been a whooshing whirlwind of grey static. The kind you see on the TV that looks like a snow storm. It’s like so many things have been happening and changing that I forgot to adjust the antenna to make the picture clearer. The priorities I’ve had in place have been shattered like the martini glass I dropped on the floor the other night. (That was the last of 4 martini glasses, by the way. Not cool.)

Somehow in the rush of the past few months I have not allowed something very exciting  to sink in. I’ve also neglected to share this news with all of you. Tokyo Terrace has officially been published in a real live cookbook! It still feels unreal. I feel like I just typed something that is simply not true. It’s like a drop of water sitting on those pants from Dockers that are water repellent. It just won’t soak in!

It goes without saying that I have been stunned with pleasure and pride since receiving the book, flipping through its pages, and realizing what a tremendous honor it is to be included with so many talented food bloggers in a printed book. And guess what? Mr. Terrace has one of his own recipes in the book as well! Mr. and Mrs. Terrace in the same book: my Lotus Root Chips and his Tuna Sashimi Salad. (To buy the book, click here!)

This past weekend, we decided to try a couple recipes from the book. Brad already knew exactly which recipes he wanted to try first: Scotch Eggs from A Taste of Savoie and No Bake S’More Bars from Married to Chocolate. And so that’s just what we did. Well, he ate after I cooked.

Scotch eggs are kind of incredible. I had never tried them before, but the idea seemed iron-clad. Eggs? Good. Bread crumbs? Good. Fried food? Gooooood. The eggs are surprisingly easy to make…easier than I expected anyway…and taste like crispy, creamy perfection. The center literally tastes like cheese and has a similar consistency to melted cheddar. I used homemade bread crumbs which created a crispy crust on the outside of the soft egg. The herbs in the bread crumbs (I used basil and parsley) brought a welcome brightness to every fried bite. And I love how the eggs fit perfectly in these pine wood boats from restaurantware.com! And the mini bamboo spoon? Um, meant to be!

I placed the eggs on top of a salad (seen in the first picture of the post) and drizzled a simple balsamic vinaigrette over the top. The balsamic soaked into the bread crumbs but did not change the crispness of the crust. It was the perfect light dinner with a glass of wine.

You can find the recipe for Vegetarian Scotch Eggs here. And please make sure to check out Sarah’s blog, A Taste of Savoie!

*You can purchase eco-friendly products like catering supplies and plastic plates from restaurantware.com and receive 10% off by entering the coupon code: tokyoterrace