I like to imagine past presidents being movie or music reviewers. Thomas Jefferson would probably be like a thinking man's Chuck Klosterman. Lincoln is probably Sasha Frere-Jones. I think Woodrow Wilson would be like Alex Ross. I expect Andrew Johnson to be way into hair metal or weird slasher movies. A.O. Scott reminds me of Jimmy Carter.
Re: my previous ideas about marshmallows. I started making some small batches of a few of them.
Root Beer - I just replaced all of the water in the recipe with root beer. The results were good. It was a subtle (too subtle), vaguely medicinal flavor. With the vanilla, it has a nice root beer float smell that reminds me of summer. For next time: use more root beer, which will require reducing it down more.
Balsamic Vinegar - I used some okay (not great) vinegar for this - a 10 year old one, kind of fruity, little sweet. I liked the result, it was weird. Subtle - echoes of the vinegar. It's a dislocating taste. Familiar, but the strange texture throws you off. Probably need more vinegar next time, little less sugar.
I did another with browned butter. I wasn't patient with the gelatin blooming and it didn't take shape. Peanut Butter was an unmitigated disaster. Think "Pluto Nash."
Other ideas: Campari or something else that's bitter.
