Origin of Our Family Peep Roast

The most common question I hear is, “How did you ever think of this?” and so allow me to share the story.

Peeps always made a habit of showing up in hospital nursing units; why, I am not exactly sure of.  Perhaps mothers brought them from home hoping to stash them away from already sugar filled children, or perhaps nurses didn’t want to get caught eating them at home.

I do know that most every nursing unit had at least one nurse obsessed with the sugar coated critters and loves dispersing them in the hospital units.

As was the case in a hospital unit I was working in.

“I like to warm them up in the microwave oven”, tells me a nurse as she sets the timer for ten seconds.

“Here try one”, she says pulling out the Peep on a napkin.

The Peep is indeed warm and soft in my mouth and actually doesn’t taste that bad. 

So I begin “nuking” Peeps.  Yet, as several people who know me can attest, I don’t have a good track record with microwave ovens.  In fact one hospital banned me from using them as I had set two on fire in one month’s time.

Forgetting to set the ten second timer I had left a Peep to roast in the oven for far too long and got my first witness of a Peep blowing up to three or four times its normal size before imploding into a shape resembling a fried egg.

This was way more fun than simply eating ten second nuked Peeps!

That evening I saved some of the Peeps to take home and show my daughters. 

“That’s sick!” they exclaimed, staring fascinated with the cute Peeps turning into giant blobs. 

Later that evening we relaxed on the patio enjoying the flame from the fire pit.  I threw a Peep on the hot coals to see if the same results from the microwave would happen.  It didn’t, but instead made a unique sizzle effect before melting into a slimy blob.

Jesse, my oldest daughter, watched the blob slide down the hot coals and says, “I wonder how they would taste roasted and made into a smore?”  

And so our annual Easter tradition was born.

Peep Roasted!

Peep Pictures

Upon hearing that the Peep Party is actually a roast

some Peeps make a run for it.

Peeps lining up for the Roast.

A crowd gathers at news of a Peep Party. 

They don't yet understand what this means.

A Peep perfect Roast.

A Peep Perfect Roast

California Peep Roast; the Tradition Spreads.

This year we combined a Peep roast with a farewell party, in hopes of spreading this Peep tradition wherever we go.  Next week is San Diego for the traditional Easter Peep Roast and welcome party.

Award Winning PEEP roast picture

PEEP Jousting!

After the Sacrificial PEEP has been offered up, the solemn moment gives way for some fun time. That includes Peep Jousting.

Simply arm your PEEPs with a toothpick joust, have them face off and place into the micro-wave oven.  Turn on the micro-wave, and let the joust battle begin!

First PEEP Film

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4s2VlUUCMY&feature=related