Brownie Heaven

The baking seal has been broken. No holds barred. And that means one thing. It’s brownie time.

You might ask why these are better than the other 30,481 brownie recipes you have. Let me count the ways. They use pantry ingredients, making them a breeze to whip up at the last minute. They’re startlingly chocolatey. The fudge factor is out of this world. They are, quite simply, scrumptious.

Photo from Gourmet

The BEST Cocoa Brownies

10 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon instant coffee or espresso powder
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 325F. Line an 8×8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or foil.

Combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt in either a medium heatproof bowl or double boiler (nested inside a larger pot of simmering water). Either on the stovetop or using the microwave, heat the mixture slowly, stirring from time to time until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth and hot enough that you want to remove your finger fairly quickly after dipping it in to test.

Remove the bowl and set aside briefly until the mixture has cooled to warm. If it’s a little bit gritty, worry not — it will smooth out once the eggs and flour are added.

Stir in the vanilla, and then add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer. Then, stire some more. Mix in the chocolate chips, and spread evenly in the lined pan.

Bake until a toothpick plunged into the center emerges slightly moist with batter, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool completely. When cool, Lift up the ends of the parchment or foil liner, and transfer the brownies to a cutting board.

Peanut Butter and Chocolate, Drool

I swore off baking. Well, I tried to swear off baking. But then, you find a recipe that just begs you to make it. The way it follows you and sticks in your brain, it might as well be throwing fluffy oodles of puppy love your way.  Who am I to say no to that?

This recipe was a begger. It wouldn’t let me go. I had to abide.

All I can say is this recipe might beg, but it’s for good reason. Make these. Make these now. If you weren’t a believer that peanut butter and chocolate should live in a cozy little house together, you’re about to be. You’re welcome. Or. I’m sorry.

Photo from Kitchen Magpie

Double Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
Kitchen Magpie

1 ½ cups cups old-fashioned rolled oats
¼ cup of flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
½ cup margarine or butter
¼ cup natural peanut butter
1 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup salted whole peanuts
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the oats, flour and baking soda together in a small bowl and set aside.

Take the sugar, butter, and peanut butter and mix until the mixture is pale and fluffy, then add in the eggs and vanilla then mix until combined. Add the oat mixture and mix until just combined, then it’s time for the peanuts and chocolate chips!

Drop by large tablespoon onto a parchment lined sheet (don’t crowd them..they spread). Bake cookies until golden brown , about 9-11 minutes. You want to let them be slightly underbaked and then cool them on the sheets completely.

**If you don’t cool them on the sheets they WILL fall apart! My first attempt did. I was sad. But then persevered for a successful round two because, ohhhhmygoodness, crumbly round one tasted good.**

Mexican Birthday

Oh man, I am behind on posting!  A few weekends ago was a friend’s birthday, and it was the perfect opportunity to bring together a fun group of people for an evening of celebration.  Birthday girl’s request was for a Mexican-themed meal, so Mexican-themed meal it was.

My friend, Logan, can cook his butt off.  I mean, this guy produces food that puts several restauranteurs to shame.  His kimchi and roast pork quesadillas were mouthwatering, and his mole with papas fritas brings a tear to the eye.  I kid you not, this man has skill.

He was a tough act to follow, but alas, the show must go on. On tap for a group of 10: tamale pie, cilantro pesto enchiladas, cornbread, and bean salad. I was only going to post one or two recipes, but they were ALL delicious. And like a mother can’t pick a favorite child, how was I supposed to narrow down to just one recipe?!

Tamale Pie
From Moosewood Celebrates
Pie
2 cups onions, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 minced fresh green chili
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 cups water
1 cup stemmed and diced green beans
2 cups cubed potatoes
2 cups cubed sweet potatoes (Moosewood recommends peeling, but I live those babies intact!)
1 tablespoon fresh lime or lemon juice
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Filling
1 cup cornmeal
2 tablespoons unbleached white flour
½ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
½ cup diced red bell peppers
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
2 eggs, beaten
½ cup buttermilk
2 tbsp canola oil

Preheat the oven to 350F. In an ovenproof skillet or soup pot, saute the onions, garlic, salt, and chile in the oil until the onions start to brown, about 10 minutes.  Stir in the cumin. Add the water, green beans, potatoes, and sweet potatoes, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 20 more minutes, until the vegetables are tender.  Stir in the lime or lemon juice, transfer to the prepared baking ban, and sprinkle on the cheese.

In a bowl, stir together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, corn, bell peppers, and cilantro. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, buttermilk, and oil. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until mixed. Pour the topping over the stew and cheese and spread to cover evenly.

Bake for about 30 minutes, until a knife inserted in the topping comes out clean. Serve hot.


Cilantro Pesto Enchiladas
Pesto
1 bunch fresh cilantro, stems removed
4 cloves garlic
½ cup olive oil
¼ cup parmesan cheese
½ cup walnuts
salt to taste

Put all ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth. Feel free to add more garlic/olive oil/parmesan to your liking.

Filling
3 cups cooked chicken, diced or shredded
12 ounces cream cheese
1 (4 ounce) can diced green chilies or 1 fresh serrano, diced
20 corn tortillas

Sauce

1 cup canned chicken broth
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
pesto (see recipe above)

Directions
Heat filling ingredients in a skillet until the cream cheese melts Fill the corn tortillas (you can use flour shells, but they tend to get a bit mushy), roll, and line up in a 9x13 baking pan.

In a separate bowl, mix cilantro pesto with broth and cream. Cover enchiladas with sauce, saving some sauce to be poured after baking. Top with grated parmesan cheese and bake for 30 minute at 350F.

Add additional sauce and serve immediately.


Mexican Corn Bread
From Jane Brody’s “Good Food Book”
1 cup yellow corn meal
¾ cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 egg white
2 whole eggs
1 (15 ounce) can creamed corn
1 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
¼ seeded and chopped jalapeno pepper

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400F.

In a large bowl, combine the corn meal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set the bowl aside.

In a medium bowl, lightly beat the egg white and whole eggs, and combine them with the corn, buttermilk, butter, cheese, and peppers. Stir this mixture into the reserved corn meal mixture, until the ingredients are just combined.

Grease a 9-inch square pan or cast-iron skillter, and heat it for several minutes in the preheated oven before pouring batter into it.  Return the pan to the oven, and bake the bread for about 25 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean.


Mexican Bean Salad
From Allrecipes

1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 (10 ounce) package frozen corn kernels
1 red onion, chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1 clove crushed garlic
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 dash hot pepper sauce
1/2 teaspoon chili powder

Directions
In a large bowl, combine beans, bell peppers, frozen corn, and red onion.
In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, red wine vinegar, lime juice, lemon juice, sugar, salt, garlic, cilantro, cumin, and black pepper. Season to taste with hot sauce and chili powder.
Pour olive oil dressing over vegetables; mix well. Chill thoroughly, and serve cold.

Spicy Superbowl

Football is great, but who are we kidding? Superbowl is about the snacks! Chili, nachos, and dips galore are standard fare for any Superbowl get-together, so my goal was to make something that complemented those items but still had a little bit of its own personality. 

In an homage to North Carolina where I was first introduced to hush puppies, this spicier version adds a little bit of interest.  I have to admit that I have never fried anything before, and I quickly learned that oil heats up quickly and can get TOO hot to cook in. It's ok-I also learned that overcooked hush puppies are still yummy. 

Another lesson learned: If you put a kernel of unpopped corn in the oil, the kernel will pop when the oil reaches ~350F. Eat the kernel and get to popping!  I don't know how much deep frying I'll be doing in my life, but this seems much more fun than using a thermometer!

Spicy, savory, and easy to grab and go as the big play is coming on the screen...these little guys are winners.

Jalapeno-Cheddar Hush Puppies

1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 egg
2 chopped, seeded jalapeño chile
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Canola oil or vegetable oil (for deep-frying)

Photo from Food Network

Whisk the dry in medium bowl to blend. Mix buttermilk, egg, and chile in small bowl to blend. Stir buttermilk mixture and cheese into dry ingredients.

Add enough oil to deep medium saucepan to reach 1 1/2 inches. Attach deep-fry thermometer to pan; heat oil to 320°F to 330°F over medium heat. Working in batches of 4 or 5, drop batter by tablespoonfuls into oil. Cook until golden, turning occasionally, about 3-4 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer hush puppies to paper towels. 

Sticky, Gooey, Good

It is now firmly established that my cousin and I share a passion for baking and cooking. OK fine. For food. Details. But in a mushy gushy way, I have to admit that I’m cherishing these experiences that we’re having together in the kitchen. I’ve grown up associating the kitchen and the dinner table as places where people come together, be it in laughter, in tears, or in blissful ignorance of happenings away from the people in front of them. As we become more and more attached to technology, this little bubble seems even more precious. The fact that my cousin and I get to spend this time together, and perhaps that she will even associate me and our relationship with the kitchen and the joy it brings, is something that warms my heart.

OK, cornball moment is over. Jeez. Back to the good stuff. And I do mean goooood stuff. This was our last baking hoorah before I return to the land of coffee and hipsters. The other land of coffee and hipsters...

These are ooey-gooey, melt your mouth scrumptious. And with an Indian potluck and a Superbowl party on tap for this weekend, more cooking adventures are in the pipeline.

Heath Bar Blondies
Adapted from Eat, Live, Run

1 stick butter 1 cup packed dark brown sugar 1 egg 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp vanilla extract (or the seeds of one vanilla bean) 1 cup all purpose flour 1/2 cup heath bar crumbles 1/2 cup roughly chopped walnuts Preheat your oven to 350 and butter an 8-inch square pan. Brown your butter by melting it over medium heat on the stove until it becomes a golden caramel color (see here for more tips). Be careful not to burn the butter---you only want to brown it. This will take several minutes and it's easiest to keep swirling the pan with your hand while it browns. Pour the browned butter into the bowl of a kitchen aid and add the brown sugar. Beat for about four minutes, until creamy. Add the egg and beat again. Then, add the flour, salt and vanilla extract (or seeds). Beat until combined. Fold in the heath bar bits and chopped walnuts. Spread out mixture in your buttered pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan. Let cool before slicing into squares.

Cousin Cook-a-Thon

Once again, I turn to the kitchen as my trusted accomplice in entertaining (and wooing) my teenaged cousin.  Luckily, she has decided that cooking is "cool", so she has been a willing victim.  It doesn't hurt that she loves food as much as I do!

After an inital batch of chocolate-mint cookies that were gobbled up by a hungry high school cross-country ski team, we decided to set our sights higher. Being the good Jewish girls that we are, we turned to the foods of our heritage--bagels!  The recipe is simple and straightforward, and you can add in whatever mix-ins, toppings, etc. that you think might be tasty. I'm excited to make these again with even crazier additions.

Mmm...I wonder if there are any left?

Homemade Bagels

Recipe from Hub Pages

4 cups bread flour
1 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 tsp instant yeast
1-1/4- 1-1/2 cups of warm water

*Our additions:

1/3 cup garden pesto

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Sea salt to sprinkle

-Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. The dough should feel stiff, but add the extra water if it's really stiff, or you can't get all the dry flour incorporated.
-Plop the dough down onto the counter, and knead for about ten minutes, or until the dough is uniform and smooth.
-Cut the dough into 8 equal sized balls, and let rest for 10-20 minutes.

-Pre heat your oven to 425.
-Now, take each of the dough balls and using two hands, roll it into a little snake on the counter. When the snake is longer than the width of your two hands, wrap it around your dominant rolling hand. The
dough rope should be wrapped so the overlapping ends are together at your palm, near the start of your fingers. Now take the two overlapping ends, and use your palm to squish/roll these two ends
together. Let your bagels rest on the counter for about 20 minutes, and meanwhile, bring a pot of water to boil, and grease a large baking tray lightly.

-After the 20 minute wait, your bagels will start to look puffy, and it's time to get them boiling! Add them as many at a time as you can to your boiling water without crowding them. Boil for about a minute,
turn them over, and boil for another minute. Take them out a let dry for a minute and then place them on your oiled baking tray. Add any toppings that you desire. Repeat until all the bagels are boiled.
-Add the tray to the oven, and after 10 minutes, flip the bagels over, bake for another ten minutes; and they're done!
-Let cool for at least 20 minutes.

Not your average veggie chili

I'm currently in Portland, OR, flexing my childcare and petsitting muscles as I spend the week watching my teenage cousin and her family's menagerie of pets.  Portland is everything that people make it out to be, and more. Bikes are everywhere, probably gettting people from one mobile food cart/coffee shop/brewery to another. Well, that's what I would be doing, in any case.

Right before I left, I saw this recipe for a vegetarian chili with a twist. In a moment of impulse, I pulled out as many items from my pantry as I could find to see whether or not I could whip up a batch before I left. Lo and behold, I had most everything that the recipe called for, so naturally, it was "game on".

What has the recipe inspired? Another vote for the life motto of, "Everything tastes better with peanut butter."

Vegetarian Chili with Peanut ButterAdapted from Serious Eats

Photo Source: Serious Eats

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Two (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 tsp chili powder
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
One (12-ounce) can tomato paste
2 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter (preferably unsweetened)
One (15-ounce) cans garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained (originally
called for 2 cans of kidney)
One (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
One (15-ounce) can white beans, rinsed and drained
One (15-ounce) can whole sweet corn, rinsed and drained (used frozen)
4 cups cooked white or brown rice (for serving)
1 cup coarsely grated sharp cheddar cheese (for serving)
1 cup chopped scallions (for serving)

Directions:

In large stock pot, heat olive oil over medium heat until shimmering.

Add onion and garlic and sauté until the onions are translucent, about 4 minutes.
Add diced tomatoes and their liquid, black pepper, salt, cayenne pepper, paprika, and red pepper flakes to pot. Let simmer for 5 minutes and then add tomato paste, vegetable stock, and peanut butter.
Stir until tomato paste and peanut butter are well incorporated. Let simmer for 10 minutes.
Reduce heat to low and add all beans and corn. Let simmer for 20 minutes.
To serve, place a half cup of rice in large bowl and add two ladles of chili. Top with cheddar cheese and chopped scallions.