Saturday, December 31, 2011
My Gift to You... Brownies!
It is almost 2012. As we are just a few hours away I sit here thankful for the new year. 2011 was wonderful to me as I was lucky to marry an amazing gentleman. (Who even insisted on a date with me today even though he works both of his jobs) We added a third furry creature to our little family, and last but certainly not least we are buying a house! Most importantly that house has an amazing kitchen compared to the two feet of counter space that I have in our apartment. After everything dies down I will be sure to post more but I was very compelled to share this recipe with you to start the new year.
Monday after Christmas I was put to the task of making brownies for my husbands family Christmas party. It was a day off for me so I rolled out of bed at 11am after my food coma from the night before. I did not want to leave the comfort of my home so I decided to try to make them from scratch which I had never done. Fortunately the result was AMAZING! I will never buy boxed brownie mix again as most of the ingredients are cheap and I always have in my kitchen. I swear I have never had such moist rich brownies. For an added touch just before placing the pan in the oven I doctored mine up by sprinkling peanut butter chips on the top. Some sink and some stay afloat for a nice even distribution.
Also, this recipe would be GREAT for making the ever popular brownie pops dipped in chocolate!
ENJOY!
And may you all have a peaceful and prosperous new year!
The following recipe is found on the Food Network website and is from the Alton Brown show Good Eats.
COCOA BROWNIES RECIPE
Ingredients
Soft butter, for greasing the pan
Flour, for dusting the buttered pan
4 large eggs
1 cup sugar, sifted
1 cup brown sugar, sifted
8 ounces melted butter
11/4 cups cocoa, sifted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Directions
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Butter and flour an 8-inch square pan.
In a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the eggs at medium speed until fluffy and light yellow. Add both sugars. Add remaining ingredients, and mix to combine.
Pour the batter into a greased and floured 8-inch square pan and bake for 45 minutes. Check for doneness with the tried-and-true toothpick method: a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan should come out clean. When it's done, remove to a rack to cool. Resist the temptation to cut into it until it's mostly cool.
Monday after Christmas I was put to the task of making brownies for my husbands family Christmas party. It was a day off for me so I rolled out of bed at 11am after my food coma from the night before. I did not want to leave the comfort of my home so I decided to try to make them from scratch which I had never done. Fortunately the result was AMAZING! I will never buy boxed brownie mix again as most of the ingredients are cheap and I always have in my kitchen. I swear I have never had such moist rich brownies. For an added touch just before placing the pan in the oven I doctored mine up by sprinkling peanut butter chips on the top. Some sink and some stay afloat for a nice even distribution.
Also, this recipe would be GREAT for making the ever popular brownie pops dipped in chocolate!
ENJOY!
And may you all have a peaceful and prosperous new year!
The following recipe is found on the Food Network website and is from the Alton Brown show Good Eats.
COCOA BROWNIES RECIPE
Ingredients
Soft butter, for greasing the pan
Flour, for dusting the buttered pan
4 large eggs
1 cup sugar, sifted
1 cup brown sugar, sifted
8 ounces melted butter
11/4 cups cocoa, sifted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Directions
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Butter and flour an 8-inch square pan.
In a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the eggs at medium speed until fluffy and light yellow. Add both sugars. Add remaining ingredients, and mix to combine.
Pour the batter into a greased and floured 8-inch square pan and bake for 45 minutes. Check for doneness with the tried-and-true toothpick method: a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan should come out clean. When it's done, remove to a rack to cool. Resist the temptation to cut into it until it's mostly cool.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
I love food...
So unlike many, my stress relief is cooking.
*insert silence,crickets,etc*
I don't know how that all started. Maybe because when I was younger cooking dinner was my "daily chore". Now after working anywhere from 8-12 hours in a day I love to come home and open a bottle of wine or a local seasonal beer and figure out what I can make for fun to take up my time until the husband comes home. Usually I try to have it ready for when Andy gets home, but with his unpredictable schedule it proves to be pretty difficult. Thus, I pick something, cook it, and post what it is along with a picture to Facebook. Unbeknownst to me, more people read of my culinary endeavors than I thought and comment or tell Andy that he is "lucky".
Tonight I decided to start a "food blog". I will post what I cook, and tricks/tips I have for cooking anything.
Above all, the cardinal rule of my cooking is TIMING IS EVERYTHING! It is possible to put together a multi part meal and have everything finish around the same time.
Tonight we will discuss:
Breaded Adobo Pork Chops
The beauty of prepackaged rice and beans
Apple Galette
BREADED ADOBO PORK CHOPS
There really is not much of a recipe here, as the thickness will affect the cooking time. Generally I use boneless thin chops.
Ingredients:
Boneless(Bone in) chops
Goya Adobo Seasoning
Italian (or plain) Bread Crumbs
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking disk with nonstick cooking oil. Pour out a small amount of bread crumbs, just enough to cover your chops, onto a plate. Roll chops in bread crumbs and place into baking dish. Sprinkle with Adobo and bake until the internal temperature is appropriate for pork. (With thin boneless I usually cook for 20-30 min depending on how my oven is acting)
I know it is "unusual" but I DO NOT baste in egg and flour before the bread crumbs. They get crispy without it, and it just adds extra calories with minimal flavor.
Rice: Tonight I used Goya Red Beans and Rice. I started the rice according to the package just before preparing the chops so that the within the 30 minutes that it takes the rice to cook, the chops can cook and rest. There is a ton of flavor and good proteins in prepackaged rice and beans. It is also much faster than soaking your own beans so it saves a lot of time for the full time worker.
Side dish: Tonight I cheated and washed and cleaned some snow peas. Sometimes the best veggie side is just fresh unaltered vegetables (even better if they are local!)
Dessert:
Apple Galette (From The Joy of Cooking)
One of my favorite things to do is look through The Joy of Cooking. It is a wealth of knowledge and gives tips/tricks so that you can prepare AWESOME and beautiful food. The recipe I used today can be found below.
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/9123847/ns/today-food/t/joy-cooking-apple-galette/#.Tqdn5N7iGU8
But there is a secret...
I CHEATED!!!
With work today and a lack of ingredients I was unable to prepare fresh homemade pie dough. So, I used a mix. Jiffy makes a great boxed pie crust mix. I used Krusteaz, but it is made for a commercial bakery and I don't know if it is available in stores.
I also used crispin apples as they are nice and in season today.
On top of that I only had salted butter to use instead of unsalted. I love sweet and savory and actually loved the way the butter tasted against the flaky crust. It was especially flaky and crisp because I used a pizza stone instead of a cookie sheet. Yum!
There is something beautiful about butter brushed on a pie crust with sugar and fruit covering the top.
I made sure when sprinkling the cinnamon and sugar that it got on the crust too. The tart was excellent served about 20 min out of the oven. It was served just after we finished our dinner. The apples were al dente and not too sweet.
I hope this helps! I will gladly take suggestions, additional tips, and any feedback. I probably talked a little too much today, but hey what can I say. I love food!
Good Eats!
Jen
*insert silence,crickets,etc*
I don't know how that all started. Maybe because when I was younger cooking dinner was my "daily chore". Now after working anywhere from 8-12 hours in a day I love to come home and open a bottle of wine or a local seasonal beer and figure out what I can make for fun to take up my time until the husband comes home. Usually I try to have it ready for when Andy gets home, but with his unpredictable schedule it proves to be pretty difficult. Thus, I pick something, cook it, and post what it is along with a picture to Facebook. Unbeknownst to me, more people read of my culinary endeavors than I thought and comment or tell Andy that he is "lucky".
Tonight I decided to start a "food blog". I will post what I cook, and tricks/tips I have for cooking anything.
Above all, the cardinal rule of my cooking is TIMING IS EVERYTHING! It is possible to put together a multi part meal and have everything finish around the same time.
Tonight we will discuss:
Breaded Adobo Pork Chops
The beauty of prepackaged rice and beans
Apple Galette
BREADED ADOBO PORK CHOPS
There really is not much of a recipe here, as the thickness will affect the cooking time. Generally I use boneless thin chops.
Ingredients:
Boneless(Bone in) chops
Goya Adobo Seasoning
Italian (or plain) Bread Crumbs
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking disk with nonstick cooking oil. Pour out a small amount of bread crumbs, just enough to cover your chops, onto a plate. Roll chops in bread crumbs and place into baking dish. Sprinkle with Adobo and bake until the internal temperature is appropriate for pork. (With thin boneless I usually cook for 20-30 min depending on how my oven is acting)
I know it is "unusual" but I DO NOT baste in egg and flour before the bread crumbs. They get crispy without it, and it just adds extra calories with minimal flavor.
Rice: Tonight I used Goya Red Beans and Rice. I started the rice according to the package just before preparing the chops so that the within the 30 minutes that it takes the rice to cook, the chops can cook and rest. There is a ton of flavor and good proteins in prepackaged rice and beans. It is also much faster than soaking your own beans so it saves a lot of time for the full time worker.
Side dish: Tonight I cheated and washed and cleaned some snow peas. Sometimes the best veggie side is just fresh unaltered vegetables (even better if they are local!)
Dessert:
Apple Galette (From The Joy of Cooking)
One of my favorite things to do is look through The Joy of Cooking. It is a wealth of knowledge and gives tips/tricks so that you can prepare AWESOME and beautiful food. The recipe I used today can be found below.
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/9123847/ns/today-food/t/joy-cooking-apple-galette/#.Tqdn5N7iGU8
But there is a secret...
I CHEATED!!!
With work today and a lack of ingredients I was unable to prepare fresh homemade pie dough. So, I used a mix. Jiffy makes a great boxed pie crust mix. I used Krusteaz, but it is made for a commercial bakery and I don't know if it is available in stores.
I also used crispin apples as they are nice and in season today.
On top of that I only had salted butter to use instead of unsalted. I love sweet and savory and actually loved the way the butter tasted against the flaky crust. It was especially flaky and crisp because I used a pizza stone instead of a cookie sheet. Yum!
There is something beautiful about butter brushed on a pie crust with sugar and fruit covering the top.
I made sure when sprinkling the cinnamon and sugar that it got on the crust too. The tart was excellent served about 20 min out of the oven. It was served just after we finished our dinner. The apples were al dente and not too sweet.
I hope this helps! I will gladly take suggestions, additional tips, and any feedback. I probably talked a little too much today, but hey what can I say. I love food!
Good Eats!
Jen
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)