Yes, I made these, and an expanded post with photo will be going up  soon.  Thanks to Nicole of Cookies on Friday for picking this recipe for today’s TWD.

*Begin rant*

I was supposed to be out of town, looking in on my auntie in Wisconsin.  Except that . . .

• Milwaukee had seven inches of rain in 2 hours
• They closed the airport
• Midwest Airlines knew that the airport was closed and, consistent with its poor customer service in the past, failed to:  call me, email me, OR UPDATE ITS AUTOMATED FLIGHT INFORMATION . . .

Whereupon, I sat in the airport for FIVE HOURS before I corralled an employee who informed me that the flight had been canceled at 5:00 am that morning.  When I mentioned the aforementioned failings, which have been going on for at least 10 years (based on my personal, first-had knowledge), I was told that “Yeah, IT (information technology) is a problem with the company.  But I don’t do that type of customer service.”  I was told I would have to wait three days for space to open up on the next available flight out.

Needless to say, my patience is at an end, and I have re-booked on a competing airline.  I figure 10 years of waiting for them to get their act together is long enough.

*End of rant. *

So, I went home and baked the blondies

, which were really good. I cut back on the brown sugar to half a cup (I made a half batch) which was plenty sweet for me.  I even kept the coconut in the recipe even though my husband doesn’t like it (I had a little bit left and I had to use it up), and it was not offensive at all.  Be sure to check the blogroll to see what everyone else made!

Marthe of Culinary Delights selected White Chocolate Brownies on pages 110 and 111.  I’ll have a very blah photo going up by next Monday, because once again I’m out of town.  I made these in a rush, and the part that I did make was absolutely delicious.

First, I only made the brownie layer.  I bought the raspberries for these lovely brownies, but I ate them.  All by myself.  Before they could get put into the brownies.  And I have NO regrets!

I halved the brownie layer recipe

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, baked it in a 9-inch pan, and ended up with a very , very thin concoction that was incredibly delicious.  I didn’t taste the white chocolate at all, just the lovely orange zest.  This part of the recipe would make a fantastic layer in a more complicated dessert, I think, but if I make it again just for the brownie part, I won’t halve the brownie recipe and I’ll bake it in an 8-inch pan to get a thicker brownie.

Next week:  shortcakes.  I’ve never made them before, and I’m thinking that I’ll make them with raspberries, only this time I’ll buy extra.  Just in case.

After digging out from almost 30 inches of snow

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, we have another blizzard on the way, which is expected to dump another foot on top of what’s already there.  Heck, the neighborhood streets haven’t even been plowed yet!  So, I have some running about to do, and I’ll post pictures of the brownies and the blizzard (with puppies) later today.  I’ll also take a shot at explaining why this much snow is tough to handle, for you folks in Fargo and Minneapolis who live with this all the time!

***Update*** OK, I’m back!  First, let me thank Tanya of Chocolatechic chose Rick Katz’s Brownies for Julia, page 91 of Dorie’s book.  They are FABULOUS, even when I goofed up on the instructions a bit.  What I changed:  I cut the recipe in half (good thing I did because these brownies are awesome), and I added about 3/4 cup of coarsely chopped walnuts. They are dense, fudgy, and rich with a crackly crust. Unlike a lot of other bakers, mine were not gooey – they were cooked perfectly.  I used an 8-inch square pan, and baked them for about 37 minutes. My husband loved the addition of the nuts, and I have to say these are some of the best brownies I’ve ever had.

One caveat:  you have to refrigerate these a bit before you cut into them, or they will crumble into pieces.  Of course, if you want to work with that, you can do what Amanda did and cook these in a ramekin then serve them hot. With vanilla ice cream.  To which I would say , “Is this heaven?”  Be sure to check out Chocolatechic for the recipe.

Now, on to the snow, which continues to rage as I type this.  For those of you who don’t understand what all the snow hullabaloo is about, I’ll try to explain.  First, you have to admit that even if you live in an area that gets a lot of snow, if you get 30-50 inches of snow WITHIN FOUR DAYS, that’s a lot to deal with.  So, imagine an area that doesn’t get a lot of snow every winter getting walloped by these blizzards, when there were piles of snow in some areas left over from the December 19 storm!  Even National Guard humvees are getting stuck because they don’t have the clearance to maneuver through the deep snow, not to mention the four foot-plus drifts.

We don’t have enough plows to deal with this kind of snow.  Why?  Because they are an unnecessary expense in an area that would only need them every 7-10 years.  You don’t invest in multiple evening gowns unless you need them on a regular basis, right?  Same with expensive plows.

Next, there is a large population and road density around here.  Fairfax County, Virginia, for example, has over 9,000 square miles of residential roads.  In many cases, the large plows cannot get into the smaller residential roads, and the smaller plows cannot handle the weight and mass of this snowfall, so they are breaking down and getting stuck.

If you’re wondering why the federal government is shut down, I can point to two things:  the DC roads are impassable in many areas, and the Metro rail system is not running above ground.  A huge number of the 200,000-plus federal workforce commutes into DC on the metro system, which is running only below ground.  Once 8 inches or more of snow fall, the third rail, which powers the trains, does not function.  Therefore, the trains don’t run and people can’t get into the city from the ‘burbs where all the above ground stations are located.

And this snow is HEAVY.  There have been multiple roof collapses, including a middle school (brick building), a fire station (brick building – 18 firefighters asleep inside, but no one was injured), a historic church, an airplane hangar  . . . . etc.  There are wide spread power outages, and below-freezing temperatures.  Rescue crews cannot get down residential streets in their vehicles, so the local news is showing fire fighters and EMT crews wading through snow drifts in white-out conditions to rescue folks needing medical attention.

So, while this is lovely to look at it, the repercussions are pretty serious.  If you’re a praying person, I know a lot of folks around here would welcome a prayer.

I have to tell you that people have been wonderful – all the snow plow operators, emergency responders, etc. are working hard.  Many of them have not been home since last Friday.  And our neighbors have all  been pitching in, helping each other.  So, while things like this may bring out the worst in some folks, it really brings out the best in others.

For the Recipes to Rival recipe, please check the previous post.

If you’re here for some chocolate brownies and espresso cheesecake, kick  back and set a spell.  This week, Melissa of Life in a Peanut Shell chose Espresso Cheesecake Brownies, pages 104 and 105 of Baking: From My Home to Yours.  A dense brownie layer, covered with espresso cheesecake and the whole thing topped with a sour cream frosting.  This sounded amazing, but it definitely ended up with mixed reviews.

I tweaked the recipe in two ways; one was successful and the other was not.  First, I added walnuts to the brownie layer, a must at my house.  I know there are nut haters out there, but they do not reside at Chez Chow.  That adaptation was a success.  Next, I used semisweet chocolate instead of bittersweet for the brownies, and that did NOT work – just too sweet with the cheesecake layer, even though I cut back on the sugar to account for the adaptation.  And I didn’t much care for the sour cream topping.

All that being said, I think I would make this recipe again for company, with bittersweet chocolate, as written, but still keep the walnuts.  It would make for a very elegant little dessert with some espresso coffee.

And if you’re wondering what the Classic Banana Bundt Cake, chosen by the Food Librarian (you can find the original recipe there) a few weeks ago, is doing here, I finally had a chance to make it between all my flying about.  I mean, considering the rave reviews it received, how could I NOT make it?  Plus the fact that I am a bundt cake/pan fanatic who looks for every opportunity to make one.  Following Caitlin’s lead, I substituted rice bran oil for the TWO STICKS OF BUTTER in the original recipe.  And I nixed the icing because I thought it wouldn’t be needed.  The result? . . . .

DING! DING! DING! We have another Dorie winner!  My husband LOVED this cake.  In his words, “this is what banana bread is supposed to taste like, but never does.”  Really, what better compliment is there?  My adaptations to the Classic Banana Bundt Cake recipe after the jump.  And be sure to check out the TWD blogroll to see what results other bakers achieved with the brownies.
continue reading "TWD -Brownies and Banana Cakes; R2R and Risotto"

For the most part, I don’t care for flavored coffee or chocolate (there ARE exceptions).  In particular, I dislike cinnamon in chocolate.  So, I really tweaked these brownies a lot.  Eliminated the cinnamon.  Cut down the coffee to 3/4 tsp, and baked for 35 minutes.  These brownies are thin, and incredibly rich, but if you’re having a chocolate craving, they are the way to go.  They are also very fragile, and do best if chilled before serving, or better yet . . . frozen.  Eat them frozen!  Fantastic that way.

Thanks to Lisa of Surviving Oz for this week’s pick (you can find the original recipe on her blog), and as usual, be sure to check out the TWD blogroll!

Tomorrow:  White Chocolate Cherry Scones!

Another figure-friendly entry this week, featuring only three-and-a-half sticks of butter!

This week, Beth of Supplicious decided on Chipster-Topped Brownies on pages 94 and 95 from Baking: From My Home to Yours.  In theory, I should have really liked these, and they were good, but my two layers blended together giving me sort of a chocolate chip cookie bar.  I had a chance to use my Bakers Edge pan, a gift from my in-laws, and I did love the chewy edges that it produced.  In sum, it is not what I had hoped for, but I’m not complaining about chocolate chip cookie bars, if you get my drift.  Ah, the trials and tribulations of baking!  (Update:  my husband LOVED these, and has asked me to put them on the repeat list.  They are better after a day or two in the refrigerator.)

Let me back up a minute.  This recipe consists of two components:  a brownie layer topped by a chocolate chip cookie dough layer.  I mean, really, what’s not to like?  After reading the experiences of others, I knew I was going to want more chocolate chip cookie, so I made the full batch of that, and halved the brownie layer.  I didn’t mess around with the one egg/one yolk thing for the cookies – just used two eggs.  I also added a bit of espresso powder, 1/2 tsp., to ratchet up the chocolate flavor of the brownies.

They were perfectly baked in 50 minutes – the top was golden, not burned, and the brownie layer was not overdone.  And even though the picture shows two distinct layers, the two components blended together, and I really can’t taste the brownie at all. Other bakes had better luck by baking the brownie layer for about 10 minutes, then adding the cookie layer.  One problem I did NOT have was an underdone brownie layer, and I suspect that the pan I used, plus halving the batter amount, had something to do with that.

If you want to givel these a try, I recommend giving the brownie layer a head start in the oven before adding the cookie layer. Be sure to check out the TWD blogroll to see how others faired!

When you’re a member of about, oh, six or seven cooking groups (I lose count), you have things like mascarpone, butter, and premium chocolate laying about the house.  That’s just the way it is.  So, after a recent Tuesdays with Dorie tiramisu cake, I had some mascarpone left over.  Mindful of keeping my girlish figure, I decided to make brownies.  BWA HA HA!

These brownies got better after a day or so, and while they were moist, I like them a bit fudgier.  My husband said the same thing, and proceeded to eat most of them, and he’s not even a chocolate person.  I used 70% chocolate because I usually think brownies are too sweet, but I think next time, I’ll mix in some semi-sweet chocolate to smooth things out a bit.  Thanks to Linda at Tender Crumb, who found the recipe via Teanna’s Spork or Foon?  And she found the recipe at Recipezaar.

If you want to join me for Frugal Fridays, just email me with a link to something you made using what you had around the house.  You didn’t have to have made it in the last week, but you did have to blog about it in the last week.
continue reading "Frugal Fridays – Chocolate Mascarpone Brownies"

Life hands all of us some big challenges, and just when I’m feeling sorry for myself, something snaps me out of it. Brownies help. This past weekend, it was the news that fellow blogger Briana Brownlow’s breast cancer has returned. She is 30.

Today, June 3, is the 10th anniversary of my father’s death to lung cancer. On July 11th, it will be 4 years since I lost my mom to endometrial cancer. I think about them and miss them both every day.

Please consider helping Bri in her battle. For a moving post on the effects of this disease on a patient and her family, please read food blogger Jen Yu’s (of Use Real Butter) post, here. There will be information on how to help Bri at the bottom of this post.

Now, after all that, shall we talk about brownies? This week’s selection was French Chocolate Brownies, courtesy of Di of Di’s Kitchen Notebook. Brownies, like chocolate, I think, are proof that there is a benign force in the universe. They just make you feel good. I approached these with trepidation, because they have both raisins and cinnamon. Now, raisins are not my favorite, and cinnamon is not something I put in my brownies. But there are 12 brownie recipes in Baking: From My Home to Yours, so I thought, go for it! Live on the wild side! FOLLOW THE RECIPE AND PUT RAISINS AND CINNAMON IN YOUR BROWNIES!

So, I did. And it was good. I skipped the water and soaked the raisins in 30 year old rum, then flamed them. I could not taste the rum, but Master Chow could. I could taste the cinnamon, and it was a surprise – it provided a warm depth of flavor that brownies don’t normally have. But Master Chow couldn’t taste the cinnamon. Tastebuds are interesting things, indeed. Some people mentioned getting a thick crust, but that didn’t happen with mine.

Straight out of the oven, the brownies were extremely moist and bordered on fudgy, but were also cake-like. Overnight, they “fudged up,” and the flavors melded. I served them with a dollop of whipped cream and some pineapple, because I like pineapple and because it cancels out all the butter and chocolate. Didn’t you know that? Check out the Tuesdays with Dorie blogroll for more!

continue reading "Tuesdays with Dorie. Have Some Brownies, and Help Out a Fellow Blogger."