Chocolate-It's What's for Dinner

I'm always trying new brownie recipes. Often I'm disappointed but sometimes I'm not. I'm a little on the fence about this one. The taste is delicious but the removal from the pan was a bit of a challenge.  What attracted me to this recipe was that it was a large batch. Often brownie recipes are in 8x8 pans not 9x13. This was a 9x13er. Chewy Brownies (Adapted from America's Test Kitchen ) 4 T butter (1/2 stick) 1/3 c cocoa 1 1/2 t instant espresso 1/2 c + 2T boiling water 2 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped 1/2 c + 2T canola oil 3 eggs 2 t vanilla 1 t chocolate extract 2 1/2 c sugar 1 3/4 c flour 3/4 t salt 6 oz bittersweet chocolate chips Line a 13x9 pan with aluminum foil. The easiest way to do this is form fit a piece to the outside of the pan and then fit it inside. Grease the foil and set aside. Melt the butter in a bowl. Whisk in the cocoa, espresso, and boiling water. Add the unsweetened chocolate and whisk until chocolate is melted. Add...

2 lone lemons I've patiently been waiting for the lemons on my lemon tree. We've had the "tree" for about 4 years. Every year I get real excited because it gets tons of flowers and then gets tons of little baby lemons. Then they all fall off one by one and we end up with 2 lemons. They usually are ripe anywhere between November or December. I always try to make something special with them since they are such a scarce commodity. Something where lemons are center stage. They have a very thin skin and are very lemony. Look how thin the skin is So this year it was a classic dish - Spaghetti al Limone. I came upon this via Smitten Kitchen who came upon it via American's Test Kitchen. Spaghetti al Limone 1lb spaghetti, linguine,  angel hair pasta 1/4 c olive oil 1/4 c heavy cream 3 lemons or about 1/3-1/2 c lemon juice zest from 3 lemons 1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese 1/2 cup fresh parsley Fresh basil (optional) salt/pepper Boil pasta in salted...

I saw this in the November/December Cooks Illustrated magazine and thought it might be nice instead of baking an apple pie. I'm thinking of making it for Thanksgiving. It was absolutely less work and I would say as good as an apple pie but a little different. This is definitely impressive looking and really is not that complicated to make. The press in crust is a breeze. I added cinnamon to the recipe. I fail to understand how you can bake anything apple without adding cinnamon to it. As I've mentioned before, I'm a cinnamon freak. I added a little nutmeg too. They recommend using a 9" tart pan but I only have a 10" It came out fine in the 10" The crust was probably a little thinner but it was fine. I also used granny smith's instead of golden delicious. You need to use an apple that is going to stand up a bit to the heat and not turn to mush. In the base of the tart I mixed granny smiths with Fuji. I wanted the base to be a little sweet to contrast ...

These cookies come out really pretty. BUT they should come with a warning: Do not wear black while eating these cookies. You will have white all over you. I saw these in the November/December 2014 Cook's Illustrated magazine and knew I needed to make them.  They are very soft and sort of gooey - just what I needed. Get ready to wash a bunch of bowls but you don't need a mixer. Chocolate Crinkle Cookies (Adapted from Cook's Illustrated ) 4 oz bittersweet chocolate 4 T butter (1/2 stick) 1 c flour 1/2 c cocoa powder 1 t baking powder 1/4 t baking soda 1/2 t salt 1 1/2 c packed brown sugar 3 eggs 1 T espresso powder 1 t vanilla extract 1 t chocolate extract 1/2 c sugar 1/2 c confectioners' sugar In a bowl melt butter and chocolate in microwave at half power, stirring occasionally. Set aside to cool while preparing the other ingredients. Whisk flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl - set aside. In a separate bowl mix brown sugar, e...

This is a whole new way of making mashed potatoes - well at least it was for me. I saw it on America's Test Kitchen and thought it was ingenious. I have since shared it with many other people and they really like this version too. You don't have to mess around with all that boiling hot water. The potatoes steam in the milk and suck in all the flavor from the garlic and optional herbs. I've adapted it down to the point that you really don't even need a strict recipe. Mashed Potatoes Without a Net (Adapted from ATK) Butter garlic Potatoes Equal part Skim Milk and Heavy Cream (or whole milk and half & half) herbs (optional) salt/pepper Peel and cube potatoes. Rinse and set aside.  In a dutch oven add butter, garlic and herbs (I used fresh thyme). Saute until fragrant. Add potatoes and equal parts of milk and heavy cream until potatoes are partially covered. Add salt to taste. This is how much liquid you should add Cover partially with the...