BROWNIE PUDDING

I have been working lots and lots of hours, and haven't had much time to cook, bake, or write. The times I have baked I have made a regular version of a recipe and a gluten-free, agave sweetened version at the same time - so I can compare and contrast. I made this recipe for Ina Garten's brownie pudding - it was so good, both versions. I seriously couldn't decide which one I liked better. First is the flour and sugar version. This came out nice and yummy. It was almost like eating brownie dough, but it was cooked...very yummy. It doesn't hold its shape...so don't be surprised when you go to slice it and all you can do is spoon it.





Brownie Pudding
Adapted from Ina Garten
Serves 6
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus extra for buttering the dish
4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup good cocoa powder
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. vanilla


1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly butter a 2-quart (9 by 12 by 2-inch) oval baking dish. Melt the butter, and set aside to cool.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs and sugar on medium-high speed for 5 to 10 minutes, until very thick and light yellow. Meanwhile, sift the cocoa powder and flour together, and set aside.
3. When the egg and sugar mixture is ready, reduce the speed to low and add the vanilla and the cocoa powder and flour mixture. Slowly pour in the cooled butter, and mix again just until combined.
4. Pour the brownie mixture into the prepared dish, and place it in a larger baking pan. Add enough of the hottest tap water to the outside pan to come halfway up the side of the dish; bake for 1 hour. The center will appear very under-baked; this dessert is between a brownie and a pudding.
5. Allow to cool and serve with vanilla ice cream.



The gluten free version was more sturdy and came out more as an actual brownie and not pudding. Still, it was excellent, and delicious! Follow the same prep instructions, except don't beat the eggs and agave for a long time - they will never fully mix.



Brownie Pudding (Gluten-free, agave sweetened)



1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus extra for buttering the dish

4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup agave nectar

3/4 cup good cocoa powder

1/2 cup gluten free flour or baking mix (I used Bobs, or Pamela's brand)

1 tsp. vanilla



I was inspired to write last night after working all day at the bakery...ENJOY!




The Life of a baker:



I scoop, measure, and pour,

Now I know what my hands are meant for,

I sift, stir, and blend,

Will my mixer last until the end?

I scrape, flip, and fold,

Mixing up concoctions that are so bold.

I portion, shape, and chill.

Wait until my guests see their bill.

I heat, rotate, and bake,

This is not your ordinary Patty-cake.

I cool, remove, and store.

Who on earth thought baking was a bore?

I plate, serve, and wait...

What is the verdict, what is my fate?

I sigh, smile, and am thankful,

That my creation is so wonderful!

Agave Ice cream

A life lived without refined sugar is a life half lived. I am on the fence with this one. I have found in my trying to bake with agave instead of refined sugar that yes, some recipes turn out great, and no - some do not turn out so great. I just returned from a 2 week vacation to my island in South Carolina...I really didn't cook or bake too much which is weird. I did however make lots of ice cream with my new ice cream maker. I made different batches - some with sugar, and some with agave. To my surprise the agave ice cream was liked the most. This is a standard, basic, foundational recipe for agave ice cream...you can play with it - add mint extract, add fruit, add cookies or brownies, add nuts, top with granola...anything your little heart desires.

Agave Ice Cream
Makes 1 quart

1 Cup Milk
1/2 Cup Agave
1 Tablespoon Vanilla
Pinch of salt
2 Eggs
2 Cups heavy cream or half and half

Place milk, agave, vanilla, and salt in a medium saucepan. Heat at a low temperature for 7-10 minutes. Mix in the eggs and stir lightly until slightly thick. When cool, stir in the cream. Chill in fridge until no longer warm. Add this mixture to your ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer's directions to make deliciously healthy ice cream with Agave! Add in fruit or chocolate for different varieties!

A new kind of Chicken that is darn good and finger licking!

Yes...I know what you are all thinking..."Does this girl have a food group besides chocolate?" I promise I do. We are always looking for a quick way to fix chicken during the busy chaos of the week. Surprisingly we...or should I say, my mom, found this recipe in the yeast free binder our Dr. gave us. We were all shocked and surprised when my mom was able to cook something all by herself ...and here's the kicker...it was good...second helping good. She loved all the compliments and praise we gave her she has now made it over three times in the last 2 weeks! This recipe is simple and good. It is best to marinate it 2-4 hours before cooking...or even over night, but if you don't marinate it - it still tastes good. The way you cook it is also up for interpretation. Thus, I now present to you...my mother's weekday chicken recipe!

1 1b. boneless chicken (we like thighs, but it also worked well with breasts)
6 Tablespoons sesame or coconut oil
1 Tablespoon salt
1 Tablespoon ground black pepper
2 lemons juiced
1 medium onion chopped small
1 Tablespoon ground cumin

Mix all ingredients together and marinate as long as you like. We cooked it in a skillet on the stove top. You can also grill it. You can serve it over rice. If you want to up the healthy factor you can add some fresh spinach after the chicken is cooked and wilt, then serve over rice. This is different, but it is good. Hope you enjoy!

Brownies. Can this be love?

Oh how I love brownies. Oh how I miss brownies. Let me count the ways. During the last 3 weeks of my awful detox diet - to which I have proudly stayed the course - I have not baked. I don't know what is worse - not baking, or not eating. Anyway, I had to break my baking fast last night in order to bake a bunch of things for a party we are having at our house tonight for 70 people. We are having a rocking awesome crawfish boil and we needed some nice comfort food desserts to go with. I decided to make a few trays of my previously posted "Heaven bars", a few trays of some oatmeal raisin bars, and then some old school brownies. Everything looks wonderfully scrumptiddlyocious! I regret to say that I had to break my fast minimally in order to taste the brownies...after all, I don't want to serve my guests bad food - it needed to be tested. All it took was my one little bite and I knew...it was love at first bite! The perfect brownie. It was chewy, yet fudgy. Sweet, but not teeth wrenching. Melty, but firm. In other words...OFF THE HOOK! This recipe comes from the infamous Ina Garten - one of my mentors in recipe creating -I love how she makes simple things beautiful and impressive. I adapted the recipe slightly only because I didn't have enough of one kind of chocolate chip, and I went sans the nuts...mostly because we didn't have any, but also because they are expensive. I am sure my guests will be thrilled, as I hope you are!

Outrageous Brownies
adapted from Ina Garten


Ingredients:
1 pound unsalted butter (4 sticks)
1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, divided (I used a combination of semi-sweet, milk, and white chocolate chips)
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate (I used the BAKER chocolate squares)
6 large eggs room temp
3 tablespoons instant coffee powder
2 tablespoons real vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups flour, divided- 1 cup for batter and 1/4 cup in the chips
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 13 by 18 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan.
Melt together the butter, 1 pound chocolate chips, and bitter chocolate on top of a double boiler...or in a microwave safe bowl in the microwave. Cool slightly. Stir together the eggs, instant coffee, vanilla and sugar. Stir in the warm chocolate mixture and cool to room temperature.

Stir together 1 cup of the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the chocolate chips with 1/4 cup flour to coat. Then add to the chocolate batter. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake for about 30 minutes, or until tester just comes out clean. Halfway through the baking, rap the pan against the oven shelf to allow air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Do not over bake! Cool thoroughly, refrigerate well and cut into squares.

Detox update: It is going well. The first 2 weeks were the hardest...headaches, shaking, anger at carbs : ). Now, it is not so bad. I no longer find myself dreaming about bread and cookies - I even went to class and wasn't tempted to eat all the stuff we made. Weird. On the plus side - I have lost a lot of weight! I haven't actually weighed myself, but as far as the jean test goes - I now fit into my jeans that I haven't fit into for over a year and a half! Sweet! I plan on sticking with this until I get to SC - so only 3 weeks left!

Homemade Chocolate Chips

So my mom, little brother, and I are doing this yeast detox diet for 28 days. All I can say is...this is the closest to hell I have ever been. I have decided that a life lived without wheat, dairy, and sugar is not a life at all. I fully intend to stick to my 28 day commitment, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. I am doing this for the sole purpose of figuring out what food allergies I have. After the 28 days are over you slowly add the food groups back in one at a time while monitoring your reactions. I have no doubt it will work, but 5 days in I pray that the 28 days will go by sooner than later. As a student of the art of making sugar and wheat into something that is truly good, true, and beautiful I feel as if my mission in life is not complete and there is still much to learn.

This "plan" eliminates basically all carbs - no potatoes, rice, bread, pasta, wheat, corn - nothing - zilch. Oh, we can eat quinoa - which is very weird tasting to me, and I am trying to like it - really I am. Also - limited fruit - and definitely no bananas, or grapes. Lots of veggies...big whoop there. No dairy - milk, cheese, yogurt, - not even rice or almond milk is allowed. The hardest has been no sugar. No honey, no maple syrup. We can however use this natural sugar look alike..."xyitol". I still haven't figured out exactly what it is, but apparently it is safe for diabetics. In a desperate search of something to quench my sweet tooth over the next 23 days I finally came upon an acceptable "cheating chocolate" solution. I made my own chocolate chips...well I guess they were more like chocolate bits. Very excited about this recipe. I am also a huge fan of carob so I made mine with carob powder. However, it should work just as well with cocoa powder. Also, it calls for coconut oil - which is awesome, but I imagine you could also use butter if you don't have coconut oil on hand. I have never used coconut oil before this recipe, so I am not sure if it will yield the same results, but it is worth a try.

This recipe is from Nourishing Traditions, a book my friends so graciously gave me with the hopes of converting me to the "healthy" way of life. Nice try guys, but I think I will stick with my refined sugar. : )

Carob or Chocolate Chips:
adapted from Nourishing Traditions
Makes 1 cup

3/4 cup carob powder or cocoa powder
1/4 cup of rapadura or xyiltol
1 cup coconut oil or butter
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon chocolate extract (optional)

Place all ingredients in a glass container and set over pan of simmering water until melted. Mix together well. Spread mixture on a piece of buttered parchment paper and allow to cool in the refrigerator. When hardened, remove parchment paper and cut into chips. Store chips in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Because the coconut oil does melts easily, keep this in the refrigerator.

Good luck!

German Chocolatekake

I have now been tasked with making monthly birthday cakes for 40-50 people at work. This is a good thing, because cake has never really been my forte and it is forcing me to improve my cake making skills. One reason I don't make a lot of cake is because my family tends to not eat it that fast...thus it is up to me to finish it off. Not a good thing for my trim and perfect waistline. : ) I had requests for German Chocolate cake this month...and the timing just felt right. In the past I have always used the recipe on the back of the baker's German chocolate box - this always yielded a nice result, but I wanted more out of my cake this time. Although I like that recipe, I feel the cake was always a little too light, too fluffy, too original for my fine gourmet pallet...ha. I googled tons and tons of recipes for German Chocolate cake - websites, blogs, cake experts...etc. I finally found a recipe that called for all the things I wanted in my cake...buttermilk for moisture, coffee for richness, and a nice combination of cocoa powder and melted chocolate. Coffee was the selling point for me, I think coffee and chocolate make the perfect marriage of flavors - sweet, subtle, comforting, and just plain darn beautiful - everything a marriage should be! I used the original baker's coconut pecan icing - because it rocks and is incredible. I wanted to take a picture to show you all how wonderful this cake came out, but I was too slow, and a 1/2 eaten cake with random fork and teeth marks in it is not that appealing looking. Yeah, it was that good. The cake was slightly brownie-ish in texture - smooth, semi-dense but light, sweet. It was so good you could eat it sans the icing if you wanted...but the icing was so good I had to use it. I found this recipe on the Joy of baking blog...I had never been there before, but was very pleased with this recipe and intend to return in the near future.

If you have never eaten a perfect cake before today,
This is bliss, that is all I can say.

Some tips or pointers:
- I used Baker's German chocolate squares instead of semi-sweet chocolate.
- I don't like cake flour. It is too bleached for my likes. I used 2 cups all purpose unbleached four and 1/4 cup corn starch...sifted of course.
- If you don't have buttermilk you can do two things. One - add 1/2 tsp. vinegar, or lemon juice to one cup milk - let it sit for a few minutes - voila - buttermilk - nice and tangy...of course I prefer the thick stuff from the store. Also, you can use yogurt or sour cream if you want instead of the buttermilk. Ultimately you want the tangy flavor and the acidity that will tenderize your cake.

Cake:
http://www.joyofbaking.com/GermanChocolateCake.html

Icing:
http://brands.kraftfoods.com/bakerschocolate/main.aspx?s=recipe&m=recipe/knet_recipe_display&recipe_id=51053

Enjoy, and please share this cake I don't want to be partially responsible for sending anyone to their grave early : )

Some stuff I made that was pretty much awesome!

Okay - here are a few things I have made this month. First we have a Lime tart in a coconut shortbread shell. I am not the biggest fan of citrus and all the sourness it has to offer the world. Let's put it this way - If citrus was the last food on earth I probably still wouldn't eat it. Unfortunately, one of my chef's loves citrus and has to add zest to everything he teaches us to make...on most days I will spend at least 10 minutes trying to convince him to go without it. : ) However, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I actually liked this tart - I think the subtle coconut in the shell really complimented the citrus flavor. I also reduced the lime juice by 1 ounce...take that Chef! : ) Also, most people decorated the top of their tarts with the traditional Medusa look - covering the entire top of the tart. I thought the filling was so pretty and deserved to be seen. I also thought the lime zest made it pretty obvious that it wasn't a lemon tart, but was indeed a lime tart. As you can see, I am still working on my torching skills. : ) I was just playing around with the meringue and came up with this sun flower like pattern that I was pleased with. Kudos to originality!

Next we have a Sour cream Oreo cheesecake. Cheesecake tends to be so heavy tasting and really sits in your stomach - by using 1/2 sour cream and 1/2 cream cheese it really lightens cheesecake up. I made a chocolate tart bottom ahead of time and baked my cheesecake separately in a spring form pan. Then placed the cheesecake on top of the shell and covered it with crushed oreos. I was very pleased with the end product and will definitely make this one again with the addition of a fudge sauce drizzled on top.

Last, but not least we have a simple yet elegant tea cookie - Diamante Cookie. This is an easy icebox cookie that is mixed and then rolled into a log, chilled, brushed with egg wash, rolled in raw sugar crystals, sliced, and then baked. So delicious! Last year for my birthday my friend Maggie gave me some shortbread cookies from Dean and Deluca similar to these, but they had crystallized ginger bits in them. Next time I plan on adding ginger to mine. These are awesome and would make a sweet gift for anyone! They also freeze well.