All posts by Monna

Mar 09
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Best Brownies Ever, A Respectful Variation on the Malgieri Brownie

By | Recipes | One Comment

Last week was my husband’s 35th birthday and instead of a cake, he requested a chocolate brownie sundae that oozed chocolate. I had a sneaking suspicion he might be supporting my recent need to indulge in chocolate-y goodness every few days as exhibited by the fact that the only recipes I’ve posted lately have been chocolate. But I resolutely pushed aside my conspiracy theorist tendencies and got to work. A brownie sundae begins with the perfect brownie and I intended to find it.

But first – I have a confession to make. Please, don’t judge me too harshly.

I have never been a big brownie fan. They have never done it for me. While I love dark chocolate, I prefer it in creamy desserts like mousse or a chocolate creme brulee. So, I knew the brownie would have to be the perfect texture and flavor to tempt me. And, I figured if I could find a recipe to tempt a non-brownie lover like me, my intended audience would be happy too.

I started with a brownie from the Smitten Kitchen, one of my favorite sites. See it here. I liked the description of the recipe she posted because it was so easy, used only cocoa powder and didn’t require my tempering any chocolate. But, when I tasted the finished product, the cocoa powder bitterness stood out to me. I didn’t do the brownie any flavors by leaving it in the oven just a minute or two too long (classic brownie error!). It was still chewy fudge-y but I could tell I’d overdone it. It was not a bad brownie by any means – just not the one I was looking for. By the way, if you haven’t visited the Smitten Kitchen yet, you should. She’s a really funny writer, the pictures are great and the food is phenomenal. You’ll love me for it!

Next, I tried the Best Brownie EVA recipe over at the feeding time blog. And, in classic “Monna” style, I altered it by adding just a little cocoa powder since I wanted it to be SUPER chocolate-y. And, it was. But, the cocoa powder definitely gave the brownies a bitter flavor. More importantly, when those brownies came out, I realized the real problem.

I thought I wanted a fudge-y brownie. But, both those fudge brownie recipes seemed heavy, flat muddled. I wanted a taller, chewier brownie with a with a crispy top that would showcase the flavor of chocolate and finish with chocolate chunks melting into my mouth. I’m serious about chocolate.

Know how they say third time’s the charm? Well, it was. In my insane perusal of hundreds of brownie recipes to find the perfect one (maybe that’s an exaggeration but barely. I spent way too many hours on this project!), I stumbled across several forums frequented by people much closer to “nuts” about brownies than me. We’re talking some seriously passionate, brownie-pated individuals! Several of them referred to a recipe for Supernatural Brownies by a guy named Nick Malgieri as the ultimate brownie. I had to find it.

Sure enough, I discovered the recipe in another of my favorite places. The website for the American Public Media radio show called The Splendid Table, hosted by Lynne Rosetto Kasper had the recipe posted here.

By now I’d learned a few things about brownies, so I tweaked it just a leeeee-tle. I just can’t help myself. I have a chronic tendency to change recipes.

And, this one nailed it. I can’t tell you what your taste in brownies should be. But, if you want the best brownie you’ve ever tasted, try this one. Despite the fact that it requires tempering, it’s pretty darn easy. By the way, no cocoa powder. 

Notes: The pan you use in a brownie recipe makes a big difference. I used a metal Nordicware quarter sheet. That’s smaller than Mr. Malgieri’s recipe calls for but the smaller size lets the brownie puff up to the height I wanted while still allowing it to remain chewy. If you use a bigger pan, shorten your cooking time. If you use glass, lower the temp 25 degrees to prevent burnt and squishy brownies. Yuck.
For the record, I’ve been having problems with my oven, thus the wide variance in baking times. But, I’d rather have a slightly underdone brownie than an overcooked one.
Finally, for those of you who would argue this is NOT a brownie with baking powder in it, I have only to say – I don’t care. It tastes DELICIOUS!

Best Brownies Ever, A Respectful Variation on the Malgieri Brownie
Ingredients
16 tablespoons butter (I used salted and decreased the salt in the recipe)
10.5 oz bittersweet chocolate pieces (I used TJ’s 85% bars. Reasonably priced with a smooth flavor)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
4 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour with 3/4 t. baking powder carefully stirred in (nothing worse than a bite of leavening)
1 1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
Quarter sheet (12x9x1) baking pan with parchment paper and let a little hang over the sides
1. Preheat oven to 350F and set oven rack in the middle
2. Bring a saucepan of water to boil and turn down to med-low. Set a heat proof bowl over the pan and combine butter and chocolate until melted. Whisk thoroughly.
3. Remove the chocolate mixture from heat and add sugar. Whisk until sugar is nearly dissolved. 
4. Let mixture cool to just warm (as in, not enough to cook eggs!) and add eggs one at a time and whisk. .
5. Add salt and vanilla and whisk. 
6. Add flour and baking powder to chocolate mixture and whisk until the batter takes on a sheen, about 1 minute. 
7. Add chocolate chips and stir in briefly.
8. Pour into prepared pan and spread evenly. 
9. Bake between 25-40 minutes. I started checking around 20 minutes. Having over-cooked a batch already, I didn’t want to ruin this one. You really must do the toothpick test on a brownie. When it’s done, it should have just a few damp-ish crumbs on the toothpick and spring back when you touch it with your finger. If your toothpick comes out dry, it’s over-baked. Don’t worry. Just eat that batch with ice cream and try again.
Mar 02
0

Garden update, March 2011

By | Organic Gardening | No Comments

Can you believe it’s already MARCH?!! I’m not sure where the last three months have gone but it’s time to get moving on the garden. Thankfully, we can grow food all year long here in AZ, but there are a few things I really want to get in this month.

We started with my front flower bed this weekend. I worked on it before Christmas but left it in lasagna mode. I added lots of layers of dirt/straw/manure etc. to build up the dirt into something that would feed my plants! Check out how that process works here.  It hasn’t been very pretty because I’ve been a little busy lately. Here’s how it looked.

Little flower seedlings were popping up despite my neglecting it.

But – when my girls and I went out and turned over a few handfuls of dirt, look what we found!

Wormies! As my youngest would say.

My girls were very excited by this development. Not only did we find the few in my hand, we found over 30 worms in only 2 or 3 shovels full of dirt. (Thank you crazy rainy season!) The girls know that worms in the dirt are a sign of living soil because worms aerate the soil and leave special “fertilizer” that provide nutrients for our little garden. My oldest, who is super girlie, consented to touch one.  My two year old has no fear of “wormies” and wanted to hold one. She did pretty well and was very gentle.

She only smushed one.

It was an accident.

She was deeply concerned about it.

– For a two year old. –

We gently placed it back in the dirt and covered it.

Oops.

We also put a few plants in the dirt. Of course, we choose to do it right before the rain started and the temps dropped. So, we’ll see if these guys survive. Thankfully, nature is forgiving…

The front plants are Calendula and the back one is Borage.

Stay tuned! Updates on my other garden and plants to go in this time of year – to come soon

Feb 25
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Thank you, Recovering and Support After Miscarriage

By | Miscarriage, Pregnancy | One Comment

Today, I just want to say – Thank you, so much – to all of you who have offered love and support over the last few days in response the post about my severe miscarriage experience last week. I have been feeling physically stronger – and that has led me to the second and probably harder part of recovery from miscarriage, dealing with the loss of our small one. It hits me at the strangest times and for the most improbable reasons.

I have been surprised by the lack of readily available support for women recovering physically and emotionally from miscarriage. Perhaps because the loss of such a young baby is almost an invisible experience, our culture doesn’t really know how to acknowledge it past the initial incident – if it is acknowledged at all. Part of that may also be due to our reticence to share because it is such a personal and deep pain.

But more than one of you told me that when you did share, the response you received left you feeling your grief was over-dramatic or not legitimate. I may be in the throes of my own experience but I’m logical enough to say, if you have lost a child at any point in its development, your loss is real and legitimate and grief-worthy. I am not really in a place of being to give strength in this moment, I do hope for solidarity with those of you who are or who have been where I am now.

Because I chose to be so open (which felt very vulnerable and kind of scary), I received many thoughtful messages from friends and strangers about our experience. But, I was also surprised at the number of friends who didn’t respond to the private email I sent – which was brief and to a very short list. I think many people are just overwhelmed by what this event means to a loved one and don’t know what to say.

And – I intend to put together the resources I encounter as I intentionally and gently face my loss and grief. I will create a section for it – and post a regular update what it is like to recover from miscarriage.

As I said before, this is a decision that requires me to be more emotionally exposed than I usually allow myself to be in this space. But, this should not be something we are silent about as women – or families. It shouldn’t be so hard to find information or hope past miscarriage. It’s important to mark the experience, grieve the dreams and expectations that disappeared with that little one and to go on with the encouragement and strength of others and the hope of future joys.

I am surrounded by wise, kind, encouraging people. Thank you again for all that you have given me this week. It empowers me and inspires me to give back to others who have been in this place.

Sincerely – Monna

Feb 23
0

Devil’s Food Cake with Chocolate-Orange Buttercream – oh yeah.

By | Recipes | No Comments

In light of yesterday’s very serious post, I decided today should be more lighthearted and chocolate-filled. Hehe. We all need a little chocolate! As I said in my “Death by Superbowl” post, chocolate is great therapy when you’re feeling stressed (so is sex – but I digress…)

For Valentine’s Day, I wanted to make something divinely chocolate. Chocolate may be the food of the gods but I was looking for something that would make me feel a bit on the wicked side! Also, I wanted something homemade because I’d been to a few too many events recently that sported corn syrup and stabilizer filled desserts. So, I pulled out a recipe I’d used from Epicurious.com years ago and had only made once because of the time and ingredients involved.  The cake was so memorable family members will sometimes say, “Remember when you baked that chocolate cake?” Then, their eyes get misty and they start drooling as they drift away with the memory.

Well, maybe that’s a little dramatic. But, my family does remember the cake and they speak of it fondly. It’s a recipe that takes time – melting chocolate over a double boiler and doing everything from scratch. Although my mom was not above using boxed cakes, she taught us to bake from scratch when we were young. I’ve found it doesn’t really take that much more time (usually) and it definitely tastes better.

The only time this didn’t turn out to be true was when, as a pre-teen, I increased the baking soda in a Texas Sheet Cake from 1 t. to 1 T. You can imagine what a dreadful disaster this turned out to be – especially when I didn’t discover it till the party and couldn’t convince the guests to stop eating it. They all gulped it down with pained expressions while assuring me it was delicious (as though I couldn’t taste it). AAHH!! The mortification!

This cake does take a bit more time than other homemade cakes – maybe because it uses melted chocolate, cocoa nib powder, yogurt & milk & orange zest (you get the picture), but the combination of the ingredients creates a moist, decadent, incredible cake worthy of being called the Devil’s Food. I didn’t use the lavender because it just didn’t sing to me at the time and I didn’t miss it.

So, the Saturday before Valentine’s Day, I left my girls with Rob and borrowed my mother-in-law’s kitchen. My oven has been running hot.

First, I melted the chocolate…

The recipe requires semi-sweet chocolate (I used Valrhona at least 70%+) melted over a double boiler. Mmmm….
Next, I creamed brown sugar with butter, eggs and vanilla – this is my favorite part!
In goes the cooled, melted chocolate. I think I would rather eat the batter than the cake. Well, maybe.  Or, both…
The first set of cake pans – I doubled the recipe for a really tall cake.
The frosting begins with orange zest. Yes, I used organic – no pesticide cake for us!
And, of course, more melted chocolate and a tad bit of Grand Marnier. I could eat it with a spoon!! (wait, I DID eat it with a spoon!)
And, here you can see my GIANT beautiful cake – and my big mistake! I didn’t sift the powdered sugar and it was a little lumpy. No amount of mixing fixed it. But the lumps dissolved and no one complained.

Also – for those of you who know me and my aversion to eating too much sugar or giving it to my girls… We don’t eat stuff like this often, but when we do, I don’t try to recreate the wheel. To me, a cake is supposed to be an occasional, luxurious treat. So, this is a REAL cake made with real sugar, butter, flour etc. I would rather my girls eat this over fake corn syrup filled, shortening covered cake any day. It was incredible – and we ended up giving a lot of it away. After all, what girl really needs a four layer chocolate cake on her counter all week? If I ate it all day for a week, I couldn’t get rid of it!

The original Epicurious recipe is here – but I’ll warn you. I doubled the cake recipe and NOT the frosting but there was still enough frosting for the whole thing. So, if you’re planning to make just a single recipe, you will have leftover frosting. It’s good on graham crackers – or on a spoon if you’re desperate to make it go away!

Great, I may have to break my own rules and make it again. Anyone want to help eat it?