now appearing: brownies (no photo available)

i made the delicious coma-inducing brownies on saturday. i was meaning to take a picture but before i recovered from the chocolate haze the pan was all soapy in the sink. without any hyperbole at all i feel safe in saying that these brownies cannot be beat-- not with a big thorny club or with any kind of superbrownie you might propose. i hijacked the recipe from CHOW
i truly hope the 'we've temporarily suspaended publication' has some shadow of truth to it because this magazine kicks much ass. in any case, i addedd a teaspoon or so of cayenne to the melted chocolate/butter (mmmm) mix. they turned out dang tasty if i do say so myself-- hothothot from the oven with one perfect scoop of vanilla bean ice cream = day long sugar coma--but so worth it.

CHOW's Intense Brownies
6oz bitterswet choc (i used 65% dark)
1 stick unsalted butter
2 large eggs
1 c granulated sugar
1 tb unsweetened cocoa powder
1 t vanilla extract
1 t brewed espresso (seriously. who has brewed espresso of any quality on hand? i live for coffee and i skipped this ingredient)
3/4 t salt
1 c all-purpose flour (i used 3/4 c all purpose and 1/4 c whole wheat because i like to pretend that i'm healthy)

1- preheat oven to 350 and place rack in the middle of the oven. line and 8x8 inch glass baking dish with aluminium foil (again. extra step and not at all needed. i buttered the pan with the paper the stick'o'budda was wrapped in and it washed up clean as a whistle no problem)

2- in a medium sauce pan over medium-low heat stir the choc and budda together until just melted. set aside to cool (i'm guessing that they assume that the kids know enough to use a double boiler to melt said choc&budda. hint: use a double boiler.)

3- mix together the eggs, sugar, cocoa, vanilla, [espresso], and salt. add cooled (room temp) choc and mix well. fold in the flour until just incorporated.

4- turn the batter into the prepared baking dish and bake until a tester comes outclean when inserted in the thickest part, about 25 - 30 minutes. place on a wire rack to cool before cutting. (i always have to bake this more like 35 - 40 minutes)

you'll want to clear your schedule and avoid driving for several hours after you 'test' your creation.

30-minute pasta thing-- brought to you by technicolor

i have so dropped off the face of the earth as far as what i call 'real cooking' goes. the closest i've gotten lately is this 30-minute pasta thing. this is a different incarnation of a fairly standard 'oh crap! what can i make for dinner and oh holy god am i hungry!' meal plan. this time around, 30-minute pasta thing includes olives with hot peppers, chicken sausage, a ton of spinach, olive oil, tomato paste, a good pinch of both basil and mystery 'italian seasonings', and a good sprinkle of crumbly goat sheese. pretty good on night 1 and amazing as leftovers the next day...


i just joined the rest of the world (with the in-tro-net at home) and am working on taking good (read: properly lit) cookery photos. i'm obviously not there yet. but-- i'm working on it.

chili cheese nightmare

i had some friends over not to long ago-- old fogey style-- i cooked, we drank an altogether-too-respectable amount of beer (read- only a few-a-piece as opposed to a few 6-packs a-piece), and (and this is really the 'thing de resistance') we played a board game. i am 10 years old again. except for the beer part. everyone was yawning by 11:00pm and i myself was in my jammies by 11:30.

maybe it was the food. a few scores and a major flop.
score> pimento cheese-- no, not that pimento cheese. a fakey substitute that apparently worked wonders and was way fast besides. a jar of ultra processed 'cheddar cheese product', and a jar of similar 'cheese product' only pimento flavored (and i truly mean flavored. no pesky bits of anything that might be vegetable matter. this was high quality fakery all the way), and a few tablespoons of diced cherry peppers in olive oil to class things up. the bowl could not have been licked cleaner... great with sesame crackers or celery... i still prefer the version that has actual cheese in it, but i'm just stuck-up that way.

score> gaucamole-- just avocados and cilantro. two great tastes that taste together

score> hummus-- i can't take credit for this one. my adorable german neighbor brought it over and holy lord i wanted to swim in it. i may have had impure thoughts about this hummus-- that's how good it was.

flop> chili/cheese/tamale dip (in the crock pot)-- alright. i had high hopes for this. i was using my dad's basic blueprint-- beef tamales from a can, canned chili (beef, right?), a block of velveeta, and a can of rotel. i was planning to get all snooty with it and use refried black beans, spinach tamales, chipotle peppers, and some kind of fancy cheese.... what happened? poor planning on my part. i was at the grocery store in my scrubbies, with a load of laundry wrinkling in the car, and party guests mere hours from my door. i couldn't handle even the idea of whole foods or central market. i did the best i could with what kroger had to offer. it ended up pretty square with dad's original blueprint. this is the reaction the boy gave me. 'it's ok. usually your food is SO GOOD that regular food is just... like... meh'. no one touched it.

on deck- this awesome looking scallops w pureed peas i found here. i'm all swoony just thinking about it