BWD #6 Quintuple Chocolate Brownies....or Death by Chocolate?

This one's for you, Dad---

• cocoa powder
• bittersweet chocolate
• unsweetened chocolate
• milk chocolate
• white chocolate

Did I miss anything?  Oh...yes.  Mine, currently, are simply Quadruple Chocolate Brownies.  Sorry for the delay!  Between summer classes, a traveling husband, and my number one taste-tester out of commission, I will be drizzling the white chocolate in the morning for the MIL to take to her fellow volunteer friends.  Seriously...like I need an excuse to bake? 

Once again...love the method.  Life is so much easier not having to break out the electric hand-mixer!

I have to confess, I did take some liberties with this recipe.  We don't have coffee in the house anymore, so I mixed up a little instant espresso (it seems like I have that in a few recipes outside of DG) and used that in lieu of the coffee.  I ended up using pecans, on the off chance that my FIL will try these, but I'm pretty sure that he's going to pass on these!

Chopping up the chocolate makes the melting soooo much easier.

Whisking in the sugar, or rather, muscling in the sugar once the chocolate has cooled a bit.

Dry goods---cocoa powder, salt, flour---mixed in with a rubber spatula and finished with a cup of milk chocolate chips and pecans.

 

 

Voila!  Minus the white chocolate...tonight.  Gooey white chocolate+late night=postponed!

And Dad...you have your own copy of the book now.  No excuses!  Break it in!

Date Night. Party of 1.

It's something I used to be pretty okay with.  Comfortable, actually.  I didn't give it a second thought.  What's that?  Dining on my own.  In public. 

When I traveled frequently for work, it didn't bother me.  I'd sit quietly, tucked away in some corner with my laptop, a book, newspaper...whatever I had that needed attending to.  I had good intentions last night to study for Beverage Management, but I've done so much reading for school lately that I decided to take the night off.  I'm paying for it today, but it was probably much needed and of course...well deserved. ;)

I decided to try something new last night.  Something new as in---location, regional cuisine, and new food.  The trifecta of things that make me uncomfortable.  I was so, so, so close to chickening out and being completely boring---but I decided that I'm not going to be expanding my palate without trying something new. 

I'd been discussing Mediterranean food with my father in law the other night and have been craving hummus and pita bread like nobody's business!  It's a little different buying it at HEB with a bag of pita chips, or having the appetizer at The Cheesecake Factory.  I craved an authentic experience.  Thanks to yelp.com, I picked Arpeggio Grill.  Not only did this offer the things I'd listed above that I was nervous about, it's not in a great area of town...and it's in a strip mall.  Normally, I don't think twice if Husband is dining with me, but after a frightening semester of sanitation and safety with a scary instructor, I usually triple-check my options.  I sucked it up, plugged in the address in the GPS, and headed out with my book in hand.

The food was good.  Not earth shattering or mind blowing, but large portions and inexpensive.  I had the hummus, chicken kabob with basmati and Greek salad (seriously, people...I want authentic salad...not Romaine with a few red onions and two olives), and tabbouleh.  I've never had tabbouleh, and what I was expecting and what I ate were completely different.  I have to confess, though, I was much happier with what I ate! 

Here's a link to their website if you happen to live in the area:

http://www.agrillaustin.com/

My biggest complaint was that the service was so slow...slow as in, I was there for about 2 hours.  Yes.  For an appetizer, entree and salad.  Not cool, AG, not cool.  Enjoy the pic!

Tabbouleh (far left) with Greek salad, basmati rice, and two chicken kabobs with green pepper and red onion.  Mmmm....

Summer 2011...Trying some things...

This is the first time in a while I've had a chance to catch my breath and post something other than photos for the BWD posts every other Monday.  I've been doing a lot of thinking about the things I'd like to accomplish from my list this summer---some of which I'll be able to enjoy with my parents, others on my own or with other friends---and wanted to share a few of these adventures!  It seems as though I discover something every day that I haven't yet tried, and am excited to start the experience!

A few of the items are going to be summer-long endeavors:

• Reading and watching the Harry Potter series (I've completed the first)
• Reading Jane Austen (I'm going to guess this will take me from today's date, 5/24/2011 through the end of the year!)
• Reading three books I read during high school

Some are crafty:

• Create five sewing projects for myself (and I just fell upon a website for a store in SPOKANE of all places that sells both the patterns AND the fabric for a particular designer)
• Learn to crochet
• Finish a knitting project...more specifically, I'll root for a scarf to be completed
• Use scrapbooking supplies---for cards, frames, etc
• Make homemade soap
• Make homemade candles

And finally, some are for the culinary artist:

• Make doughnuts at home
• Make candy at home---something that challenges me, using a food thermometer
• Try eating a new ethnic cuisine
• Eat at one of Austin's famous trailers
• Eat at Magnolia Cafe without buyer's remorse (or guilt)
• Make homemade s'mores---marshmallows AND graham crackers
• Make homemade preserves (with my brand-new pressure cooker)

And some are just plain fun:

• Visit the Alamo
• Go swimming in Barton Springs
• Have a themed party---I'm thinking something like 80s aerobic?
• Take self-defense
• Go on a roadtrip
• Try bikram 
• Take a trapeze lesson
• Swim in an ocean
• Go to gospel brunch
• Buy cowboy boots
• Visit Schlitterbahn---look it up!

I'll track my progress more diligently---with five classes last semester, and four of them being labs, I barely had time to sleep if it wasn't in my schedule.

The summer night is like a perfection of thought.  ~Wallace Stevens

BWD#5 Cornmeal Shortbread Cookies

Shortbread---one of the yummiest, simplest desserts that can be made so many different ways!

I had to improvise this time---no lemons, but we did have a few oranges in the refrigerator---so I substituted orange zest for lemon zest.  It got me thinking---those oranges that are sold around the holiday season that are covered in chocolate!  To make these a bit fancier, I'd probably melt some bittersweet chocolate and dip a corner of the shortbread in them.

In any case, I love the method DG has us utilize---putting the dough into a ziploc and rolling it out.  I wish EVERYTHING could be done this way!!!

Simply adore the tea set and serving table---both wedding gifts!

BWD#4 Fluted Polenta and Ricotta Cake

I can't believe how quickly the last two weeks have flown by, with finals and plenty of other things to keep me busy.

I was a bit nervous at first when I tried to track down the Mission figs, because I visited a supermarket that I don't usually use---I must have done three trips through the aisles before I found the dried fruit!

This is my first experience baking with figs, and I have to say, the dried figs are super easy to work with---especially SunMaid.  They're not dry or difficult to work with.  This batter was definitely one of the easiest I've had to put together!  I'm planning on not feeding anyone tonight (well...the cake, anyway) because DG suggests the flavors, particularly the honey, mature after one day.

I'm interested to see how the texture turns out, as the combination of cornmeal, honey, sugar, and ricotta is an interesting one!

Here's a little preview of the pre-baked product:

The beginnings...

Finished product...being packed up and sent over to my father-in-law!  Reviews to come!  Back to the books...

BWD#3 Great Grains Muffins

A day late.  Again.  I have a great excuse.  Here he is:

Spending some time with Deacon...world's cutest nephew!

Last minute trip up to Milwaukee, WI to visit my brother's firstborn (and the man to whom I devoted Bill's Big Carrot Cake) and spend Easter weekend getting some much needed relaxation, sweatpants, and baby time!

As promised, I baked the Great Grains Muffins bright and early this morning...er...this morning.  Not so early!

Pot of tea and muffins, anyone?

Mmmm....love the smell of cornmeal!

One of the things I'm growing to appreciate as a budding baker is the fact that Dorie's assembly is so simple.  Seriously...how much easier can combining the dry ingredients...combining the wet ingredients...then pouring the wet into the dry, stirring and baking be?!  Plus, none of these ingredients has thirty components, all of which need to be Googled and none of which can be pronounced!  I love it!  This is definitely a versatile muffin---I mixed in golden raisins, and William reported it was a bit on the sweet side.  I'd imagine I could have added a combination of just about any dried fruit or toasted some walnuts or almonds and created more subtle changes.  Moist crumb, subtle flavors, a hint of maple and cornmeal---perfect addition to a morning cup of tea or coffee.  Looking forward to the next BWD!  Bring on the Fluted Polenta and Ricotta Cake!!! I'm armed and ready with my 10.5" French fluted tart pan.  See you in two weeks, BWD friends!

BWD #2, Part 2: A Birthday Cake for Deacon

As of this morning at approximately 8:51 or so...I'm an AUNT!!!  My brother and sister in law had their little boy, Deacon, and he was 19" and weighed 8 lbs, 4 oz.  Considering our anniversary was two days ago, and now Deacon's here---April is shaping up to be quite a memorable month, indeed!  Reason for celebration with a carrot cake!

As promised, I've included a few more deconstructed...and fully assembled pics!  I chose to make it with homemade lemon curd and homemade whipped cream, rather than the sugary sweet cream cheese frosting.  Husband will be home shortly to give his review!

The elements...whipped cream, lemon curd, and three layers of carrot cake.

Lemon Curd-Whipped Cream and a base layer of cake.

The leaning tower of Bill's Big Carrot Cake!

Much better.