Daring Bakers Challenge...Chocolate Valentino

I love being a Daring Baker. We are an ever expanding group of bakers that make it our mission to once a month step outside of our comfort zone and try something new...and dare I say it? - something daring.

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef. We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

The Chocolate Valentino

Talk about a decadent dessert. This "cake" was amazing - perhaps the best tasting cake ever. What surprises me, as a newbie in the baking world, is how something this amazing is made with nothing but melted chocolate, butter and eggs. No flour, no sugar, no baking powder - nothing else. Which also surprises me in the fact that this was considered Daring enough for the Daring Bakers. It comes together in less than 20 minutes, then bakes for a mere 25 minutes - and then what? You eat it. You scoop some ice cream on it and shiver as the fudgy goodness adds an extra 5 pounds to your hiney. But oh is it ever worth it. You can always add an extra mile or two on the treadmill, people...you should not deprive yourself of this cake.

Now, officially, to be a true Valentino, this should be made in a heart shaped pan - but our challenge didn't require us to use one. So I didn't. Number one, I don't OWN a heart shaped pan. Number two, I am too poor to buy one. Number three, I don't do hearts. Just not a fan of anything heart shaped. So sue me. Call me an anti-romantic if you must...and though I like a love story as much as the next guy, hearts are just a bit too cheesy for me.

We were told to choose the chocolate we wanted to use - be it white chocolate, milk, semi-sweet, bittersweet - you name it, we could use it. I chose about 3 ounces of Lindt milk chocolate, 3 ounces of Lindt Intense Orange Dark Chocolate, and 10 ounces of Semi Sweet chips. The subtle flavor of the orange was a great choice...this cake was so smoothe.

Instead of the heart shaped pan, I made one 6 inch cake and put the rest of the batter in the new Wilton Brownie Pop Pan which made 8 little baby cakes. These I had to pull out of the oven at 18 minutes. The 6 inch pan needed to bake for 28 minutes, and was still a bit undone when I cut into it (but oh so yummy!) The brownie pan is a cute little pan to add to your collection of random bakeware - it's lots of fun. As for the ice cream challenge - I did not use either of the recipes our hosts provided - I just threw together an easy vanilla cream from David Lebovitz that (eek) doesn't require cooking the eggs into a custard first.

And without further ado, here is your recipe, from Sweet Treats by Chef Wan.

Chocolate Valentino
Preparation Time: 20 minutes

16 ounces (1 pound) (454 grams) of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
½ cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons (146 grams total) of unsalted butter
5 large eggs separated

1. Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.
2. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.
3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls.
4. Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry).
5. With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.
6. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.
7. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter. {link of folding demonstration}
8. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F/190C
9. Bake for 25 minutes or until an instant read thermometer reads 140F/60C.
Note – If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet.
10. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.

Friday Find...

To keep myself in the habit of posting on a regular basis, I have decided to make Fridays my "Finds" day. Whether it be a fabulous new whisk, a cool hotel, a deal on a cruise, or an Etsy artist, I will feature it here, every Friday.

For my first Friday Find, I am choosing the Maclaren Volo Stroller.

This handy, lightweight stroller was recommended to me by another fantastic blogging Mom - Anne Strawberry. Anne put me onto this stroller when I did an SOS post about our trip to Italy, when I needed a good quality lightweight stroller for the flight over as well as the cobblestone streets of Rome and Venice.

From the Manufacturer

Maclaren Volo Stroller with a hood is lightweight and easy to use at 8.6 pounds. It is easy and fast to fold 'n go with handy carry strap. This is a modern single position, easy to clean which has self locking wheels and a removable mesh seat. It has an ergonomic foam gripped handle with an angled frame for comfortable pushing. The stroller has an adjustable five-point harness which helps to safeguard the baby. It beautifully suit¿s for 6 months and older babies. This also includes a rain cover.

Product Description

Maclaren expertly answers the needs of busy families on-the-go with the Volo Stroller. Sleek and compact, the Volo is a stunningly simple design that meets the practical demands of travel and portability. The fixed position mesh seat is comfortable for children and easy to sponge clean for parents. The 5-point harness keeps child safely secured in the seat.

The Volo features ergonomically designed foam grip handles that are high, which enables easy pushing without bending to reach. With lockable swivel wheels, the Volo is almost effortless to push. The one-handed fold mechanism allows a parent to keep a firm hold on baby while folding, and the new shoulder strap makes carrying the Volo a breeze. The removable storage basket is great for shopping or for carrying travel essentials.

Features:
5-point harness for added security
Lightweight
Removable, washable, breathable mesh seat
Height adjustable shoulder harness
Compact umbrella fold
Water resistant hood
High-performance aluminum frame
Handy mesh shopping basket
Carry strap or handle for easy portability
5 second one-hand fold
Foot-operated linked parking brakes
Buckle and hubcaps
Basic Weight: 8.6 lbs. (3.9 kg)
Carrying Capacity: 55 lbs. (15 kg)
Appropriate from 6 months

Now - what do I think of this stroller? Well, obviously, I love it. I love the fact that it opens and closes easily. I love that it weighs 8 pounds, compared to the huge stroller I used to have that was too heavy to even use regularly. I love that I will be able to use this stroller for a couple of years - it's the last stroller I will ever buy. I also love that I lucked into the deal of the century on it - I had taken some of Sev's old clothes to Once Upon A Child (a kid's used/consignment type of shop) and spotted a very gently used Volo for $40. A huge savings, but in all honesty, I would buy it again at full price - it's that good. Seven was able to sleep in it all over Italy with no trouble, even though it doesn't recline. Being able to just be thrown over my shoulder and carry it is a big plus, too.

If you are looking for a reliable, easy, well made stroller - look no further. Target carries this stroller regularly for $129+, but for now, on Amazon, you can pick it up for under $99. Anyone else got things to say about the Volo? Share it here!

A Wallet Friendly Dinner, Quick & Easy

I rarely feature actual "food" here on the doughmesstic site...most often it's baked goodies. But you know what? We eat here, too. In these tough economic times, I have managed to keep us all fed, and believe it or not, I don't really even miss the weekly (well, more like 2 or 3 times a week) dinners out. For the money it takes to eat out once a week I can feed us dinner at home with better quality food for the whole week.

Seriously. Do the math.

Chicken Entree - $14.95

Steak - $18.95

Kids Meal Cheese Sandwich - $5.00

2 Sodas - $4.48

Tax

Tip (18%)
Total - $61.00

One meal out at Outback will easily run a couple and their child $60 by the time you add tax and tip. At least. Add an appetizer and you've upped it to $70. Three years ago, this was just what we did. We'd get together with friends and head out to eat every Friday. I can't get that money back now. It's gone. And the food? While it was good, it is no better than what I can make at home. Here's a meal to prove it. Maybe it's fancy enough to consider for a Friday Night Special, but it's great for Sunday because you'll have plenty of leftovers to take with you to work on Monday.

Cheesy Rotisserie Chicken & Bowties

makes 6 to 8 servings

• Store bought rotisserie chicken, chopped or pulled into pieces
• One standard box Bow Tie Pasta
• 1 bag shredded cheese (I used taco flavor, but any strong cheese will do)
• 1/2 Sweet onion, diced
• 1 Pepper, any color (I used orange this time)
• 1 can chicken broth
• 1 can Cream of Mushroom (regular size)
• 1 can Cream of Chicken (regular size)
• 4 Tbsp. Melted Butter
• 1 tsp dried cilantro
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 325.

Cook Bowties in water and can of chicken broth until nearly done. You will be baking this pasta, so take care not to over cook it now. Reserve a cup of the broth from the pasta to add in to the mixture. In large bowl, combine the broth, chicken, cheese, peppers, onions, melted butter, both creams, salt, pepper & cilantro. Stir it well and pour it in a large baking dish. Bake covered

at 325 for 45 minutes. This is great served with garlic bread and a side salad.

Let's do a breakdown of cost:

Chicken - $5.24

Canned Cream of Mushroom - $.50

Canned Cream of Chicken - $.50

Bowtie Pasta - $.74

Onion - $.40

Pepper - $.75

Cheese - $1.50

Chicken Broth - $.50

Total: $10.13

Of course, you'll need to add a few other items to make it a meal -

Garlic Bread - $1.50

Salad - $2.50

2 Sodas - $1.00

Grand Total: $15.13...and this will feed 6 people. Or a couple and their baby for dinner and then lunch the following day. Us? We ate it for dinner one night, for lunch the following day, and then Seven & I ate it as a side dish with sandwiches the day after that.

I hope you'll enjoy this dish as much as we do!

I'll leave you with a couple of pictures I took of Seven this week. He has recently become obsessed with glasses, probably because I have been taking a break from my contact lenses lately. But he wants to wear them to do everything. Jon gave him a pair of safety glasses so that he won't destroy our real glasses, and here he is "safely" riding his wooden rocking horse. It's always better to be safe, people...those horses can turn on you in a heartbeat. :)

New Mom?? Check This Out...

Many of you know that I am a new Mom, mother to my little boy, Seven. We tried for so long to have him that I guess I glorified in that time the ease of Motherhood. It seemed the toughest part for us was going to be actually producing a baby, not raising it.

Hmmm. Wishful thinking.

Not that Seven is trouble. He isn't. He has more energy than I do, yes, but that's to be expected. He definitely has his own personality, which I love and love watching develop. I wouldn't trade him for the world...especially at night. When we lay him down in bed and say goodnight, he sweetly coos - "Bye, Ciao, Nitenite"...in a voice that I wish I could bottle and carry around with me.

Seven is now approaching 18 months old. I kind of dreaded this age, as it seems like the age that so many others assign as the Potty Training Time. This kind of freaks me out. Potty Training. He seems too young to me for this, but for about a week I've succumbed to the idea and have been holding him over the toilet at bath time, encouraging him to go. Which he does, but only after I put him into his bath. It's a losing battle. He is too young. He is too young to understand what I mean by peepee in the potty. I don't know what age he will grasp it, but now is not that time. So where does that leave me?

Here.

A solution, or at least a book that makes me feel better about not having a child prodigy bathroom user. Out of the Mouths of Babes by Dyan Eybergen is that book. When the ladies over at MotherTalk sent out info on it, I knew I had to get my hands on it. A whole section devoted to Potty Training? Oh yeah. I wanted some insight.

The first chapter of the Toilet Training Section helped me breathe. I know that sounds ridiculous, but here was something I had been aching to hear. My son is too young. Sure, I know there are kids out there Seven's age that can use the toilet. Sure there are. I personally don't know any, but that's not the point. Seven is too young. He's not ready. And this book has shown me the signs that will let me know when he is ready. So now I am prepared. No longer will we sit uncomfortably on the potty at bath time - and Dyan explains why not to do this in terms we adults can understand. I will know when Seven is ready. I will know. You can't imagine the relief I feel knowing that I am not a negligent mother.

Studded throughout this very informative book are quips from the author's family, namely her small children, and I found myself giggling constantly. The book is worth the price just for these adorable quotes! Here is one of my favorite:

(The day before, Mom's car wouldn't start so Dad put in gas-line antifreeze to get it going.)

"Mom, you'd better make sure you put in some of that ass line panty freeze, or your car might not start again." - Ryan, age 4

Great book, everyone. New Moms - Dyan just might be your best friend. She gets you.

Tuesdays With Dorie...Caramel Crunch Bars

This week Whitney of What's Left on the Table chose Caramel Crunch Bars for our TWD recipe. I had been eyeing these goodies for quite a while, but never got around to actually making them until now.

This was a relatively easy recipe - no sink full of dirty dishes, no chill time, wait time, freeze time, (utterly annoying times, if you ask me) - so, easy. My kind of recipe.

Except wait. These are too sweet for me.

I can't believe I just said that. Too sweet? Is that possible? Well, for me, yes. Maybe it is the toffee - it just gets in my teeth and makes them ache it is so sweet. But good they are and I am sure kids love them with all of their intact, young enamel and such. I left some plain, just as they are, and others I cut up and made into the ice cream sandwiches Dorie suggested. Granted, I have not bitten into one of the ice cream bars, but I somehow doubt that a good slathering of ice cream is going to tone down all that sweetness. Just guessing. Jon ate one though, so that's a good sign.

I thought that since I have a little time (I made these early so no last minute posting!) I would make a list of all of the Dorie Recipes I have made to date. Most all were made as part of my TWD adventure, which I joined in late May last year, but a couple were rewinds and a couple I just wanted to make. I'd like to just say - I have NEVER made so many recipes from one book. EVER. If you don't already own this masterpiece, you should. You can get it here, or by clicking on the picture of the book. You won't be sorry...it's like the Bible for bakers of all things yummy.

Now, go check out what all of the other TWD Bakers thought of this week's Bars...I'm sure they'll say great things!

Recipes I Have Tried from Dorie Greenspan's Baking:From My Home to Yours

1. Brrrrr-ownies


2. Quintuple Chocolate Brownies


3. Devils Food White Out Cake


4. Floating Islands


5. Savory Corn Muffins


6. Tall & Creamy Cheesecake


7. Grandma's All Occasion Sugar Cookies


8. Linzer Sables


9. Thanksgiving Twofer Pie


10. Black & White Pudding


11. Rugelach


12. Chocolate Chocolate Cupcakes


13. Pumpkin Muffins


14. Lenox Biscotti


15. Caramel Peanut Topped Brownie Cake


16. Chocolate Chunkers


17. Malted Whopper Drops


18. Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters


19. Chocolate Banded Ice Cream Torte


20. Granola Grabbers


21. Blueberry Sour Cream Ice Cream


22. Black & White Banana Loaf


23. Summer Fruits Galette


24. World Peace Cookies


25. Cherry Rhubarb Cobbler


26. Chocolate Pudding


27. Double Crusted Blueberry Pie


28. Apple Cheddar Scones


29. Mixed Berry Cobbler


30. Cream Puff Rings


31. La Palette's Strawberry Tart


32. French Chocolate Brownies


33. Pecan Honey Sticky Buns


34. Peanut Butter Torte


35. Florida Pie


36. My Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

Because I am Trying to be a Good Wife...

Typically, I am a bit surly. It does aggravate me, this surliness. Why must I be so difficult to deal with? I am not like this with everyone...mostly Jon. Which is stupid, I know...but he lets me get away with it and loves me anyway. So, in an effort to become a better 50's wife (or just a nicer wife in general, Hi, Honey) I spent Saturday making the Hubby some goodies to take with him on his out-of-town job.

He got home Friday evening in enough time to wash his work clothes (he does his own laundry), pack, and pick up a few things at Walmart before having to leave again Saturday night to pick up a sick work shift surveying for the railroad from 2am until 12 noon this week. It's soooo cold here, people. I don't even like walking from the house to my car. The thought of him out on those tracks in the bitter cold and wind all night makes me sad. He works hard and he doesn't complain about it. I have a keeper here.

So Saturday. I made him some rotisserie chicken salad for lunch, which he seemed to enjoy as he packed up all that was left into his cooler. I also gave him the TWD goodies that I will be posting about tomorrow, as well as the leftover Quintuple Chocolate Brownies I posted about a couple of days ago. His favorite thing, though, is Mint Brownies. I have a recipe I typically use for those, but I remembered that Dorie had a recipe for what she calls Brrrrownies, so I decided to give those a shot. I changed the recipe a bit, though...I hate having to use the stove to melt my chocolate and dirty up extra pots and pans...and I also changed the chocolate up as well. So here is my take on Dorie Greenspan's Brrrrr-ownie recipe.

Brrrrr-ownies

from Dorie Greenspan's BFMHTY

5 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 5 pieces

3 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped *(I used Semi-Sweet Chips)

3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

2/3 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

pinch of salt

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup (6 oz.) York Peppermint Pattie Bites (or an equal weight of patties), chopped into bits

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil, butter the foil and place the pan on a baking sheet. *I used an 8 x 8 Silicon Pan

Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water. Put the butter in the bowl, top with the chopped chocolates and stir occasionally until the ingredients are just melted - you don't want them to get so hot that the butter separates. Remove the bowl from the pan of water. *I just melted the butter and chocolate in the microwave, taking care not to over heat it. It worked great heating it for 30 seconds and stirring, then repeating until it was all melted.

With a whisk, stir in the sugar. Don't be concerned when your smooth mixture turns grainy. Whisk in the eggs one by one. Add the vanilla and whisk vigorously to bring the batter together and give it a shine before gently stirring in the salt and flour; stir only until incorporated. Switch to a rubber spatula and fold in the peppermint pieces. Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top with the rubber spatula.

Bake the brownies for 30 to 33 minutes, or until the top is dull and a thin knife inserted into the centre comes out almost clean. (The tip of the knife may be a touch streaky.) Transfer the pan to a rack and cool to room temperature.

When they are completely cool, turn out onto a rack, peel away the foil and invert onto a cutting board. Cut into sixteen 2-inch squares.Makes 16 brownies.

Verdict? These were a hit. They are very rich and super fudgey, just the way I like a brownie. They could really use a scoop of ice cream - even Dorie agrees with me - and I think next time I will use less unsweetened chocolate (maybe an ounce less) and replace it with milk chocolate. I think I will also add a splash of mint extract, just to amp up the cool factor a bit.

Ohhh - I heard from Jon yesterday...the brownies are all gone.

Told ya, this one's a keeper. (the recipe AND the man!)

See you tomorrow with my TWD recipe!

52 Books...

...in 52 Weeks.

That's my goal for this year. Sure, movies are great and take less time. TV is easier still and you can pause it and eat at the same time. But books are good for your brain. Even crappy books. We all know that. I used to read all the time, but life has a way of moving on and lots of times a luxury such as a novel gets passed up for a re-run of Grey's Anatomy or listening to Mike Rowe narrate one of the 452 shows he's up to these days.
So I am stepping in to do something about this life of mine. It will be good for me, and will be a good example for Seven. No, I do not intend to get so engrossed in a book that I ignore him - I have limited my reading to times when he is in bed at night or when I am at my store and there are no customers - which sadly seems to be more and more frequent, but that's another story.

I plan on posting my reads as I finish them, with a little blurb about each one in case anyone else wants to join in on the action. Since we are only about 6 or 7 weeks into the New Year, catching up won't be hard at this point if you want to give it a go. Read what you want...that's what I am doing. I am a huge fan of ChickLit - not the most educational, admitted, but the Classics take a bit more brain power than I have in the late night hours. I want an easy read...something that just lets me get away and live vicariously through the well dressed characters. Mmmmm.

Here's my list to date, starting from the first of the year... if you are interested in buying any of them, just click the picture...

Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, & Breaking Dawn , by Stephenie Meyer

I can't tell you anything about these books that you can't read on a million other sites. Are they the best books ever? No they are not. But they are addictive, well written, and I enjoyed the snot out of them. Did I say addictive already?? They are. You may as well buy these, as I doubt you'll snag them at your local library anytime soon...plus, you can do like I did and resell them on Amazon or eBay for what you paid for them. Win Win Situation there, folks.

The School of Essential Ingredients, by Erica Bauermeister

I posted about this book already...a good read, easy, inspiring. Great for foodies!

A Wedding in December, by Anita Shreve

I am just going to be honest here and say this book was ummm... okay. I just don't like Shreve's writing - it seems forced and I feel that she tries to use words that are too collegiate and contrived. On lots of occasions it's as if you can just see her mind working - she hears about some tidbit of trivia and then finds a way to work it into the storyline whether it fits or not. It's irritating. While the book was good enough to read...I just didn't like it. Snooze.

Chasing Harry Winston, by Lauren Weisberger

This one was fun. A well written ChickLit novel about 3 best friends with man issues living their lives in NYC. Talk about living vicariously...every woman will relate to at least one of these ladies...and want to be her. Like I said...fun.

Wish me luck on keeping this pace...next up are Candace Bushnell and Jennifer Weiner...and come on everyone - set a goal for yourself, too. You deserve to do something just for you. If you go to the library it won't cost you a penny - and free in these economic times is a good thing! Join me!

Brownies Take Over DoughMessTic...

Well, there is news on the DoughMessTic front. Remember the Cafe I used to bake for? Well, it died. Seriously....died died. As in, the owner put an obit in the paper. He was a strange fella - so this does not surprise me. Nor did the closing up shop - I knew it was coming. This town, my town, well, it just isn't ready for a coffee shop. If you don't make your own coffee at home, then your wife does. And if she doesn't, you buy it at Clover Dew. And if you don't go to Clover Dew then you are probably over 70, and eating your breakfast at Hardee's or DQ with your peers. In other words, you are not going to buy your coffee at a coffeeshop. I applaud him for giving it a go, I do...but I can't say I am missing making all those muffins. In fact, I hate making muffins. And it wasn't easy, trying to bake for the cafe with Seven being up and active...you Moms know what I am saying.

So, now that I have a nice clean kitchen (Jon has been working out of town and for some reason I have been cleaning the house with a toothbrush similar to the time on Desperate Housewives when Lynette took her kid's Ritalin) I felt the need to bake something for FUN. Not for the Daring Bakers, not for the Pie Challenge, not for Tuesdays With Dorie...just for FUN. So I turned to Dorie anyway and played catch-up. I joined last year after the group had made the Quintuple Chocolate Brownies, so that particular recipe called out to me. Anything fudgey. I love fudgey. Cakey Brownies? Nope - if I want cakey, I'll make cake. These are NOT cakey brownies.

What they are is RICH. Richhhhh. Hello? 5 types of chocolate...of course they are rich. And the first bite is ever so coffee heavy. I am not a big fan of coffee, but most "grownups" are. If I make them again, I think I will lessen the amount quite a bit or maybe omit it all together. Strangely enough though, I really only taste the coffee for the first couple of bites...then, it's gone. By the last bite I am wondering how I ever made such a fantastic brownie.

I rarely if ever post a recipe of Dorie's, but because this one was picked ages ago from Baking:From My Home to Yours in the TWD line-up, a lot of other bakers already have it on their blogs...and I really think everyone should give it a shot if they haven't already!

Quintuple Chocolate Brownies

from Dorie Greenspan's BFMHTY

For the Brownies

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

3 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons strong coffee

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

6 ounces premium-quality milk chocolate, chopped into chips, or 1 cup store-bought milk chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped nuts

For the Glaze

6 ounces premium-quality white chocolate, finely chopped, or 1 cup store-bought white chocolate chips

1/3 heavy cream

Getting Ready:

Center a rack in the oven and preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with foil, butter the foil and place the pan on a baking sheet.

Sift together the flour, cocoa and salt.

To Make the Brownies:

Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and add, in the following order, the butter, the two chocolates and the coffee. Keeping the pan over low heat, warm just until the butter and the chocolates are melted– you don’t want the ingredients to separate, so keep an eye on the bowl. Stir gently, and when the mixture is smooth, set it aside for 5 minutes.

Using a whisk or a rubber spatula, beat the sugar into the chocolate mixture. Don’t beat too vigorously– you don’t want to add air to the batter– and don’t be concerned about any graininess. Next, stir the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla. You should have a smooth, glossy batter. If your not already using a rubber spatula, switch to one now and gently stir in the dry ingredients, mixing only until they are incorporated. Finally, stir in the milk chocolate chips and nuts. Scrape the batter into the pan.

Bake for 35 minutes, or until a think knife inserted into the center comes out streaked but not thickly coated. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and let the brownies rest undisturbed for at least 30 minutes. (You can wait longer if you’d like.)Turn the brownies out onto a rack, peel away the foil and place it under another rack–it will be the drip catcher for the glaze. Invert the brownies onto the rack and let cool completely.

To Make the Glaze:

Put the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring the heavy cream to a boil and pour it over the chocolate. Wait 30 seconds, then, using a rubber spatula, gently stir until the chocolate is melted.and the glaze is smooth.Hold a long metal icing spatula in one hand the bowl of glaze in the other. Pour the glaze onto the center of the brownies and use the spatula to nudge it evenly over the surface. Don’t worry if it dribbles over the edges, you can trim the sides later (or not). Refrigerate the brownies for about 20 minutes to dry the glaze.Cut into 16 squares, each roughly 2 1/4 inches on a side.

**Note - I added a few squiggles of milk chocolate ganache to my glaze, just to pretty it up a bit. I also used almonds for the nuts.

On another note - if you are a food blogger and live in Virginia - I am still looking for you! Please see my previous post for details!

Calling All Virginians...

Yes, it says Virginians...not Virgins. That would be a waste of time.

So why am I calling? Well, I think we Virginian Food Bloggers need to get together and form an alliance of sorts. It's just a thought. I have tentatively set up a space online where we can have a blogroll to link to our individual sites (hey, a few more hits never hurt, right?) but I think eventually we may even do guest posts and featured bloggers, that type of thing. I guess it just depends on who all is interested.
If nothing else, just send me a link to your (mostly) Food oriented blog and I will set up a link to it for now. Then when I have a pretty good collection, I will let everyone in on the link to the new page.
I think it will be great for all of us...us Southern Gals need to stick together!
Send me a note...susan at doughmesstic dot com...I look forward to hearing from all of you!

Tuesdays With Dorie...Devils Food White Out Cake

Whoa.

This week Stephanie of Confessions of a City Eater chose the cover photo recipe of Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours....Devils Food White Out Cake. What a cake! I'll be honest here - I wasn''t sure that this recipe could be THAT much better than a box. I mean, SO MUCH WORK. So many pans. So many dirty dishes. But I wanted to give it a shot.

For my bittersweet chocolate, I used Godiva, and for the milk chocolate I used Lindt. No cheapie chocolate for a cake as intensive as this one. It really made it decadent, that's for sure. I love that the pieces of chocolate that weren't melted into the batter were chewy and unexpected in each bite of cake, and I also loved the light and airy marshmallow icing. Hardly notcieable, but the cake needed it...how do you explain that?

As you can see, I went a little fancy on my decorations. Since I was serving this for Valentine's Day dinner with friends, I wanted to fancy it up a bit. So I wrapped it in a thin layer of chocolate that I kind of ruffled and embellished it with chocolate transfer paper. I also used a heart shaped cookie cutter and made a few heart to go on top as well. It's pretty, I think...not too bad for my first attempt at using the transfers (which are kind of intimidating!).

To see how all of the other TWDers did this week, head on over to our headquarters...there are LOTS of us!

Wordless Wednesday...PeekABoo

And on a side note - Mr. Random Generator selected PheMOMenon as the winner of the See Kai Run Shoe Giveaway! Holly - email me your address and I will forward it on to the folks at SKR! Congrats and thanks to everyone for entering! Stay tuned for upcoming giveaways...I have some good ones forthcoming!

Tuesdays With Dorie...Floating Islands

For this week's Tuesdays with Dorie, Shari at Whisk: A Food Blog chose Floating Islands. You may not know Shari, but she is one creative lady and tears up the food blogging world. She once (or twice) made cookies in coin wrappers. She made the World's Tiniest Cakes in stolen ketchup cups. She's the mastermind of Whisk Wednesdays (a very elite uber dramatic weekly cooking group that I couldn't touch with a 10 foot pole even if I wanted to.) That being said....

I want to be her.

But...

My little brain just doesn't work like that. In fact, my brain tends not to work at all anymore. Take for example, yesterday. Yesterday I went on a buying trip for my store. We sell - to put it nicely - junk. Flea Market types of stuff. You would not ever be able to find the places I go to buy this stuff yourself, I could not draw you a map, and forget about it popping up in your Garmin...it ain't gonna happen. Anyway, ONE of the places I go accepts checks. One. So I stop by my store at 4:50am and pick up the cash I need and a check. I also pick up a list of stuff that we need. And a money bag. Out the door I go.

I shop. I buy. I find a phenomenal deal on Tide, all written in Chinese except for the word Tide, among other things. I am stoked. Finally, I am finished shopping at the one place that accepts checks when - what? - I Have No Check. Where is the check?? I walk through my day. Step by Step. I finally conclude that alas, I must have dropped the check in Plywood Shantytown, the worst possible place I went to that day to lose a check. I think about the next step - calling the bank to stop payment. Uck. My brain saw hooligans writing a huge check and forging a signature at Walmart, their carts full of Mad Dog and enough ingredients to make 72 batches of Crystal Meth. My brain? - well, it isn't a pretty place to be.

So I get back to my store and start unloading the trailer. Wouldn't you know my dumb butt laid the check on the counter as I ripped the shopping list from the notebook? No hooligans, no cheap wine, no meth. Thank God.

Floating Islands have nothing to do with this story, but here they are. Not too pretty, but done. I halved the recipe as Jon is out of town and I don't need all the extra calories. I won't lie and say it is my favorite TWD recipe, but it's good enough. Meringue, to me, just seems more like a topping versus the actual dessert...but it was different and looks fancy enough, and would impress more than a few dicriminating folks. Not the folks at Plywood Shantytown, mind you, but then again, they are a different people altogether.

To see how the rest of the TWD Groupies fared, head on over to the Blogroll.

My brain is done for the day.

YWPWT? - Literary Pie

This month's You Want Pies With That? Challenge was to make a Literary Pie - of course, this being the choice of Mary the Food Librarian. What else would you expect from the Food Librarian??

For my entry, I tossed around a few ideas, but finally settled on a One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Hazelnut Cheesecake. Huh? Well, it's just plain nuts, right? But then again, maybe it isn't...maybe it's just really good and wants you to enjoy it.

What I did was use Dorie Greenspan's never fail Tall & Creamy Cheesecake recipe as my starting point. I did mix in ground hazelnuts to the crust (yum), and then poured in the batter. From there, I added straight up Nutella and swirled it around (kind of looks "nesty" I think...well, maybe I am pushing it just a tad here) and popped it in the oven.

Taste? Oh yeah. This is good stuff. The Nutella would make a great base layer as well, in case you didn't want to swirl it in, just add a nice layer on top of the crust before adding the batter. Then you could top it with ground hazelnuts mixed with dulce de leche, and then pour a rich chocolate ganache over the whole deal....ooooh. Next time.

Now, head over to the YWPWT Headquarters and check out all of the other Literary entries. We'll be voting tomorrow on our favorites...maybe next month you will play along with us!

The School of Essential Ingredients...A Review

I was recently approached by MotherTalk to do a review on Erica Bauermeister's first novel, The School of Essential Ingredients. Being a first novel, I didn't know what to expect, and quite honestly, I didn't expect much of a novel at all.

While I was on vacation, the book arrived at my house and was waiting for me. Nice cover, nice font (I am a font person), not too long. Perhaps worth the time it would take me to read it, I thought. I was right.

This novel follows the lives and loves of 8 students in a Monday night cooking class and their instructor. Each character has their own story to tell, and soon find that perhaps their missing ingredient was within themselves all along. Ms. Bauermeister is a beautiful storyteller, conjuring up detailed gardens and kitchens, captivating aromas that you think that you, too, can smell...all in all, the novel is lovely, well written and terribly easy to read. I finished the 256 pages in roughly 3 hours.
That being said, and perhaps this is a testament to her writing skills, I wish the book had been longer. To delve in to the complicated lives of so many characters could have easily filled twice the amount of pages, and I feel that perhaps I would have benefitted from getting to know these characters better. There were a few unanswered questions - questions that seemed forgotten in the mix of delicate pastas and expensive wines, but perhaps this was her plan...to leave me wanting more.




I would recommend this book to anyone who spends time in the kitchen, for the simple fact that the writing is recipe inspiring and delicious. I know it's had me on the hunt for that one essential ingredient from the very last page.

Tuesdays With Dorie...World Peace Cookies

Jessica of cookbookhabit chose World Peace Cookies, on page 138-139 for this week's Tuesdays With Dorie. It just so happens that I absolutely LOVE these cookies, but my big ol' butt does NOT need to be consuming any of them at this juncture. You may recall that I did a post on them back in the summer, so, I am just going to go with it and post a picture or two of that batch. If you want to see how everyone else fared, check them out here.

I was fortunate enough to lose a few pounds on my trip to Italy over the past couple of weeks, but I really haven't gotten back into the swing of things here at Casa DoughMessTic, and baking isn't high on my list as of yet. I start working at my store again tomorrow, plus I guess I should alert the Cafe that I am back on American soil in case he needs more goodies to sell, and then of course, it's time to do our taxes. I swear I just did them...can it really have been a year? What does any of this rambling have to do with ANYTHING, you ask?

Nothing, really.

I guess what I am trying to say is this - Please just bear with me until I am up and running again. I am looking to be a better blogger in the very near future, but I feel that I need to devote some time to getting my home life in order before taking the internet by storm.

I WILL be back.

You just wait and see.