Today is...National Chocolate Brownie Day!

Did you know that today is National Chocolate Brownie Day in the United States? I know that I am certainly going to celebrate tonight with brownies and milk for the kids (and myself, of course!)!


(image from www.browniekitchen.com)

I am going to indulge in this recipe, from one of my favorite websites, Epicurious.com!

Turtle Brownies
Gourmet, December 1996

The lusciously sticky caramel-pecan top layer in this brownie was inspired by the chewy chocolate candies called "turtles."

Ingredients:

For brownie layer:
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

For caramel-pecan layer:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light corn syrup
3 tablespoons water
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups pecans (6 ounces)

For garnish if desired: 1 ounce semisweet chocolate

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°F. and butter and flour a 9-inch square baking pan, knocking out excess flour.

Make brownie layer:
In a heavy 1 1/2-quart saucepan melt chocolate and butter over low heat, stirring, until smooth and remove pan from heat. Cool mixture to lukewarm and stir in brown sugar and vanilla. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well with a wooden spoon until mixture is glossy and smooth. In a bowl sift together flour, baking powder, and salt and add to chocolate mixture, beating just until batter is combined well.

Spread batter evenly in pan and bake in middle of oven 30 to 35 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Cool brownie layer completely in pan on a rack.

Make caramel-pecan layer:
In a heavy 3-quart saucepan bring sugar, corn syrup, water, and a pinch salt to a boil over moderate heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved, and boil mixture, without stirring, until it turns a golden caramel. Remove pan from heat and carefully add cream and vanilla (mixture will bubble up and steam). Stir in pecans and quickly pour mixture over brownie layer, spreading evenly. Cool brownies completely in pan on a rack.

Make garnish:
In a double boiler or metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water melt chocolate, stirring, until smooth and remove top of double boiler or bowl from heat. Transfer chocolate to a small sealable plastic bag. Squeeze chocolate into one corner of bag and with a sharp knife cut a tiny slice off corner to form a small hole. Squeeze chocolate decoratively over brownies.

Chill brownies, loosely covered, until caramel is firm, at least 4 hours.

Cut chilled brownies into 16 squares and remove from pan while still cold. Let brownies come to room temperature before eating. Brownies keep, covered and chilled in one layer, 5 days.

P.S. Want someone else to do all of the work for you? Click on this image to see what baked delights Cheryl & Co. can create and SHIP FREE for you!

Flavor Trends for 2009: Lavender

From my previous posts (November 16, November 19), I revealed that I am truly fascinated with food trends, and experimenting with new flavors. Recently, Mintel, the consumer, media and market research company, tallied the top food and flavor trends for 2009. Here are the top seven flavor trends for 2009:

1. Persimmon (featured in November 16th blog post)
2. Starfruit (featured in November 19th blog post)
3. Lavender
4. Cactus
5. Chimichurri
6. Peri-Peri
7. Masala

In this post, I spotlight the aromatic Lavender! I will continue to highlight each trend, with a recipe or two that I recommend. Please feel free to bookmark and/or follow this blog so you can get a great snapshot of all seven in the weeks to come. I also welcome any recipes that include Lavender, even homemade skincare recipes that feature lavender that you would love to share.

#3 Lavender: What is Lavender? What does it taste like?


(Picture from http://www.peachykeenorganics.co.uk)

Many of us have lavender growing in our gardens, and I know that I certainly love including lavender in my backyard to savor the wonderful scent! Lavender is used in a variety of ways, both fresh, dried and lavender oils. The chefs in the Provence region of France have been cooking with lavender for centuries. Lavender often brings a natural, yet elegant and sweetly floral flavor to a variety of cuisines.


(Picture of Dagoba Organic Chocolate Lavender Bar, from www.dagobachocolate.com)

One of the truly interesting food products that I found that contains lavender is the "Dagoba Organic Chocolate Bar". This chocolate bar contains dark chocolate, lavender and blueberries. It sounds completely divine, and the Dagoba website claims that it is "terrific with a glass of zinfandel". SOLD! They offer a box of 12 bars for $36.00. What amazing hostess gifts these bars would make with a lovely small dried lavender bouquet tied to the bar with some natural colored raffia! (hint, hint...to any of my holiday guests!)

The lavender recipe, and image, that follow were found on Epicurious.com. I found many truly interesting lavender recipes, including many with a Provence theme (with cornish game hens, and other fowl). I thought this one seemed so very versatile to make a unique and interesting holiday dessert truly special!


(photo by: Sang An, from www.Epicurious.com)

Honey Lavender Ice Cream

Yield: Makes about 1 qt

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 8 hr (includes steeping, chilling, and freezing)

Ingredients:

2 cups heavy cream
1 cup half-and-half
2/3 cup mild honey
2 tablespoons dried edible lavender flowers*
2 large eggs
1/8 teaspoon salt

Special equipment: a candy or instant-read thermometer; an ice cream maker

Preparation:

Bring cream, half-and-half, honey, and lavender just to a boil in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, then remove pan from heat. Let steep, covered, 30 minutes.

Pour cream mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and discard lavender. Return mixture to cleaned saucepan and heat over moderate heat until hot.

Whisk together eggs and salt in a large bowl, then add 1 cup hot cream mixture in a slow stream, whisking. Pour into remaining hot cream mixture in saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until thick enough to coat back of spoon and registers 170 to 175°F on thermometer, about 5 minutes (do not let boil).

Pour custard through sieve into cleaned bowl and cool completely, stirring occasionally. Chill, covered, until cold, at least 3 hours.

Freeze custard in ice cream maker. Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden.

Cooks' notes:• To cool custard quickly after straining, set bowl in a larger bowl of ice and cold water and stir until chilled. • Custard can chill up to 1 day before freezing. • Ice cream keeps 1 week.



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