March 9th, 2010
…I’ve been singing this all day… not quite sure why, perhaps it is the state of my brain… Tuesdays are always really long days… well, frankly, all my days have been long as of late but in a good way… good things are happening… some of which I hope to share soon… the excitement has put me in a bit of silly and hyper mood… haha!
Today, I give you these Agave Brownies. I made these a while ago during one of Juan’s visits. I threw everything together, while he ran down to the corner to buy the eggs. I only had half the amount of Agave so I substituted honey for the other half. We liked them. They are more cakey, which makes them perfect with a glass of milk. However, I was not blown away and would not make them again.
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March 4th, 2010
…according to the dictionary… the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune; a state of happiness or felicity… it has been a good week…
To spread some joy… I give you White Chocolate-Coconut Souffles. I made these for Juan as part of our post-Valentine’s dinner… he loves white chocolate and coconut… Ginny happened to have a white chocolate coconut Lindt bar… hence, a fancy dessert was born…The top got a little toasty but it had that caramelized sugar taste so it ended up working well…
White Chocolate-Coconut Souffle
(adapted from here for two)
1 tablespoon granulated sugar plus additional for coating soufflé dish
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 large egg yolks
1/2 cups milk
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ounces fine-quality coconut-white chocolate bar, chopped fine
2 large egg whites
pinch of salt
Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter 2 one cup ramekin and coat with additional granulated sugar, knocking out excess sugar.
In a bowl whisk together flour and 1 teaspoon granulated sugar. In a small bowl whisk together egg yolk and 1 tablespoon milk and add to flour mixture, whisking until smooth.
In a heavy saucepan heat (I used a frying pan) remaining milk over high heat until it just comes to a boil and whisk into yolk mixture in a slow stream. Transfer mixture to pan and cook over moderate heat, whisking, until it just comes to a boil. Cook mixture at a bare simmer, whisking constantly, until very thick, about 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat and whisk in vanilla and chocolate until custard is smooth. Transfer custard to a large bowl.
In another bowl with an electric mixer beat egg whites with salt until they just hold soft peaks. Beat in remaining sugar in a slow stream, beating until meringue just holds stiff peaks. Stir one fourth of meringue into custard to lighten and fold in remaining meringue gently but thoroughly. Spoon mixture into prepared dish. Soufflé may be prepared up to this point 1 hour ahead and chilled, covered with a paper towel and plastic wrap. Do not let paper towel touch surface of soufflé. Put cold soufflé in preheated oven. Bake soufflé in middle of oven for about 20 minutes, or until firm and set in center.
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February 28th, 2010
… a weekend of cooking but… It is a lazy Sunday and I’m not in the mood for a big meal… Instead, I give you…Bagna Cauda mopped up with Italian Bread (and part of the Omnivore’s 100). I made this for our New Years Dinner… I’ve never liked anchovies but with butter, olive oil and garlic, it was delicious and did not last long. Juan took the deer photo during our skiing trip over Christmas break… we would walk outside of our room and there would be deer… so cute…
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