out. But that's what I do. And, boy oh boy, did the Barefoot Contessa,
also known as - Ina Garten, cook up some good things today. So
good in fact, that I came straight upstairs to see if I had the ingredients
I needed to make those recipes myself. I had planned to have Salmon
with Cherry Sauce for dinner. The broccoli with bow tie pasta
recipe that she made would be the perfect side dish.
I made it that night and we loved it. I took the leftovers and turned them
into a salad the next day, which I think was even better
than the original recipe. Cook once - eat twice!!!
Broccoli with Bow Tie Pasta
1/2 box bow tie pasta
1 head of broccoli, cut into florets
2 T. butter
2 T. olive oil
1 t. minced garlic
1 lemon, zested
1 T. lemon juice
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
fresh grated parmesan cheese
Lightly steam broccoli. Place in bowl. Cook pasta.
Drain and add to broccoli.
In saute pan. Heat butter and oil. Cook garlic and lemon
zest for 1 minute. Do not let garlic brown. Off heat, add
salt , pepper and lemon juice. Pour over pasta. Sprinkle
with parmesan cheese and pine nuts. Stir and serve.
The Next Day Salad
Put leftover pasta in a bowl. Add chopped kalamata
olives, chopped marinated artichoke hearts, diced
sundried tomatoes and feta cheese. I poured a little
of the liquid from the artichoke hearts into the salad to
make a dressing with a splash of olive oil.
The second recipe that she made was a Peanut Butter Brownie.
Even though I have some great brownie recipes, I am always
on the quest to find the perfect brownie. So, the next day I was
baking.
These are very chocolaty brownies. Remember all those chocolate
chips I put into my storage last month? Well, I dipped into my
supply for this recipe.
Chocolate chips and a pound of butter go into a glass bowl.
And ,as if 2 2/3 cups of chocolate chips wasn't enough, I chopped
and added 6 oz. of unsweet chocolate.
Then all this chocolate and butter is melted over a pot of
simmering water.
In a small bowl, I sifted the dry ingredients. This is added to
the chocolate mixture when it is cooled along with more
chocolate chips. I told you! Very chocolaty!
There is very little flour in these brownies. But lots of chocolate,
eggs and butter. I never said this was a healthy recipe!
After everything was mixed, I poured it into a pan - added
dollops of peanut butter and then swirled them through the
brownies.
This is where I had a little problem. I thought I was using the
correct size pan - but afterwards I realized I used a jelly roll
pan and was supposed to be using a half sheet pan. There is
a substantial difference in the depth of these pans and that
is why, my brownies oozed over the edge of the pan and dripped
into my oven causing a bit of a mess. Ok, more than a bit -
a huge mess!
This picture doesn't really show how bad it was. At this point,
I had already opened the deck door to air out the kitchen! So, these
brownies had a slight smoked quality to them - but honestly, they were
still the best brownies I've ever had. The next day I cleaned my
oven.
This makes a lot of brownies. I packaged up plates and gave them
to friends and just kept a few at home for us. I cut ours in little bite
sized pieces, because they were so rich and Mark and I nibbled on
them for a few days. I love chocolate and peanut butter together, but
these would be great without the peanut butter and with
walnuts instead. I'm going to get the correct size pan and I will be
making these again. They are truly a gourmet brownie that will
put those boxed varieties to shame.
Peanut Butter Brownies
1 pound unsalted brownies
4 2/3 cups of semisweet chocolate chips, divided - I use Ghiradelli
6 oz. unsweet chocolate
6 extra large eggs
1 1/2 T. instant coffee granules ( optional)
2 T. vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups plain flour, divided
1 T. baking powder
1 t. salt
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 12 x18x 1 1/2 "
sheet pan. Melt together the butter, 2 2/3 cups of chocolate chips
and the unsweet chocolate in a medium bowl over simmering water.
Allow to cool slightly. In a large bowl, stir (do not beat) together the
eggs, coffee granules, vanilla and sugar. Stir the warm chocolate mixture
into the egg mixture and allow to cool slightly.
In a medium bowl, sift together 1 cup of flour, the baking powder,
and salt. Add to the cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the remaining
2 cups of chocolate chips in medium bowl with 1/4 cup of flour, then
add them to the chocolate batter. Pour into the prepared sheet pan.
Spoon the peanut butter over the top of the chocolate mixture and
using a knife, swirl it through the chocolate mixture.
Bake for 30 - 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Do not overbake!
Allow to cool thoroughly, refrigerate and cut into squares.
* Goal #23 - Try 50 new recipes
Sounds yummy!
ReplyDelete