Recipe: Chocolate-Black Raspberry Brownies

Image via Wikipedia

From Denny: What a divine taste combination! The French make a wonderful liqueur called Chambord that is a natural in hot or cold coffee, now how about the same taste for brownies? Yum! Superb idea!

From: Home baker Diane H. Floyd, published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, no photo from the site

Hands on time: 30 minutes

Total time: 1 hour and 55 minutes

Serves: 20


Ingredients:

4 squares unsweetened chocolate

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter

2 cups granulated sugar

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, divided

10 ounces black raspberry jam, preferably seedless (do not substitute red raspberry or blackberry), at room temperature

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 13-by-9-inch pan. In the microwave or a double boiler set over simmering water, melt chocolate and butter together and stir until the mixture is smooth.

By hand, stir in sugar, eggs, vanilla and flour until well-combined. Spread in pan. Sprinkle evenly with 1/3 cup of the chocolate chips.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until slightly firm when touched lightly. Do not overbake. Let cool at least 15 minutes.

Spread the jam evenly over the brownies. Melt the remaining 2/3 cup chocolate chips with the 2 teaspoons vegetable oil. Stir until smooth. Pour melted chocolate over the jam. Using a knife, spread the melted chocolate over the jam in as even a layer as possible. Chill thoroughly and cut into small squares. Serve chilled.

Notes:

Total time for this recipe includes 1 hour of chilling time.

Diane Floyd says these rich brownies, which are topped with a layer of jam and a thin coating of chocolate, freeze extremely well and can be refrozen.

"You can make them in the mini foil baking cups, resulting in very pretty individual bonbons for parties, " she says. "Just use a scant tablespoon of brownie batter in each cup and sprinkle with a few chocolate chips. A finger is the ideal method of spreading both the jam and chocolate over the little cups of brownie. Just remember not to lick it until you are finished."

She recommends using the microwave when melting the chocolate.

Nutrition:

Per serving: 278 calories (percent of calories from fat, 41), 3 grams protein, 41 grams carbohydrates, no fiber, 14 grams fat, 46 milligrams cholesterol, 85 milligrams sodium.

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Appetizer Recipe: Chocolate Bruschetta

From Denny: Sometimes, you just don't want all the sugar interrupting the nirvana taste of your chocolate. Well, here is an interesting take on Italian "toast"! I'm used to having bruschetta with marinara sauce or olive tapenade.

The last thing I would have thought of would be to spread it with chocolate, cool! I have seen chef Giada on the Food Network spread her pizza bread with Nutello (hazelnut chocolate spread) that Europeans swoon over like we do peanut butter in America.

The restaurants in Atlanta, Georgia are leading the way with something unusual but very tasty for an appetizer - again. You can make it as a savory or as a sweet version, your choice! Mmmm... fresh and cooling mint...

I think the Great American Oracle (me) predicts this recipe will be adopted eagerly at our house for regular snacking! :)

Chocolate Bruschetta

From: Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Hands on time: 10 minutes

Total time: 15 minutes

Serves: 12


Ingredients:

12 ( 3/4-inch) slices baguette (about half a loaf)

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

8 ounces high-quality bittersweet chocolate, melted

1 tablespoon fleur de sel (or other coarse-grained sea salt)

Mint leaves for garnish


Instructions:

Brush bread with the olive oil. Toast on a grill or under a broiler until golden brown. Remove from heat and spread a generous amount of melted chocolate over each slice. Sprinkle with fleur de sel and garnish with a mint leaf.

Nutrition:

Per serving: 160 calories (percent of calories from fat, 60), 4 grams protein, 15 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams fiber, 12 grams fat (6 grams saturated), no cholesterol, 583 milligrams sodium.

And a couple of traditional bruschetta recipes:

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Recipe: Richard Blais’ 14-Hour Brisket

Image of Richard Blais! by bionicgrrrl via Flickr

From Denny: Can I tell you that brisket is a huge favorite in the South? Definitely it is in Louisiana as it feeds a lot of people inexpensively, often employed for football season in the fall yet enjoyed for family reunions and summer barbeques too. With the global economy the way it is currently this is a great recipe to share with your friends in many countries!

While it is a dish that is slow-cooked for hours it is not labor intensive, one of those "wrap it up to cook and forget it" situations - my favorite! This recipe comes from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

From John Kessler: Here’s a version of the brisket that won Richard Blais high marks on “Top Chef.” For garnish, you may want to forgo the star anise mashed potatoes his teammate served alongside and instead opt for some plain boiled new potatoes or noodles to soak up the ample sauce. Also, a vinegary pickle or salad would be welcome with this sweet dish.

You’ll need to find a brisket untrimmed of its fat, which bathes it during the slow braise. Your best bet is to find a butcher who will unwrap a fresh whole brisket and cut you a lengthwise half, which makes for a beautiful presentation.

Richard Blais’ 14-Hour Brisket

Hands on time: 30 minutes

Total time: 14 hours and 30 minutes

Serves: 8

Ingredients:

1/2 of a whole untrimmed brisket, cut lengthwise (about 6 pounds)

3 tablespoons Cajun seasonings

1 tablespoon salt

1 cup spicy brown mustard (such as Gulden’s)

3 cups dark brown sugar, lightly packed

Instructions:

Coat the brisket liberally with the Cajun seasonings and salt. Fire up a grill and grill the surface of the brisket aggressively, searing it well on each side for maximum flavor. Place the brisket, fat side up, on a large length of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Preheat oven to 225 degrees.

Combine the mustard and sugar and slather it well over (and under) the brisket. Close it tightly in the foil and then double wrap in a second piece of foil. Place in a roasting pan with sides at least 1 inch high. Place in the oven.

After 12 hours, carefully unwrap and check the brisket. While some clear molten fat will have collected in the pan, the sauce should be trapped inside the foil. If the brisket isn’t fall-apart tender, then return to the oven for 1 or 2 hours. Slice and serve with the pooled sauce.

Notes: Total time includes 12-plus hours of oven time.

Nutrition:

Per serving: 877 calories (percent of calories from fat, 28), 73 grams protein, 85 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 28 grams fat (9 grams saturated), 211 milligrams cholesterol, 1,751 milligrams sodium.

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Recipe: Low-Fat Lemon Bundt Cake

From Denny: Looks like I will be exploring and downright plundering this wonderful recipe database over at PastryWiz.com! Wonderful array of recipes over here at this extensive database.

Repeat after me: Louisiana LOVES lemon! Louisiana people LOVE lemon recipes! We even planted a lemon tree in our back yard a couple of years ago. Of course, we named "him": Lemoncello (how original)

This lower fat version of a Lemon Bundt Cake sounded really good. OK, I'll probably not go for the margarine which I find a revolting taste but at least those with special diets who adjusted their tastebuds could enjoy this recipe. I'll just use clarified butter (or ghee when I can find it on the grocery shelves).

Cooking spray: substitute your own like placing canola oil in a spray bottle to get the same "less is more" effect. Canola oil is a thinner oil than most and can be sprayed.

By using egg whites they eliminate the extra fat and calories, same with using skim milk over low fat or whole milk.

And icing, well, I'd probably use half to none at all as I've never been a huge fan of sugar icing (now chocolate ganache is another matter...).

Better yet I would prefer to serve the icing as a puddle on the side of the sliced cake so you could dip a piece of cake in it or take your fork and lightly drizzle the icing over your slice of cake.

Louisiana people LOVE their sugar icings and call them "Cream Cakes" when used like the one below.

Lemon Cream Cheese Streusel Bundt Cake Image by pirate johnny via Flickr - why couldn't they put a recipe with this yummy photo? :)Of course, this is the fattening version. That's why it looks so appealing, right?! All right, everyone, get your eyes peeled back on to the prize goal: low calorie for today! ;)

***

Low Fat Lemon Bundt Cake

From: PastryWiz.com

Yield: Serves 14

Ingredients for the Cake:

Butter flavored cooking spray

8 oz. plain nonfat yogurt

1/2 cup light corn syrup

3 cups sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

8 egg whites

2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

rind from 1/2 lemon, grated

3 cups flour

1/3 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt


Ingredients for the Icing:

1 Tbs. fat-free margarine

2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

rind from 1/2 lemon, grated

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/8 tsp. salt

2 cups powdered sugar

1 Tbs. skim milk


Directions: Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Spray a bundt pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine yogurt, corn syrup, sugar, vanilla, egg whites, lemon juice, and lemon rind and mix well. In a medium bowl, combine flour, powdered sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix well.

Add a the dry mixture to the wet mixture and mix well. Pour batter into pan. Bake for about 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Let cake cool for about 10 minutes before removing from pan. Remove cake from pan and cool in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes before icing.

Combine icing ingredients and mix well. Pour or spread icing over cake until it's completely covered. Cool completely before serving.

Nutritional Info:
Cal: 386
Fat: less than 1 gram

Following are some more lemon cake recipes to enjoy!

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Funny Chocolate Quote!

From virtualchocolate.com where you can become a member and become a card carrying chocoholic with your very own 12-step program for overcoming addiction:

Seen recently on a tee shirt ~ "EMERGENCY ALERT: If wearer of this shirt is found vacant, listless, or depressed, ADMINISTER CHOCOLATE IMMEDIATELY."