Chocolate-Orange Brownies

Hi there. It's been a little while. I have been sucked into the black hole vortex that is my organization's annual conference where nothing else exists or matters for weeks leading up to and during the conference. But now it's over. And I made these brownies, so all is well.

This recipe caught my eye in Bon Appetit's "R.S.V.P. - readers' favorite restaurant recipes." These brownies are served at an internet cafe in Montana. They are described as "cake-like" and "bright". I was intrigued.

As the recipe says, these brownies are most definitely "cake-like"- they are fluffy and crumbly, rather than dense and chewy like many other brownies can be. And the orange zest does its job- it makes the brownies so light that you can practically eat an entire pan at once. Not that you should. But if you, I won't judge.

Chocolate-Orange Brownies
Adapted from Hompage Cafe, via Bon Appetit, March 2009

Makes 24 brownies

1/2 cup boiling water
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 cups packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
2 large eggs
1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 tablespoon finely grated orange peel
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9x9x2 inch metal baking pan with cooking spray. Trace the outline of the pan on a sheet of parchment paper, cut out the tracing and place the paper inside the coated pan. Whisk 1/2 cup boiling water and cocoa powder in a small bowl until blended. In a separate bowl, whisk sugar, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir in walnuts. Whisk eggs in a large bowl and then add butter, orange peel, and vanilla. Stir until combined. Add the cocoa mixture into egg mixture. Add flour mixture, stir until just combined. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake brownies until tester comes our with a few moist crumbs, about 25-30 minutes. Let brownies cool completely in pack on a rack. Cut into 24 squares and serve.

Vegetarian Cobb Salad

This is the kind of salad that on a regular night would go along with soup or a piece of fish, with the leftovers packed up in a container for lunch the next day. On a regular night, I'd prep all the ingredients in the morning and then just assemble in the evening for dinner.

But these days, this salad is about all the activity my kitchen has seen. I'm gearing up for my annual work conference and it's been exhausting, leaving me with little time to cook. And so, dinner these days consists of dishes like this one - simple and easy to assemble. And in addition to those two critical qualities, this salad is delicious and completely customizable. You can read about a traditional Cobb Salad here. And once you do, go ahead and make your own, just the way you like it.

I'll do my best these next few weeks and I'll see you back here soon.

Vegetarian Cobb Salad

Salad
1 head Romaine lettuce, torn into bite-sized pieces
3 plum tomatoes, diced
3 hard boiled eggs, diced
2 avocados, diced
4 ounces crumbled Roquefort or blue cheese

Place lettuce in a large bowl or on a plate. Arrange salad ingredients in neat rows across the top of lettuce. Drizzle dressing on top of salad and toss.

Dressing
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
pinch of salt and pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

Combine vinegar, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, mustard and garlic in a small bowl. While whisking, pour in olive oil and whisk until blended. Season with salt and pepper. This recipe will make more dressing than you will need for the salad. The extra dressing will keep well in the fridge.

Blood Orange Marmalade

When I was growing up in Philadelphia, my grandmother, Mimi, would make Lemon-Lime Marmalade. She only made it on occasion because it made so much that we'd have jars and jars of it for weeks on end. It was absolutely delicious - tart, fresh, clean, and only slightly sweet- so much better than the sugar-laden, heavy jams and marmalades in the supermarkets.

And so with a bushel of blood oranges sitting on the counter, I thought I might try my hand at Mimi's classic recipe. I was nervous, because although her recipe was simple, most marmalade recipes aren't - they require peeling, juicing, collecting the seeds and tying them up in cheesecloth, pectin packets and hours of boiling, cooling and re-boiling. I should have known that you can always trust Mimi and her recipes with handwritten cursive notes that tell you to the letter exactly what to do.

And that's what I did, just follow the simple instructions of slice fruit, boil, add sugar, boil, let cool produces a delicious marmalade with a stunning color. I'll be eating this marmalade not only on toast for breakfast, but on a baguette for a snack or with a cheese plate for dessert. I think Mimi would approve.

Blood Orange Marmalade

You may notice that this recipe calls only for slicing the oranges. It doesn't say anything about juicing the oranges or removing the seeds. That's correct - you don't need to juice the oranges and you leave the seeds intact. They will dissolve into the marmalade.

With that said, I would suggest slicing the orange into small strips rather than rounds, as the recipe suggests. While the rounds do reduce down when cooked, it makes the marmalade hard to spread since the pieces of fruit are so big. Either cutting the oranges into thin strips on a mandolin or in a food processor will work. 

And finally, it took my marmalade quite a while - about 90 minutes- to reach 220 degrees. The original recipe says 45 minutes, so keep an eye on it and take the temperature after 45 minutes.

5 blood oranges thinly sliced
1 lemon thinly sliced
1 quart water
3 cups sugar

Place fruit and water into a large pot. Cover and cook until tender and pith is translucent, about 30 minutes. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Bring to a rolling boil, uncovered, for about 90 minutes until temperature reached 220 degrees on a candy thermometer. Skim any foam from the surface. Let cool for 15 minutes then refrigerate. Makes 3-4 cups.

Farfalle with Spinach and Blue Cheese

If you’ve noticed, and I’m sorry if you have, postings have been a bit sparse lately. Five days, seven, then nine, the days just seem to get away from me. In truth, it’s the terrible of combination of an insane work life that happens every year in the lead up to our annual conference, combined with constant visitors week after week. Don’t get me wrong…I love the company but I do not do well when I can’t spend hours each Sunday in the kitchen.

It’s not that I haven’t been cooking. In fact, quite the opposite. I’ve cooked up a storm recently but have been too busy to write about it let alone photograph it.

Fast forward to 8:15pm tonight when I got home from work to find NAK stirring a boiling pot of pasta. Not just any pasta but whole wheat farfalle which could only mean one thing – my good friend M’s Farfalle with Spinach and Blue Cheese.

I first had this dish a few years ago when M served it for dinner one night with crusty bread, New Zealand wine and a fire burning. Though the ingredients are simple, the bite of the vinegar, the tang and smoothness of the cheese and crunch of the nuts, give it a flavor that I keep coming back for. M uses roasted red peppers in her pasta which add another savory and spicy layer. I leave them out but feel free to toss them in. Either way, the result is earthy yet sophisticated, good enough for a quick weeknight meal or a Saturday night dinner with friends. It really has become my go-to dish, one that you can photograph, eat and write about all in one night. Now that’s a winner.

Farfalle with Spinach and Blue Cheese
Adapted from a good friend

12 ounce box of farfalle (bow tie) pasta (I use whole wheat)
1/4 cup of olive oil
3/4 cup of chopped walnuts
4+ cups baby spinach (2 10 ounce bags)
1/2 cup drained roasted red peppers, cut into strips (optional)
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup of crumbled blue cheese

Cook the pasta until just al dente. Drain and return to the pot. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add the walnuts and cook until toasted. Stir in the spinach, cook for a few minutes until it starts to wilt. Stir in the red pepper strips if using, vinegar, pepper and nutmeg and continue to mix ingredients together until spinach is fully wilted. Add spinach to the pasta, toss. Mix in cheese. Serve hot. Makes about 6 servings.