Chocolate Pavlova

Captain's Log

Hi everyone!

Happy springtime/early summer! We just got back from an awesome family wedding/vacation along the Gulf Coast. I'm sunburned and bug-bitten, but I'd expect no less from leisuring in the wild South. 

Here's some photo evidence:

Not bad, eh?

Now, back to food, ya lazy bums!

Ina's Brownie Pudding

Captain's Log

100% Stolen Recipe Edition

I've been making brownie pudding for a few years and I can tell you it's pretty much the best dessert on the planet. It's very simple to make and the result is just like an underbaked brownie---fudgy, dark, gooey in all the right places... but it's safe to eat! In a way this behooves chocolate lovers on a diet: It's so rich, even the smallest serving can satisfy a craving. And it's almost flourless.

I started making this about four years ago (!) when we lived near the Huntington metro station in Northern Virginia. Once I even made a double batch for a picnic party hosted by my co-workers at the time. That's right, my co-workers from Restau. Eve, one of the top eateries in the nation. They loved it and devoured every sporkful. I haven't made it in a year or so, for dietary (read: caloric) reasons, but I've been making and giving away so many goodies lately and it was starting to break my heart a little. Save me, brownie pudding!

The recipe comes from Ina Garten and the Food Network... while I do make a few adjustments to the recipe, I am mostly faithful to the original.

Here's the recipe as I make it:

• Two sticks unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• Four eggs, ideally room temp
• 1 1/2 cups sugar (Original says 2 cups. I could probably go as low as 1 or 1 1/4.)
• 1 tsp vanilla (Ina says to use a vanilla bean, which I'm sure would be tastier, but, you know.. dollar bills y'all)
• pinch salt
• splash of additional flavor: peppermint extract, Framboise liqueur, espresso powder, orange zest, Frangelico.. all excellent. **And all are optional.**
• 3/4 c cocoa powder
• 1/2 c flour
• Vanilla ice cream/fro-yo, for serving. Whipped cream would also be good. Also mascarpone. Also perhaps even a lightly sweetened yogurt, for the EuroSophisticated?

Lunch Lady Edition: Meatloaf

We all knew my "light cooking" efforts would not last very long, didn't we. Healthful living is all about portion control anyway, right? Right? And we exercise a lot. Whatever dudes food is delicious!

I'm always on the lookout for dishes I can make for us which will last several meals, be relatively inexpensive, and ideally not pasta/potato/bread-centric. Meatloaf fits that bill, though it has its own shortcomings, namely a) It's a mess to make; b) it's not exactly beautiful; c) one of the patrons at Chez Lenore is not a huge fan of ground meats. Understandably. Thankfully I've found a recipe/method which we all enjoy, so points a) through c) can be overlooked from time to time.

So here we go: Meatloaf!

I started with Ina Garten's recipe, with some adaptations. She recommends 2.5 lbs of meat and THREE onions, which just sounds crazy to me. I've downgraded to just 2 lbs (...) and I use two different types of beef to comprise the whole. That is, I get one pack of high-quality, very low-fat meat (91% lean or higher), and then I get a second pack of fattier meat (85%) since there's no denying the role fat plays in making food taste good. I also like to use fewer onions, but I add carrots for vitamin A as well as color. 

Here are the non-meat ingredients:

• 1.5 eggs (more on this later)
• 1/2 c plain breadcrumbs
• 1 T tomato paste
• 3 T Worcestershire sauce
• 1.5 small/medium onions, chopped finely, but not quite minced
• 2 t salt
• pepper to taste
• 1/3 c chicken broth
• One minced garlic clove
• 5-6 sprigs of thyme, to equal about 1 tsp chopped
• 3 skinny carrots, chopped small. Fewer if your carrots are, you know, not skinny.

Check out Frankencarrot on the right. Who invited that guy?