Buttermilk Pound Cake

The other night I met a young man who was fascinated with super heroes and their “powers“. He asked me what super power I wish I had. My mind quickly went to Super Man and Batman. And just as quickly I answered, “…none”. That was an honest answer at that moment. Superman’s powers did not interest me and Batman’s powers were money and cool gadgets.

Later that night while driving home I found myself still amused by the ideas and interests that occupy a 19-year-old boy’s mind when I remembered the super hero question from earlier. I guess if I could have a superpower, it would be the ability to go back in time.

Oh the heartache, stress, and tears I could have saved myself. For example, I should have told someone …I love you instead of …I hate you. I should have gone to meet K.S. because an amazing job was right around the corner and everything was going to turn out okay. I should have been a better friend to I.C., C. T., and E.P. instead, I was so preoccupied with my own pain that I was unable to see his or her own suffering.

Fortunately, I am surrounded by amazing friends who have astonishing hearts. The bumps in our friendship are now gone and we are back on track to our normal friendships. As for the …I love you, I think, we said too many harsh, mean, and spiteful words between us that we have gone past the point of repair. My heart will always remember your kind words and not the angry ones. For instance, I will always cherish the simple phrase you try live your life by …keep it simple, honest, and love unconditionally. Your words are a wonderful way to live by.

Thank you readers, friends, and family who continuously support, encourage, and love me unconditionally. I appreciate all that YOU do for me throughout the year. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Love,
Gigi

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Supernatural Brownies

Awhile back, I came across a blog that was conducting a sort of brownie experiment. She was testing out the brownie recipes featured in a New York Times article. One of the brownies peaked my interest. It was the Supernatural Brownie. Mostly because it was one of the many recipes, I had added to my “to-bake” list. I looked for the recipe and taped it to the fridge. And not to soon forgot about it.

Recently my friend Katie posted a recipe for gluten free mint brownies. They looked so dark and fudgy that I had to have a brownie immediately. Off to the kitchen I went in search of all the necessary ingredients. As I turned to preheat the oven, I noticed the recipe for the supernatural brownies, uh-oh. Guilt. I re-read the recipe and the article. Humph, what to do now? Well, I’m that not good with guilt, so I knew I was going to be baking Supernatural Brownies.

Not wanting to have sub par brownies, I took the author’s advice and used the best ingredients for my brownies. I agree with the author that brownies are best when they are simple (with or without nuts). I have always felt that the key to great brownies is good butter and great chocolate. I like to consider brownies “… a death by chocolate” sort of dessert.

For my “death by chocolate”, I used imported European butter and Callebaut chocolate. (Just as the author suggests.) Yes, it’s a little pricey for brownies but worth every penny. I wouldn’t serve these brownies to children or to people who aren’t chocolate lovers. They are just not going to be able to appreciate the subtleties of the chocolate and butter. If you know, any die-hard chocolate lovers then this would be an excellent way to show them you care on Valentine’s Day. One batch would easily yield you two lovely gift-wrapped boxes. So go ahead splurge on the chocolate & butter and your loved will thank you.

Supernatural Brownies
Adapted from “Chocolate: from Simple Cookies to Extravagant Showstoppers”
By Nick Malgieri

1 cup of butter
8 ounces of chocolate
4 large eggs
½ teaspoon of salt
1 cup muscovado sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1 cup of flour
½ cup of chopped nuts or ¾ cup of whole nuts, optional.

1. Butter a 13x9 pan and line with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler and set aside to cool slightly. In a large bowl whisk (I used a large whisk and whisked everything by hand.) together the eggs. Whisk in the salt, sugars and vanilla.

2. Whisk in the chocolate mixture. Gently fold in the flour until just combined. If you’re adding, nuts now would be the time to fold them in. pour the batter into the pan and smooth the top. Bake 35-40* minutes. Cool in pan on a rack.


*Okay, I like fudgy-dark-make-your-knees-buckle-brownies. Brownies so chocolate-y you have to sit down to eat them. At 35 minutes if the center of my brownies does not jiggle, I take them out and let them cool in the pan overnight. The next day with a hot knife, I trim the edges off and cut them into squares.

That’s my secrete to great fudgy brownies. An over baked dry brownie is crime, in my opinion. These brownies are fantastic, but the key is not to over bake them. They are everything that Nick Malgieri claims. They are indeed …supernatural brownies