- Today is National Brownie Day! Take some time to relax and
enjoy a rich, fudge brownie in honor of the occasion. Many sources say
that brownies originated in New England during the early twentieth
century, but there are many variations to the tale.
One story says that a Boston chef mistakenly added melted chocolate to a batch of biscuits, thus creating the first brownies. Another version claims that a housewife in Bangor, Maine was making a chocolate cake but forgot to add baking powder. The cake did not rise properly and, instead of throwing it out, she served it in flat pieces.
Pick up your favorite brownie mix or make a batch from scratch to celebrate National Brownie Day!
Saturday 8 December 2012
December 8
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What is a brownie?
ReplyDelete"A chocolate brownie is a flat, baked square or bar, sliced from a type of dense, rich chocolate cake." "Brownies come in a variety of forms." "They are either fudgy or cakey, depending on their density, and they may include nuts, icing, cream cheese, chocolate chips, or other ingredients." "A variation that is made with brown sugar and no chocolate is called a blondie."
"Brownies are often served warm with ice cream, a combination that is known as brownie à la mode." "They may also be served with whipped cream, especially as a dessert in restaurants." "Brownies are typically accompanied by either milk or coffee."
Lee J. Cobb (December 8, 1911 – February 11, 1976) was an American actor. He is best known for his performance in 12 Angry Men (1957), his Academy Award-nominated performance in On the Waterfront (1954), and one of his last films, The Exorcist (1973). He also played the role of Willy Loman in the original Broadway performance of Arthur Miller's 1949 play Death of a Salesman under the direction of Elia Kazan. On television, Cobb costarred in the first four seasons of the popular, long-running western series The Virginian.
ReplyDeleteThis is an excellent recipe from Fifteen, the famous restaurant in London, UK:
ReplyDeleteFifteen Chocolate Brownies Recipe:
Ingredients
1 cup plus 2 tbsp unsalted butter
7 ounces dark chocolate, 70% cocoa solids
2 1/2 ounces dried sour cherries (optional)
1 1/32 ounces chopped nuts
3/4 cup cocoa powder, sifted
1/2 cup all purpose flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
1 3/4 cup superfine sugar
4 eggs (large and organic)
zest of one orange (optional)
9 ounces creme fraiche (optional)
Method for Preparing Fifteen Chocolate Brownies Recipe
The recipe calls for a 12 inch rectangular cake pan. This size seems difficult to come by in North America. Perhaps it is more readily available in the UK. In any case, I improvised and used a 13 inch pan. It worked well. Line the pan with waxed paper and preheat your oven to 350 °
Place the butter and chocolate in the top of a double boiler. Place the mixture over simmering water in the bottom part of the double boiler, and melt, mixing until smooth.
Add the nuts and dried cherries. I live in cranberry country, so I used dried cranberries instead. This was delicious, but undoubtedly dried cherries would be equally good.
In a different bowl, add the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder and sugar. Combine well, then add this to the chocolate batter. Stir.
Beat the eggs and mix in the chocolate batter, stirring until smooth. Place this brownie dough into the baking pan. Check after about 25 minutes. If checked with a skewer, the inside should be somewhat gooey. do not over bake.
Cool in pan.
Fifteen Restaurant serves these brownies with creme fraiche mixed with orange zest. Creme Fraiche is a heavy cream soured with bacterial culture. If not locally available, you can purchase it from Amazon or make your own by adding a little sour cream to regular heavy cream and letting stand for several hours so the bacterial cultures have time to work.
Kimila Ann "Kim" Basinger (born December 8, 1953) is an American actress, singer, and former fashion model. She is known for her portrayals of Domino Petachi, the Bond girl in Never Say Never Again (1983), and Vicki Vale, the female lead in Batman (1989). Basinger received a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture nomination for her work in The Natural (1984). She won an Academy Award, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in L.A. Confidential (1997). Basinger also acted in the movies 9½ Weeks (1986), I Dreamed of Africa (as Kuki Gallmann) and 8 Mile (2002).
ReplyDeleteSusan's Chocolate Brownie Ingredients:
ReplyDelete3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt (use less if you want)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 squares melted chocolate
Dominic Bernard Patrick Luke Monaghan ( born 8 December 1976) is a German-born English actor. He has received international attention from playing Meriadoc Brandybuck in Peter Jackson's adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and for his role as Charlie Pace on the television show Lost.
ReplyDelete