Monday, October 16, 2006

Brownies

Maggie's been asking to make brownies for several days. This morning I finally relented. She looked at the recipe: "2 cups sugar." She wanted to know what that meant. Good grief.... I was about ready to call off the baking! But then she explained that she wanted to know what kind of sugar: brown or the regular white or the powdery white or what? I told her that "sugar" means the white regular sugar that's in the canister on the counter, unless the recipe specifies otherwise.

But then I had a second thought. The best fudge recipe in the world is a pretty standard recipe, but made with brown sugar instead of white. It imparts a bit of a caramely taste to the fudge. (And of course anything chocolate is improved by adding caramel!) What if we tried making the brownies with brown sugar instead of white?

The experiment turned out deliciously delightful. I'd encourage anybody to try it. Especially Glenda.

And while I'm on the subject of food,...
I noticed Marie's blog last week was waxing eloquent over whipped parsnips. She put me in the frame of mind where I start drooling over recipe ideas. My stroganoff was already simmering and the potatoes were boiling prior to being mashed. I started to think of the zucchini sitting in the fridge. I tell ya, I've had so many compliments on my zucchini. And all I do is saute it in olive oil, and then add a little salt, pepper, garlic, and sometimes parmesan. I think it's the olive oil that does it. Zucchini always used to strike me as one of those bland ol' things that you had to eat sometimes. But now I could eat two platefuls for supper and forget the rest of the meal. Ah, food is such a wonderful thing!

9 comments:

  1. That is not the best fudge recipe in the world. I don't have the best fudge recipe in front of me so I can't give it to you just now. But it does exist, and your link is not it. I know this because the best fudge recipe uses marshmallow creme. It is vastly superior to any marble-counter cooled tourist attraction.

    You are, however, absolutely correct about the zucchini and olive oil, though, to be fair, you can use butter. (Butter is always an option.)

    Dave

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  2. I think it is the garlic....my husband is a professed hater of zucchini, but if I add enough garlic, he'll eat anything.

    I can attest for the brown sugar, too....I think it makes anything better.

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  3. You've changed the way I cook zucchini! Ever since I had some at your house, I now break out the garlic and olive oil when I get zucchini to cook. Yum, yum.

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  4. People cook zucchini??

    and EAT IT?!?!?!!

    whoa.

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  5. Scott, you should have your mouth washed out. (With zucchini.)

    Pr Petersen (or Dave, or however you're addressed in public), marshmallow creme does do awesome things to the taste and texture of fudge. But I still maintain this is the BEST fudge recipe, because it's made with ingredients I always have on hand, so I don't have to WAIT to make a trip to the store for the marshmallow creme. And instant gratification is a happy and self-indulgent thing! Also, this recipe makes a smaller amount than the marshmallow creme recipes I've seen, which means you don't have to wait to find a time you can share it with other people. And thus, you can eat it more frequently. More self-indulgence and epicurianism!

    Hey, maybe if we tried one of those marshmallow creme recipes with brown sugar instead of white, maybe that would be ultimately awesome!

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  6. An amazing coincidence!!!

    As I sit this very moment reading Susan's Pendulum I am sauteing zucchini slices in olive oil on my stovetop. The Quipper does not care for it, so I enjoy it for lunch when he is not around. I have already added the salt and fresh ground pepper.

    Thanks so much for the timely (uncannily timely) idea! I'll put some parmesan cheese on there.

    For as caramel makes sweets better, cheese makes veggies better, right?

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  7. Zucchini sauteed in olive oil is a veggie that I could eat almost every day. I think I'm going to have to run by the farm stand.

    I have some lovely acorn squash that are going to be dinner tonight.

    I'll leave the fudge to the rest of you. I have never really liked it, but I can't wait to try brown sugar in my dark chocolate brownie recipe. :)

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  8. Cheese makes veggies better. And meat. And bread. And even wine, assuming you don't mix it into the wine. Just call me Cheesehead.

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  9. My policy is anything that cannot be improved by chocolate can be improved with cheese. I have yet to be disproven. ;)

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