Pip's Plate

Outrageous is such a mediocre adjective to describe just how killer these brownies are! Several coworkers said they were the best brownies they’ve had in years. But seriously – how can you go wrong with 1 pound of butter and 2 pounds of chocolate!?

These brownies are easy to make, and they’re excellent the next day.

This is adapted from a recipe by Ina Garten (the Barefoot Contessa) on Food Network’s website. Wait a minute – did I just say I adapted a BAKING recipe? What is happening to me? I do believe this is the first baking recipe I’ve hacked/riffed/made my own. And it was successful!

Outrageous Brownies with Caramel

makes: jelly roll pan (12×17)

prep time: about 30 min

bake time: 30 min

1 pound butter

8 oz unsweetened chocolate (the better quality chocolate, the better the brownies)

2 bags 12 oz semisweet chocolate chips – divided (the better quality the chocolate, the better the brownies)

7 large eggs

3 T instant espresso powder

2 T real vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups sugar

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour – divided (1 cup for batter and 1/4 cup for chips)

1 T baking poweder

1 t kosher salt

10 oz caramel (I used vanilla flavored and it was excellent)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a jelly roll pan (12×17″) with butter. You can dust the pan with flour, but I don’t like how it makes the brownies white on the bottom so I use loose cocoa powder instead.

Melt together the 1 pound of butter, 8 oz of unsweetened chocolate, and one 12 oz bag of semisweet chocolate chips on top of a double boiler. If you don’t have a double boiler, just boil about 3 inches of water in a sauce pan and place a glass or metal bowl (with the butter and chocolate) on top of the pan with boiling water. This will keep the chocolate from burning.

Once the butter and chocolate is melted, cool slightly. Stir together eggs, espresso, vanilla and sugar. Stir in the warm chocolate and cool to room temperature.

Stir together 1 cup of flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to the cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the remaining 12 oz bag of chocolate chips with the remaining 1/4 cup of flour. Add to the chocolate batter and pour into the prepared pan.

Warm the caramel in a microwave for 20-30 seconds just so it’s soft and a little oozy. Pour evenly over the brownie mixture. Take a knife and “cut” the caramel into the brownies. Do this by cutting vertically and horizontally through the entire pan. It will create a nice swirl pattern that looks elegant once baked.

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not overbake! Cool thoroughly. You can refrigerate if you like, but just wrapping with plastic wrap is sufficient.

Minnesota has been trying to pass a law that would all grocery stores to sell wine and beer. (Currently Minnesota has an asinine law that grocery stores can only sell 3.2% beer.) Wine With Dinner has not quite made it through legislation, but on a recent trip to Chicago, IL, I discovered something at Whole Foods that completely blew my mind.

Wine tasting in the grocery store! Check this out (sorry for the blurry pic):

You put money in (somewhere – I didn’t look for it), and you can select which wine you’d like to try. Whole Foods provides real wine glasses (ain’t no plastic waste in Whole Foods), and they display the price for a 1 oz. pour. I think there are about 12-15 wines at this kiosk.

Pretty cool. I was tempted to try some, but after all the karaoke singing the night before, I didn’t think 1pm on a Sunday was a good idea.

Well…it’s officially summer once the CSA starts arriving! My household is participating in the Harmony Valley Farm CSA this summer and Thursday was our first delivery.

We received sunchokes (jerusalem artichokes), chives, spinach, parsnips, rhubarb, and ramps. We made mashed sunchokes and potatoes the other night and it was pretty delicious.

CSAs are Community Supported Agriculture, which is essentially a farm share. They are a great way to get fresh, local produce. I recommend joining one – you won’t regret it!