Thursday, September 25, 2008

Best Brownie Recipe


Sherry Yard's "Out-of-This-World Brownies" are the best brownies I have ever made! They are dense and smooth almost like a truffle. The recipe is from her book "Desserts by the Yard" and is the first recipe I have tried from this newly acquired treasure.

Here's the recipe. I have condensed the words to a bare minimum and have left out the salt since I never put salt in my desserts unless I am wanting that sweet/salty contrast, which is hardly ever the case. 

3/4 c plus 2 tblsp. flour
4 oz. (1 stick or 110 g) unsalted butter
1 oz. (30 g) unsweetened chocolate
7 oz. (200 g) bittersweet chocolate
2 large eggs
1 c sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 350 °F (177 °C). Butter an 8-inch square baking pan.
2. Melt butter with all the chocolate in a pan set over a pot of simmering water. Stir till mixture is smooth. Let cool off.
3. Beat eggs and sugar until fluffy. Add butter and chocolate mixture and mix well. Fold in flour.
4. Scrape batter into the pan and put in oven. Bake, rotating the pan from front to back halfway through, for 25-30 min, until slightly firm to the touch and a crust has formed on top.
5. Allow to cool in the pan (if you can wait that long--I can't). Cut into squares. 

You will not regret making this recipe! 


Monday, September 22, 2008

Fig Salad To Die For!



I never liked fresh figs until this year. I used to think their leathery skin and their slimy insides were pretty gross, but now I'm their biggest fan. When I saw Jamie Oliver's recipe for a fig salad the picture looked so tasty I had to make it. 

Here's my version of the recipe for two people:

2 ripe figs
1/2 mozzarella
2 slices Parma ham

Dressing:
3 tblsp olive oil
1 1/2 tblsp lemon juice
1 tblsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tblsp honey
salt and pepper to taste

Cut a cross into the figs starting at the stem. Place pieces of mozzarella and ham around the figs and lightly pour dressing over the whole assembly. 

This recipe is so simple, looks amazing and tastes absolutely fabulous!

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Ella in Sacramento



I now have a favorite restaurant in Sacramento: Ella Dining Room and Bar. The food is outstanding and the interior design is very nice as well. What's fun about the food at Ella is that the portions are small (or should I say normal) so you can choose a couple of different plates to share as we did. All dishes were delicious, fresh, and cooked to perfection, but probably the BEST one was the ravioli dish. The ravioli were chock-full of mushrooms and the pasta had the perfect consistency. Mmmmm.

Following are the menu items we chose with their names as written on the menu. I like how Ella doesn't come up with fancy names for their dishes that mean nothing. They keep it simple by describing the dish.

Roasted Baby Beets, Pistachio, Watercress and Olio Nuevo Olive Oil



Raviolis of Mushrooms and Fresh Goat Cheese with Leeks and Black Truffle Butter



Gnocchi, Broccolini, Parma Prosciutto, Organic Cream and Parmesan



Grouper, Eggplant Caponata and Olive Tapenade



Cheesecake with Graham Cracker Crust and Market Berry Compote



Chocolate Brownie with Toasted Almonds, Fudge Sauce and Chocolate Chip Cocoa Nib Ice Cream


Next time I'm in Sacramento I will definitely have to go to Ella's again. It is at the top of my list.