Truffle Brownies

Levi and I had our one year anniversary yesterday... and what better way to express victory than through decadent truffle brownies?
Here is the recipe below that I found on epicurious.
It's very simple and incredibly good.


A thin ganache topping puts these brownies over the top. The key to perfectly moist, fudgy brownies is not to overcook them. As soon as the tester comes out with moist crumbs attached, remove the pan from the oven.

• Ingredients:
• 
  Nonstick vegetable oil spray
• 12 ounces bittersweet chocolate (do not exceed 61% cacao), chopped, divided
• 11 tablespoons (1 stick plus 3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 cup walnuts, toasted, coarsely chopped
• 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

• Special equipment: 9 x 9 x 2-inch metal baking pan

Preparation: 

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Line 9 x 9 x 2-inch metal baking pan with foil, leaving overhang. Spray foil with nonstick vegetable oil spray. Combine 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate and butter in medium metal bowl. Set bowl over saucepan of simmering water and stir until chocolate and butter are melted and smooth. Remove bowl from over water and cool chocolate mixture until lukewarm, 5 to 10 minutes.

Whisk sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, and salt in large bowl to blend. Whisk in chocolate mixture. Stir in flour, then chopped toasted walnuts. Transfer batter to prepared baking pan. Bake brownies until tester inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 26 to 28 minutes. Transfer pan to cooling rack and let brownies cool completely.

Bring cream to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat. Add remaining 6 ounces chocolate to hot cream and let stand 5 minutes to soften, then whisk until melted and smooth. Pour chocolate ganache over brownie sheet in pan and spread to cover completely. Let stand at cool room temperature until topping is set, about 4 hours. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and store at room temperature.

Using foil as aid, lift brownie sheet from pan. Fold down foil edges. Using large sharp knife, cut brownie sheet into 25 squares, wiping knife with hot moist cloth after each cut. Arrange brownies on platter and serve.

For a Throat That's Mad At You

Ok. I'll come clean.

I got T-R-A-S-H-E-D.

I rarely ever do, 

but that night was special.

I was feeling good, 

and I had lots of  reasons to celebrate

(please refer to previous post below).

That night's package: 

-over the top enthusiasm

-smiles and laughter galore

-engaging conversation aka talking too loudly better known as "you're screaming in my ear!"

-shaking your bum bum to tech-house

-too many Jager shots

The result:

A nasty sore throat and a lost voice. 

The remedy:

-2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar

-honey or agave

Mix.mix.mix.

Take it like a shot.

Chaser highly recommended.

Repeat throughout day.

Helloooooooo voice again!

Be well.

Miss Sabado

A Recipe for Success

. . .get laid off from your lame-town corporate 9 to 5 like i did,

and have more time for life, laughter, and cooking more good food!

Food for the Pilgrims

Cornbread

Ah cornbread; such a staple and so simple to make!

I must confess I was never a cornbread-craver...until now.

I never attempted to make cornbread from scratch before, but once I did, one bite of it made me a believer! 

Now all I think about is bloody cornbread!

My recipe below is absolutely divine.

It's one of those bring-home-to-your-boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse's-parent's-house-for-holiday-dinner kinda treat.

It's perfectly moist, yet dense at the same time.

I love how it doesn't fall apart or crumble on you while being eaten,

(because cornbread shouldn't be mistaken for Duncan Hine's),

and I especially love the popping-of-cornmeal action while you chew.

So fun! 

Ingredients and Supplies:

mixing bowl

measuring cups and spoons

wooden spoon for stirring

1 cup of flour

1 cup of cornmeal

1/2 cup of sugar

3/4 teaspoon of salt

4 teaspoons of baking powder

2 eggs

1/2 cup of extra light olive oil

1 cup of milk

honey or agave

9x9 baking pan

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

In a mixing bowl mix together 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of yellow cornmeal, 1/2 cup of sugar, 4 teaspoons of baking powder, and 3/4 teaspoon of salt.  

Mix together the dry ingredients with a wooden mixing spoon.

Add 2 eggs, 1/4 cup of oil, and 1 cup of milk.  

Mix in wet ingredients and stir until mixture is smooth.  

Make sure you do not over stir the mixture as it will become too runny.

Finish off with some honey, however much you'd like.

*Note: the thicker your mixture, the denser your bread.

Slowly pour the mixture into a 9x9 baking pan.

Bake in oven (top rack) for 23-27 minutes or until golden brown on top.  

Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes.

Cut, serve and enjoy!

If you like buttery cornbread (which I do), smear a small amount of sweet cream butter on top of the batch as it cools. 

It'll give it a nice finish, but remember to only butter what you will eat, as butter may cause it to lose its crunchy top layer if it sits for more than an hour.

For the experimentally inclined:

After you're done mixing all ingredients, add kernels of sweet yellow corn (fresh! not canned or frozen) to the batter, and then finish the steps as you did.

Yum!

Eat well.

Miss Sabado

A Spoon for Your Salad?

You know you got a good salad when you have to eat it with a spoon...

The selection of ingredients in this salad below is the result of trying to use up all my left-over produce from the top of this week's grocery shopping run (I do not tolerate food-wasting).
Nevertheless, the finished product was still superb!

 The Left-Over Produce Sesame Spinach Salad

ingredients:
baby spinach
broccoli florets
tomatoes
sliced mushrooms
thinly sliced red onion
fried minced garlic
shredded mozzarella cheese
Asian sesame dressing

Don't be discouraged by the simplicity or 'boring' (if you will) facade of this recipe.
I must confess that the salad was a little bland before I added the shredded mozzarella and fried minced garlic components to it. The cheese I luckily had as left-overs from my pizza-making dinner party with Amber on Halloween. And the garlic- well, the garlic factor is because I am Filipino and that's what we do. We add garlic to everything.

Before combining ingredients into a bowl, mince the garlic and deep fry in a pan on medium to low heat. The key here is patience. You want the garlic to fry crispy, not stale and hard.
Fry until golden brown.
Combine and toss spinach, mushrooms, red onion, broccoli, tomatoes, and sesame dressing in a bowl.

Top with fried minced garlic and shredded mozzarella.

There.

A guilt-free (and cost-free) meal.

Eat well.

Miss Sabado

Lunch at Work

Lunch is a sticky subject.
If you sit at a desk all day long like me, you never want to eat too much or else you'll crash halfway through.
And you never want to eat too little otherwise you'll zero in on other people's snacks and junk food the rest of the day.

Below is an all-time favorite:

SW Fiesta Plate (Without the Calories) 

Ingredients:

-black beans

-fresh yellow or white corn

-tomatoes

-avocado

-broccoli

If you're macrobiotic like me, you'll opt for the package of black beans that you'd need to manually cook overnight. In that case, follow cooking directions on the package provided. 

If not, then empty one can of black beans into a pot and simmer.

Boil corn, covered, in another pot. Again, do not overcook. Corn tastes much sweeter and maintains its crisp when it's not overcooked. Boil for only 3-4 minutes.

Combine black beans, cut corn, diced tomatoes, broccoli, and avocado chunks on a plate. Dip, mix at will or eat a la carte.

Good hot or cold.

This dish is low in calorie, very filling, and quite nutritious. Great for sustaining energy throughout your day.

Eat well.

Miss Sabado

Iron (Wo)Man

Tonight I came home beat to a pulp from the infamous 9-5 and ravenous from 2-hr bootcamp at the gym immediately following. Needless to say I was tired. Tired and hungry, which is never a good combination.

Yes, I could have copped out and done the drive-thru drive-by, but processed foods are just not my style. Matter of fact, I seldom eat out. Matter of fact, I prefer to make most of my meals, mainly so that I can monitor exactly what goes into my body (I'm a virgo, neurosis runs through my system).

So I dashed home and quickly whipped up this culinary confection:

Asian Stir-Fry Spinach Salad

Ingredients:

-french beans

-extra firm tofu chopped into squares

-baby spinach leaves

-a bottle of Soy Vay Original Hoisin Garlic Asian Glaze Marinade

This dish is not only simple and quick to make, but also full of the proper nutrients to combat fatigue and replenish achy muscles from post-workout syndrome.

Raw spinach is fortified with iron and tofu typically has 10g of soy protein per serving, perfect for healing torn muscles.

Ready... Set... Cook!

In a large wok, add just enough water to boil/steam the french beans.

Once you get the water to a good solid boil, cover wok to retain moisture.

Do not overcook your beans! Vegetables lose their nutrients if you cook them too long. 2 minutes is enough boil/steam time.

Pour out excess water from wok.

Throw tofu squares into wok and drizzle a small amount of Soy Vay sauce (a little goes a long way).

Stir.

Uncovered, allow the the tofu squares to cook in the marinade.

(Do not neglect your tofu; flipping the squares will assure a flavorful fu.)

Once it's done- trust me, you'll know when it's done- turn the burner off completely.

Top with baby spinach and stir.

The important part here is to try not to cook the spinach at all.

You want to keep the spinach somewhat raw but flavorful by flash cooking it with the heat from the beans and fu.

Quickly transfer it out of the wok and into a bowl and voila! 

Dinner in 5 minutes!

*Note that you can do many variations of this salad...

One night when I'm not so bloody tired we'll go through the steps together.

Eat well.

Miss Sabado