Brownie Basics

 It's baking season. It's a good time for brownies , those chewy squares of chocolate=y goodness. They are one of the basics of home cooking - easy to make and easy to eat. Many have had box brownies for years but they can be made from scratch too.

Brownies have been around for a long time on the American table. They were created in 1893 by prominent socialite Bertha Palmer, wife of the owner of Chicago's famed Parker House Hotel. She needed a cake like confection suitable for ladies visiting Chicago's World Columbian Exposition. The results was a Parker House brownie with walnuts and an apricot glaze.It went through a series of changes thanks to a housewife in Bangor Maine who added a square of extra chocolate and extra eggs for a richier , fudgier treat. There was also a mention of them in the Machias cookbook created by another home baker Marie Kelley of Whitewater Wisconsin in 1899. No matter what their origin is, scratch ones are delicious. The basic brownie recipe is an alchemy of cocoa powder or unsweetened baker's chocolate , sugar, eggs, salt and vanilla.Many home bakers and bloggers strongly recommend using cocoa powder instead of using a mix of melted butter and chocolate. This ensures a soft moist middle and a  shiny , almost candy like top. You can add a small amount of chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips. To get that perfect crinkly top, melt the butter with the cocoa and sugar in a saucepan over a stovetop. Doing this allows the sugar to rise to the top in baking, creaking that perfect crackly crust.

What about vegan brownie?. Yes you can make them from scratch. All the ingredients are the same save for omitting the eggs and butter. You can use ground flax seeds for binding  along with mashed pumpkin or bananas or applesauce. I've used Vegg Uncaged Mix and I Can't Believe It's Not Butter when I've baked regular brownies. No one could tell the difference between the vegan and the regular ones. Can you bake them with whole wheat flour? Yes,and it;s to the brownie's benefit. The flour leaves the texture extra chewy and richly textured. What's the best pan to bake brownies in? Always stick with metal. Don't use a glass or ceramic one. Metal will allow them to bake evenly,prevent over browning and yield straight edges. Remember to always grease the tin with either butter, margarine or cooking spray to prevent sticking. I always use I Can't Believe It's Not Butter and generously grease the pan's bottom and corners for an extra buttery flavor. Can you vary the recipe? Yes , Cinnamon can be added for a Mexican hot chocolate vibe. It just takes a pinch to give them that zing. Coconut is another fun change up , giving the brownies a Mounds Bar flavor. You can even make them Rocky Road m with teaspoons of mini marshmallows , peanuts and chocolate chips.

Scratch brownies are the perfect fall baking project. You can make them tradional or vegan, plain or loaded with extras. Ant way, they're a bite of chocolate-y goodness.

AN Elegant Halloween Party

 Halloween parties are not just for kids.Adults can have fun with elegant dishes and drinks to make the night more bewitching. It can be a fun night , full of delicious recipes with a sophisticated spin.

What would make a Halloween party worthy of Gomez and Morticia Addams?Think a Brie wrapped up in puff pastry ala mummy style. Use puff pastry to create the bandages and drape them over the top of the cheese.It's an egg wash first then baking them for twenty minutes until the puff pastry is golden. Add pepperoni and green olive eyes for some spooky decoration. The best part of this is smearing the cheese on the puff pastry for an added treat. Mostly serve with crackers or toasted French bread slices. For a sit down dinner think a pasta dish with eyeball meatballs.The meatballs are baked with flattened ciligiene  - small rounds of mozzarella on top in their last two minutes f baking. Sliced olives are used as irises.Smaller meatballs would make excellent hors d'ouvres too.Pumpkin patch deviled eggs are also a fun starter. Round out the filling more and then lightly press the surface with a fork to resemble the pumpkins' indentations. Add a tiny bit of scallion on the top for the pumpkin stem and liberally sprinkle with paprika for the bright orange color. You can also serve finger sandwiches , preferably roast beef that squish blood gravy when bitten into.

Adult parties call for adult drinks.Start everyone off with Midnight Jello shots which is vodka and grape  Jello cooked together with black food coloring. Set in the fridge for two to three hours before serving.No one would say no to a candy corn martini. This is a layering of grenadine, vodka and orange juice with a topping of whipped cream. For a stronger quaff think a poison apple cocktail. This is taking sour apple Schnappes and mixing it with Crown Royal apple flavored whiskey and cranberry juice. A shot of grenadine gives it a dose of sweetness.Of course the best Halloween cocktail is ---- the Bloody Mary!. This mix of tomato juice, vodka and Worcester sauce is the ultimate drink, especially if you're hosting a Halloween brunch party. You can even set up a Bloody Mary bar where guests can choose between Clamato juice or regular tomato, along with hot sauce and different add ins from celery to olives. What about dessert? You could have caramel apples but add miso to a homemade caramel. Roll the dipped apples in ground pistachios or walnuts. A blood soaked cake may not sound too good. but imagine a devil's food cake that squishes out a raspberry coulis when cut. It's simply  lightly hollowing out the first layer , pour the coulis into that and then top with the second layer. Frost with a fudgy chocolate butter cream.. Stick a large steak knife in it for an extra scary effect.

Yes, adults can have fun and elegant Halloween parties too. Think Brie as a tasty mummy washed down with a  spicy Bloody Mary. Or a dessert with a candy apple ripe with umani. Have an fun and elegant All Hallows party.

The Birthplace Of Olive OIl

 Many think that the best and the birthplace of olive oil is Greece. Yet the Palestinian town of Rameh,Israel has also pressed olives for the last 5,000 years. The end result is a smooth sweet oil  that can go in either savory or sweet dishes.

Reem Kassis, a Palestinian food and culture writer wrote about this famed oil in Wednesday's New York Times Food section. she visited this  Northern Israeli town, located halfway between the Mediterranean and the Sea of Galilee. It is high up in the hills where the olive tress abound and have been long before Jesus Christ. It has long held the reputation of being the area's best olive oil. Its' color is a bright liquid gold with an aroma reminiscent of wild grasses and dandelion leaves that grow around the trees.Users describe it as rich and smooth  with a mouth feel of ghee or clarified butter. This area has long produced this oil, being the main producer of the ancient world.Now Spain and Southern Italy are the now the main producer's of the world's olive oils. Rameh still has an amazing two thousand acres of trees surrounding this hill town. Th eolifes and trees have long been praised in newspapers articles, books and even poetry. The village declares itself as the "queen of Palestinian oil".

Why is Rameh's oil so delicious? It has to do with harvesting.The trees are harvested later in the season than  the other olive trees in the region.This is due partly to the olive fruit fry that comes in from the coast. It works inland which means the more western regions have to harvest unripe olives. This happens much later in Rameh where it takes a while for the infestation to hit along with being much higher up. The olives are allowed to ripen to their full maturity which directly affects the color and flavor of the oil. According to local MAzen Ali, this makes for a "pleasant bitterness but is still delicious and fruit." There's also the favorable climate along with being grown in a nutrient rich soil.It's tilled by livestock and not treated with commercial fertilizers. There's also meticulous  care and pruning. which produces green olives with purple spots.Unfortunately the groves were restricted and untended during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.Also closing the borders of Lebanon and Syria during this time helped too. Ms. Kassis also included  recipes for homemade pita and olive oil soaked za'atar and bugar majadura.a mix of lemtils and fried onions.

The world needs to know about Rameh's treasured olive oil. It would be perfect in cooking and even  baking. This is the epitome of oil, sweet, smooth and silky.

A Birthday Full Of Clotted Cream And Scones.

 Today is Samuel Taylor Colerdge's birthday. His birthday dinner would have been a table laden with delicious dishes from his native Devon. He would have feasted on apple dumplings and an apple crumb cake (imagine a crumb cake loaded with apples) along with cider chicken. a tasty dish with the bird cooked with not only cider  from Devon but its' delicious clotted cream. Coleridge might have had  potted crab too, the 18th century still known for serving as many diverse recipes that the cooks can make. He would have washed it down with Devon hard cider or perry a kind of pear cider.

Celebrate Samuel Taylor Coleridge's birthday with his poems and also the foods  and quaffs of his beloved Devon. Like his works the recipes are amazing. Try them for a taste of the South English coast.

An Environmental Take On Steak

Steakhouses have been on the American culinary scene for over two hundred years now. However they're also partly responsible for environmental damage.One restaurant, Bateau in Seattle Washington is helping to reverse its' carbon footprint. Will it become a model for other steak houses? Hopefully so.

Brett Anderson,a New Orleans food critic and regular contributor, wrote this interesting article for today's New York Times Food section.Bateau's chef, the forward thinking Renee Erickson wanted to create an eatery in the mold of her seafood company Sea Creatures which includes the popular oyster bar Walrus and the Carpenter.It's a tough balancing act , marrying age old tradition with green thinking.It's a tough time for steaks. Many diners are now asking for laboratory grown meat substitutes. There's also a fast growing vegetarian movement, Yet Chef Erickson continues to persist. Her cattle eat foraged grasses or pasture vegetation instead of the usual trough of grains that most are fed. This is more expensive and it does take a while for the herds to gain weight.Then there are the skeptical scientists who believe this kind of regenerative farming isn't doing that much for healing the planet.In the US livestock, no matter, where they are , are still the leading cause of methane,

The idea for Bateau came from her time at Le Severn, butcher- entrepreneur William Berner's steak oriented bistro in Paris and at Hawksmoor in London. She noticed how much the character varied among the different cuts.They were also from locally sourced cows.It opened her eyes , now knowing how far she was from the source. She even tried to raise her own French heritage bred cattle on Whidby Island in the Puget Sound. it proved to be too much and had to be ended after about a year. The rare cattle rancher has tried regenerative farming too. Fourth generation cattle rancher, Cory Carman in Northeastern Oregon converted her family's herd to grass fed in the early 2000's. The meat may taste better, and it helps with the environment but it is costly. There is considerable financial risks that make many ranchers fear this method>it doesn't produce fast results  with the cows taking longer to fatten up. Yet, like Ms. Erickson she persists. she lets her cows move to different pastures long enough to replenish the soil with their hooves and manure. This planned grazing not only lessens the stress on the animals but also eliminates the need to buy feed.. It also leaves a better soil, one that holds water and sequester carbon.

Perhaps other steak houses will follow Bateau's lead. It'll make for better cooking and more responsible eating.More chefs and cattle owners need to follow in Chef Erickson's and Ms. Carman's paths.

Squash Time

The yellow crookneck squash is our last connection to summer. It's still being sold in some farmer's markets  and it's a nice squash to cook. There's so many recipes for it but the best one is the simplest.

                   My local farmer's market are still selling them. They have a smooth skin and firm fleshy interior.

 I just sliced it into coins and then sauteed them in two glugs of olive oil and a heaping tablespoon of I  Can't Believe It's Not Butter. Two garlic cloves were minced and also added along with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

Squash does take longer to cook than most veggies. The flesh should go from a woody white to a translucent color.

It takes about fifteen minutes to truly cook up. The end result is a tender garlicky side that worked well with Gardein's hamburgers. Yellow crookneck squash has a very mild taste and it can be enhanced with just a few flavorings. You could just add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice if you don't like that fried or sauteed flavor.

If you want a simple side with a taste of summer have the yellow crookneck squash.It's easy to cook up, and delicious with any main course.Try it tonight for a great complement to any meat or fish dinner.

A Comforting Classic Graham Crackers

 Everyone has nostalgic memories about Graham crackers. They are still the ultimate comfort snack along with being versatile in a number of recipes. This American favorite is a must have kitchen staple.

Graham crackers are truly a US invention.It was through the influence of vegetarian, temperance leader and preacher Sylvester Graham that these sweet crackers came to be. His followers were called Grahamites and Graham flours Graham crackers and even Graham bread was created for them. The shared ingredients in all three was coarsely ground whole wheat flour that gives the crackers their distinctive deep tan color. This was supposed to be healthier than finely ground white flour and believed to be a preventative against the 1829-1859 cholera epidemic. Graham crackers became so popular that Herman Melville mentioned them in his 1856 novel Pierre or The Ambiguities. They were easy to mass produce thanks to the simple ingredients of graham flour,oil, molasses, and lard. The molasses gives it that special sweet flavor along with fermented yeast added during mass production.. Nabisco started manufacturing them as early as 1898 and was in competition a decade later with the Loose-wiles Biscuit Company. In recent decades variations were added. Now we not only have the original but also cinnamon sugar topped ones and chocolate Graham crackers. Shapes like bunnies and bears have been added in the last thirty years.

As we all know Graham crackers are versatile. They make for the perfect after school or evening snack with milk or tea. The packets are perfect to take along to school or on picnics. The ultimate Graham cracker creation is the s'mores. It's a fun bite of marshmallows and a broken chocolate bar sandwiched between two crackers. You can make this really decadent by using the chocolate version and  80  % dark chocolate. Doing this cuts the marshmallows' sweetness and emphasizes the deep cocoa flavor.Graham cracker crusts have long been used in pies and cheesecakes. It's a simple mix of finely ground crumbs mixed with melted butter, white sugar and cinnamon. This crust works best with summery pies like Key Lime or lemon meringue. It also works for pudding filled pies like coconut cream and chocolate. They also work in ice box cakes too.Layer them with any kind of pudding and them top with either Cool Whip or whip cream based frosting. A sweet dessert perfect for a Saturday or Sunday gathering is chocolate graham crackers layered with a quick chocolate mousse of Cool Whip and instant chocolate pudding. Frost with Cool Whip and them grate dark chocolate over the top.

Graham crackers are the classic American comfort food. enjoy a plate of them with cold milk or hot tea or coffee. Use them as crusts or bases for pies and ice box cakes. They are versatile and perfect for snacking.