The Baked Brownie

Every time I have made brownies from scratch, they have been crumbly, cakey, and dry. Brownies are not supposed to be crumbly, caky, and dry. That’s not how they come out of the box. Out of the box, they are fudgy, chewy, and chocolately. 

Salmon Eggs Benedict

Eggs benedict is the quintessential Sunday brunch meal. I never ordered it because I am not a fan of the Canadian bacon. But in a little beach cafe in Sydney, Australia, they serve eggs benedict with smoked salmon instead, where the inspiration for this dish came. 

Now the first time I decided to tackle eggs benedict I was staying over at my parent’s house with Ryan. My mom and I got out all of her recipe books with hollandaise sauce in them and spread them all over the table.  We tried to comparing the minute details for 15 different recipes (I think we chose one by eenie, meenie, miney, mo). The next morning there were 4 of us crowded around the stove using 3 burners all working on a different component of the meal. Let’s just call it organized chaos.

Salmon with Sweet Corn Salsa

Of the many things I have discovered about living in my apartment, one of my favorite’s, is my proximity to Whole Foods…(it may be my bank account’s least favorite). I can literally run there, grab the cinnamon I was missing for zucchini bread or brioche buns for sloppy joes, check out, and run back in less than thirty minutes. I save the environment some emissions and my butt gets a much needed break from the couch and Bravo marathons...that I have to record while I am gone because I am already too sucked in.

Lucky for my bank account, Whole Foods has some amazing Friday sales. This week...Wild Fresh Alaskan Coho Salmon. YUM! I got my inspiration from a recipe they posted on their website. It was the perfect combinations of flavors for this melt in your mouth fish.

Grill corn.

Cool corn.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Enjoying the sunset, a warm cookie, and a cold glass of milk...

A few years ago, I came home really upset (from what I no longer remember), not knowing what to do, I decided to bake. I told my brother to find me the best chocolate chip recipe online and I would make them. He searched, printed one out and handed it to me. When I read over the recipe, I was a little confused. 1.) It called for bread flour, something I was glad to find in my parents’ pantry, 2.) There was more brown sugar than white sugar, and 3.) The butter was melted. Any time I had accidentally melted the butter instead of softening it, I got flat cookies. I meticulously followed the directions, because I believe that baking is a science. Low and behold, fluffy masterpieces arose from the oven. Now, I prefer a chewy, chocolate chip filled cookie, if you prefer a thin, crispy one, this cookie isn’t for you. Maybe try this one instead. But if you want a big, chewy, fluffy cookie, look no further because this one is the best.

Sift.

Homemade Chicken Stock

Now I think Yotam Ottalenghi said it best in his book Plenty, “the crucial component in this dish [Lemon and Eggplant Risotto] is the stock, which will make or break it.” I didn’t listen, and he was right. Now, yes, when you only need a ¼ cup of stock, the store bought stuff is just fine. But if you have the time, and you are making a dish entirely based around the stock, like a soup or risotto, I agree with Mr. Ottalenghi, make your own. This way you can not only control the prominent flavors, but also the amount of salt. Making stock can be pretty intimidating, but all you need is a big pot (my 6 quart just barely cut it) and a strainer (I got this one just for the occasion).