Fudge Brownies

1 Cup butter - softened
4 oz unsweetened chocolate
2 Cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs
1 Cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Cup chopped walnuts

Melt 1/2 cup butter and chocolate in small saucepan over low heat; set aside to cool.

Place remaining 1/2 cup butter, sugar, and vanilla in mixer bowl. Attach bowl and flat beater to mixer. Turn to speed 2 and mix about 30 seconds. Turn to speed 6 and beat about 2 minutes. Turn to speed 4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating 15 seconds after each addition. Stop and scrape bowl.

Add cooled chocolate mixture. Turn to speed 2 and mix about 30 seconds. Stop and scrape bowl. Add all remaining ingredients. Turn to stir speed and mix until well blended, about 30 seconds.

Pour into greased and floured 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Bake at 350 F for 45 minutes. Cool in pan on wire rack and cut.

I decided to make these brownies last night. I proceeded as instructed by adding the sugar, butter and vanilla to my mixing bowl, and mixing according to the instructions. After mixing for the 2.5 minutes, the mixture was very grainy. The best way to describe it would be to say it consisted of small butter beads, with sugar attached to the butter. I continued on through the rest of the instructions. When I got to the "pour" part, there was no pouring going on there. It was way to thick. I had to scoop it out of the bowl, and spread it around with a spatula. As the brownies cooked in the oven, I was eager with anticipation. However, the final product was very much a disappointment. Eating them is basically like eating a square of chocolate and butter flavored sugar. 


So what went wrong? What I'm guessing is that my butter was not as soft as it should have been. After the damage was done, I found another brownie recipe that calls for adding melted butter. Please let me know if you agree with this assessment. Assuming that the butter not being soft enough was the cause of the problem, at the point where the sugar, butter and vanilla were combined, could anything have been done to salvage the brownies? 

Poppy Seed Chicken

This is another recipe from our friend Erin. Momma Eastman wanted this recipe, so here it is!

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 pint (16 oz) sour cream

5-6 chicken breasts (cooked & diced)

1 tube Ritz crackers

3/4 cup butter

2 Tbsp. poppy seeds

Boil the chicken and cut once cooked. Mix the diced chicken with sour cream and soup Then spread in a 9x13 pan.

Crush the crackers and mix with melted butter and sprinkle on top of creamy mixture. Next, sprinkle poppy seeds on top of the casserole.

Bake at 300 degrees for 40 minutes. Serve with rice.

***I've never had this before, but Heber and Greg Fox have and they say it's yummy!

Chicken Pot Pie

I got this recipe from our good friend Erin Cowles. We tried it and it's really easy and really yummy!

2 cans cream of potato soup

1 can Veg-All (mixed veggies)

2 cups cooked chicken, diced (or you can use canned chicken)

1/2 t. poultry seasoning

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. pepper

2 pie crusts

Mix everything together and place in one pie shell. Place the second shell on top and press the edges to seal. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes.

Irish Tacos

This is an old family recipe my great grandfather used to make. He had 5 daughters to feed and money was short so he started adding potatoes and corn to his taco recipe to make things go further. Mom and Dad Eastman have tried these and they said they liked them...I guess you can be the judge :)

Irish Tacos

1 lb ground hamburger or ground turkey

1 medium yellow onion, diced

1 medium sized potato, diced

1/2 cup of frozen corn

1- 14 o.5 oz can diced tomatoes

2- 8 oz cans tomato sauce

salt & pepper to taste

Brown the hamburger or ground turkey with the diced onion until the onions are clear. Drain the fat from the meat, if desired - I always do. Add diced potato, frozen corn, diced tomatoes and tomato sauce. Add salt & pepper to taste. Simmer for about 30 minutes. You'll know it's done when the potatoes aren't crunchy anymore. Enjoy!

***Note this makes a nice size pot full. Heber and I usually have to freeze a good portion of it for later and it's still great!

Red Rice

Here's the recipe for the red rice I made with my grilled tacos a few weeks ago. This rice goes great with any Mexican dish. I adapted this recipe from one in Williams Sonoma's Savoring Mexico cookbook. The only ingredient that might not be available at your mainstream grocery store is the achiote powder. If not, you should be able to find it in any little Mexican store.

• 1 medium-large ripe tomato
• 1/4 cup chopped white onion
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 tablespoon ground achiote
• 2 Tbsp safflower or canola oil
• 1 cup medium- or long-grained white rice
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste

In a blender, puree the tomatoes, onion, and garlic. Add the achiote and blend until well mixed. Pass the mixture through a sieve.

In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, warm the oil. Add the rice and cook, stirring, until it starts to turn light gold, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato puree and fry, scraping the pan bottom occasionally, until the puree is absorbed, about 3 minutes. Stir in the broth and add the salt. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook the rice for 25 minutes. When the rice is almost cooked through, remove the pan from the heat and leave covered for 10 minutes.

Toss the rice with a fork, then spoon into a warmed bowl and serve.

Award-winning Pumpkin Roll

Beat 3 eggs for 5 min. Add 2/3 c. canned pumpkin (without spices), 1 c. sugar, and 1 t. lemon juice.

Mix well. Add:

3/4 c. flour

1 t. baking powder

2 t. cinnamon

1 t. ginger

1/2 t. nutmeg

Spray a jelly roll pan with non-stick cooking spray. Line the pan with wax paper, and spray again. Spread batter into pan evenly, and bake at 375 for 12-14 minutes. Do not overcook.

When the cake is done overturn into a cotton towel, remove the wax paper, and roll up the cake in the towel to cool.

Filling:

8 oz. cream cheese

4 T. butter

1 c. sugar

1 t. vanilla

When the cake is cool, unroll and spread filling evenly. Roll it back up into plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Eggs Benedict

Every Friday during the last few months that Sarah and I lived in Chicago, my friends from work and I would grab breakfast at Ceres Cafe in the Chicago Board of Trade building. The tradition was to get Eggs Benedict. Every once in a while I get a craving for Eggs Benedict again, so I recently learned how to make it myself.

Eggs Benedict is topped with hollandaise sauce. Rather than make up a whole batch of sauce from a powder packet, I learned to just make a small bit from scratch.

Hollandaise Sauce

• 1 egg
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp butter
• dash of cayenne pepper
• dash of salt

Whisk the egg and lemon juice in a metal bowl. Carefully melt the butter in the microwave. Simmer a small amount of water in a small sauce pan. Place the metal bowl with egg and lemon over the simmering water. While stirring constantly, pour in the butter. Continue stirring until the volume roughly doubles. Stir in the cayenne pepper and salt and set aside.

Eggs Benedict

• 1 english muffin
• 2 slices cheese
• 2 slices canadian bacon
• 2 eggs
• hollandaise sauce

Poach the eggs as follows: Bring water to a gentle boil in a medium saucepan. Add a little bit of vinegar to the water. Crack the eggs into the water and let them sit for about 3 minutes. Scoop them out with a slotted spoon.

During the 3 minutes that the eggs are poaching, split the english muffin and toast both halves and grill/warm/fry the canadian bacon. On top of each half of english muffin layer a slice of cheese, canadian bacon, and a poached egg. Top with hollandaise sauce and season with a little salt and pepper.

The cheese isn't critical, so those of you that avoid cheese can just leave it out. I calculate that each eggs benedict (the above recipe making 2) has about 350 calories (with cheese), so don't go too crazy on them.