It's been a while....!

Hey everyone! In the last few weeks, plans have been changing left to right, uptown to downtown, pepperoni with extra cheese to vegan. You get the idea.

No new "Gourmet Again!" cooking shows until my Ecuadorian friend and soul sister, Tania, arrives for a nice long visit. We will be doing a traditional meal from her country. What a blast that will be!

Needless to say, we HAVE been cooking. Just not taping our efforts due to time constraints! I made some fantastic turkey burgers tonight that Ron grilled to perfection, as always.

Also, per Ron's request, I will be making a special post to honor my favorite vegan lunch. True, I have MANY favorites for lunch, including curry chicken salad with golden raisins, tuna salad with fresh parsley and chickpeas, and others, but this one is really unique. Look for that coming really soon, with pictures of my original creation!

Finally, every week I'm baking a new Brownies recipe. So far, the best have come from RecipeZaar. Check it out. New one in the oven tomorrow.....

Chocolate Treats!

I love the combination of Chocolate and Coffee and I found it in a new cookie recipe from RecipeZaar. I'm not usually excited about making cookies because they take more time than baking brownies or other bars (and my time is precious, people!), but these little gems gave me a new-found love for baking cookies!

CAFE NOIR CHOCOLATE COOKIES

Ingredients:

3 oz. Unsweetened Chocolate, chopped

2 cups Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips, divided

1/2 cup Unsalted Butter, cut into pieces

3 large Eggs

1 cup Sugar

2 1/4 teaspoons finely ground Dark Roast Coffee Beans

3/4 cup Flour

1/3 Tsp. Baking Powder

1/4 Tsp. Salt

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a baking sheet, or line with parchment paper.

In a double boiler or heat-proof bowl set in a sauce pan of simmering water, melt Unsweetened Chocolate, 1 cup of Chocolate Chips and Butter; stir until smooth. Remove from heat.

In a large bowl, beat Eggs, Sugar and Coffee on high speed until thick and pale and ribbons form when beaters are lifted, about 3 minutes.

Beat in Chocolate mixture.

In a small bowl, whisk together Flour, Baking Powder and Salt. Blend in halves into batter, then stir in remaining Chocolate Chips.

Drop batter onto baking sheet by heaping teaspoonfuls, placing them about one and a half inches apart. Bake 8-9 minutes or until puffed and cracked on top.

Cool cookies on baking sheet for 1 minute then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes about 4 dozen.

Beautiful!

Next time, I'm going to leave out the extra cup of chocolate chips added into the batter.

Also, I will add another teaspoon of ground coffee for a richer java flava!

The cookies received rave reviews from Ron and our friends Bob and Justin, who all had difficulty saying "no" to another cookie, and another, and.... 

True, these precious treats are addictive!

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

We had a birthday party for Tara that got planned the night before. Fortunately, I had already made a Chocolate Zucchini Cake! The cake was big, and I wasn't sure how Ron and I were going to consume it unless we shared it with several friends, so the last-minute birthday dinner was a perfect reason to slice up half of it and make a special dessert to share with Tara and Kahle:

Grand Petit Fours!

I made a Chocolate Buttercream Frosting for a filling, and drizzled each big little cake with a Chocolate Glaze.

Yum!

Oh, and I can't forget the Mocha Whipped Cream to top it all off!

A triple-chocolatey delight!

Here's the cake recipe:

CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI CAKE

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups Flour

2 teaspoons Baking Soda

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon Salt

7 tablespoons Dutch Process Cocoa

2 Eggs

1/2 cup Canola Oil

1/2 cup melted Butter, cooled

1/2 cup Sour Cream

1 3/4 cups White Sugar

2 teaspoons Vanilla

2 cups finely grated Zucchini

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9 x 13 inch pan.

In a medium bowl, mix together Flour, Baking Soda, Baking Powder, Salt and Cocoa.

In a large bowl, mix together Eggs, Canola Oil, melted cooled Butter, Sour Cream, White Sugar, and Vanilla. Fold in Zucchini.

Slowly fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients just until blended. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake 30-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean.

Cool completely before doing anything crazy like making Grand Petit Fours!

Chocolate-Mint Cheesecake!

Last weekend was all about celebrating: friends, food, and CHOCOLATE MINT CHEESECAKE! We shot our latest episode of "Gourmet Again!" with our first studio guests, Kahle and Gavin. 

(I adapted this recipe from my Cooking Club of America magazine, Cooking Pleasures).

CHOCOLATE-MINT CHEESECAKE  

INGREDIENTS 

Crust: 

1 (9 oz.) box - 2 cups - Chocolate Cookie Crumbs 

6 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter, melted 

Filling: 

6 oz. Semi-Sweet Chocolate, chopped 

3 (8 oz.) packages Cream Cheese, softened 

1 cup Sugar 

4 Eggs, room temperature 

1 cup Sour Cream 

2 Tsp. Vanilla Extract 

1 Tsp. Peppermint Extract   

Glaze: 

6 oz. Semi-Sweet Chocolate, finely chopped 

1/3 cup Whipping Cream 

2 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter, cut up 

1 Tbsp. Light Corn Syrup

1/2 Tsp. Peppermint Extract 

DIRECTIONS 

Heat oven to 350°F. In medium bowl, stir together cookie crumbs and melted butter until crumbs are evenly moistened. Press evenly into bottom and 1 inch up sides of pan. Bake 6 to 8 minutes or until set; cool on wire rack. 

Place 6 oz. chopped chocolate in medium heatproof bowl; transfer bowl to a saucepan of simmering water (about 1 inch). Stir frequently until chocolate is smooth and melted; remove bowl from saucepan and set aside. 

In large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar with mixer at low speed until smooth. Mix in 2 of the eggs just until combined; repeat with remaining 2 eggs. Scrape down sides of bowl. Blend in sour cream and vanilla. 

Reserve 2 cups of batter in another medium bowl; stir in 1 teaspoon peppermint extract and set aside. 

Stir melted chocolate into batter in large bowl until completely blended; pour into crust. Bake 35 minutes. 

Carefully pour reserved peppermint batter evenly over baked layer. Bake 25 minutes or until edges are puffed and top is dry to the touch. 

Center should move slightly when pan is jiggled, but should not ripple as if liquid. Remove and place on wire rack; cool to room temperature, about 2 hours. 

Meanwhile, heat 1 inch of water in medium saucepan. Place 6 oz. finely chopped chocolate in another large heat-proof bowl with cream, 2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon corn syrup. Place bowl in saucepan and heat over medium-low heat, stirring until mixture is smooth and glossy. Remove bowl from saucepan. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract. Cool to room

temperature, about 1 hour. 

Pour glaze over cooled cheesecake in pan, spreading evenly over top. 

Cover and refrigerate at least 6 hours before serving. Cheesecake can be made up to 3 days ahead. Store in refrigerator. 

Chef’s Notes: Use organic, non-GMO ingredients whenever possible! Try using chocolate graham crackers or Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies for the crust. I use organic “Bunny Grahams.”

The Chocolate-Mint Cheesecake received RAVE reviews from "Gourmet Again!" studio guests Gavin and Kahle (pictured here about to take another "mint-tacular" bite). 

See Kahle and Gavin in the two-part episode on the BlipsWerx Channel!

Also weighing in with dessert kudos: our neighbors Bob and sons Justin and Josh, plus several of Ron's co-workers!

; ) We even saved a 3-inch square for ourselves!

Coming in March.....CheeseCake Extravaganza!

We're filming an extra special "Gourmet Again!" cooking show episode in early March. I'll be making a cheesecake. But I don't know yet which cheesecake, because I gave the choice to our first Guest on the show!

She's been craving cheesecake, and she specifically requested that Ron and I make one for her before she has to leave town. Of course we couldn't turn down a CRAVING like that!

Her deadline is Monday, February 25th to provide her cheesecake choice. Suffice it to say that both cheesecakes involve CHOCOLATE!

Stay tuned for the recipe and other rantings, right here. Meanwhile, have I mentioned yet that I have a bunch of my recipe faves on my web site? Check 'em out.....delicious! Look in the Fun Facts & Funky Faves section for the link!