Shel_B

My ex-wife used to make these for parties, potlucks, and just plain good eatin' at home. I have a batch in the oven as I type in the recipe, and thought I'd post it here to eGullet. Truth is, I'm not even close to a baking expert, although over the last year I have been experimenting with one particular brownie recipe, but this one is not it. I'm just following the ex's recipe ... and everyone who has tried them comes away with a chocolate smile. Perhaps you'll enjoy them as well, or maybe even improve upon them. KAHLUA BROWNIES 1 1/2 Cups sifted all purpose flour 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 2/3 cup butter (Unsalted) 3 1-oz squares unsweetened chocolate 3 large eggs 1/4 cup Kahlua 2 cups sugar 3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans 1 Tbs. Kahlua for top of bars 　 Resift flour w/baking powder and salt. Melt butter w/chocolate. Beat eggs w/sugar until light. Stir in chocolate mixture and 1/4 cup Kahlua. Add flour mixture and mix well. Stir in nuts. Turn into greased 9" square pan, bottom lined w/greased parchment or foil. Bake in center of 350 degree oven for 30 minutes, until top springs back when touched lightly in center and edges begin to pull away from pan. Do Not Overbake! Remove from oven and cool in pan. Brush top with 1 Tbs Kahlua. Let stand until thoroughly cold. Cut into bars or squares. NOTE: It's alright to brush a little more Kahlua on the tops of the brownies. Remember: Nothing succeeds like excess!

Thanks to your heads up, I picked up a dozen, one quart jars at a very nice price. I may go back and get some smaller jars as well. Thanks!

Julia Child visits sixteen nationally acclaimed master chefs in their own kitchens. Each chef demonstrates distinct techniques, regional recipes, and culinary tips which guide home cooks through their favorite recipes. This show is streaming on PBS. Not all sixteen episodes are available (at least in my market). I saw the episode with a young, more serious and reserved, Emeril Lagasse ... quite a different personality than on Food Network. http://www.pbs.org/show/julia-child-cooking-master-chefs/

Giving some thought to the material used in these spatulas, I decided to refresh my memory about silicone that contains certain adulterants and came across this site - http://www.lifewithoutplastic.com/store/is_silicone_a_plastic#.V7BcKxL2ZrQ. There's a lot of info at the site that some here may find useful. One item is a method for determining if a product is pure silicone, as opposed to adulterated silicone. Do the spatulas mentioned in this thread pass this test? If you are going to use silicone, be sure it is high quality, food grade silicone and does not contain any fillers. To test a product for fillers you can pinch and twist a flat surface of it to see if any white shows through. If so, a filler likely has been used. As a result, the product may not be uniformly heat resistant and may impart an odor to food. But most importantly, you will have no idea what the filler is and it may leach unknown chemicals into the food. For all you know, the filler may be a silicone of low quality or not silicone at all.

Makes perfect sense ... thanks!

This looks like it may be a good addition to my spatula collection. How wide is the head? Thanks! BTW, there's a white version of the spatula and related tools available for a little less money.

... to store 5-lb bags of flour, in the bag? I am looking at some Cambro containers, but I'm open to other suggestions. Thanks!

What's the difference between a disinfectant and a sanitizer? What's the practical difference when it comes to plastic cutting boards? BTW, I found this, which looks to be a stronger solution of Hydrogen Peroxide.

I use some of these Vital Vittles breads for my toast. It's not dried out through and through, rather the interior is warm, soft and moist. The sliced bread is kept frozen until ready to toast. I believe that toasting the slices while they are still frozen contributes to the result.

I have a Breville and have been reasonably satisfied with the toast it makes - it's not perfect as the evenness of the browning leaves something to be desired, but I've figured a workaround that's acceptable for my needs and temperament. However, people here have mentioned that the Cuisinart makes better toast, and seeing Anna's technique makes me wonder what effect steam or moisture has on making toast. Perhaps I'm not fussy about my toast - just give me some reasonably even browning with the toast not being too dark and dry, and I'm satisfied. However, with various discussions about the Cuisinart vs Breville and how they each make toast, I can't help but think that I'm missing something. So, what do you look for in great toast? In what way does the Cuisinart make "better" toast than the Breville?

Restaurants here are required to use bleach or quaternary ammonia. The link provided here is from an article published by Clorox, certainly not a disinterested party. The article says "Clorox purchases chlorine and makes household bleach by bubbling the chlorine into a solution of water and sodium hydroxide. During this process, all of the chlorine is converted to a sodium hypochlorite solution." Yet here Clorox says (certainly strongly suggests) that the product contains sodium chloride. I'm no chemist, but it seems to me that all of the chlorine is not converted to sodium hypochlorite ... FWIW. From my past personal experience dealing with the Clorox company in business, I am skeptical of their candor and honesty

I will be making some blueberry muffins later this week, and I may not be able to get quality, fresh blueberries. If frozen blueberries are used, should their preparation be treated differently than fresh? I've never made blueberry muffins with frozen berries, so I'm unsure as to how to proceed. Thanks!

I have a number of wooden cutting boards as well as the plastic boards. I use different boards for different purposes. Can you answer my question?

No dishwasher ...

I have several plastic cutting boards (don't know if they are polyethylene or polypropylene), and have been cleaning and disinfecting them with bleach. They are washed by hand. I'd like to find an alternative to bleach for doing this. Any suggestions?

Some articles from our local fish wrap: http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-living/ci_30149928/taste-off-best-and-worst-meal-kits-including http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_29576565/meals-box-are-they-worth-it http://www.mercurynews.com/eat-drink-play/ci_28877350/taste-off-best-meal-kits-and-worst

If you don't want to pay for a Netflix subscription, you can sign up for a 30 day free trial: http://netflixdeals.com/free-netflix-trial/ FWIW, there are many food-oriented movies and documentaries on the service.

http://www.thesearchforgeneraltso.com/ Available on Netflix

Today I picked up bottle of Trader Joe's Organic Sriracha Ranch Dressing. I can't recall when I last bought a bottled dressing, but this was available at the sample kiosk and I tried it on some chicken drumellas, which I also liked but didn't purchase. The dressing has nice, pleasant heat from the Sriracha on a solid background of ranch dressing. While hot and flavorful, the heat's not overwhelming - it's a nicely balanced dressing. I plan to experiment with it a bit. Now that I'm home, I regret not having purchased the drumellas to go with it.

Never heard of that chocolate, but I like your comments and the description and comments on Amazon. I've added it to my cart for my next order. Seems like it's worth a try, and the price for a pound is reasonable. Thanks for the pointer.

I am thinking of getting a package of KA Double Dutch Dark Cocoa for use in brownies and chocolate pudding. Can anyone who has used the product comment on it for the intended purpose? Thanks!

Yeah, I got that info earlier ... I didn't know at what temp cornstarch set up, and now I do. Thanks for your help and the additional details. Much appreciated.

The eggs I use have larger yolks and greater mass than other large eggs that I've found. However, I have thought of adding an additional yolk just to see what happens.

Actually, the bowl I used sits low in the pot, and I do use a thermometer. The temp of the mixture was close to 200-degrees. There is a large surface area that's exposed to the steam in the setup I use, which is the same setup I use for lemon curd, and I cook my curd to about 180-degrees.

Thanks! I believe I did, but maybe not, so I'll make the pudding again today and be sure to follow your suggestion. I'll pay more attention to that detail. The pudding has great flavor, so I really want to get it right.