Paczki

Copyright 2011 LtDansKitchen blogs

My introduction to this Polish treat started in graduate school at Michigan State University. It appeared one day on our commons desk for everyone to share. The day was the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. Jeff, a first year student at that time brought it in. He was of Polish ancestry so it was something he was familiar with. Paczki, in all aspects looks like a regular donut. It is however richer, more decadent and is available only during Fat Tuesday. It has been years since both Jeff and I graduated and have since gone our own ways but the paczki tradition stuck with me. I managed to find it in Atlanta after driving around for a couple of hours in 2008 and while living in Knoxville, I had to bake my own. It was a big surprise then when I found a box of paczki in our local Walmart here in Bozeman. Even when I was on my 5th day of dieting, I just had to buy a box. It is only but once a year so what the heck! 

Brownies Inc.

I was 13 years old when my cousin came home from one of her classes in college (she majored in Nutrition) armed with a brownie recipe. At that time, I had no idea what a brownie was but I was so excited to get going with the baking part. My Mom had a co-worker (Tita Warlet) who made all of my birthday cakes and when I had time off from school, I would go with my Mom to the school where she teaches and this visit almost always includes a side trip to Tita Warlet's house where she does all of her baking. To the 10 year old me, that was a little slice of heaven on earth.

Anyway, landing back to earth, we had this  stove top oven contraption that allows you to bake a cake with the annoying limitation of it coming out as a round cake with a hole in the middle. Still, we were determined to try out my cousin's recipe. It was sadly my or I should say our first taste of a baking disaster but we ate the brownie anyways. It was still a treat even though we were eating the brownie off the sides of the pan where it got stuck. The damage was done though, I was in love with baking.
 
One of my favorite brownie recipe is Ina-Garten's Soho Charcuterie Brownies. The only problem is that her recipe is really fit when you are feeding an army. Way too much brownie in a 12x18 baking sheet pan. An alternative is my other go-to recipe, Nigella Lawson's version of Birthday Brownies in her book, "How to be a Domestic Goddess". Hers is more manageable in a 9x13 pan and has become a favorite of my niece.

Cream Cheese Brownies - I used the recipe from www.joyofbaking.com.
Copyright 2011 LtDansKitchen blogs

I've also recently come across some recipes for cheesecake brownies as I've always loved them ever since a small stall in the SM City North Edsa mall back in the Philippines sold really awesome brownies. The company is Brownies Unlimited. I would buy their 6-pack brownie box with a cheesecake brownie in the mix. I have a recipe on file but I never got it to work although I've made some progress recently courtesy of Stephanie Jaworski's Cream Cheese Brownie recipe at her JoyofBaking.com website and an even more recent find is David Lebovitz's recipe on his "Living the Sweet Life in Paris" blog. Make sure you check out their awesome websites and their recipes as well. 

Below is the first brownie recipe I ever tried. I referred to it as "Best Brownies" but the recipe is fairly basic although it does satisfy the craving for something sweet. It is fairly easy to make as well. Add semi-sweet chocolate chips if you want to up the chocolate factor.  

Ingredients:

½ cup unsalted butter + extra for greasing

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

½ cup flour

1/3 cup cocoa

¼ tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. Salt

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional) 

Procedure:

1.    Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 9-inch baking pan with foil and grease with butter.

2.    Melt the butter over low heat in a bowl. Add the sugar and mix with a wooden spoon until almost dissolved.

3.    Add the eggs one at a time and mix very well after each addition.

4.    Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.

5.    Gradually add into butter mixture. Mix very well. Add the vanilla and nuts (if using) and mix until incorporated.  

6.    Spread into greased pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in the pan for about 15 minutes and cut into wedges. 

My brownie with ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips and ½ cup walnuts.

Copyright 2011 Lt Dan’s Kitchen blogs

And so we begin!

Well, I finally caved in. On the very first day that I've decided to forgo meat and sweets, I instead in my masochistic ways decided to create a blog that will catalog the food I make, be it a main dish or a dessert. I'm not sure how long I'll be able to keep this up but since this is the first post, I'll try to be optimistic and hope for the best. 

Inspired by one of my favorite shows, Lidia's Italy and with prodding from well-meaning friends, my blog will feature both my love for travel (very rare these days) and my love for food. My recipes will feature my favorite meals and will be mainly directed by friends who need a certain recipe for their own personal use. I'll also feature recipes from back home (the Philippines) that will center on the food that I grew up with. My Mom has forgotten most of the simple dishes she served on the kitchen table when I was still going to school in my elementary years I had to cook them again for her to remind her how she used to make them. Sadly, she passed away five years ago but her support in my love for baking (she bought me my first electric mixer when I was 15) and cooking and pretty much else anything I try to do will always be with me.