American Brownies and a Cuppa, Anyone?

 

According to Wiki, a chef at Chicago's Palmer House Hotel concocted the first brownie recipe when Bertha Palmer asked him to create a special dessert for ladies attending the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. “It should be smaller than a piece of cake, though still retaining cake-like characteristics and easily eaten from boxed lunches”, she instructed. These first brownies featured an apricot glaze and walnuts and they are still being made at the hotel today according to the original recipe.

Now that we're back aboard and getting ready for departure, many of our Aussie friends are dropping by to say hello … and goodbye. It's typical to have two or three or even four visitors aboard, all chatting and sipping a cuppa. The tea kettle stays busy and there always seems to be just enough mugs to serve the coffee or tea. I like to have some sort of sweet to accompany the tea and coffee and American Brownies are always a hit. They're easy to make and I typically make a large batch of the dry ingredients in advance, so it's even more convenient. I first found this recipe in the KISS cookbook, but I've seen variations of the theme using mayonnaise (yes, mayo) many times since. Hope you enjoy it. They're particularly fudgy, but I purposely lost the apricot glaze.

The basic brownie mix:

3 c sugar

2 c flour

2 c unsweetened baking cocoa

1-1/2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

Combine all ingredients well and store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.

Brownies

Author: Marcie Connelly Lynn

Ingredients

• 2 c basic brownie mix
• 1 tsp vanilla
• ½ c mayonnaise (I prefer Hellmans)
• 2 eggs
• Optional: ½ c chopped nuts and/or mini chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Combine eggs, vanilla and mayo in a medium bowl. Add the brownie mix and blend until smooth. Mixture will be quite thick. Add nuts or chocolate chips. Pour into 8” square pan, prepared with cooking spray. Bake in 350F (180C) oven for 20-25 mins or until slight imprint remains when lightly touched with finger.
2. Alternative: Hold off adding the nuts to the batter and instead sprinkle on top of the batter before putting it in the oven.

Notes

Short on eggs? You can substitute 1 tbsp white vinegar for an egg in a pinch. Some folks also add 1 tsp baking soda as well, but I use just plain vinegar and it works fine. [br]Short on mayo? Add an extra egg and 1/3 cup of vegetable oil

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Eating Well at Mary's Place in Las Vegas

Living with David's sister, Mary, while we're in Las Vegas has not been good for our diets. Mary is a terrific cook. It's not that what she cooks is high calorie or unhealthy, it's more like it's so good, we just eat a lot of whatever she cooks. I'll say “Let's have chicken on the grill for dinner.” Mary will say “Sure, I'll just whip up a rum-citrus marinade and how about a mango salad to go with it? Or maybe asparagus fries? Or both?” Then she ends up making a multi-layered fresh fruit and cream trifle for dessert.  

The asparagus fries, by the way, are absolutely out of this world. She shared the recipe. It's easy and I can even do it on the boat … assuming I can find fresh asparagus. It would be a great side dish or a wonderful appetizer with a Ranch dressing dip, for instance. Give it a try.

Mary's Asparagus Fries

Recipe Type: Side

Author: Mary Ramirez

Ingredients

• 1 lb fresh asparagus spears, rinsed and trimmed (leave them damp)
• ½ c flour mixed with ¼ tsp salt
• 1 egg beaten with 2 tbsp water
• 3/4c panko breadcrumbs mixed with ½ c grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Set up the breading station: Flour, egg, breadcrumbs.
2. Roll a few damp spears at a time … in flour, then egg mixture, then breadcrumbs/cheese mix
3. Lay in a single layer on rack on a sheet pan
4. Cook at 400F (200C) for 20 minutes or until golden brown
5. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.

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Mary thinks this would probably work well for fresh green beans and maybe even halved Brussel sprouts.

When it's time to head back to Nine of Cups, we'll be very happy to waddle back towards the boat, but in the meantime … thanks for feeding us so well, Mary.

Apples in Australia

Before leaving Australia for America last week, I met a new friend, Mary, who brought a delicious apple crumble to the boat which we enjoyed with coffee. Though I've made crumble before, this was a bit different and Mary shared the recipe. I'd planned to share it with you earlier, but I left in kind of a hurry. Here's the blog post … Being in the southern hemisphere does have its advantages. It's late autumn here …the end of apple season. All the supermarkets have apples on sale. There are fruit stands along the roadside and the orchards have bags of apples and other autumn crops like squash and pumpkin for sale … most with “honesty boxes” so you can just leave the money for what you buy.

honesty box

Australia has some of its own varieties. There are Galas and Pink Lady, Jazz and Sundowner and, of course, the usual Granny Smiths and Delicious. We're quite partial to the Pink Lady variety. They're crispy, crunchy, juicy and just tart enough to make your mouth water.

pink lady

According to AussieApples.com, in 1973, John Cripps, an orchardist and plant breeder, came up with the idea to cross two varieties, Golden Delicious and a Lady Williams apple to create a new apple cultivar which he named Pink Lady. By 1996, over one million Pink Lady trees were planted in Australia, producing more than 10,000 tons of Pink Lady apples. Today, they are still Australia’s favorite apple and are now grown in ~15 different countries and sold across more than 30 countries worldwide.

indulgence

I wish we had a “smell” chip to share with you the wonderful smell emanating from Nine of Cups when I'm baking apple crisp. It certainly covers up the bilge, diesel and miscellaneous boat smells. I just got a recipe from a new friend, Mary on Indulgence II, for her Apple Crumble. The crumble in this recipe is the crust as well as the topping and it's wonderful. Thanks, Mary! Note that Mary's recipe makes a much larger quantity; I've halved it for use on Nine of Cups. I made this recipe while back in the USA and sadly, there was nary a Pink Lady in sight … only Granny Smiths.

Indulgence II Apple Crumble

Author:

Marcie via Mary of Indulgence II

Ingredients

• 1 cups self-rising flour
• 1/4 lb (1 stick or 125 g) butter
• 1 cups coconut
• Pinch salt
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 egg
• 6-8 medium apples, peeled, sliced and stewed*

Instructions

1. Melt butter and add to dry ingredients.
2. Add egg and vanilla and mix well.
3. Grease an 8” deep pie pan and place ¾ of crumble mixture in the bottom of the dish. Press evenly over base and up the sides of the prepared pan with the back of a spoon.
4. Place apples* on top, then use the remaining crumble mixture to cover the apples.
5. Bake in 350F/180C oven for 25-30 minutes or until crumble is brown.
6. For an extra twist, try adding a small can/tin of drained,crushed pineapple to the apples.

Notes

Stewing the apples first reduces cooking time and insures the apples are soft and juicy. Simmer apples in water (or apple juice) and a little cinnamon until soft. Drain excess liquid.

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