Rocky Road Brownies

As teenagers, my best friend and I used to take the bus to one of the local malls and hit up the Baskin Robbins. Instead of plain vanilla, my friend convinced me to try rocky road. The combination of nuts, marshmallows and chocolate bits, mixed in with the ice cream...absolute summer heaven.

But now that I'm a little older, my metabolism can no longer keep up with the calories...but it's still nice to indulge once in awhile - with a twist. Instead of ice cream, the chocolate is amplified using a chocolate brownie as the base.

Martha Stewart (scary genius that she is)'s web site has some amazing recipes.  I tried this one.  (No tinkering required).

And for those who still have an amazing metabolism,  serve the brownie with ice cream. 

Cayenne pepper pork chops with lime, avocado and tomato salsa

The fiery heat of cayenne pepper always brings memories of hot and sticky summer nights, while lime, cilantro, avocado and tomato salsa arethe equivalent of an ice cold drink. Pulled together into one savoury dish? Absolute summer heaven.

Since this recipe comes from my brain (and isn't adapted), I'm going to be pretty loose in terms of ingredients and instructions.

Pork chop spices ingredients
- garlic salt
- cayenne pepper
- black pepper

Salsa topping ingredients
- 1 haas avocado, chopped
- 1/2 purple onion (diced)
- 1/2 cup cilantro
- 1/2 cup of frozen corn (cooked)
- 1/2 cup of tomatoes (diced)

There's a reason why Bobby Flay always wins...

I'm the first to admit that I am NOT a Bobby Flay fan. I remember watching an episode of the original Iron Chef - Bobby Flay was competing against Morimoto. Flay won, but he was a total jerk about it. Since then, I've not been a fan.

However, only a fool would ignore his amazing talent. And since I'm not (usually) a fool, I tried his fried artichoke with lemon aioli recipe. The result was amazing...

Artichokes are great, but they are a LOT of work...from the prep work to the storage (artichokes are kind of like apples - they go brown when exposed to air, so they need to be soaked in lemon water). But the end result is totally worth it.

Restaurant review: Ferraro 502

This past weekend, a friend took me to Ferraro 502, a cute, family-run Italian restaurant at 502 Eglinton West in Toronto. I've never been, and when it comes to Italian restaurants, my favourite has been Grazie for the last 10 years.

However, Ferraro gives Grazie a run for its money - the food is just as good, if not better, and in terms of a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, I prefer Ferraro. (Grazie is great if you're looking for a busy night out...but it's definitely not what I would call relaxed or intimate).

Foods sampled:
- Carpaccio: I love beef carpaccio, but so few places do it well. Ferraro does it well. The lemon juice balances out the salt, and the olive oil and parmigiano reggiano went well with the roasted red peppers. Mmmm...carpaccio...

- Pizza portobello: The mushrooms were cooked perfectly - normally, I find pizza on mushrooms too dry. I'm not a fan of gorgonzola cheese, but it seemed to work here. Definitely yummy.

- Pizza calabrese: Sausage, mozzarella, onions and hot peppers on a thin crust. What's not to love?

Restaurant rating: Definitely worth an extra hour or two at the gym.

Restaurant review rating system

Since I love eating as much as I love cooking, I thought it might make sense to start providing feedback and (dare I say) reviews of restaurants I eat at.

What makes me qualified to provide restaurant reviews? I haven't received professional training, but I do recognize good food when I eat it.

For the most part, the places I'll try will range between $25-$100 for two people, though I will specify if the restaurant goes beyond that price range.

Restaurant / Food Rating System:
- Definitely worth an extra hour or two at the gym.
- Would go back occasionally.
- Meh. Would go back if everything else was closed.
- Run fast and run far / may cause stomach ulcers.

Who knew brownies could be so difficult?

I don't think I have enough readers to call this short posting "long-awaited" - definitely a delayed one though.

Life has been busy the last month - with a family wedding and my professional life taking up much of my time, I haven't had a chance until this week to actually try new recipes...

This past Thursday, I decided to try making one of the hundreds of brownie recipes squirreled away in my recipe box.

Using this recipe, I attempted my first batch of brownies. Being me, of course, I had to substitute and mess with the recipe (1 cup less sugar, dark chocolate, etc). The result? I thought I had screwed up (but I actually hadn't!). I did learn the difference between cake brownies and fudge brownies...one is supposed to be light(ish) and fluffy. The other, thick and gooey.

I started with the fudge brownie and thought the end result too dense, so I tried making a cake brownie. The result? It was too dry (which, at 10:30 p.m., was NOT amusing).

But after reflecting (and getting some awesome feedback from a friend who's an amazing chef), the solution seemed simple: mixing the two recipes together to make the perfect brownie.

Have I tried to? Not yet...but I will soon.

But if I did...this is what the recipe would look like:

Ingredients
- Vegetable oil cooking spray
- 8 ounces (2 sticks) butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 eggs, beaten
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 5 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
- 2 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
- 1 cup pecans/walnuts, coarsely chopped

Directions
- Preheat oven to 345 degrees F.
- Spray a 13 by 9-inch pan with vegetable oil spray.
- Beat the eggs together and set aside.
- Whisk the flour, salt and baking powder together
- Melt the butter in a deep pot / pan on the stove (this will be where you actually mix all the ingredients together)
- Whisk in the sugar, eggs, cocoa, and vanilla.
- Stir in the flour, baking powder and salt mixture.
- Add chopped chocolate and nuts.
- Spread the batter in prepared pan.
- Bake about 25 minutes, just until brownies test moist but not wet.
- Cool completely before cutting.