Chocolatey Hazelnut Brownies ....Mmmmm.....

***The other night, I had a major craving for a brownie (or 2!)...nothing too fancy, just a chocolatey, nutty, delicious brownie. I hit the jackpot with this recipe. It calls for walnuts, but I used hazelnuts instead. I also sprinkled chocolate chips over the top of the batter before baking. The result: Chocolate Heaven! Consider this a warning though - they are seriously addicting. Do not make these if you're on a diet, LOL.

I did double the recipe and then cooked them in a square baking dish instead of a loaf pan. Also, instead of regular shortening, I used margarine. After doubling the recipe, I started with 1 stick margarine, but the batter seemed to be too thick. I added another 1/2 stick melted butter and that brought the batter to the perfect consistency.

I found this recipe in a great cookbook that Brad recently surprised me with. It's "The Taste of Home Cookbook." I highly recommend it! The recipes are all easy to make (there's over 1,200 recipes!), and most of them call for ingredients that you probably already have on hand. Plus, when you buy the cookbook, you get a FREE subscription to Taste of Home magazine...can't beat that!***

Ingredients:
1/4 cup shortening (I used 1 1/2 sticks margarine, instead)
3 tablespoons baking cocoa
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup chopped walnuts (I used hazelnuts)

Directions:

In a small mixing bowl, cream shortening and cocoa; beat in egg, sugar and vanilla.

Combine dry ingredients; gradually add to creamed mixture. Beat on low speed until thoroughly combined. Stir in walnuts.

Pour into a greased 8-in. x 4-in. loaf pan. Bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

Yield: 8 brownies.

Editor's Note: This recipe may be doubled and baked in an 8-in. square pan for 20-25 minutes.

Source: "The Taste of Home Cookbook"

Also: http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Walnut-Brownies

Shrimp in Ginger Butter Sauce

***This is SUCH an easy, fast, and delicious way to prepare shrimp. The ginger butter sauce was fabulous...I'm loving fresh ginger lately. You'll only need 5 ingredients and 15 minutes to complete this dish! The only thing that I changed were the amounts...the recipe says it serves one, so I just doubled everything to serve two. It was a hit in our house. I found this recipe in the Sept. 2008 issue of Gourmet magazine (my new favorite mag!).***

From Gourmet magazine:
Shrimp in Ginger Butter Sauce
Serves 1
"Ginger and cilantro add Southeast Asian oomph to this French-style butter sauce, which lightly coats big, meaty shrimp. For more recipes inspired by the City of Light, visit our Paris City Guide."

Ingredients:
6 oz large shrimp in shell, peeled
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons grated peeled ginger
2 tablespoons medium-dry Sherry
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped cilantro

Directions:
Pat shrimp dry and season with salt.

Heat butter in a heavy medium skillet over medium-high heat until foam subsides, then sauté ginger 30 seconds. Add shrimp and sauté 2 minutes. Add Sherry and sauté until shrimp are just cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in cilantro and season with salt and pepper.

Serve with: a baguette; green beans

Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Cake

***When a friend, Peggy, recently asked me to make a double chocolate cake for a party, I had just the right recipe in mind. I had seen this recipe on the back of the Hershey's Cocoa canister, and I had also heard wonderful things about this particular cake over on Good Things Catered. So, I decided to give it a try. And let me just tell you...making a chocolate cake and not eating a slice was EXTREMELY hard for me...LOL....I am very much a chocolate addict. I was very pleased with the results, though. The cake was wonderfully moist (just look at the pics!) and the frosting was out-of-this-world delicious. Seriously...this cake is my new go-to chocolate cake.

Peggy wanted a fall-themed cake, preferably with sunflowers. I had a lot of fun thinking of ideas for this cake!***

Cake Batter = Chocolately Goodness!

Just look at those yummy layers...

Ingredients:

2 c. sugar

1-3/4 c. all-purpose flour

3/4 c. Hershey's Cocoa

1-1/2 tsp baking powder

1-1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 c. milk

1/2 c. vegetable oil

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 c. boiling water (or 1 c. freshly brewed, hot coffee)

For the Frosting:
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, melted

2/3 c. Hershey's Cocoa

3 c. powdered sugar

1/3 c. milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare two 9-inch round baking pans. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl.

Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin).

Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

Meanwhile, make frosting:

Stir melted butter into cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add a small amount of additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. (Yields about 2 cups frosting.)

Frost cake when completely cooled, as desired.

Source: Hershey's Kitchens

Sauteed Chicken in Riesling (Poulet au Riesling)

***I know, I know...you're probably wondering why in the world I haven't been posting as much lately. I apologize...things have been kind of busy. I did accomplish something pretty cool though. I ran my first 5K this weekend! It was the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. I had a blast! It's such an amazing thing to see SO many people unite for one cause. There was somewhere between 13,000 - 16,000 participants!

But, don't fear...I have A LOT of posting to catch up with. I've been in the kitchen almost every night, and there are tons of photos on my camera right now...and they can't wait for their turn in the spotlight. :)

Tonight's post is yet another wonderful dish from my new favorite cookbook, Williams-Sonoma: Paris. This dish was incredibly tasty...I can't imagine chicken sauteed in a fabulous wine not being good...can you? The meat was so tender, and we were all glad there were left-overs for the next night.

You'll enjoy this one!***

Ingredients:

4 1/2 lbs. chicken pieces, preferably legs with thighs attached

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

3 tbsp. extra virgin olive-oil

6-8 shallots, about 1/2 lb. total weight, chopped (I used onion)

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 bottle dry Riesling (I used Relax Riesling...in a blue bottle)

3 Tbsp. small pieces dried mushrooms such as chanterelle, cepe, or fairy ring (I left these out)

2 cups chicken stock

2 tbsp. coarsley chopped fresh tarragon

3/4 cup heavy cream

A few drops fresh lemon juice (optional)

2 tbsp. chopped fresh chives

1-2 tbsp. chopped fresh chervil (I used fresh parsley)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Rinse the chicken pieces and pat dry with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper, then rub with the olive oil. In a large, heavy nonstick pan over medium-high heat, brown the chicken in batches, turning occasionally, 10-15 minutes per batch. Transfer to a platter.

2. Pour off all but 1 tbsp. of fat from the pan and return to medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and saute until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the Riesling, raise the heat to high, bring to a boil, and cook until reduced by half, 10-15 minutes. Stir in the mushrooms, stock, and half of the tarragon. Pour the sauce into a roasting pan at least 4 inches deep and large enough to hold the chicken in a single layer. Arrange the chicken on the sauce.

3. Bake the chicken until opaque throughout when pierced with a knife, 35-40 minutes. Raise the heat to 400 degrees F. and continue baking until the edges of the skin are crisp, about 5 minutes longer. Transfer the chicken to a deep platter and cover loosely with aluminum foil to keep warm.

4. Spoon off any fat from the sauce. Place the pan over high heat, bring the sauce to a boil, and cook, stirring, until reduced by about half, 7-8 minutes. Stir in the cream and taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper and with lemon juice, if using. Pour the sauce over the chicken and sprinkle with the chives, chervil, and remaining tarragon. Serve at once.

Source: Williams-Sonoma: Paris Cookbook

GrannyRene's Chicken & Dumplings / Steamed Cabbage

***My sweet grandmother, GrannyRene, recently came to stay with us, and we had so much fun! We got into the kitchen and cooked up a storm...Chicken & Dumplings, Steamed Cabbage, Collard Greens w/Ham...just to name a few of her specialties. Growing up, she made Chicken & Dumplings often. It has always been a favorite of mine...just the smell of it cooking brings back so many wonderful memories. I've made her Chicken & Dumplings before, but I really wanted GrannyRene to teach me how first-hand. She has several tricks that make them really special! She even wrote down all the recipes for me. I've included a scan of those too. In my opinion, you can't beat a hand-written recipe lovingly written by the cook!

There are so many ways that you can make Chicken & Dumplings (with herbs, onions, etc.), however, GrannyRene's simple recipe is packed with flavor and will always be my favorite! The flavor in this dish will surprise you, considering the short ingredient list. It's perfect on a cool fall evening, and it is the ultimate comfort food!***

Chicken & Dumplings

- GrannyRene's Original Recipe

Ingredients:

1 (2 lb.) whole, boiler chicken
1 can cream of mushroom soup (you can also use cream of chicken soup instead)

2 Qts. water

1/2 cup flour

1 (12 oz) package of frozen dumplings

Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

Cut chicken up into desired pieces. Wash and remove excess fat and skin.

Put chicken in a heavy pot and cook in 2 quarts of water until fully cooked and tender. Remove from broth and let cool. Remove meat from bone, tearing into bite-sized pieces.

Add cream of mushroom soup to chicken broth. Season with salt and pepper. Let broth come to a boil.

Take the dumplings and break into bite-sized pieces. Sprinkle dumplings with all-purpose flour until they are covered well (see above photo). Add dumplings to the chicken broth. Turn heat down to medium-low and cook until dumplings are done (The flour on the dumplings will help to thicken the broth). Add the bite-sized chicken pieces to make your meal complete!

Steamed Cabbage

- GrannyRene's Recipe

Ingredients:

1 medium cabbage

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 cup water

Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

To prepare cabbage for cooking, remove first 2-3 outer leaves of cabbage. Cut into four quarters. Remove the center stem of each quarter (see photo below). Wash and drain on paper towels.

Take outer half of each quarter of cabbage and cut into small strips (see photo below).

Place 1 cup water in a large pot and heat over medium-high heat. Put cabbage strips in pot; add olive oil and cook about 20 minutes.

Cut up the remaining cabbage and add to the pot (see below). Cook about 10 minutes longer. By cooking some of the cabbage longer than the rest, you will end up with a nice mixture of soft and crunchy cabbage.