I’ve moved!
I’m so excited to finally reveal the new look of BranAppetit, and I hope you’ll join me there!
Make sure to update your Google readers and/or blogrolls to:
Here’s to another year of good eating
I’ve moved!
I’m so excited to finally reveal the new look of BranAppetit, and I hope you’ll join me there!
Make sure to update your Google readers and/or blogrolls to:
Here’s to another year of good eating
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
What do you do when a pan of brownies doesn’t turn out right?
I tried out a new recipe a few days ago for toffee brownies, and while they tasted delicious, they weren’t exactly the fudgy texture I was looking for.
So there they were – a 9×13 pan of perfectly fine cooked brownies, sitting on my counter, waiting to be eaten. Only I knew we wouldn’t eat them as they were. And I didn’t want to throw the entire pan into the garbage.
And then I had an idea.
Brownies + homemade chocolate icing + chocolate shell.
All in one bite.
A brownie batter flavor and consistency, the best part of brownies, made in a way that won’t make you sick if you eat it (even though I do it anyways).
All I can say is thank goodness for kitchen mishaps because this bad batch of brownies turned into one the best (and messiest and most fun) treats to ever come out of my kitchen.
These brownie bites may be messy, but they’re extremely easy: a pan of fully baked brownies, crumbled, and mixed with frosting. Rolled into balls and covered in chocolate.
But better.
Because the middle really tastes like brownie batter.
They are rich.
They are chocolate, in chocolate, and wrapped around more chocolate.
And they are good.
Brownie Batter Bites
*Homemade Chocolate Frosting
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged brownie batter, brownies, chocolate, frosting, recipe | 19 Comments »
In my almost 28 years of life, there are only 4 Valentine’s Days that I vividly remember.
The first, in 8th grade, involved my very first boyfriend, an embarrassingly huge balloon and a great big stuffed teddy bear that I got to carry around all day at school.
You know, in the 8th grade, Valentine’s Day is such a big deal. You’re past the tiny cartoon cards and it’s all about “showing your love”. Because in the 8th grade, you’re grown. And you know everything and you’re so mature and romantic. Or so you think. Even looking back now and seeing how ridiculous my friends and I were in the 8th grade, it was a fun Valentine’s Day because it was my first time to ever get gifts like that from a boy.
The second one I remember has nothing to do with romance at all. In fact, it has to do with my parents. When my sisters and I were growing up, my parents would always have little gifts for us for Valentine’s Day – candy, earrings, stickers, little toys, things like that. But one year they totally surprised my older sister and me by getting us our very own phone line.
Can you imagine? Our OWN phone line! We could call whoever we wanted, at any time, and not have to share the phone. I could talk to my friends all day long. Or call boys. Or have boys call me. On my own, personal, phone line.
And our phone was incredible. It was a clear phone with neon wires that lit up when it was ringing, like this one.
Pretty sweet, right? I bet Kelly Kapowski had one like this in her room. I’m not exactly sure why this Valentine’s Day has stuck with me, but it’s a fun, yet totally random, memory.
The third Valentine’s Day I remember isn’t exactly romantic, either, but it’s one of many memories I hope I never lose. While this Valentine’s Day celebration began with heart-printed silk boxers as prank gifts for some of our guy friends from church, it ended with a dinner and the first roses I was ever given. All through high school, I participated in District Chorus, and that year, our concert happened to fall on Valentine’s Day. From 8 am until 3 pm that day, I was in rehearsals and was given just enough time to get home, get changed, and get back to the school for the concert at 7 pm that evening.
Since our day was filled, my family ended up going to dinner at Ruby Tuesday’s after the concert was over and we were joined by some very important guys in my life, ones that shaped my world back then and who, while they may not know it, showed me what friendship and love could be and what they should be.
My sister and I made heart shaped brownies to give to the guys, but they topped us that night. They showed up with red roses and baby’s breath for each of us girls: my mom, my sister, me, and my Mammaw. With each flower, they gave us a hug and kiss on the cheek and it was one of the sweetest nights in my high school years.
And finally, the fourth, and most important, Valentine’s Day.
My first real date with Nick.
Nick and I met through mutual friends – he was roommates and best buddies with my guy friends in college from back home, so we knew each other for over a year before we started dating.
Nick wouldn’t ask me out because I had a bad perm (I did) – or so he says ; )
So a few months later, after hanging out as friends, I got rid of the perm and we started hanging out more. And one night, we were at a basketball game with a group of friends and he was telling me how cute he thought my roommate was. Well, I was against that. I wasn’t sure at that point if I thought we would date, but I certainly didn’t want him dating her – if he was going to date anyone, it was going to be me!
When I went back to my room that night, I told her that Nick thought she was cute but that she shouldn’t date him. Turns out, she had just started dating someone else anyways, so it didn’t matter.
But as soon as I thought he liked her, I wanted to date him instead.
So his trick worked. We started hanging out more often and, finally, our first date just happened to land on Valentine’s Day.
He cooked me dinner. Chicken and homemade biscuits.
And that was that. I was a goner.
He could cook! He was funny and sweet and incredibly handsome and he was friends with my friends and he did cool things like rock climbing and skateboarding and I fell head over heels for him in, what felt like, a matter of seconds.
So, yes, I guess you could say good biscuit baking runs in his family. As does tricking girls into going on dates with you and being too cute for their own good.
And while I’m not making chicken and biscuits for our Valentine’s Day breakfast, I did want to do something bigger if for no other reason that it’s Monday morning. But it is also the 9th anniversary of our first date, and that calls for something special.
Besides, when you marry into a family that thrives on breakfast foods, you have to learn fast to hold your own.
I think I’m getting there.
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Pancakes
Raspberry Sauce
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged life, memory, Nick, oatmeal pancakes, pancakes, raspberries, recipe | 32 Comments »
Oh, tragedy
Has taken so many
Love lost cause they all
Forgot who You were
And it scares me to think
That I would choose
My life over You
Oh, my selfish heart
Divides me from You
It tears us apart
So tell me
What is our ending?
Will it be beautiful
So beautiful?
Oh, why do I
Let myself let go
Of Hands that painted the stars
And hold tears that fall?
And the pride of my heart
Makes me forget
It’s not me but You
Who makes the heart beat
I’m lost without You
And dying from me
So tell me
What is our ending?
Will it be beautiful
So beautiful?
Will my life
Find me by Your side?
Your love is beautiful
So beautiful
At the end of it all
I wanna be in Your arms
At the end of it all
I wanna be in Your arms
At the end of it all
I wanna be in Your arms
At the end of it all
I wanna be in Your arms
So tell me
What is our ending?
Will it be beautiful
So beautiful?
Will my life
Find me by Your side?
‘Cause Your love is beautiful
So beautiful
– “Beautiful Ending”, BarlowGirl
Hope your Sunday was as refreshing and fun and restful as you needed it to be.
Ours was perfect, and we’re spending the evening winding down with big bowls of soup, cuddles with a worn out Maggie, and the Grammy’s so we can see The Avett Brothers perform.
Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »
Today, I ate my lunch straight out of the tupperware container, standing in the kitchen, looking at the mess around me.
I’m extremely busy, but in the best way.
So far this weekend, I’ve had 2 utter cooking failures (one last night that went into the trash before it was even baked) and another that never worked out this morning.
But – I’ve also had 2 great recipes turn out!
I’d say that’s a good Saturday.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged life | 7 Comments »
That’s right – The Great Peanut Butter Exhibition is back! And I’m psyched to be a co-host this year!
This year, The Peanut Butter Boy, Living Healthy in the Real World, and Baking and Boys, and I will be sharing the hosting honors for the 10th Great Peanut Butter Exhibition. And, for the third time in a row, there is a stupendous prize package sponsored by the super-famous and always-delicious Peanut Butter & Co.!
The theme for this round is Things are Heating Up. Mother Nature has dumped an extraordinary amount of snow on us this winter and it’s time for some warmth. And nothing provides warmth better than getting cozy with a jar of peanut butter.
So we want to know the most imaginative recipe you can devise in which the peanut butter is warm at some point. This is a wide open theme so get creative, whether it’s a Spicy Toasted Panini, some Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies or a massive pancake topped with peanut butter (and hence, warmed). And extra kudos to those who make their recipe spicy too!
To enter, submit your best peanut butter recipe following the guidelines below. The deadline is Monday, February 28th @ Noon (EST) which gives over 2 weeks (and 3 weekends) to brainstorm, develop and create a smokin’ peanut butter recipe that will change the world forever!
Uniqueness, Peanut Butter Weight, Presentation and Preparation Time.
Feel free to use any of the logos on this page, including the following, to link back:
Blogless? Don’t worry if you don’t have a blog, you can still submit your award-winning recipe. Fill out the same form below but leave the “Recipe Permalink” field blank, fill out the “Recipe” box and feel free to attach a picture to go along with the recipe!
Click here to submit your recipe online. Or, email “pbe@peanutbutterboy.com” with “PBE #10″ as the subject and include the following information:Name, Email, Recipe Title, Recipe or Recipe Permalink
All recipes will be displayed but the judges will vote for the Top 3 entries. Each of the Top 3 will receive a badge of pride to display on their site as well as the following prize, courtesy of Peanut Butter & Co.:
“The Big Six” which consists of:
Good luck! I can’t wait to see what hot and spicy entries come in this year!
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged great peanut butter exhibition 10, peanut butter boy | 9 Comments »
I’ve been debating whether or not to share this recipe for an entire week.
Do you ever do that with new recipes you’ve come up with? Struggle with the decision to share it or keep it as a secret recipe to yourself?
I haven’t ever had such a hard time with a recipe as I’ve had with this one. But it turned out better than I thought it would.
I knew I couldn’t keep it a secret for long.
This vegan toffee tasted spot on: buttery, rich, sweet and salty.
And while making toffee seems like such a hard thing to do, it’s actually really easy. You just need to have the time to get it cooked to the right temperature and the rest will take care of itself.
Just remember I warned you to use a candy thermometer and don’t go by the color like I did.
Yours will probably turn out even better than mine if you do things the right way.
Put Earth Balance, sugar, water, and salt in a saucepan and heat on medium high heat until melted.
Bring to a boil and let cook until mixture reaches a hard crack stage (about 290-300 degrees).
Nick and I have made regular (non-vegan) toffee as Christmas gifts the past two years and have found that going by the color is better than the temperature. We burned our very first batch, but again – the temperature is the best way to do it! Just make sure you’re also paying attention to the color and smell of the candy.
This part will take 10-15 minutes.
Once your toffee is to the right temperature (or color), take off the heat and stir in the vanilla.
The mixture will bubble up quite a bit when you stir in the vanilla – that’s okay!
After the vanilla is mixed in, pour your toffee onto a parchment lined baking sheet and spread out into an even layer.
Let the toffee sit 20-30 minutes or until hardened.
Heat chocolate in microwave and spread onto toffee.
Once the chocolate has set, break toffee into bite size pieces.
Chocolate Covered Toffee – Vegan!
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged candy, dark chocolate, recipe, toffee, vegan | 22 Comments »
Remember a few weeks ago when I had that CSN giveaway and asked you guys to tell me what recipes you’d like to see me make?
Well, thanks to YOU, I now have a full page of ideas (double sided) and I’m happy to say that this is the first off of that list.
There are a few dishes that still scare me when I think about making them on my own. Things like chicken pot pie, homemade pastas, and the ever elusive perfectly-even layer cake.
But it’s those dishes that are inherently southern that really get me.
Sure, I grew up in Virginia, but I didn’t grow up eating chicken ‘n’ dumplings. The closest I got to having them was at Cracker Barrel, and I knew I could make my own version that tasted better and was healthier for me, too.
If you like your dumplings thinner and more like a thick pasta, these are not for you.
These dumplings are thick and doughy and perfectly tender, with a slight tang from the buttermilk. Almost like biscuits without the butter.
I still may be lacking in my deep-south cooking adventures, but I’m getting there. And make sure you’re ready to put these in your regular dinner rotation – it was love at first bite for me and Nick.
Chicken ‘n’ Dumplings
Dumplings:
Heat oven to 350. Sprinkle chicken with some salt and pepper and roast in the oven for 1 hour.
While chicken is roasting, heat large pot over medium heat.
Add olive oil, carrots, celery, onion, salt and pepper and saute until vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes.
Sprinkle veggies with flour and stir to combine.
Once you can no longer see any white flour and the veggies have a gummy-looking coating, pour in your broth and water, a little at a time, stirring constantly.
Each time you add the broth and water, the coating on the veggies will release a bit more, helping to thicken the cooking liquid.
Once all the broth and water have been added, bring mixture to a boil and let simmer for 15 minutes.
In separate bowl, mix your dry ingredients for the dumplings.
Pour in the buttermilk and stir until dough just comes together (it will be a little sticky – that’s perfect!).
Right before you add your dumplings, take the chicken off the bone and cut into bite size pieces. Add chicken to the pot (along with the frozen peas) and return to a simmer.
Drop dumplings by the spoonful into the broth until all your dough is in the veggie mixture.
Cover and let simmer about 15 minutes or until the dumplings are fluffed.
Spoon dumplings and broth mixture into bowls and serve.
You made me do it, and I couldn’t be happier.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged chicken, dumpling, healthy, recipe, whole wheat flour | 29 Comments »