Brownies--All Kids' Favorites

My today's culinary obligation was to prepare a dessert for a back-to-school picnic. At first, I wanted to make a cheesecake dessert with pomegranates, which have started to appear in food stores and are not only very rich in antioxidants, but also very attractive looking. I made it and even took pictures of it for my blog but, at the end, I realized that it has been too sunny for such a creamy dessert to stay outdoors for several hours.

I decided to make something else: brownies, which is a fully baked chocolate dessert. These are not classic brownies, because they are much lighter and fluffier, but they are brown nevertheless. They are fast to make, if you can use a Kitchen Aid stand mixer, and even faster to bake. And since "whatever chocolate" has always been all kids's favorite food, I was sure they would disappear from the tables long before salads and hot dogs, as they do at my home. Once you made them, eat them when they are still warm, and you will fully share the kids' choice. The recipe is only for six but, especially if we have kids over, I always double the amount and they never last until the next day.

Brownies

Ingredients:
4 eggs,
1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips,
1/3 cup sugar,
1/3 stick or 5 tbsp butter,
1/4 cup flour.

Preparation:
1. Heat oven to 400 F.
2. Beat eggs with sugar until almost stiff.
3. Add flour to the egg mixture.
3. Melt butter with chocolate chips--can be done in a microwave oven, but do it for 30 seconds at first and repeat until melted, stirring in between.
4. Fold in the melted chocolate mixture to the eggs, until it becomes a smooth batter.
5. Put into the buttered muffin tin--this should be enough for six muffins.
6. Bake in a hot oven for 10 minutes--they are done when the centers of the brownie is still soft.

Serve them warm, dusted with powdered sugar or with melted chocolate topping, which would make them even more satisfying.

Mango with Ginger--Surprising Simplicity

My confession will not sound humble at all but, as my culinary experience evolves, it becomes more and more difficult to impress me. By being interested in cooking for many years I can tell, as many food lovers would, what ingredients were used in a particular dish, or often, just by looking at the ingredients list, I could guess if the recipe would be worth trying. As my notebooks are filled with recipes I rarely ask the "How do you make it?" question any more.

But please do not take me for a culinary snob. I do not eat foie gras, caviar, ducks, or even sushi, and many others delicacies. Although I am somewhat spoiled by good food, at the same time, I am a most grateful guest. I could not be happier to be invited for a simple pasta dinner, which always tastes better if I do not have to cook it myself.  And, I do get impressed.  Funny enough, it does not have to be a sophisticated culinary creation, which could cause many fastidious food lovers to drool, but a most simple one, that can make me think "Wow! It is so easy and so delicious. How could I have never thought about such a combination?"

Last year, I was invited for a dinner by a German friend. I knew he was a great cook and, indeed, everything he prepared for that dinner was superb, from salad to the main dish (I brought the dessert). During the dinner not once, but twice I had to pose the "How did you make it?" questions and, for the first time in a long time, I left the dinner party with two new recipes.

I will share both of them. Today it will be the first one--a simple and easy side dish made with mango and ginger, which is a great fish or meat accompaniment. My previous post featured it as a side dish to the sole in macadamia nuts crust.

This mango dish is very delicate and sharp at the same time, thanks to ginger. And it is composed basically from these two ingredients. Wouldn't you appreciate such a short shopping list--just mango and ginger--and later indulge yourself with its slightly exotic, but subtle taste?

If you are a mango lover and appreciate interesting combinations, that dish will likely become one of your favorites.

Mango with Ginger

Ingredients:
3 mangoes, ripe but still firm,
1-2 inch-long pieces of fresh ginger,
2 tbsp butter,
1/2 of a lime.

Preparation:
1. Peel off the mangoes,
2. Cut a flesh from four sides, not too close to the seed.
3. Cut it in smaller, diagonal pieces.
4. Peel off the ginger root and grate it on a grater with very small holes.
5. In a pot, melt butter and add mango.
6. Cook fruits for about 5 minutes (until they soften up).
7. Add ginger--if you like it mild, add about 1 inch of grated ginger, if you like a stronger taste, grate two inches.
8. Cook it together for another 5-10 minutes, depending on how ripe the mangoes are.

Serve with chicken, any meats and fish.If mango happens to be very sweet, a squeeze of lime on top will help offset some of its sweetness.

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Sole Baked in Macadamia Nuts Crust--an Accidental Recipe

One day last spring, my next door neighbor knocked on my door with an odd request. He worked as a private chef at that time and asked me if he could bake in my oven a dish for his customer. It was to be a fish and he could not bake it in his kitchen because his very vegetarian family would not stand the smell of fish in their house.

We have been very good friends for many years and I agreed without hesitation, although I must admit that I am not a big fan of the fish smell myself. My friendly gesture, however, outraged my eight years old son, who cannot stand fish and its smell.

Not being a big fan of sea food, I cook only certain types of fish and most often fish fillets. I almost always use a lot of lemon and white wine to neutralize the strong flavor, which can linger in the air for a long time.

Baking fish for my neighbor did not take long and the final result looked pretty appetizing. At the same time, I have learned a new dish, which I later replicated on my own. It turned out to be wonderfully delicate and crunchy at the same time. As far as I can remember, my neighbor used mahi-mahi. I used sole, which is one of my favorite fish, but I suppose any white fish fillet would work with this recipe. Macadamia nuts gave it a special texture as well as the subtle taste. Bread crumbs made it rich enough to be a self-contained but a healthy and light meal, which does not need to be served with rice or any other starchy side dish. I served it though with a secret fruity accompaniment, which you can notice on the picture. It complimented it fantastically and helped bring out the delicate taste of sole. I will post a recipe for it shortly.

But first, enjoy ...

Sole Baked in Macadamia Nuts Crust
(Serves four)

Ingredients:
4 sole fillets,
1 cup of fresh bread crumbs; I used a two-days old baguette, which I chopped into small pieces in a food processor,
1 cup macadamia nuts roughly chopped, also in a food processor,
1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf Italian parsley,
1 lemon,
2 tbsp olive oil,
salt and pepper.

Preparation:
1. Heat oven to 370F.
2. Sprinkle an oven proof dish lightly with oil.
3. Lay fish fillets in it and season them with salt pepper and sprinkle with lemon oil.
4. In a bowl create a mix of breadcrumbs, macadamia nuts, and parsley.
5. Cover each fillet with this mix, which once baked will form the crust.
7. Cover dish with aluminum foil and place in the oven for 20 minutes.
8. Remove the foil and bake it another 10-15 minutes until the crust turns gold.

Serve it with a delicate white wine, e.g., from New Zealand, like Cloudy Bay or The Crossings Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. Following with a light salad is another good idea.