Brownie Ice Cream Sandwiches

It was a friggin' hotter than hot weekend and there was no better time than to make Brownie Ice Cream Sandwiches.

Making the brownie was the easy part, but assembling the sandwich made quite a mess. Next time, I think I'd use Martha's recipe for Classic Ice Cream Sandwiches, which is in this months Everyday Food.

Martha's recipe directs you to cut the thin sheet of chocolate cake in half, spread the soften ice cream on one half and top with the other. Then, freeze until set and use a serrated knife dipped in warm water to cut the sandwich into individual portions.

Rachel's on the other hand, has you cutting the brownie into 2 in by 4 in pieces, assembling, then freezing. I found this to be really hard on a warm day because I couldn't work fast enough and I had ice cream soup all over the place. I should have followed my gut to change the directions in Rachel's recipe, but wanted to try it her way... that won't happen again.

Also, I think I would prefer an ice cream sandwich made with cake. The brownie was very rich and a little hard to bite into after frozen. If following Rachel's recipe, make sure to press down on the brownie as it cools to make the layer thinner. I probably should have done this more.

All in all, these were very good. I made half with Haagen Dazs Vanilla and the other half with Dreyers Slow Churned Mint Karaoke Cookie. I wished the sandwiches had more ice cream in them!

Molten Lava Cakes

This week's Friend Favorite (actually, Boyfriend Favorite) is a Molten Lava Cake. The first time I made this for him was on Valentine's Day and he really enjoyed it. These are yummy individual cakes that are cakey on the outside but when you dive into them they ooze with chocolate. I really like them with a fresh berry sauce and fresh whipped cream, as pictured above.

The original recipe I found makes 4 individual cakes but I halved the recipe and added a little more flour. Also, I've made this recipe with semisweet chocolate and it still comes to be a good product. I'm sure if you wanted a less intense chocolatey flavor (but who does!?) you can use milk chocolate instead.

In the picture is a strawberry sauce, but I've made them with raspberry sauce before. Simply puree about a cup of berries in a food processor and strain out the seeds. Add sugar or corn syrup to sweeten the sauce, if needed.

The whipped cream was also simple to make. Whip 1/4 heavy cream with 1 tablespoon (or more if you like it sweeter) and 1 teaspoon of vanilla and until thick. I over whipped my cream in the picture, but I don't mind my whipped cream being too thick.

I feel that this recipe is really easy to make and it looks like a really elegant and sophisticated dessert. So, trick all your friends and make it!

Molten Lava Cakes

serves 2

Ingredients

4 tablespoons butter

cocoa powder for dusting

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate

1 egg

1 egg yolk

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon flour

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Butter and dust two 4 ounce ramekins with cocoa powder.

In the top half of a double boiler set over simmering water, heat the butter and the chocolate until the chocolate is almost completely melted.

Whisk egg, egg yolk and sugar together until light and thick.

Pouring slowly, beat in the melted chocolate and butter into the egg mixture. Add flour and mix until just combined.

Divide the batter between the ramekins and bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes or until tops are set and not runny. Invert cakes onto serving plates. Serve immediately with fresh whipped cream and berry puree, if desired.

Cornbread Puddings

Yesterday, was mine and Phil's 3 year anniversary and he took me out to one of my favorite restaurants. To return the favor I offered to make him anything he liked tonight. He requested Mac 'n Cheese and Cornbread. You'll find out more about Martha Stewart's awesome Mac 'n Cheese in the next blog.

They didn't call these Cornbread Puddings for nothing. Because they have sour cream in them, they are uber moist, just like a Yorkshire Pudding. The original recipe makes 24 mini muffins, but I don't have a mini muffin pan (yet) so I just made regular ones. I was looking for just a regular sweet and crumbly cornbread muffin, but these were a nice surprise.

Martha Stewart's Macaroni and Cheese

I've read from a few blog's that Martha's Macaroni and Cheese is pretty much the king of all Mac 'n Cheeses. (Wipe the drool off your face, Mary.) So, when Phil requested Mac 'n Cheese I knew I had to try this recipe. The recipe makes a large portion, 12 servings, but I was easily able to cut the recipe in half. I still used 2 tablespoons of butter to make the bread crumbs, which would have only been one if I stuck to halving everything. We had two good sized servings for dinner and enough for lunch the next day. Another thing I heard that was really great about this recipe is that leftovers heat up well, which doesn't always happen with other Mac 'n Cheeses.

The dish was hot and creamy and friggin delicious. You can really tell that the nutmeg is in there and it isn't overpowering. I think I will definitely be going back to this recipe whenever I have the hankering for Mac 'n Cheese (sorry blue box.)

Toffee Peanuts

I needed inspiration for new recipes to try so I started asking my friends what their favorite treats are. So, the month of June is dedicated to my friend's favorites.

Mary isn't a huge sweets fan so she didn't say what her favorite sweet is but I know she LOVES toffee coated peanuts.

I found the recipe on recipezaar.com. The only thing I did differently was to salt the nuts right when they came out of the oven because I found them to be a little under seasoned. As the peanuts cooled, the flavor became stronger and tastier! I probably have little candy bits stuck in my teeth as we speak.

Toffee Peanuts

Ingredients

1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons corn syrup
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups unsalted dry roasted peanuts

Directions
1. In large bowl, combine sugar, butter, corn syrup, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg. Add peanuts, toss to coat. Transfer to 15x10x1 inch baking pan.

2. Bake at 300 for 20-25 minutes or until bubble and golden brown, stirring once. Be sure to keep an eye on these. Cool on wire rack; break apart if necessary. Store in an airtight container.