Chimichurri 2.0

Earlier this month, I was out to dinner with some friends from work. We were tired, hungry, and, for some unknown reason, talking about baseball. One of my cohorts, as they perused the menu, asked the table what chimichurri sauce was...happy that the conversation had moved from the Red Sox (of which I know nothing) and on to food (of which I know many things), I piped up with an explanation of the Argentinean sauce and its uses. In case you, lovely reader, are unsure, chimichurri sauce is usually made from chopped parsley, oregano, garlic, salt, pepper, onion, and paprika. The herb mix is moistened with olive oil and a bit of vinegar, and the loose sauce is most often used to top steaks or as a dipping sauce for bread.
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I had this delicious mixture on my mind as I set about making dinner a few nights ago. I had some beautiful fresh, yellow wax beans, some adorable tiny potatoes, and a hunk of never frozen halibut. The yellow beans were on the receiving end of a hot bath in boiling salt water, and the potatoes were tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper, and paprika and left to roast in the oven, while the halibut was sprayed with lemon juice and then dusted in salt and pepper before going on the grill. This meal was easy, healthy,.... and honestly, a bit boring. I needed something to liven up the lean fish, and provide a contrast to the simple beans and potatoes.

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I came up with this sauce, a first cousin of chimichurri, as a solution. It is so simple, I'm almost embarrassed to share the recipe with you, but its bright herby flavor was the perfect addition to our plates. I imagine that it would be delicious with anything grilled, from fish to chicken, and would also be wonderful as a baked potato topping or as a sauce to pour over sweet corn. Experiment -- and let me know of any other uses you find for it.

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Herb Sauce (Chimichurri style)

Ingredients:

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--1/4 cup fresh basil, chiffonaded (I use thai purple basil)

--1/4 cup fresh cilantro, stems removed

--1/4 cup fresh mint, chiffonaded

--1 clove garlic, mashed into a paste with a pinch of salt

--salt and freshly ground pepper

--2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar (or lemon juice)

--1 tablespoons olive oil (or more to taste)

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Directions

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1) grind all ingredients together with mortar and pestle until a loose paste is formed. Conversely, pulse all ingredients together in a mixer until a loose paste is formed. Add more oil or vinegar to correct consistency, if needed. The smell in your kitchen at this point will be fantastic, I promise. :)

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To serve:

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Spread thickly over the piece of grilled meat, vegetable, or bread. Eat. Sigh. Eat more.

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Notes: These pictures are kind of awful. I apologize. The yellow beans look oddly like french fries and all of the colors seem muted. I assure you, this dinner tasted 100 times better than the pictures indicate. As my friend J informed me, perhaps I need to work on presentation...

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The avocado dilemma

One avocado. Three people. Do you see the dilemma I was in? I felt like King Solomon -- should I cut the avocado into pieces or leave it whole? Would the avocado (and us) be better served by being sliced into tiny bits or by giving it to one person to enjoy? Did I mention that it was a small avocado to begin with?

Unlike King Solomon, I chose to cut up the baby. Erm, I mean avocado. Cut up the avocado, and then pulverize it. Because it seemed fairer...not that King Solomon had that choice -- pureed baby wouldn't have solved any problems.

Good God, what am I talking about? Forget it, I can't stretch this analogy any further, I've become (more) offensive (than usual).

Bottom line is, I chose to make avocado vinaigrette with our one sad, little avocado instead of slicing it up and giving us each a miserly portion.

Phew, are you still reading? Did I manage to not scare you away with all my talk of babies and pulverizing? Awesome. On to the recipe.

Avocado Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

--1 avocado, flesh scooped out

--2 tablespoons grapefruit vinegar (I buy mine at Trader Joes)

--1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

--1 tablespoon hot sauce (I use the green Tabasco)

--salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1) mash all ingredients together in a bowl. Add more vinegar or water until the mixture has a loose dressing type of consistency. (Do recipes get any easier than this?)

To serve:

Use as salad dressing or as sauce to pour over fish. I made a simple heirloom tomato salad -- just roughly chopped tomatoes, diced green onions, and a sprinkle of purple basil -- and served the avocado vinaigrette on the side. It was delicious -- and though it only contained one avocado, we each managed to satisfy our jones for the rich veggie.

Another pic of the tomato salad.

The rest of the meal -- seared tuna over mixed greens and couscous/red quinoa/baby garbanzo bean mix (from, where else? Trader Joes)

Nature's Viagra (no, really)

Once upon a time, D and M were traveling through Turkey (the country, not a particularly large fowl) and they ran across a fruit stand in the middle of nowhere. The side of the stand had a banner the size of a bus, saying "Nature's Viagra." D and M, being the curious folks that they are, set out to investigate. "Nature's Viagra" turned out to be Turkish Figs...large, luscious, and almost too sweet for word, figs. They bought a bunch, ate them all, and.....(I don't know what happened from here. I refused to listen to the story any further.)

Anyway, they were inspired to tell me this story after I made the salad described below. And, after smelling the sweet aroma of the ripe figs, breaking open their delicate flesh, and sinking my teeth into a their intoxicating flavor, I must agree. Figs are sexy. Dead sexy.

Make this salad for someone you love. Or someone you want to love you. Or just for yourself, to feel special. This salad would tempt a monk...

Fig Salad, with Walnut Oil and Aged Balsamic

Ingredients:

--1 to 2 figs per person

--2 cups salad greens per person (I used a mix of baby arugula and spring greens)

--1 tablespoon marcona almonds per person

--walnut oil (hazelnut oil would also be nice)

--pomegranate vinegar

--balsamic vinegar (the most expensive bottle you can afford. The tiny bottle I used was worth $150, and worth every penny. Aged balsamic tastes like normal balsamic multiplied by a million. sweet, complex, and wonderful.)

--salt and pepper

Directions:

1) quarter the figs

2) pile the salad greens onto a plate, place figs slices in a circle on the greens

3) sprinkle with marcona almonds

4) drizzle pomegranate vinegar and walnut oil over the plate

5) place one drop of balsamic on each fig slice

6) grind salt and pepper over entire plate and serve

Note:

This salad is a wonderful example of the the benefit of using high quality ingredients. Though the preparation is simple and there aren't many ingredients, this salad will seriously rock your world if you have perfectly ripe figs, fresh greens, a tasty nut oil, and some sweet fruity vinegars. And, like I said before, a very high quality balsamic will change your life (and palate) forever.

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Three more pictures of the fig salad...

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The rest of the meal, that night -- broccoli, roasted potatoes, shallots, and garlic, grilled pork chops. Delish!

The Edge of Reason

Sunday 17 June

9st, alcohol units 2 ( good), cigarettes 0 (v. good), instants 10 (v. bad, but flustered because saw Mark Darcy at market, and looked a mess), calories 1675 (excellent, considering), thigh circumference (18 inches, must go to gym), positive thoughts 2.

9:00, living room. Feeling v. full and v. pleased. I just ate yummy dinner (that I invented!), and now am watching brilliant new American t.v. show with dancing men in v. short shorts. Saw Mark Darcy earlier in market -- was total mess. Had just tried new curling iron on hair, and failed miserably with new style. Hair was sticking up, part curly and part straight. Attempted to pile on head in attractive messy manner, but ended up looking like an refugee from important BBC program. Was wearing tight yoga pants, but worried not as cute as Shaz in yoga pants. Possibly because Shaz does yoga and I don't. Face had spots, but had covered them (at least) before going to market. Anyway, saw Mark Darcy looking at me strangely from across the bin of rocket, and managed to squeak out, "Cheers, Mark" before he was able to ask what was wrong with my hair.

Chatted a bit about work, and then he asked if I was going round my mother's house anytime soon. Apparently, he actually *liked* my mother's turkey curry from the Turkey Curry Buffet this New Years and wanted the recipe. I told him my mother never shares her recipes, but that I had a better version for him to try. Of course, I can't cook a bit, but I bloody well had to come up with a reason to give him my number.

After running around the market like a mad woman, I came home with some powdered curry, some chutney, and some ground turkey, and managed to come up with a absolutely divine recipe. Just tasted one of the burgers, okay, two of the burgers, and feel positively giddy. Am splendid cook, like Jamie Oliver, but female.

Will call Mark Darcy straight away, show him my culinary brilliance, and cause him to fall madly in love with me.

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Alright, sorry about that folks. Once I determined that the dinner I was making involved turkey and curry, I couldn't stop giggling about the Bridget Jones connections. I indulged myself in a bit of imitation prose - I couldn't resist. For those of you who missed the Bridget Jones craze a few years ago (likely my male readers, though I hate to generalize), before Bridget Jones was played by Renee Zellweger, she was a character in a book. And, each new section of the book started remarkably as written above. The style always amused me, and I hope you enjoyed my toying with it. :)

Now, on to the actual recipe. I was working on a idea for a slightly different turkey burger, and was having a hard time coming up with anything other than an Asian inspired version. The curry idea came out of the blue, and once it lodged in my mind, I couldn't shake it.

I mixed the ground turkey with some garlic curry paste, mango ginger chutney, curry powder, and green onions. Shaped the mix into burgers, and grilled them until just done, then topped them with grilled eggplant slices and mango mint salsa. Man, oh, man, these were good -- or as Bridget would say, "Brilliant." The burgers were a bit spicy, but the mango mint salsa tempered the heat and the eggplants slices added a bit of smokey chew. The combination was wonderful -- next time you BBQ, I encourage you to give these a try.

Turkey Curry Burgers -- serves 4

The layers, in order, from the top -- whole wheat bun, mango mint salsa, grilled eggplant, turkey curry burger, more mango mint salsa, whole wheat bun.

Ingredients:

--1 lb very lean ground turkey

--2 tablespoons mango ginger chutney

--1 tablespoon hot garlic curry paste

--2 tablespoons curry powder (or less, to taste)

--4 green onions, finely chopped (green and white part)

Directions:

1) Mix all of the ingredients with your hands until fully combined. Don't over mix, or you'll have tough, chewy burgers

2) Shape mixture into 4 equal patties

3) Grill, on hot grill, for about 10 minutes (5 minutes per side) or until done. Don't overcook!

To Serve:

Top each burger with a dollop of mango salsa and a few slices of grilled eggplant (Slice an eggplant into 1/4 inch slices, brush with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and grill as you grill the burgers -- 5 minutes per side or until done). Serve on a bun.

The burger, just before being put together. The bun, burger, and eggplant on the left and the mango salsa-ed bun on the right. Tomato/ cucumber salad in the background.

Sizzling on the grill....mmmmm

Lies, and the lying liars who tell them -- oh, and some food :)

Sorry for lying to y'all in my last post...I didn't update that night as I promised. Bad blogger, bad.

What can I say? Life got seven kinds of busy. However, on the plus side, I'm here now...right? And I have all sorts of things to post for you -- pictures, a recipe, stories, and more. So settle in for a good long post, full of all sorts of Kristel-approved fun.

First off, some seriously good banana bread. As you may remember, I have a thing about spotted bananas -- they totally gross me out. The cloying smell, the sick-sweet taste, the mushy texture...I wouldn't eat an overripe banana if you paid me. However, I'm also a farmer's daughter and I abhor throwing food away. So, when the repulsed get ripe bananas, the repulsed make banana bread.

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Now for the sad news -- I have no idea what recipe I used to make this bread. I remember it called for four smushed bananas, I remember I used part applesauce and part oil, and I remember I added cinnamon and nutmeg. The precise recipe, however, I have no idea. I'm sad I can't share a recipe with you -- this banana bread was wonderful. The crumb was dense and tender, and the walnuts crunchy, and the banana flavor just powerful enough.

Next, an simple and fast dinner. I usually get home pretty late from work, and I always try to get something on the table as soon as possible. I don't like to eat late, so the faster I get dinner ready, the better. This meal was made on a whim, but it turned out to be so tasty, that I felt obligated to take a picture. Curly pasta, dressed in a light tomato sauce, with mini sun-dried tomato chicken sausages, mushrooms, and olives. A simple side salad, with a dollop of homemade guacamole for dressing.

Next up, unique, spicy, complex and completely delicious shrimp.

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It started with a pound of shrimp and no ideas. D had requested black beans and rice as a side dish, and I had already made a mango peach salsa. I also knew I had some broccoli rabe to saute as another side, but what to do with the shrimp kept eluding me.

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Finally, I poked my head into the refrigerator in despair and my eyes landed upon a bottle of ginger beer. I poured the ginger beer into bowl, added a chopped garlic clove, some hot sauce, some fresh ginger, and the shrimp. I marinated the shrimp in the ginger beer mixture for about an hour, and then sauteed them in a bit of canola oil until just done. Then, I boiled down the marinade until it reached a sticky consistency. I plated the shrimp on a pool of the sauce, and surrounded it with a mound of mango salsa, a scoop of beans and rice, and a stack of broccoli rabe. Lucky for me, the gamble played off -- the entire meal was wonderful, but the shrimp were absolutely phenomenal. The sauce was exquisite -- the sweet and spicy ginger added an exotic bite, the garlic an earthy undertone, and the hot sauce a contrasting spice. yum!

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The shrimp and their sauce.

The rest of the plate -- the beans and rice, the mango salsa, and the broccoli rabe.

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Next, the roasted lamb. I butterflied a boneless leg of lamb, rubbed the inside with salt and pepper, and laid whole rosemary stems and garlic cloves across the meat. I rolled it up and secured the leg with metal picks, and baked it until it was medium rare. The lamb was served with mint pesto (mint, olive oil, salt, garlic), thinly sliced summer squash sauteed with lemon basil, and roasted potatoes. Everything was delicious, perfectly seasoned, and well matched. We *loved* this meal.

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And, last but not least, a recipe.

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I had picked up some green tomatoes at the Farmer's Market, with the idea of frying them. You see, I have southern roots (my mother is from Alabama), I love the move Fried Green Tomatoes, and I have a great cast iron frying pan. Surely I was destined to know how to make fried green tomatoes (even though I'd never tasted, made, or seen them before).

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I came up with the following recipe. I'm not sure how authentic it is, but it tasted pretty wonderful to us. Enjoy!

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Fried Green Tomatoes

Ingredients:

--4 large green tomatoes (or one for each person dining)

--1 cup flour

--salt and pepper, to taste

--4 large eggs

--1 tablespoon hot sauce of your choice

--1 cup cornmeal

--canola oil for frying

--hot sauce for serving

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Directions:

1) Slice the tomatoes into 1/2 inch think slices

2) pour the flour, salt, and pepper into one shallow bowl, the eggs (scrambled with a bit of water and the hot sauce) into another shallow bowl, and the cornmeal into another shallow bowl

3) heat an inch of oil in a large cast iron pan

4) dredge the tomato slices in flour, then dip them into the egg mixture, and then into the cornmeal (add more flour, eggs, or cornmeal to the bowls if you begin to run out)

5) as you take each slice out of the cornmeal, slide it carefully into the oil. Add each new slice as it is ready, being careful not to crowd the pan too much. If you add them too fast, the oil will drop too much in temperature and the tomatoes will get soggy instead of forming a crust

6) Check each slice periodically to see if the side in the oil has browned. If it has, turn it over and allow the other side to brown.

7) as each slice finishes frying, take it out of the oil with a slotted spatula and place on a plate covered in paper towels

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To serve:

Pile onto a plate, and offer hot sauce on the side.

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Note:

M likes them cold the next day, in a pita pocket with hummus.

Public Service Announcement

I am 26.

It is June.

Why do you care, you ask?

Well, those two clues should hint that the fact that dozens (it seems) of my friends are trotting down the aisle toward the altar. All of my weekends have been full of travel to bridal showers/weddings/bachelorette parties/sacred blood rituals. That means no trips to the Farmer's Market, no cooking on the weekends, and no time to cook during the week (because I'm trying to catch up on work to be ready to go out of town again the next weekend), and no blogging! I haven't done laundry in a month, haven't been grocery shopping in weeks, and haven't cooked a proper meal (other than breakfast) since mid-May. Boo.

Never fear, however, friends. I plan on catching up on some posting(s) tonight. You'll have plenty of pictures and recipes to entertain your mind and whet your appetite.

Until then...

But where has all the rum gone? (said in Cap't Jack Sparrow's slurring pirate accent)

Oh, the rum is right here, my friend, right here.

As I've told you all before, I'm not really big on desserts. However, I've been in the sweets-mode for a few weeks now....and all signs point to this trend continuing for awhile. My friends and co-workers have been lavished with leftover treats recently and now they won't stop pleading for more. What can I say? They're savages (scallywags?). :)

So, in my quest to come up with things that are delicious, I looked through my pantry.

chocolate.

rum.

pecans.

Oh baby, yeah.

Add these all together and discover a most luscious dessert. Yes, indeed, folks ... I'm talking about rum balls. The reason I embarked upon this particular (non)baking quest is simple. It was the last game of the kickball season and my team's name is Red Rum. Get it? Ball? Rum? :)

Rum Balls were clearly in order. Plus, inebriation via pastry is always fun.

The follow recipe is super simple. You can throw this together in just a few minutes and enjoy the rum balls immediately (or wait a few days for an even better treat). These are seriously good -- rich, chocolatey, with a hint of cinnamon, and a punch of rum. yum!

Be warned, however, that these things are super potent. Only serve to those of age (and not driving right away -- having just eaten one of these would make you fail a breathalizer test for sure!)

Rum Balls -- makes at least 40

Ingredients:

--1 1/2 cups finely chopped pecans (toast the pecans first, let them totally cool, and then pulse very finely - if you don't let them fully cool they will get all pasty...which you don't want, I promise.)

--1 1/2 cups ground vanilla wafers (pulse into a fine powder in a food processor)

-- 3/4 cup powdered sugar, plus more for garnish

-- 1 teaspoon cinnamon

--2 tablespoons cocoa powder

--2 tablespoons corn syrup

--1/2 cup good quality rum (mix of your favorite -- I used spiced rum and stroh's rum)

Directions:

1) mix together all ingredients, in order listed, and chill until batter is cool (and less sticky)

2) roll dough into thumb size balls

3) toss them in a bowl with powdered sugar (enough to coat each ball)

4) store in refrigerator

Notes:

They're even better a few days later. My team adored them (and D and M made me promise to make more soon for them). Enjoy!

An experiment in fava beans

I'd never had a fava bean before. Sure, I'd heard of them (I am a foodie after all), but I'd never eaten them. However, last week at the Farmer's Market I saw a pile of pretty greenish brown beans with a "fava" sign and couldn't resist.

I shelled one, and popped a raw bean in my mouth. It tasted grassy and clean, with a nutty undertone. I wasn't sure how to prepare them -- I didn't even know if they were meant to be eaten raw.

A pile of shelled favas

After I went home, I did some Googling and discovered that they are usually cooked, and often served with other spring veggies. They are also eaten mashed, with spices. I was tempted by many of the recipes, particularly one in which the fava beans with tossed with peas and mint, but I eventually settled on a risotto.

In all honesty, I ended up a bit disappointed. The fava beans didn't taste like much. They had a pretty color, and a nice texture, but the flavor was bland. Maybe their delicate taste was overwhelmed by the chicken, or the artichokes. Or maybe they are better with another preparation. Or maybe fava beans are just boring. Beats me. I did enjoy the risotto, which is why I'm giving you all the recipe, but the fava beans themself weren't particularly exciting.

Fava bean shells on the left, the shelled beans on the right.

Unshelled, shelled. Up close.

Fava Bean and Chicken Risotto, with Artichokes -- serves 6

Ingredients:

--1 large onion, roughly chopped

--3 tablespoons olive oil

--1 1/4 cup risotto rice (arborio)

--salt and pepper, to taste

--5 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade

--1 cup good white wine

--2 cups shelled, blanched fava beans*

--1 cup quartered, cooked artichoke hearts

--1 cup shredded, cooked chicken

Directions:

1) Saute the onion in the olive oil until the onions are softened.

2) Stir in the rice, and saute with the onions until the grains of rice get a little translucent and have a white dot in the middle of each one.

3) Add salt and pepper, stir

4) Add a cup of chicken broth and cook, stirring occasionally over medium/low heat until the liquid is absorbed.

5) Repeat step 4 with the rest of the cups of chicken broth and the wine (should take about 25 minutes). As you add the liquid, remember not to add the next cup of liquid until the previous cup is absorbed. And, of course, be careful not to let the rice get so dry that it scorches.

6) Just before the final bit of liquid is absorbed and the rice is creamy, add the fava beans, artichokes, and shredded chicken. Cook for a few minutes and then turn off the heat. Taste, and adjust seasonings.

To serve:

This is a main dish risotto, just serve with a leafy green salad and a glass of crisp white wine.

Notes:

Be sure to add enough salt -- I noticed that the risotto was a bit bland at first and salt really perked it up. A squeeze of lemon over top is not a bad call either.

* The fava beans are infinitely easier to shell if they have been blanched in boiling water first. I tried to shell them without blanching them, and it was quite difficult and time consuming. But, after a 1 minute dunk in boiling water and a quick drain, the fava beans are a breeze to shell.

Strawberry Basil Deliciousness

It is getting warm here in sunny southern California -- I've been itching to use our ice cream maker for a few weeks. Luckily, there was a Farmer's Market outside my building last Friday and I picked up some juicy strawberries on my way home. They languished in my refrigerator until they were getting a little soft and I was obligated to use them in something. Sorbet seemed the obvious choice, though pie was a contender for a few minutes. I didn't want to make boring, simple strawberry sorbet though. I wanted something a little exotic.

My thoughts went to other fruits, but they didn't sound fun enough. Then I remembered some flavor combos that I had been intrigued by -- including one with strawberries and and basil.

Now, let me admit something -- I am obsessed with Thai purple basil, and I use it as often as I can. I toss it into salads, stir it into pastas, and drop it into soups. It is a little more fragrant and less licorice-y than green basil. I decided that strawberry *basil* sorbet sounded just unique enough, and I made the following recipe. We devoured it in days. It was divine -- try it and see. Hello, summer. :)

Strawberry Thai Basil Sorbet

Ingredients:

-- 5 cups sliced, cleaned, ripe strawberries
--3/4 cup sugar
--3/4 cup water
--1 large bunch Thai purple basil, leaves chiffonaded
--1 ounce vodka
--juice of one lemon

Directions:

1) Puree the strawberries in a food processor. Put pureed strawberries in the refrigerator for at least one hour

2) Simmer the sugar, water, and basil in a small sauce pan over low heat until the sugar is totally dissolved (5 -6 minutes)

3) Take syrup off the heat and place in refrigerator until cold.

4) Strain the basil leaves out of the syrup if so desired.

5) Stir the syrup, lemon juice, and vodka into the pureed strawberries

6) Freeze according to the ice cream maker's instructions.

To serve:

Scoop into bowls, and garnish with more Thai basil or pretty edible flowers (like we did).

Notes:

The vodka helps the sorbet stay soft -- actually, any liquor with a compatible flavor would also work. Grand Marnier comes to mind. Without the alcohol (which doesn't freeze) the sorbet gets too hard and icy. However, you don't have to add the alcohol if you don't want to, just be sure to let it soften before you serve.

There's peanut butter in my chocolate, and all that that implies. Wait... what?

Oh, the things I could admit to you all.

I have a secret love of Jennifer Lopez. I own Tevas *and* Birkenstocks. I once shoved more than 15 marsh mellows in my mouth at one time (on stage in front of thousands of people) and nearly threw up on stage, but managed to hold it in and win the prize. As a teenager I had such a crush on Jonathan Brandis that I wrote a script that added me (as a love interest, of course) into SeaQuest DSV and mailed it to Steven Spielberg. I love canned mushrooms. I sort my Skittles into color piles before I eat them. I still watch Saved By the Bell when I find it on T.V. Believe me, I could go on, but I'll spare you all of the quirky details.

Now, with all of this background, you will be much less surprised to find out that I play on a kickball team. See, if I had come right out with the kickball thing, you might have thought that I was little strange...but with all that information, you aren't a bit thrown off. Pun intended.

Anyway, I joined an adult kickball league shortly after moving to L.A. I didn't know a lot of people and I figured that the kind of adult that plays kickball is my kind of adult. I was right. Fast forward a few months, I've made some great friends, stayed out way too many late nights at local bars, and made an awesome use of my old soccer cleats.

My team is in the playoffs right now, and our captain sent out an email earlier this week saying, "anyone who likes to cook, feel free to bring a baked good to our next game." Now, I know this was directed to me because we had had a conversation at our previous game about 1) how I liked to cook and 2) how I had thought about bringing cookies or something to a game. He managed to cleverly ask me to follow through with my promise by couching it in a request to the entire team. Smart boy. It worked.

I decided to make my mom's fabulous chocolate peanut butter cake bars after scouring my memory for a crowd pleasing, unique dessert. My mom used to make this cake for me to bring to school as a child, and I've never forgotten the rich creamy frosting or the moist chocolaty cake. Even as a kid, I couldn't eat very much of this cake at once. It is so decadent that just a few bites are all that anyone can handle at a time.

Sadly enough, I had a doctor's appointment for the pinched nerve in my elbow and a stack of work to do last night. I had to miss my game. Boo! However, what my kickball team missed out on, my co-workers relished. I brought in these rich, sweet pieces of chocolate peanut butter goodness and they were scarfed in minutes.

I hope this cake becomes a regular in your repertoire -- It has certainly earned a spot in mine.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake Bars*

Ingredients:

For the cake:

--1 cup butter
--1/2 cup cocoa
--1 cup water
--1/2 cup buttermilk (or in my case, one scant cup soy milk and 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar)
--1 teaspoon vanilla
--2 eggs, well beaten
--2 cups sugar
--2 cups flour
--1 teaspoon baking soda

For the Frosting:

-- 1 1/2 cups smooth peanut butter

--1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
--1/4 cup cocoa
--6 teaspoons buttermilk (or soy milk with a tiny splash of apple cider vinegar)
--1 teaspoon vanilla
--1 box confectioners sugar (16 oz.)

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees

For the Cake:

1) Simmer the butter, cocoa, water, buttermilk, and eggs in a sauce pan on low heat until it bubbles

2) Take mixture off the heat, and stir in the vanilla

3) In a large bowl, stir the sugar, flour, and baking soda together until completely mixed

4) Pour the hot, wet mixture over the dry ingredients. Mix the batter with electric beaters until completely smooth.

5) Pour the batter into a well-greased 9 x 13 pan and bake until toothpick inserted comes out clean (about 25 minutes). Set aside to cool.

For the Frosting:

1) Heat the butter, cocoa, and buttermilk in a sauce pan on low. Stir until butter is melted, cocoa is incorporated, and the mixture is bubbling a little. Take off the heat and stir in the vanilla.

2) Pour the confectioners sugar into a large bowl and then pour the warm cocoa mixture over the sugar. Beat until smooth. The frosting should be very thick, but if it is impossible to stir, beat in a tiny bit more buttermilk.

To Assemble:

1) Spread the peanut butter over top of the completely cooled cake. Spread the chocolate frosting over the peanut butter, doing your best to maintain the integrity of the layers.

To Serve:

Cut into small pieces. Savor the deliciousness. :)




Notes:

Next time I plan on using only 1 or 2 eggs. I think I'd prefer a more brownie-like cake, verses the lighter fluffy cake that 3 eggs ensures. I've also debated pouring the cake batter into a larger pan so as to have a more equal cake to frosting ratio, but I've always talked myself out of it because the frosting is so rich it needs a substantial cake layer to balance it out.

* My mom calles it Reese Pieces Cake, but I've changed the name to avoid trademark infringement. Blame it on the IP class I took in law school.