Saturday, February 14, 2009

Happy Damn Valentine's Day


Damn??!! How could I possible use damn in the same sentence as Valentine's Day. Ugh. If you have no sweetheart, Valentine's Day blows. No roses, no chocolates, no champagne, no snuggling. Yeah, I just love Valentine's Day.

So I decided to give myself some chocolate today. Me & BS that is. And to satisfy one of my faithful readers, I am doing this COOKING POST. I chopped & sliced & stirred. I made chili & brownies. The end.........................



Oh okay. I'm supposed to elaborate a bit. First thing, I have been told that I cannot call the stuff I make 'chili'. Chili purists would recoil in horror to see some of the things that I put in it, so I'll call it 'stew' instead. I took your basic chili recipe with meat, onion, garlic, chili powder, and liquidy tomato products. Then I defiled it by putting in stuff that no self-respecting bowl of 'real' chili should have - diced sweet potatoes, cinnamon, cumin, corn, BEANS, a bit of chocolate, and chipotle chiles. Serve with sour cream, chopped fresh cilantro, cheese, and a little more cheese (and for BS - hot sauce on the side).



I like the sweetness of the sweet potato with the spiciness of the other stuff. The chipotles lend some heat with a hint of smokiness, and the bit of chocolate & cinnamon add a depth of flavor that ordinary chili can't live up to, kind of like a brown mole sauce. It's goooood.

For dessert, I gave us chocolate. Lots of chocolate in the form of brownies with drizzle.

Drizzle is the term coined by one of my best friends when I made some ganache to drizzle over her birthday brownies. Now BS demands drizzle whenever I make brownies. And speaking of brownies, I don't understand brownie mixes with their chemical-y flavor. It only takes a few minutes to mix up a pan of brownies. Why would anyone use a mix? They are so simple: butter, chocolate, eggs. sugar & flour. That's it. Nirvana.

Making the ganache is ridiculously easy as well. Heat cream & add semi-sweet chocolate chips. Although, when you first add the chips (letting it sit a minute to melt the chocolate) and start stirring, you will think you have surely ruined it. Look...



Looks clumpy & gross. But keep stirring, mes amis, and the magic happens.



Silky, smooth, gloosy. Wait, that's not right. That should be glossy. Drizzle a little on your dense & rich brownie and who needs a stinkin' sweetheart?




So here is your obligatory Valentine's Day greeting:



http://images.zwani.com/graphics/antivalentines_day/images/90slapcupid.jpg


Excuse me now while I kick BS off the couch (lovingly, of course). He has fallen asleep and started to snore.


7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice posting Ticky! The brownie looks outrageous. Nice job on the 'chili', by the way..

Oh yeah, it all looks 'delish', and 'yummy' Just thought you might enjoy that.

Kathy said...

Thanks. Bacon is yummy too. Does this get me off the hook as far as cooking posts for awhile?

Anonymous said...

No

Russ said...

You made my day! Funny post, yet informative. Thanks for the laugh.

Kathy said...

Why, thank you Russell. We could always start a new comic strip. What ever happened to the one you and Dudley did?

Marilyn said...

I love ya, does that count?

Kathy said...

Sigh, Marilyn, if only it did. Alas, the distance and the lack of proper equipment are definite problems for me.