Chrissy's Obscene Chocolate Orange Brownies

The basic brownie recipe I use is a million years old, and has no baking powder or soda. The brownies are not cakey, but chewy and dense. To get the original version, just swap the Gran Marnier for a teaspoon of vanilla. In my house, growing up, mom put marshmallow on when they were hot, then cooled them and topped them with chocolate frosting. I sometimes use Andes Candies on top for mint, but the Orange version was a huge hit with Ahmed, so they’ve become a staple. One note: I always use large eggs in heirloom recipes, NOT extra-large, because they most closely approximate the size of egg my grandmother/great-aunts had.

4 oz Unsweetened Chocolate
3/4 cup  butter
2 cups  sugar
3  large eggs
1 ridiculously generous tablespoon of Gran Marnier Orange Licqueur
1 cup  flour
1 cup  coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)

preheat HEAT oven to 350°F.

Butter and flour 13x9-inch pan.

Melt chocolate and butter in a small pan, OR MICROWAVE in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 min. or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted.

Stir in sugar. Blend in eggs and liqueur. Add flour and nuts; mix well. Pour into prepared pan.

Beat the living crap out of a Terry's Chocolate Orange, until it's basically crumbs. (Cover with towel, use hammer or the head of a willful child.)

BAKE 30 to 35 min. or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with fudgy crumbs. Top should have a crepe-paper appearance. Dump the chocolate orange bits on while hot. Allow to melt, then spread.

Cool completely (or set in frig) before cutting.

Cheeseburger and Fries Soup

My bestie Roxanne has a 6 hour crock pot cheeseburger soup recipe I love. Today I wanted some but didn’t have 6 hours. Then, wandering through Target, saw their Julienne Potatoes with Cheddar Cheese (basically just string shaped potatoes au gratin) and had an evil idea.

Here it is. 45 minutes prep time.

1 stick of butter, diced
5 tablespoons canola oil (ballpark it)
1/2 a small sweet onion, chopped small
few tablespoons of flour, dusted over top

brown the above ingredients... add

2 pounds ground beef
salt and pepper to taste

add and brown all of the beef and onions-- leave a bit of pink in the meat, add

2 cups of beef broth

heat through, add

2 boxes Market Pantry Julienne Potatoes with Cheddar --including the cheese packets

mix in well, add

4 cups of milk
2 teaspoons Mrs. Dash or similar

Cook til potatoes are tender-- about 30 minutes. Add parsley or shredded cheddar if desired.

My Green Habah Chowdah Recipe for Lent Noms

I am sharing this recipe today at the request of several of the old ladies of Green Harbor, who are pretty much the collective bosses of me. Years ago Snow’s made the best fish chowder you could get in a can. They were purchased by Bumble Bee Tuna, and that was that.  Around here you can get Legal Seafoods’ chowders in tubs, but they are a tad pricey, and not as simple as the old school New England Fish Chowdah most of us grew up eating. I have tinkered and come up with what the Green Harbor locals seem to crave—it gets requested at a lot of the soup-suppers. The recipe I’m sharing here has no meat to make it Lent friendly, but it’s also delicious made with bacon or salt pork in lieu of butter, and chicken stock in lieu of vegetable. Below is the Lent-Friendly recipe, which is about as close as you will get to the old school stuff. COD OR HADDOCK ONLY—if I catch anyone using pollock I come to your house and do bad things with a cheese grater. I’m not kidding.

Chrissy’s Green Habah Fish Chowdah

1/2 cup butter, divided
1 large sweet onion, sliced
4/5 medium/large yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced
1 pinch salt and generous dusting of fresh ground black pepper
3 cups vegetable or fish stock
2 pounds haddock or cod, cubed into bite sized pieces
3 tablespoons of flour (optional)*
4 quart of half and half or light cream (you may also use milk, and add a small can of evaporated milk)
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon Bell's seasoning
3 tablespoons dried parsley flakes or handful of fresh, finely chopped parsley.

Melt 1/4 cup butter over medium heat. Sauté onions until tender. Add the potatoes, salt, pepper, bay leaf, Bell's, and stock.  Top with fish. Simmer, covered until potatoes are fork-tender.

Add cream and remaining butter. Season with additional salt and pepper if desired. Heat through and allow to thicken.

Garnish at the finish with parsley.

*I dust the pieces of fish with a bit of flour and some of the salt/pepper before adding to the pot. This is optional, but I find it keeps the pieces from shredding as they cook and makes them more flavorful and tender, and quickens the thickening of the stock.

No Peek Cold Oven Popovers

I love popovers.

They are ultra-simple, yet incredibly good and satisfying. I like them light, eggy, and golden.

This is the most fool-proof recipe I have ever tried and it yields perfect popovers every time.

Cold Oven Popovers

2 eggs   1 cup milk    1 cup all purpose flour    pinch sea salt

Beat eggs, add milk, fold in flour and salt. Combine til you have a smooth batter.

Pour batter into lightly buttered/greased popover pans OR extra-large muffin pans.

Place in COLD oven. Turn oven on to 450 degrees. Bake for 30 minutes WITHOUT OPENING THE OVEN. No peeking!  Makes a half dozen.

Bailey’s Irish Cream NO BAKE Cheesecake

My bestie Allie Kelly made this for us and OMG you have NO IDEA how marvelous!!!

NO BAKE—yep, I said it!  And when I called she was kind enough to send me an email with the recipe so I could copy and paste.  Crazy easy.

Bailey's Irish Cream Cheesecake
*Allie Kelly's recipe

small pat of butter for greasing pan
6 oz. box of chocolate wafer cookies
4 tablespoons butter, softened
8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
8 oz. milk chocolate
3/4 cup powdered sugar
12 oz. cream cheese (1 1/2 cups, or 1 1/2 8 oz. packages)
1 3/4 cups heavy cream
3 or 4 tablespoons Irish cream liqueur

Line the bottom of an 8-inch spring form pan with parchment paper. Smear the sides and paper with butter.

Crush the wafers in a plastic bag. Empty into mixing bowl with butter; mix and press into the bottom of the pan. Chill for about an hour.

In a double boiler, melt chocolates til they are just smooth. Allow them to cool to warm/room temp, but be careful not to let the chocolate begin to get firm add the liqueur and mix it well through. Beat the sugar and cream cheese until smooth, set aside. Whip the heavy cream until peaks form. Fold together the cream cheese and whipped cream, then gently fold in the chocolate and liqueur mixture. Blend together well.

Spread the filling into the pan and smooth out the surface. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.  Garnish with chocolate or any other decoration!

Fudgie Oatmal Marble Bars

A few days ago I made this recipe and somebody on facebook asked for it... but I couldn't find the message to send it. So here it is. I had something similar at a cafe, went mental for them, and tinkered with a few recipes that sounded close til I landed on this one. Enjoy!

Fudgie Oatmeal Marble Brownies

1 cup butter
2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
4 teaspoons vanilla (2 for each mixture)
2-1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 12-ounce package chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts or peacans

Reserve 2 tablespoons of the butter.

Blend butter and brown sugar until creamy. Beat in eggs and 2 teaspoons vanilla.

In another large bowl combine flour and baking soda; stir in oats. Gradually mix the dry and moist mixtures. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan combine the reserved butter, the sweetened condensed milk, and chocolate chocolate chips. Cook over low heat until chocolate melts, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Stir in nuts and the 2 teaspoons vanilla.

Press two-thirds (about 3-1/3 cups) of the oat mixture into the bottom of an ungreased 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Spread chocolate mixture over the oat mixture. Using your fingers, dot remaining oat mixture over the chocolate.

Bake @ 350 degrees for about 25 minutes, or until top is lightly browned (chocolate mixture will still look moist).

Cut bars after cooling and pig out. :)

Maria's Peach Melba Tea Bread

This may be the most gloriously delicious thing I have ever tasted... I begged Maria for the recipe and she's letting me SHARE!!

Peach Melba Tea Bread

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup melted butter
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/3 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon Peach Schnapps OR Peach Brandy
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups finely chopped fresh peaches
1/4 cup dried or frozen, chopped raspberries (or blueberries)

Heat oven to 350°. Grease and flour 9x5 loaf pan. In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In medium size bowl, combine peaches and liquor. In 2 cup glass measuring cup, combine melted butter, milk, eggs and vanilla. Add butter mixture to flour mixture and stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in peaches and berries. Spoon into greased pan. Bake bread for 55 to 60 minutes or until top is golden brown and center springs back when lightly pressed with finger tip. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove bread from pan and cool to room temperature before slicing.

Now Yer Cookin' with Chrissy

I love to cook. I come from a family of great cooks, and we not only share recipes, we make lots of them up as we go. Just this past week a couple of my oldest girlfriends attacked my worn-out, hand-scribbled recipe notebook to pick up some of their favorites. I happened to notice that all three girls went for the same recipes. So today I am sharing three of the savory recipes. This weekend I'll share three of the sweet ones.

Enjoy!

White Chili

1 cup diced or chopped chicken (leftover rotisserie is great for this)
1 small can chicken broth
1 stalk chopped celery, including the tops
1 small diced shallot
1 can rinsed, drained northern white beans (aka cannelloni)
1/2 teaspoon crushed, dry rosemary
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons flour
salt and pepper to taste

In a soup pot, saute the shallots and celery in the olive oil until softened and translucent. Sprinkle flour over the top. Add chicken, stir once, let heat momentarily. Pour in the broth, add the beans and rosemary. Simmer low for an hour, or until the chili has thickened to desired consistency. You can serve this over leftover rice, too. Salt and pepper as desired.

Chrissy's Dashed Biscuits

Preheat oven to 400

1 cup Jiffy Mix (or Bisquick)
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 small shallot, minced
1 tablespoon Mrs. Dash brand seasoning
1/4 cup club soda
2 tablespoons sour cream
flour for dusting

Combine all dry ingredients (except flour). Add soda and sour cream - alternating gradually until you have a heavy, moist batter. Turn onto a lightly dusted counter/surface. DO NOT KNEAD. Using your hands, simply spread the dough til it is flat and about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick. Cut into rounds with a lightly dusted biscuit cutter or glass. Place on cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes, or until golden.

Vidalia Puddin'
Preheat oven to 400 grease a 9 inch pie plate

1 large vidalia onion, sliced into thin rings
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 3/4 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 1/4 cups milk (whole, not skim)
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan (you can use breadcrumbs or crushed ritz crackers)

With two tablespoons butter, brown onions in skillet. Combine dry ingredients. Beat the egg and milk together, stir into the dry mixture. Add all but a few tablespoons of the onions. Fold in the cheddar. Turn into a 9 inch, greased pie plate (glass is best). Add remaining onions to top, drizzle with melted butter, and sprinkle Parmesan or alternative. Bake 30 minutes.

Coming soon: Oatmeal Shortbread, Choco-Blocko Bars, and Coocoo Berry Bars!