Intense

Oh the weekend is over and I am dreading tomorrow (aka Jury Duty). I think I complained enough to Caitlin today that she wanted to throw her coffee on me just to get to shut up. Haha, just kidding. She probably would never do that to me, but I lets just say my name is Lindsay WHINER!! Sorry Caitlin, had to get it off my chest.
Speaking of whining.....I've had another crummy sinus infection since Thursday and my taste buds have been needing INTENSE flavor just to taste. I guess thats why I made the garlicky oyster pasta as well. No plain flavors in this household, at least not this week. This brings me to my recipe on Friday. You see, I was craving some INTENSE chocolate flavor but also needed to make a "thank you" gift for a friend of ours. I found this recipe and figured it would the perfect "thank you" gift since he was a brownie and Guinness lover! Combining the two would be EVEN better! I changed the recipe a little bit, but you see the original recipe here.

Guinness Stout (Cake) Brownies
Ingredients:

3/4 cup gluten free flour or GF cake flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons unsalted room temperature butter, cut into cubes
4 ounces dark bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 cup white and semi sweet chocolate swirl chips
3 large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup superfine or granulated sugar
1 cups Guinness Extra Stout beer (see Note below)
1/8 cup (about) confectioners' sugar for dusting

Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with nonstick foil.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, and salt until evenly combined. Set aside.
Melt butter, bittersweet chocolate, and only 1 cup of the white and semi sweet chocolate swirl chips in a double-boiler over very low heat, stirring constantly until melted. Remove from heat. (I used a regular pan to melt the chocolate, not a double boiler and it worked fine).
In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add melted chocolate mixture, beating until combined.
Beat reserved flour mixture into melted chocolate mixture. Whisk in Guinness stout beer. The batter will seem a bit thin. Drop the other 1/2 cup white semisweet chocolate swirl chips evenly on top of batter (some will sink in).

Pour into prepared baking pan. Bake 25 to 30 minutes on center rack in the oven, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean.
Let brownies cool, uncovered, to room temperature. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.
Note: The Guinness should be at room temperature.  Do not include foam in the measurement. Either spoon off the foam or let it rest until the foam subsides.
Yield: 24-30

The overall results.....INTENSE and just darn GOOD! My whole house smelled like beer and chocolate. Interesting smell, but I have to admit, I kinda liked it. haha.


So along come Saturday and I was determined to get rid of this pesky sinus infection.. After a day of errands and chores, I begged the hubs to take me out for some thai at THAI SPICE. I needed to sweat it out!! After 3 rounds of sake, spicy soft spring rolls, tom yum lemongrass soup, and the spicy larb wraps you'll ever have. I am feeling much better today, seriously! I think it worked. Plus the hubs seemed to enjoy his portion as well. Just see below.

sake....all gone!

hubs enjoying some SPICE!

Well, thats it for my complaining. I plan to redeem myself by sharing all the creative and delicious seafood recipes you sent me (my request). Trust me, you'll want to see these ladies' amazing recipes. Maybe I'll have time post again during jury duty. I can bring my computer, right? haha.

Off to watch the Emmy's.
Cheers,
LC