Sunday, August 29, 2010

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

27 comments:

Nora@LiveLifeEatRight said...

OH dear...I hope all is well with Jury Duty :(. And ...HELLO GUINNESS BROWNIES! I love how rich and creamy that stout is. A perfect match for chocolate. I'm in love with this recipe. I was SO close to baking brownies this weekend and I'm glad I didn't because they would not have been as good as these. Now I know what recipe to use next time ;)

Dorry said...

Jury duty is no fun! Billy just got a summons in the mail last week but we're going to be out of the country so I guess he gets out of it...?

Nothing better than topping brownie's with confectioner's sugar - reminds me of my childhood for some reason!

Anonymous said...

Oh girl, you did NOT bore me at all! Next time, I expect baked goods. I will listen to you ALL day. :)

Good luck with everything tomorrow - let me know how it goes!

Natalie @ cinnamonbums said...

hey lindsay! thanks for commenting on my blog! im loving the recipes i'm seeing on your blog.. guinness brownies?? genius! i spent 2 summers in northern ireland and of course i was treated to some guinness (ON TAP!) while i was there... can i just say that is some dark HEAVY stuff?!!?!? i couldn't stomach it but i think i could DEF stomach these brownies, haha!

Natalie @ cinnamonbums said...

whoops forgot to link!

Janetha @ meals + moves said...

yowza. those brownies made me drool! and this is a recipe of yours that i can make because marshall's favorite treat is brownies! sorry about your frustration. BLAH. hang in there!

Chuck said...

Sounds like after that week you needed some brownies/chocolate! Was the Guinness flavor really strong?

Hope this next week is awesome!

Joanna Sutter (Fitness & Spice) said...

Ok, those brownies sound insane! I'm saving that recipe for sure!

Heather (Where's the Beach) said...

If I had jury duty I'd be complaining up and down too I'm sure. Glad all the spicy food (and sake) helped you feel better. Need to keep that trick in mind the next time I get sick perhaps. Hope your Monday isn't tooooo bad.

Viviane said...

Beer brownies?? Do they actually keep some of the beer taste after cooking??

I'm sorry about your sinus infection as well as jury duty today :(
Hopefully your sinus will be all better today after your massive spice dose and that your day will fly by.
Oh yes... sake... let's just say that I don't have such great memories of it LOL!

april said...

Mm brownies!!

Hope today wasn't too bad for you! I always thought jury duty would be fun but everyone says it's not! lol

Abby said...

I think Dave is expecting me to make these right away!!

And I REALLY wish that I could have been having coffee with you and Caitlin!!! Gahhhh I feel so left out!!!

Bre said...

you should bring the judge those brownies, I bet that gets you out of it!
I want brownies right now, but I don't think either of those are on the taper diet...:( Once I fall off the training & racing bandwagon I hope the chocolate & wine bandwagon picks me up! ;)

Averie @ Averie Cooks said...

glad to read your comment that my booch making was key to inspiring you to make yours!

beer + brownies. I admit, not a big beer fan. But GF brownies, now that i can get down with :)

Maggs said...

I happen to have a can of Guinness in the fridge. I guess I can make some brownies and drink the rest.

NYgirl@heart said...

Oh man! Jury duty sucks! Hopefully it will be quick and painless for you. The worst part is the waiting!

Guinness Brownies--I've made Guinness cupcakes but not brownies. I must try these soon!

AM! said...

sorry about the sinus stuff. ugh! but yah, thai lemongrass soup would do wonders i believe.

and your hubby has got to LOVE you for all the cool concoctions you create!

Fit Chick in the City said...

I now know what I'm baking the Husband for his next birthday.

I hope jury duty goes okay.

Jamie said...

oh no not another sinus infection
:(

At least it was a good reason to have Thai!

Get some of the extra-strength mucinex, I swear it's helped me in the past!

Mo said...

Mmmm...Thai food cures all. And those brownies...let's just say that they must make you feel better, if just temporarily. :-)

Unknown said...

Jamie! How are ya? Miss your blog. :)

Penny Lane said...

oooo, i love when beer gets made into things! Ben and Jerry's use to have a black and tan ice cream that I loved! I don't know if they still make it, but your brownies made me think of it:)

Jamie said...

oh no not another sinus infection
:(

At least it was a good reason to have Thai!

Get some of the extra-strength mucinex, I swear it's helped me in the past!

Viviane said...

Beer brownies?? Do they actually keep some of the beer taste after cooking??

I'm sorry about your sinus infection as well as jury duty today :(
Hopefully your sinus will be all better today after your massive spice dose and that your day will fly by.
Oh yes... sake... let's just say that I don't have such great memories of it LOL!

sillybilly said...

can you please tell me if the Guinness Extra Stout beer is gluten free? you would make my whole YEAR!!!
thank you. i just found your blog and am SO happy.

lindsay cotter said...

hey billy. Well, the guinness is not gluten free but when you use it in baking
it is left with a VERY VERY small amount of gluten. Safe for those who
just intolerant or allergic. In order to get rid of all the gluten, you need
to distill the stout first. I actually have use a GF brand of beer instead for
these brownies. Both work. Let me know if you have any questions. Whats
your blog site?
 
Lindsay




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Lisa said...

I don't drink beer but I am G/F. This beer is wheat based isn't it? So it's not G/F? Or am I wrong?