Hooray for National Hot Fudge Sundae Day!

What is the key to celebrating this most fabulous holiday? A damn fine hot fudge recipe. And with that, I am reposting the one I shared way back in January. After all, how does that old adage go? Oh yeah: If it ain't broke, don't fix it. This is the world's best hot fudge recipe.
Here's my idea of a great way to celebrate today:

First: 2 scoops of homemade Philadelphia-style vanilla ice cream (from David Lebovitz's incredible ice cream book!) drowning in this hot fudge, and topped with colored sprinkles, chopped nuts, and whipped cream.

Later: Gym or Wii Fit to remove some of the guilt.

Hot Fudge Sauce

2/3 c. heavy cream
1/2 c. light corn syrup
1/3 c. dark brown sugar, packed
1/4 c. unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/4 tsp. salt
6 oz. fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), finely chopped
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 tsp. vanilla

Bring cream, corn syrup, sugar, cocoa, salt, and half of chocolate to a boil in a 1 to 1 1/2 quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring until chocolate is melted. Reduce heat and cook at a low boil, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes, then remove from heat. Add butter, vanilla, and remaining chocolate and stir until smooth. Cool sauce to warm before serving. Makes about 2 cups.

Cook's Note: Sauce can be made 1 week ahead and cooled completely, then chilled in an airtight container or jar. Reheat before using.

Watermelon Sorbet

A friend of mine told me that watermelon sorbet was a wonderful invention. I, on the other hand, had never even considered watermelon in anything but fruit salad, or sliced and served plain. So with his rave review, and summertime meaning an abundance of watermelon in the supermarket, I decided to try it out.

It was SO easy to make. I made a simple syrup by boiling equal parts sugar and water, then pureed cubes of watermelon, and combined all that with a little fresh lemon juice. Off it went into the ice cream maker, and half an hour later, voila, watermelon sorbet.


Watermelon Sorbet
Recipe from Epicurious.com
Makes 1 1/2 quarts to serve 12.

8 cups cubed (1 inch) watermelon, seeds and rind discarded
1 cup Simple Sugar Syrup (see recipe below)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Puree the watermelon cubes in a food processor. Measure 4 cups of the puree and place in a bowl. Add the Simple Sugar Syrup and lemon juice and stir well. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.


Simple Sugar Syrup
Recipe from Epicurious.com
Makes 2 1/2 cups.

2 cups sugar
2 cups water

Place the sugar and water in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer gently until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Cool syrup to room temperature. Use immediately or refrigerate indefinitely in a covered container until needed.


Step-by-Step in Pictures

Orangey Mocha Brownies

Two flavors I love: orange and coffee. And since pretty much anything goes with chocolate (contemplating mustard and chocolate right now...yeah...maybe not anything), this was a take on a brownie I wanted to try. Turned out to be delicious. I was inspired by one of those checkout stand recipe booklets, and from there, played around with ingredient measurements and substitutions.

I love the busy-ness of this brownie, waking you up with a spurt of citrus and coffee flavor, but also with the unexpectedness of chopped chocolate folded in. There's a lot happening with each bite, but I'm happy to multi-task.

Oh, and if you know of some surprisingly stellar mustard and chocolate flavored something-or-other, by all means, prove me wrong, send me the recipe!

Orangey Mocha Brownies
Makes 24 brownies

2/3 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. instant coffee crystals (or dare to use actual ground coffee)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup chopped semisweet chocolate (or chocolate chips)
1 heaping tablespoon finely shredded orange peel
Powdered sugar (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 8x8x2-inch baking pan; set aside.
2. In medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in cocoa powder and coffee crystals. Remove from heat. Stir in granulated sugar. Stir in eggs, one at a time, and vanilla. Beat lightly with wooden spoon just until combined. Stir in salt and flour. Stir in chopped chocolate and orange peel.
3. Spread batter into prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Cool in pan on wire rack. If desired, sift powdered sugar over top of brownies. Cut into triangles or bars.

Step-by-Step in Pictures

Fudgy Chocolate Marshmallow Brownies

How's that for a recipe title?

Yeah, these are really really good. First you make the brownie layer, then make the frosting, then chill and serve chilled. So fudgy. And isn't the cross section neat? Extra tall and elegantly dotted with white pieces of marshmallow. With rich brownies like this, you'll want to cut them pretty small. I made 70 squares instead of the recipe's suggested 40. You can always take seconds if necessary! I am in love with this recipe.

Brownies for Shabbat?
If you make the brownies for Shabbat, they come out great exchanging the butter with margarine. And if you can't find pareve unsweetened chocolate (which was my issue this weekend), try this:
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate = 3/4 cup cocoa powder plus 4 tablespoons of margarine
If you're doing the math in your head right now, yes, that's a heck of a lot of margarine for one recipe. Don't do the math. :)



Fudgy Chocolate Marshmallow Brownies
Recipe from my cousin Rachael

Brownies
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1 cup butter
4 eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 13x9 baking pan. In a large saucepan, combine chocolate and butter. Heat over low heat until melted and smooth, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Beat in eggs, granulated sugar, vanilla and salt until thoroughly blended. Stir in flour, blending well. Spread evenly in bottom of greased baking pan. Bake 25-30 minutes. Brownies should be moist. Do not over-bake. Cool in pan. Meanwhile, prepare Chocolate-Marshmallow Frosting. Chill cookies before cutting into bars. Store in refrigerator. Makes 40 (1 3/4 x 1 1/2 inch) brownies.

Chocolate-Marshmallow Frosting
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1 cup butter
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 1-lb. pkg. powdered sugar (3 3/4 cups)
4 cups miniature marshmallow

In a medium saucepan, combine chocolate and butter. Heat over low heat until melted and smooth, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Add eggs, vanilla and powdered sugar, beating until smooth. Stir in marshmallows.

Mango Sorbet, The Vodka Way

The ice cream maker is my new toy. Well, it's not new; I've had it awhile. But I sort of rediscovered it recently and had a revelation that homemade ice creams and sorbets are easy and better than anything you can buy. Anyone who thinks it's hard to make ice cream clearly has not tried doing it. Prep time can be as little as 10 minutes, and then it goes in a frickin' machine that does the rest of the work for you, and that waiting time is only 20 minutes. Ok, I'll admit, typically you make your mixture, chill it in the fridge, then churn it in the ice cream maker for 20 minutes, and then either serve it soft serve or freeze it. But in that scenario, you're still eating homemade ice cream within an hour and a half.


With three very ripe mangoes in my fridge, there was only one thing for me to do: Mango Sorbet. I found this recipe at Cook's Illustrated. They explain that the purpose of the vodka is not for flavor (though I'd be foolish not to recognize that enhanced flavor is an added benefit), but actually, vodka makes the texture of the completed sorbet more silky smooth as opposed to icy. But fyi, I've made sorbet without alcohol, and while vodka does seem to make a difference, the alcohol-free version is still perfectly enjoyable. You'll be a-okay either way.


Mango Sorbet
Recipe from Cook's Illustrated
Serves 4

3 medium mangoes, peeled, pitted, and flesh pureed with 1/2 cup cold water until smooth
3/4 cup granulated sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
2 tablespoons lemon juice from 1 large lemon
1 tablespoon vodka

1. Combine mango puree, sugar, lemon juice, and alcohol in large bowl. Stir on and off for several minutes until sugar has dissolved. (Or, to speed chilling process in next step, combine ingredients in a metal bowl set over a larger bowl filled with ice water.) Rub finger along bottom of bowl to see if sugar has dissolved.
2. Pour mixture into small container. Seal and refrigerate until mixture is no more than 40 degrees. (If mixture has been stirred over a bowl of ice water, it may already be cold enough, and this step may be omitted.)
3. Pour chilled mixture into container of an ice cream machine and churn until frozen.
4. Scoop frozen sorbet into a container. Seal and transfer container to freezer for several hours to allow sorbet to firm up. (Sorbet can be kept frozen for up to 3 days.)


Step-by-Step in Pictures

Slice up those mangoes and puree them in the food processor.

It should look like a thick but smooth soup.

Then add the sugar, lemon juice, and vodka...

Transfer the mixture to a pourable bowl like a large glass measuring cup and chill it in the fridge.

Pour the mixture into the ice cream maker and churn for about 20 minutes.

It will start to thicken.

Transfer to a storage container and either serve it or freeze it. YUMMM.

I'm in The Weekly Yelp for Los Angeles!

Well, my Kosher List is, anyways. And I think that's pretty cool, considering not long ago I blog-vented about how slow Yelp was in getting a Kosher category up on their site and it took a lot of nudging from me. I must say, Yelp is turning a new leaf. I think they're also trying to tell me something. Strangely, I now feel like the Kosher Yelp Advisor with all this Kosher glory. Next thing you know, I'll be opening a Kosher restaurant on Pico Blvd. and inviting the Yelp Elite to eat at my place free of charge so they'll feel obligated to write nice reviews, which won't be necessary since my place will rock all on its own.

Anyways, The Weekly Yelp is Yelp's newsletter that arrives to my inbox every Tuesday (but can also be found archived on their site so I can revisit the articles later), and one of the sections is called Fresh Lists. Here's this week's, and the fourth one down is from yours truly.

In case you can't make out that ridiculous thumbnail next to the Kosher list mention, I've done you the favor of blowing it up and placing it at the top of this post. Yes, that's me in my personalized apron and flour dusted nose one fun Halloween a couple years ago.

Heavenly Honey Bars

It's HOT HOT HOT in L.A. And with this heat spell, I'm (shockingly) not in the mood for chocolate. On the other hand, I'm still willing to use my oven, heat up the kitchen, and undo all the good my AC is doing. So in my yearning to bake something, this recipe from a very old Pillsbury's Bake Off Cookie Book I bought used on my Ohio trip seemed like the perfect thing to make. I had all the ingredients on hand, including an unopened jar of marshmallow creme. And the name, not to be confused with another fabulous recipe I made back in February (Heavenly Hash Bars), says it all.


Heavenly Honey Bars
Recipe from Pillsbury's Bake Off Cookie Book

2/3 cup butter
1/2 cup honey
2 cups (7-oz jar) marshmallow creme
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped nuts

In saucepan combine butter and honey over low heat, stirring constantly, until well blended. Cool slightly. Add marshmallow creme, eggs, and vanilla extract; beat until well blended. Stir in remaining ingredients. Pour into greased 13x9-inch pan.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool; cut into bars. Yields 36 bars.


In Pictures