There used to be a small bakery chain in my area called Rosie’s Bakery.  My favorite item from their shop was their chocolate orgasms.  They are incredibly rich, dense, fudgy brownies with a ganache-like frosting on top.  The name is no exaggeration, either.  One bite and you’ll be hooked.

I was lucky enough to happen across a knock-off recipe for these decadent treats years ago.  I can no longer remember the original source.  These are so close to the original I no longer miss the bakery.  The original had walnuts, and that’s how I like them best.  You can swap them out with other nuts or with chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, or anything else you thing goes well with chocolate.  You can even omit them altogether, which I did before snapping the above photo.  (This batch was made for some very young, very picky eaters!)

Ingredients:
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs, room temperature
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoon chopped walnuts (optional)

For the Frosting:
1 1/2 ounce unsweetened chocolate
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1/3 cup sugar

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325°. Lightly grease an 8-inch square pan with butter or vegetable oil. Melt the chocolate and butter in the top of a double boiler placed over simmering water. Cool the mixture for 5 minutes.

Place the sugar in a medium-size mixing bowl and pour in the chocolate mixture. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, mix until blended, about 25 seconds. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the vanilla. With the mixer on medium-low speed, add the eggs one at a time, blending after each addition until the yolk is broken and dispersed, about 10 seconds. Scrape the bowl after the last egg and blend until velvety, about 15 more seconds. Add the flour on low speed and mix for 20 seconds; finish the mixing by hand, being certain to mix in any flour at the bottom of the bowl. Stir in ½ cup of the nuts. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan and sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of nuts over the top.

Bake the brownies on the center oven rack until a thin crust forms on top and a tester inserted in the center comes out with a moist crumb, about 35 minutes. (The center of the brownies should never quite rise to the height of the edges.)

Remove pan from oven and place on a rack to cool for 1 hour.

Frosting:
To prepare the frosting, melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler placed over simmering water. Pour the evaporated milk into an electric blender and add the sugar and the melted chocolate.

Blend the frosting on medium-low speed until it thickens, about 50 seconds (the sound of the machine will change when this process occurs.)

Using a frosting spatula, spread the frosting evenly over the surface of the cooled brownies and allow them to sit for 1 hour before cutting.

Makes 16 brownies.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably noticed it’s apple season. What better way to enjoy a cool autumn day than with a warm, spicy apple crisp?

I’ve had this recipe on hand for many years. It was given to me by a wonderful woman I worked with long ago. I love it because it’s so easy to put together. I like to make this with McIntosh apples since you don’t have to worry about a soggy crust, but any tart apple will do. The original recipe didn’t call for nuts, so feel free to omit them if you’re not a fan. I like the extra crunch.

Ingredients:
4 cups tart apples, peeled and sliced (about 4 medium)
2/3 to 3/4 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup oats
1/3 cup chopped pecans (optional)
3/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1/3 cup butter, softened

Directions:
Heat oven to 375ºF. Arrange apples in greased square pan, 8x8x2 inches. Mix remaining ingredients; sprinkle over apples.

Bake until topping is golden brown and apples are tender, about 30 minutes. Serve warm and, if desired, with whipped cream or ice cream.

Serves 6.

Where does the time go? I’ve had so much going on in the past several weeks, I can barely remember my own name. In summary, I lost a grandfather, discovered my cat has cancer, and learned I was pregnant. I’m very happy about that last part, but not so much about the rest. I won’t get into details here, but for those of you interested, you may read more about those events on my other blog.

Needless to say, with all that’s been going on, I haven’t had much time to get creative with my cooking. And now that things are slowing down a bit, I’m finding myself to exhausted at the end of the day to do much. Hopefully that will change as I get used to the little bun in my oven. Meanwhile, we’ve been eating a lot of “repeat” dishes at my house (pizza, especially), as well as some delightful dishes I read about on some other wonderful blogs.

So, today I’m going to do things a little differently and show you a couple of the dishes I’ve prepared, using the recipes created by my talented fellow bloggers! The accompanying photos are ones I took after trying out their recipes for myself, so if you notice any discrepancies you can blame it on me. :)

Eggplant Parmesan Casserole

By far my favorite food blog, if you haven’t seen Chef John’s videos you are missing out. They are simply mouth-watering! I’ve made a number of his dishes, but this is one of my more recent favorites.

This twist on the classic Italian dish was much easier to prepare than the fried version, yet the flavor did not suffer at all! I had a hard time putting my fork down even once I was full. In fact, just writing about it now is making me drool. I’ll have to make this one again very soon!

Tomatoes Stuffed with Tuna and Cellini Beans

Elaine’s blog has some wonderful Italian recipes, and her photos are gorgeous! Honestly, I think my photo of this dish doesn’t do it justice, so make sure you go see hers.

This dish was incredibly satisfying considering how healthy it is. I actually heard my body say “Thank You” when I ate this. Even if you don’t feel like getting fancy and stuffing the mixture into the tomatoes, the filling is good on its own. You could just top it with diced tomatoes if you’re feeling lazy (which is what I think I might do next time).

This is the post I alluded to in the write-up for my Raspberry Lemonade recipe. If you’ve never had fried turkey before, prepare to be wowed. You can cook an entire turkey in under an hour. The skin is amazingly cripsy and flavorful, and the meat is wonderfully juicy. I like to throw cut up potatoes into the hot oil when the turkey is done. The seasoning from the turkey flavors the oil, and you get the most amazing french fries!

Frying a turkey requires a few specialty items. I recommend purchasing a turkey fryer set, so you know everything will work together. It includes a propane burner and stand, a very large pot, a lifter for the turkey, and a thermometer for monitoring the oil temperature. You’ll also need a propane tank (like the kind you’d use for a gas grill). Regular oven mitts are awkward to use, so welding gloves are handy. You’ll want a marinade injector also, if you want to give your turkey some extra flavor. Kitchen twine will also be helpful.

If you’ve invested in a turkey fryer set, it should come with its own instructions. Read through them carefully. You may have heard horror stories about the dangers of turkey fries, or perhaps you’ve seen this AT&T commercial.

Those people didn’t follow the directions. I’ve done this many times with no problems at all. Just pay attention to what you’re doing and use common sense. (By the way, I’m not plugging AT&T here; I’m just amused by the ad.)

Because I know you’ll follow the directions that came with your set, I’m just going to outline them here. So let’s begin…

Ingredients:
1 whole turkey, fresh or thawed, about 12 pounds
Injectible marinade (recipe below)
About 2 tablespoons McCormick Turkey Rub (I love this stuff!)
5 gallons peanut oil.

Directions:
Remove any giblets or anything else hidden inside the turkey, including pop-up timers. Rinse it and pat it dry, inside and out. (Water and hot peanut oil do not mix!)

Inject the marinade into several areas of the breast and thigh meat, slowly depressing the plunger of your marinade injector as you pull out the tip. You can use the same whole multiple times, changing the angle each time. Blot away any marinade that may have dripped on the outside of the turkey. Sprinkle the entire bird with the turkey rub, making sure to get some in the cavity as well. It’s a good idea to tie the legs of the turkey together with kitchen twine. It’s not absolutely imperative, but it keeps the legs from spreading out as you place the turkey in the fryer.

Let the turkey sit at room temperature for about an hour before placing it in the hot oil. You can inject the marinade and add the dry rub the day before if you wish, and keep the turkey in the refrigerator. Just remember to take it out an our before you plan to cook it.

Set up your turkey fryer outside at least several feet from your house. If it is windy, you’ll want to sheild the setup from the breeze. We happened to have some paving bricks on hand when we last did this. It worked very well, so we’ll probably invest in some just for this purpose. (The ones we have on hand are going toward a patio.) Also make sure the propane tank is sufficiently far from where the flames will be.

Fill the pot with peanut oil. There should be a line indicating how high to fill it. It’s important to use the right oil here. Peanut oil has a very high smoke point, so it can withstand the hig temperature for an extended period of time. It also lends a wonderful flavor to the turkey.

Heat the oil to 325ºF. Using the lifter that came with your set, very slowly lower the prepared turkey into the hot oil. The welding gloves are a big help here. Cook the turkey for about 3 1/2 minutes per pound. I like to add an extra 5 minutes, just to be on the safe side. (Don’t worry, there’s no risk of drying out the turkey!) So, for a 12 pound turkey, you’ll want to give it 47 minutes. Monitor the temperature to keep it as close to 325ºF as possible.

When the turkey is done, carefully remove the turkey using the lifter. Again, welding gloves are a good thing. You should be holding a beautifully browned bird in your hands.

Place it on a large platter or cutting board lined with paper towels. Let it sit for 15 minutes. (This is a good time to make those french fries I mentioned!)

Remove the paper towels, carve the turkey and serve. See how juicy that looks? YUM!

Beer and Butter Poultry Injection

Adapted from About.com: Barbecues & Grilling

Ingredients:
1/4 pound unsalted butter (1 stick)
3 ounces beer
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon hot sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan over a low heat. Stir and heat until salt is disolved and the sauce is even and runny. Keep warm (but not hot) to inject, so the butter doesn’t start to resolidify.

The sun finally made an appearance in our little part of the world this weekend.  We celebrated the return of that big, yellow orb with an outdoor turkey fry (more on that in a later post!) and some homemade raspberry lemonade!

Real lemonade is so easy to make, and lemons are pretty inexpensive, so there’s no need to by mixes with artificial colors and preservatives in them.  Just squeeze the juice from a lemon, add some water and sugar, and enjoy!  Changing things up with the addition of some fresh berries is only slightly more involved.

This recipe also works really well with blueberries in place of the raspberries.  If you’re trying to cut back the sugar in your diet, you can replace it with artificial sweetener.  Check the package on your preferred brand of sweetener for the conversion factor.  For example, 1 teaspoon of liquid stevia concentrate has the equivalent sweetness of 1 cup of sugar, so for this recipe you’d use 3/4 teaspoons stevia.  Of course, you can always adjust the sweetness to your personal taste.

Ingredients:
1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (from about 4 lemons)
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
5 cups cold water (adjust to taste)
3 cups ice

Directions:
In a blender, combine lemon juice, sugar, and raspberries. Purée for several seconds, making sure sugar has dissolved.

Place raspberry-lemon mixture in a pitcher. Stir in the cold water and add ice.

Serves 6.