Friday, February 5, 2010

You Can Always Count on the Contessa

Three years ago on Valentine's Day while we were living in Indiana, we experienced a huge snow storm. Now, in the south (say Tennessee and Kentucky), 3" of snow could be defined as a huge snow storm, but by Indiana's standards, conditions have to be much more severe. We had received at least 10" of snow and then to make matters worse, the wind caused drifts which created some huge problems across roads making them impassable. Most businesses were closed for at least two days. My husband's office was closed which made Valentine's Day memorable and special. Since we were snowed in, I set a beautiful table in front of the fireplace with candles and my china and crystal. I made Jeff's favorite meal (chicken Marsala) and for dessert, I served the Barefoot Contessa's brownie tart. The atmosphere was wonderful, the meal delicious and the dessert absolutely decadent!
I will say that this brownie is not for the chocolate faint of heart. Because it is very rich, a little goes a long way. I like to serve something with intense chocolate flavor with a little sweetened whipped cream. I think it helps balance the sweetness.
So, if you happen to be snowed in, are looking for a great dessert for Valentine's Day or just want to make today special, look no further!
(Note: The recipe says to put the batter in a tart pan, but since I don't have one, I simply used a springform pan which worked just fine.)

No comments:

Post a Comment

Best-Ever Apple Pie--Really!

You just can't beat a good ol' American apple pie for a great dessert. This recipe was featured in the September 2008 issue of Southern Living. It has five pounds of apples in it!! The picture above is the picture of the pie I made. It was so good! As you read the recipe, you will notice that the crust is a little different--it has cornmeal in it. It also uses apple juice as the wetting agent. The trick is rolling the top crust out large enough to cover that mound of apples. If you love apple pie, try this one. I don't think you'll be disappointed!