Brownie Idolatry

This post requires a confession of sorts. You see, despite my claims to care fairly little for sweet, chocolate confections, I have a certain history with fudgey brownies. Sadly, I must say, it is a discreet history that ended abruptly with my move to Pittsburgh. After an hour or so spent in my kitchen this afternoon, I'm beginning to think that this history can be relived, but only in part. The story goes something like this:

My sister, Mary, and I--who differ in age by a mere 13 months--enjoyed, shall we say, an ambivalent relationship for the first 20 or so years of our lives. A childhood insomniac, I tormented her nightly with pleas for entertainment...puppet shows, scary stories, even fights...anything to keep me from lying in the dark thinking about disembodied hands crawling up the side of my bed. By day, Mary took her revenge by squealing in pain when I passed her in the house and claiming with tear-filled eyes that I had pinched her. I called her pip-squeak until she went into hysterics. She brandished the love-letters she regularly received from 2nd and 3rd grade suitors, while I had none. These games went on, though perhaps in more sophisticated forms, until sometime in 2003 when we found ourselves living within a few miles of each other and, to the surprise of us both, suddenly compatible. That's when the TV + Brownies = Bliss equation began to exert its influence in our lives.

As a dedicated graduate student, married to a likewise dedicated and highly ideological graduate student, I owned no TV. I didn't terribly miss it, but when I started visiting my sister's apartment once a week for dinner, I soon found the periodic TV fix these visits afforded absolutely essential. Here's where the confession begins...

The now good-humored Mary tivo'd Iron Chef and What not to Wear for my Wednesday viewing pleasure. Sometimes I watched Everybody Loves Raymond because she liked it; and then I watched it because I liked it too. In the final days, we watched The Colbert Report, hoping each week that the Dead to Me segment would appear. But the show that defined our weekly rendez-vous was...let me take a deep breath...American Idol. I won't go into the messy details here, but let's just say that Bo Bice, Bucky Covington (and his twin brother, Rocky), Chris Daughtry, and--my sister's fav and the Idol of 2006--Taylor Hicks, took up special places in or hearts. And as they did, brownies and butter pecan ice cream took up special places in our bellies. I don't expect the readers of this confession to fully understand the power of this combination. I have even asked myself how the combination of American Idol and warm brownie sundaes shared in the company of one's sister could taste so sweet. But I have concluded that these experiences leave no room for ruminations on calorie content and the corruption of American youth. There are only so many sources of pure pleasure in this world, and I am happy to have, proudly and without doubt, known one of them.

Mary used to make boxed brownies in her microwave, and they tasted like heaven. The brownies that I made this afternoon taste just about as good, but minus the aforementioned TV show, it is really hard to compare the two. They are, to be sure, dense and fudgey. Do not make these if you like spongey, cake-like brownies. These will stick to your teeth and send you searching for milk to wash them down. I had no butter pecan ice cream, but Breyer's Double-Churned Vanilla did the trick. And, really, weren't we pushing the limits with that combination, Mary? In keeping with the frugality of the TV + Brownies = Bliss equation, this recipe won't strain your budget as it calls for cocoa instead of chocolate. If you find yourself a good-tasting brand (I used Ghiradelli), you'll never miss the solid stuff. In addition to making a really rich brownie, the cocoa and butter combination creates the fudgey texture which, in my opinion, is the sine qua non of excellent brownies. If America could vote on this recipe, I think it would stand a good chance at becoming the next American Brownie Idol. Now, without access to an American Idol broadcasting television, I'll have to make due with half the equation. But this , I think, is the sort of deprivation I can handle.

Make these, Mary. And call in your vote.


Cocoa Brownies
from Bitter-Sweet: Recipes and Tales from a Life of Chocolate, by Alice Medrich.
Makes 9 good sized brownies



10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch process)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cold large eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line an 8x8 inch baking pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil, allowing edges on two opposite sides to overhang by a few inches.

2. Set a wide skillet half-filled with water over medium heat. Combine butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a medium heat-proof bowl and set bowl in skillet of water. Adjust temperature so that water barely simmers. Stir every few minutes until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth and hot to the touch. Remove the bowl and set aside until the mixture is only warm, not hot.

3. Stir in vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring after each one. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well-blended, add the flour and stir until it is no longer visible. Beat mixture for 40 strokes with a wooden spoon. Spread it evenly into the lined pan.

4. Bake until a toothpick stuck in the center emerges slightly moist with batter, 20-25 minutes. Let cool on a rack, lift edges of parchment paper and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into 9 squares.