Madison House Chef

Brownies studded with Chocolate Chip Cookies

Is it a brownie?

Is it a cookie?

A brookie or a brownkie?

Doesn’t matter what you call it – it’s a decedent rich, chocolate, fudgy treat.

 

Packers Cupcakes

In honor of the first Packers game of the NFL season, I’m sending Packers cupcakes to UTPA with Ken tomorrow. One of the other guys in his department is from Wisconsin and is also a diehard fan. Together they can celebrate with these Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes with a Dark Chocolate Ganache filling. The “grass” frosting is vanilla butter cream.

Go Packers!

 

Guinness and Bailey’s Cupcakes

 

I wasn’t a cupcake fan until I discovered these ...   Guinness and Bailey’s Cupcakes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fudgy Brownies: Chewy Edge VS. Moist Center

 
Chewy edge or moist center? That’s the dilemma.

Do you realize that it is now possible to purchase a baking pan where every piece has an edge. Really! There’s no endorsement here, just a certain curiosity… though while I’m mentioning it, the website is hilarious.

These chewy and moist brownies tickle the taste buds in every bite.

 

Candy Bar Tarts

 

 

Quick. Easy. Delicious. These Candy Bar Tarts have been on the To Bake list for quite sometime and they are as good as I expected.

Here's the back story ... 

 

 

 

Ice Cream Sundae for Ten (with photos)

Flipping again through my favorite UK food magazines, I spied an advertisement which I cannot tell you what the product was, but what I can tell you is that it had a slice of marbled ice cream that appeared to have been prepared in a loaf pan.  There was no accompanying recipe, no source of information, yet suddenly an idea was born. I pondered.

Now I’m certain that this is not a new fangled dessert, it’s too easy to be such, but it was the first time that it had occurred to me to put ice cream into a shape other than a) cone 2) dish or 3) Baked Alaska.  How ‘cool’ is that?

Guinness and Bailey’s Cupcakes

 

These are some of the most delicious chocolate cupcakes ever.  There’s Guinness in the chocolate cupcake batter, a ganache of dark, bittersweet chocolate and Bailey’s that lies in wait in the midst of the cake like a hidden treasure, and the whole thing is topped with butter cream frosting laced with more Bailey’s. Mmmm….mmm…mmmm! These could be a new go to dessert for a less formal meal.

 

 

 

bon appetit’s Peppermint Meringue Cake with Chocolate Buttercream

How beautiful this looked on the cover … impressive .. fit for company.. a splendid dessert sure to please.  In planning the menu (desserts and wine) for an annual leadership thank you party I saw the cover photo and then the recipe (not difficult to follow) and thought it would be a nice change from my usual “mocha cream roll” (a yule log of sorts that has been a party staple for years).  I even showed a friend the magazine and she remarked how wonderful it would be to try it.  Sadly, I was disappointed; and though my guests were very complimentary, it did not live up to the standards that I set for the party. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peanut Butter Hershey Kiss Cookies

 

 

This Peanut Butter cookie, rolled in white sugar, and topped with a Hershey’s kiss is my son’s #1 favorite cookie.  For our annual Advent & Christmas party, which went very well last night, this was his request.  Needless to say, I made a big batch!

 

 

 

Soup of the Day: Homemade Chicken Leek and Celery Soup

The best soup begins by opening a bottle of wine, pouring yourself a glass, drinking deeply .. and then getting the needed ingredients out of the refrigerator.

fresh, whole chicken
celery
onion
leeks 
parsley
bay leaf 

Let's begin.

Chocolate Covered Coffee Beans

Two favorites in one...

Yesterday evening after being at The Vine (urban wine bar) for a Christmas party dinner I stopped at my favorite chocolate cafe to pick up a little piece of Turtle Cheesecake for KAG.  Standing waiting for the box of creamy, carmel and chocolate drizzel covered delight with two chocolate covered turtles on each side, surrounded by the aroma of fresh brewed coffee and dark rich espresso I gave in to my weakness and ordered a few delicious morsels for myself.  Coffee and chocolate are the perfect compliment to each other.  The crunch of the bean coupled with the smooth, melt in your mouth chocolate satisfies the senses.

Delicious!

Chocolate Nativity

As Reuters puts it, "Christmas never tasted this good." 

"Thirty-two pastry chefs in the southern Italian city of Naples have unveiled what they say is the biggest ever nativity scene made entirely of chocolate.

Over 4500 hours and 3300kg of chocolate have gone into creating the creche which is six metres wide, three metres high and - to the delight of chocoholics - totally edible."  The creation includes more than 100 figures including animals, shepherds, townspeople, and landscape with Mediterranean-style houses. The angelic-looking Madonna alone took two weeks to craft.

Sweet, holy confection.

Another Good Reason to Eat Chocolate

A November 23, 2004 Sci-Tech Today article announces, "An ingredient found in cocoa beans was nearly a third more effective than cough medicine in stopping persistent coughs, researchers at Imperial College London found. The ingredient, theobromine, contributes to the bitter taste of cocoa. It works by suppressing vagus nerve activity, which is responsible for coughing."

Perhaps preventative medicine provides a safeguard against further cough, thus an ounce a day of dark Belgian chocolate will from this time forth be added to my daily menu -- for health wise/medical purposes, of course.