chocolate stout skillet brownies /
i think my first baking endeavor was baking boxed brownies, either duncan hines, or betty crocker. i would make them with my mom when i was little, we would load them with chopped walnuts or pecans, and top them off with a dusty coating of powdered sugar. nothing was better! i continued to make them on my own as i got older, often baking them for holidays, and birthdays. i was always successful until i made a series of bad brownies. from those times on i started to make brownies from scratch. as i got to know my ingredients, i loved that brownies were so simple and yet the slightest increase or decrease of an ingredient yielded a totally different, but equally delicious outcome. there's nothing better than a really good brownie!
this recipe hails from the archives of The Beeroness. a blog dedicated to delicious recipes, both savory and sweet, that incorporate all kinds of beer. so, who better to turn to when you have a 3 week old chocolate stout beer sitting in your fridge waiting to be used. not only did i love this recipe because it called for beer, but i liked the fact that the ingredients were easily interchangeable. i substituted coconut oil for butter, coconut palm sugar for cane sugar , and oat flour for unbleached flour. the results were really good...surprisingly. i didn't know if the oat flour would make the brownies too dry, or if the coconut oil's scent would be too strong, but both worked really well here. these are not so much a dense brownie, rather, they are a more cake-y brownie. they have a rich chocolate taste (thanks to some really good 70% cacao chocolate) without being too sweet. i urge you not to skimp on the chocolate, the lower the percentage of cacao, the less richness you will have.
adapted from The Beeroness
1/2 cup coconut oil
3 1/2 ounces dark chocolate (preferably 70% cacao)
1/2 cup chocolate stout
2 eggs
2/3 cup coconut palm sugar
1 tablespoon decaf espresso
1/2 cup oat flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of fine grain sea salt
preheat oven to 350°
heat a 8 or 10 inch cast iron (or oven safe) skillet, on low. melt the coconut oil on low, once melted add the chocolate - stir until melted. remove from heat and stir in the chocolate stout
in a medium bowl, combine the eggs and sugar - whisk until combined. add flour, cocoa, baking powder, espresso, and salt, to the egg mixture - whisk until combined. now add to the stout mixture - stir gently until ingredients are combined
place in the middle of the rack and bake 25-32 minutes - the top should be set when ready
top with some almond milk ice cream (or regular ice cream), grab a spoon, and enjoy
rice paper ravioli salad /
rice paper ravioli? yes. wrap your heads around it people, it happened. and it was good. like, really good. believe it or not, rice paper is a great substitute for all things pasta. these are not the fresh, homemade raviolis i grew up eating from the Bronx, but they are a really great alternative. after doing some research on how to use rice paper as pasta i took to testing it out. i learned some valuable lessons that day that resulted in me getting a good bearing on how to treat these delicate little raviolis.
*just to note, if you are using wonton wrapper or egg roll wrappers you may want to research how you should treat the paper, it may be different from the directions i give below.
i put my raviolis over a salad, but they work in any capacity. you could totally use them in any authentic italian recipe, or use a pesto sauce, you could even go the sweet route and fill them with a nutella-like substance. the filling i chose was broccoli- ricotta puree. here i used tofutti ricotta cheese, which is soy based (you can easily substitute this with regular dairy ricotta). because i don't eat cheese, i left out reggiano cheese - which adds a certain depth of flavor to the filling - so i replaced it with a healthy amount of spices and salt. this was a fun little project, i hope you try them out some day!
:: makes 24 raviolis ::
prepare a large bowl with water (you will use this to dip the rice paper in)
prepare a platter or large plate with a coating of olive oil
for the ravioli //
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
8-10 ounces of broccoli (a small head of broccoli) cut into florets
1/2 cup ricotta
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt or more to taste
1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped (or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano)
pepper to taste
12 pieces of rice paper
for the salad //
3 ounces mixed baby greens
a handful broccoli sprouts (or micro greens)
1 radish sliced thin
2 small beets, grated
1 tablespoon toasted pignoli nuts
dressing //
2 tablespoons basil oil
1 1/2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
salt to taste
directions //
prepare a medium saucepan with water that reaches 3/4 of the way up to the top and olive oil (the raviolis tend to stick to one another)
in a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute. add the broccoli, 1/2 cup of water, and 1 more tablespoon of olive oil, cover and cook over a low heat until tender, about 10-15 minutes. let cool. coarsely puree the broccoli in a food processor; transfer to bowl. stir in the ricotta, salt, red pepper, oregano, and pepper
prepare a work surface with water for dipping rice paper, and a platter coated with oil
dip the rice paper in the water, rotating it until it is completely wet, set it down on a large cutting board. using a small spoon, dollop 4 mounds of ricotta mixture onto the paper. take your second piece of rice paper, and dip in the water, wetting it completely. lay the top piece over the bottom piece - the paper takes about a minute to really soften - let it sit until soft. take a sharp knife or pizza cutter and cut into 4 equal pieces. here is the somewhat tricky part: you don't want a lot of air getting caught when you seal the ravioli, so make sure there is a hole to push the air out of (this sounds much more complicated than it actually is). next. use your fingers to press the pieces of rice paper together, creating a seal. take a round cookie cutter and cut out your ravioli. transfer to the oiled platter. repeat with remaining papers. i had extra filling leftover; i froze it for another time.
bring the water in your saucepan to a boil
2 at a time place the raviolis in the water, turn the heat to medium low - you want the water to boil but not so hard that it breaks the ravioli. after 1 1/2 - 2 minutes use a slotted spoon to remove the raviolis, place them back on the oiled platter until they are all cooked
repeat with remaining ravioli
let them cool while you assemble your salad. combine all salad ingredients, toss in the raviolis, dress with the basil oil dressing (you can also totally substitute this dressing with something else) and enjoy!