As I've mentioned before, I'm a regular watcher of several Food Network TV shows - one of which is Throwdown with Bobby Flay. It's a show where he challenges the best cooks to their signature dish and then independent two judges decide who does the dish better. One of the reasons I love the show is that the people he challenges are regular people like you and me, not professional chefs, and he often gives great tips on the food he's cooking. A few weeks ago there was an episode where Bobby challenged two ladies, Kathryn and Shawna, from Vermont to a brownie cookoff (more on that below). As part of the episode, Bobby consulted with a chef on the different kinds of baking chocolate and their uses. Here's what I learned:
- Unsweetened chocolate - 100% cocoa powder, best used in pastries where you want a very strong chocolate flavor
- Bittersweet chocolate - 70% cocoa powder/30% sugar, the "go to" chocolate for professional chefs in baking because, if the recipe calls for sugar, when you add it to the bittersweet chocolate, it doesn't put the sweetness factor over the edge.
- Milk chocolate - 45% cocoa powder/25% sugar/30% milk, used mostly in sauces and as chips in cookies
Ok, back to the throwdown. Kathryn and Shawna are known throughout Vermont for their dark chocolate chevre brownie, which they make out of a bagel shop in South Hero, Vermont and then sell in local stores or via the internet. The brownie is essentially a dark chocolate brownie mix (made from scratch) to which they add a layer of creamy chevre cheese. Chevre (according to the Food Lover's Companion) is a pure white goat's milk cheese with a delightfully tart flavor. I love cheese and was impressed by these two ladies and their creativity in thinking that adding goats cheese to a dark chocolate brownie would be a great idea. Needless to say, they easily beat Bobby Flay's brownie (peanut butter caramel brownie) to win the show. As soon as I saw that independent judges thought that their brownie was better than Bobby Flay's, I knew that it was the perfect give for my mother and her upcoming birthday. So, I got right online and placed an order for 6 dark chocolate chevre brownies to be delivered ASAP to Chicago so that they would arrive in time for my mother's birthday. Thanks to the miracle of technology, I was able to video chat with my mom on her special day and to see how excited/surprised she was to get the brownies. Here's how they arrived:
Needless to say, the brownies were a hit and so I'm recommending them to anyone who might be inclined to try something new. Here's the link to the
Vermont Brownie Company, you won't be disappointed.
Dear Em, and I am still savoring each one and sharing as well. Since our family members are such connaiseurs of brownies, especially Zingermanns, I would have to give these a slight edge. They have great flavor but give me neither a headache or a tummy ache after they are consumed. Yea!
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