Mocha Brownie Pie

by stephania stanley (adapted from The Complete Cooking Light Cookbook; 2000

Note:Feel free to experiment a little with the garnish. I used peppermint chocolate to garnish to add a little something to the sweet whipped cream. 

What to do:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  In a large mixing bowl combine brownie mix, 1 tsp of vanilla, and egg whites.  Stir to mix.  If you are using the instant coffee granules, combine 2 tsps of coffee granules and 2 tsps of hot water in a small bowl.  Stir until granules have dissolved and add to the brownie mixture.  If you are using the strong coffee, simply add two tsps of the coffee to the brownie mixture.  Stir until smooth.  Pour mixture into pie crust and bake for 25 minutes (or until toothpick comes out clean).  Remove from heat and place in the fridge.

While the brownie layer is baking, use an electric mixer to beat the milk,  1 tsp coffee (granules or brewed), vanilla, and pudding mix in a medium sized mixing bowl.  Next fold 1 1/2 cups of whipped cream into the pudding mixture.  After the brownie layer has cooled down to at least room temperature, gently spread spoon the pudding mixture over the brownie layer.  Combine the last tsp of coffee (granules add to one tsp of hot water or simply add brewed) and fold into the last 1 1/2 cups of whipped cream.  Gently spoon the coffee whipped cream onto the pudding layer.  If desired, use a vegetable peeler to make chocolate curls from the chocolate bars.  Finish the pie by garnishing with chocolate curls.  Serve immediately or store in refrigerator until ready to serve.  

Enjoy! xoxo.

colleen

Enjoy. xoxo.

colleen

Happy Wednesday!

This week we're all about Our Favorite Things. We love supporting local boutiques, farmers markets, butchers, and most especially bakeries. In fact I love our little artisan bakeries so much that I did an entire roundup of my favorites a couple of years ago. In the last year or so, I've really grown to love biscuits. As simple as they are, I really look forward to heating up a butter biscuit from my favorite local bakery, Bittersweet, smothering it with jam and pairing it with a mug of French pressed coffee. For this week's Food Network post, I wanted to find a recipe  that I would realistically want to make during the work week, wasn't too unhealthy, and was just sweet enough to satisfy my relentless morning sweet tooth. After spending a little time on the magical World Wide Web, I found it - Biscuits stuffed with strawberry jam and whipped cream.

Enjoy!

Happy Friday!

This winter has been the season of hunkering down for many New Yorkers. From Sandy to Nemo and to simply just avoiding the bitter cold,

I've certainly gotten the hang of cozying up in my apartment. In the spirit of hunkering down and a nice long weekend and celebrating the fact that fashion week is officially over, here is a list of my favorite cozy winter essentials. 

Have a fabulous weekend!

xo, Stephania

1. The Great Indoors Print: Winter Cabin Collection 2. Arrows Scarf: Block Shop 3. Lady Aztec Romper: Free People 4. Rosette Quilt: Anthropologie 5. Cheese to My Macaroni Pillow: Paper Source 6. Saddle Office Chair: West Elm

It's freezing cold outside and the Superbowl is only days away...baby it's chili time! Colleen and I have never been big football fans, but we are most definitely fans of the food and craft beer that often comes along with game day.  We'll take any excuse to eat comfort food and drink in the middle of a Sunday afternoon and the Superbowl always seems to amplify our hunger for bar food, artisinal bar food, but bar food nonetheless. This year I'm even more excited, because I've gotten myself hooked on Friday Night Lights and am therefore convinced that I'll understand what's going on in the game without having to ask one of my very patient friends. Somehow, each year after fully understanding the game by the end of the previous season, I completely forget the following year. Perhaps I'm always just distracted by the food?

In honor of all things football, here are our three very favorite chili recipes! 

xoxo,

stephania 

$100 Deer Chili

by Ruth and Michael Pryor

What you need:

• 2 lbs ground sirloin
• 1 lbs ground venison
• 1/2 pound pepper crusted salami chopped in small pieces
• 3 links of columbian or mexican chorizo
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 habaneros, deseeded and minced
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tbsp corn meal
• 1 tbsp garlic salt
• 28oz beef broth
• 28oz whole tomatoes (blend quickly)
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 bay leaves

What to do:

In a large soup pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add onions and sauté for three minutes.  Add the sirloin, venison, chorizo and samali.  Mix often to ensure meat is cooked thoroughly and sauté for about ten minutes or until meat is cooked through.  Carefully pour fat out of pot (making sure to leave onions, garlic, and turkey in the pot).  Return pot to heat.  Add one beef broth,  tomatoes, habaneros, chili powder, cumin, corn meal, and garlic salt to meat mixture. Then place the  cinnamon stick and bay leaves to mixture.  Stir to mix and let it simmer for about 3 hours. Before serving remove the bay leaves and cinnamon stick. Serve in big bowls and garnish with grated Parmesan.

Serves 8-10.

Beer and Honey Chili

by Stephania Stanley 

What you need:

• 1 ½ lbs ground turkey meat
• 1 ½ bottles of beer (ambers are great)
• ¼ cup honey
• 2 28 oz cans of crushed tomatoes
• 2 6 oz cans of tomato paste
• 1 16 oz black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbs chili powder
• 1 ½ tsp cumin
• 1 tsp cayenne
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• Grated Parmesan (optional)

Sweet 'n Spicy Veggie Chili

by Colleen Reilly and Derek Ingersoll

What you need:

• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 30 oz can of dark red kidney beans
• 1 8 oz can diced tomatoes (with green chilies)
• 1 8 oz can tomato sauce
• 4 oz tomato paste
• 1 lb veggie meat crumblers
• 24 oz low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
• Nickel-size diameter uncooked spaghetti
• 1 pack chili seasoning
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp dried basil
• 1/4 tsp honey

What to do:

Sauté onion and garlic in a large, deep pot for 8-10 minutes or until onions are clear. Add remaining ingredients (except spaghetti and meat crumbles) and let simmer for at least 1 1/2-2hrs (feel free to let it simmer for up to 5 hours), adding small amounts of water as needed and stirring occasionally. Finally add the spaghetti and the meat crumbles and let cook until the noodles are tender adding water if necessary (about 20 minutes), don’t cook too long as noodles will get mushy. Salt, pepper and add hot sauce to taste. Serve it up in bowls and enjoy!

This will make about 6 servings.