First time blogging.

Ok so I was looking for some menu ideas of a dinner party I am catering next week and found a blog that I fell in love with.  It is a mom in Canada and I think we could have been twins separated at birth.  It has been so fun to read her blog so I thought I would start my own blog to share with my friends.  I love to share with friends what is going on and since my life has gotten busier with William being in school I thought this might be a fun avenue to stay in touch.  I would love your feedback.

My plan is just to share some fun stories of what is going on and also to share some new recipes that I am trying out.

So with Kansas City's unusually cool weather I have been feeling the need for some more hearty recipes and also the need to bake more.  I have a long list of new recipes to try and unfortunately some that I have tried have been awful but the baking must go on.

I will have to try some of the recipes again before I post them but I did want to share a recipe for the most amazing brownies that I made last night.  I don't want to talk about how many times I kept going back for another taste.

Hope you enjoy them as much as Jeff and I have.

Tribute to Katharine Hepburn Brownies 

- recipe from Baking by Dorie Greenspan

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 stick unsalted butter

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons finely ground instant espresso

2 large eggs, preferably at room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup chopped pecans

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.  Butter an 8-inch square baking pan and line the bottom with parchment or wax paper.  Butter the paper, dust the inside of the pan with flour and tap out the excess.  Place the pan on a baking sheet.  (I just sprayed mine and they turned out fine.)

Whisk the flour, cinnamon, and salt together.

Put the butter in a medium saucepan and place the pan over low heat.  When the butter starts to melt, sift the cocoa over it and add the instant espresso.  Continue to cook, stirring, until the butter is melted and the cocoa and espresso are blended into it.  Remove from the heat and cool for about 3 minutes.

Using a whisk or rubber spatula, beat the eggs into the saucepan one at a time.  Next, stir in the sugar and vanilla (don't beat anything too-vigorously - you don't want to add air to the batter), followed by the dry ingredients, nuts, and chopped chocolate.  Scrape the batter into the pan.

Bake for 30 minutes, at which point the brownies will still be gooey but the top will have a dry papery crust.  Transfer the pan to a rack and let the brownies cool for at least 30 minutes.

Turn the brownies out onto a rack, peel away the paper and invert onto a cutting board.  Cool completely before cutting.

I did not wait until they were cool and I think they were delicious.  Hope you enjoy them.