Recipe: Quick and Easy Microwaveable Brownie for One

Sometimes you want a brownie, and you want it NOW. You want it chocolaty, hot, and hopefully topped with a scoop of ice cream or paired with an ice cold glass of milk. This desire for a brownie hit me not once, but twice, a few weeks ago (it had been a loooooong week), and I went on a mad online search for a decent recipe for microwave brownies (because waiting for a batch to bake in the oven was so not happening). I found one on Food.com that looked pretty good—I know that a brownie made in a cup and thrown in the microwave can't possibly compare to a batch properly cooked in the oven, but it's really nice to have the option to make a quick brownie when you want one. This recipe results in a fluffy yet gooey brownie rather than a dense and chewy brownie or cake brownie, and it just makes a single serving. You can make it in a mug, but I made mine in a small, microwaveable mixing bowl. I added a few drops each of peppermint and spearmint extract to make a minty brownie and topped mine with mint chocolate chip ice cream, but I've just listed the main, plain recipe here.

When I said I wanted it NOW, I meant it. There was no time to take a proper picture. NO TIME!

Serves: 1
Prep. time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 1-1&1/2 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 2 tbsp. water
• 1/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1 dash (approx. 1/8 to 1/4 tsp.) salt
• 4 tbsp. granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder (I just used Hershey's, but the better quality you use, the better the flavor)
• 4 tbsp. all-purpose flour

Directions

Melt the butter in a mug or small, deep bowl, in the microwave. Add the water and vanilla to the mug/bowl and whisk to blend. Add the sugar and salt and whisk to blend. Add the cocoa powder and flour and whisk to blend. The final mixture should be well blended, with no lumps (there may be some graininess because of the sugar). "Bake" in the microwave for 1-1&1/2 minutes, but no longer (too long and it'll get burnt and dried out; a minute and 15 seconds is just about right). The brownie should be soft and slightly gooey in the middle (unless you cooked it a bit longer); it will also be very hot, so be careful. Let it sit for a minute or two before eating. Best served with a scoop of ice cream, a dollop of whipped cream, or a glass of milk.

Simple and tasty—that about sums it up. It's not a dense brownie square like you'd get from a proper batch of oven-baked brownies, but it's chocolaty, gooey, ready in a minute, and you can eat it with a spoon, so it's pretty damn delicious nonetheless.

Recipe: Red Velvet Brownies with Cream Cheese Icing Drizzle

I spent last week in Memphis with my boyfriend, making the most of his week-long spring break. We spent a few quiet days in Arkansas, at an old hunting lodge/clubhouse his family is a member of, and spent the rest of the week at his family home. I ate some great food (including a homemade beef and cheddar hot dog in a soft pretzel bun from Hog & Hominy, a burger at Huey's, and of course, cupcakes from Muddy's), met some of his law school friends, had some "arts and crafts" time (we painted pottery and made glass dishes--both were a lot of fun to work on!), and visited a few galleries and museums. As a thank you to him and his family for hosting me, I thought it would be nice to bake brownies and send them down their way. I found this recipe for red velvet brownies and knew I had to try it out—I don't generally play around with baking recipes because they are so precise and I find it hard to change and edit ingredients (it's so much easier to mess up in baking than it is in cooking), so I left it as is, but added a little drizzle of cream cheese icing to give them a little more flavor (makes 'em prettier too). The resulting brownies were perfectly chewy and dense with a light, flaky top, just like a brownies should be, and the drizzle of icing added a little tangy flavor and creaminess to them.

Yields: 1, 9x13 inch pan of brownies (approx. 20 brownie squares)
Prep. time: 10-15 minutes
Baking time: 35-40 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

For the brownies

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1&1/2 cups brown sugar
• 1&1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 oz. red food coloring (if you don't have enough food coloring, add water to get the required measurement)
• 4 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 2&1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 6 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Hershey's, because that's all I could find, but a better quality brand will yield better brownies)
• 1/2 tsp. salt
  

For the cream cheese icing drizzle

• 2 oz. cream cheese
• Approx. 1/2 cup powdered sugar (or more, as needed)
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp. milk

Directions

Preheat the over to 350*F. Spray a 9x13 inch clear, glass baking dish with cooking/baking spray. Using the paddle attachment in your mixer, beat together the butter and both sugars on medium speed until creamy, light, and fluffy (approx. 2-3 minutes). Add the eggs slowly, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Slowly add the food coloring and vanilla and blend on medium speed until the color is fully incorporated. In a medium bowl, add the flour, cocoa powder, and salt and whisk to mix. Slowly add this mixture to the mixing bowl on medium speed until it's fully incorporated—be careful not too over mix though.  The batter should be quite thick and all of the flour should be mixed in. Pour the batter into the greased baking dish and spread evenly in the dish. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until done (insert a toothpick in the center—if it comes out wet with batter, the brownies need more baking time, but if it comes out clean or a little crumby, the brownies are done). Brownies should be a little flaky on the outside, but slightly moist on the inside. Set aside to cool.

While the brownies are cooling, add the the ingredients for the cream cheese icing drizzle to a small bowl and whisk to blend (you can use the mixer, once clean, to make this go a little faster and to mix it better, but I was too lazy to clean the mixer and ended up whisking together the icing by hand). The finished icing should be thick, but still be able to be drizzled easily. Cut the brownies into squares and, using a spoon, drizzle the icing as neatly as possible over each square (I actually used a squeeze bottle to get more precise drizzles; you can use an icing/pastry bag with a round tip for neater results). Let the icing set (it will not get hard, but rather, it'll thicken and be a little sticky) for a few minutes.

Serve with a glass of cold milk or a mug of hot coffee, or whatever beverage you prefer. Perfect with a scoop of vanilla (or perhaps red velvet, for added red velvet-ness?) ice cream or with some fresh berries. Store brownies in an airtight container and avoid stacking them, if possible, because the cream cheese drizzle will get smeary and smudged.

These brownies are essentially your basic, everyday brownies, but the pop of red food coloring and the sweet and tangy cream cheese icing drizzle add a little pizzazz to them. Great for dessert, for a party, or an afternoon snack, these brownies are chocolaty, chewy, and absolutely delicious.

Recipe: Mexican Mole-Rubbed Chicken with Grilled Vegetables

My mother handed me this Cuisine Favorites Chicken magazine a few weeks ago and I tagged a few pages as I flipped through it, being drawn in by the beautiful photography. This chicken dish caught my eye because my dad's favorite dish to order at our local Mexican restaurant is the Chicken Mole, a chicken dish served with the complex chile-and-chocolate sauce called mole (MOH-lay)—this dish turns that sauce into an easy-to-mix rub. The rub is sweet and spicy and creates a subtle heat that stays on your tongue while you eat. The vegetables, tossed with olive oil, salt, and pepper, then grilled and drizzled with lime juice, are so fresh and juicy (as is evident in my picture).

Tried to present a clean plate, but the lime juice-drizzled vegetables were just too fresh and juicy!

Serves: 4
Prep. time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: About 15 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Special equipment needed: Grill (or the equivalent indoor equipment)

Ingredients
For the chicken:

• 1/2 cup orange marmalade
• 1 tbsp. white wine vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar and it worked well)
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 1 tbsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 tbsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. black pepper
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp. cocoa powder

For the vegetables:

• 1 onion, halved (a red onion could be a great substitution here)
• 1 zucchini, halved lengthwise
• 1 yellow squash, halved lengthwise
• 1 red bell pepper, quartered
• 2 fresh tomatoes, halved
• 2 limes, halved
• 8 green onions, whole (trim off the roots and cut off an inch or two above the white—the green part has very little flavor)
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
Preheat the grill to medium-high. If you want to cook directly on the grill, coat the grill grate with oil, otherwise, tear off a piece of aluminum foil to put on the grill grate and plan to cook the food on it.
Combine the chili powder, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, cocoa powder, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Stir the marmalade and vinegar for the chicken together in a large bowl, then coat the chicken breasts in the mixture. Rub the chili powder and cocoa powder mixture into the chicken breast so they're evenly coated on all sides. Set aside. Toss the vegetables and limes in a little olive oil, salt, and pepper. Put all of the vegetables and the chicken on the grill—grill the chicken until cooked through, and grill the vegetables (turning them once) until they are slightly soft, but still a little crisp, and have golden brown grill marks. Remove the limes from the mixture, then chop all of the vegetables into bite-size pieces and squeeze the limes over the mixture. Serve the chicken alongside the mixed vegetables. If you're looking for a starch, serve with white or red rice, or lightly-grilled tortillas to help soak up the heat.

This dish is perfect for a warm summer night! Fresh vegetables, seasoned lightly with lime, salt, and pepper are crisp and warm—the perfect compliment to the sweet and spicy chicken. All you need to add is a margarita, mojito, or sangria and it's a mini fiesta!