Peanut Butter Buttercream Frosted Chocolate Brownies

"Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first."

 ~Ernestine Ulmer

The chocolate brownie is a uniquely American dessert. As with many things American, the history of this  cake-cookie synthesis is steeped in myth and legend. In some stories it was a cook who forgot to add flour to a cake recipe, in another a cook who accidentally added melted chocolate to biscuit dough, in another, the most popular, it was a harried housewife forced to improvise a dessert when she realised she was out of baking powder.

According to Chicago's Palmer House Hotel, a hotel chef created the now quotidian but still beloved dessert for Bertha Palmer who wanted a dessert easily eaten from boxed lunches. These first brownies, still being made at the hotel according to the original recipe, featured an apricot glaze and walnuts.

Mistake or willful creation for a ladies' fair, chocolate brownies are part of Americana.

This manifestation is a rich, decadent, sumptuous dessert. Not your mother's picnic brownies, these opulent chocolate squares are topped with a delicious peanut butter buttercream.

Chocolate Brownies

6 oz. unsweetened dark chocolate
3/4 cup unsalted butter
1½ cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 Tbsp brewed coffee
1½ tsp vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt to taste

Preheat oven to 350º F. Butter a 9-by-9-inch pan and set aside. In a large saucepan, combine the butter and chocolate and heat over low heat until melted and smooth. Add the sugars and whisk to combine. The batter will be a bit grainy. Whisk in the coffee and vanilla. Whisk in the eggs. Add the flour and gently stir until just combined. Do not over mix. Pour into the prepared pan. 

Bake for about 25 to 35 minutes, or until the edges have pulled away slightly from the sides of the pan and the center is just set. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out mostly clean. You want these to be a bit gooey, so don't over bake.

Allow them to cool for at least one hour before frosting them.

Peanut Butter Buttercream
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 tsp vanilla extract
1½ to 2 cups confectioner's sugar
Pinch of salt to taste
Sprinkles (I use mini chocolate and peanut butter chips and chocolate sprinkles)

Combine the peanut butter and butter in a large mixing bowl and beat on medium-high for about two minutes. Add the vanilla, 1½ cups confectioner's sugar, and salt. Beat until the frosting is smooth and fluffy. Add more confectioner's sugar if you want a thicker frosting. You don't want the frosting to be runny, but try to avoid making it stiff as that makes it harder to spread.

Spread the frosting generously and evenly over the brownies and add the sprinkles. Cut into 16 squares and enjoy.

Grilled Brown Sugar Pork Chops

"A porkchop in the kitchen is a porkchop; a porkchop in Proust is Proust."
~William Gaso

Cooking is both a science and an art, heavy on the art. But the beauty of that science and art is that it can be simple. It does not have to be complicated.

Take the humble pork chop. Suitable for roasting, grilling, frying, or baking. Pork has a light flavour which lends itself readily to taking on the savouriness of marinades and vegetables. Cooked the right way, pork is incredibly juicy. You can make a production of preparing pork chops, or you can keep things simple. And with summer upon us, grilling gives the perfect medium to prepare simple, yet flavourful chops.

The beauty of this recipe is that it provides a marinade, a glaze, and a sauce all in one swoop! 

Brown Sugar Marinade/Glaze/Sauce

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup apple juice
4 Tbs vegetable oil
1 Tbs soy sauce
1/2 tsp ground ginger
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp cornstarch
1/2 cup water

In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar, apple juice, oil, soy sauce, ginger, salt , and pepper. Bring this mixture to a gentle boil. In a small bowl, combine water and cornstarch. Whisk the corn starch water into the brown sugar mixture. Stir until thick. Remove from heat.

Pour about 1/4 of the brown sugar mixture into a shallow glass dish with enough for six pork chops - thick chops, not thin (thin chops are great for frying, but dry out far too fast for grilling) - to have some room between them. Gently place the chops into the dish and then turn them, lightly coating both sides. Let sit, covered in the refrigerator for half an hour to an hour.

When you are ready to grill, prepare your charcoal or gas grill for medium heat (the temperature inside the grill should be 350°F to 375°F). Brush and oil the grill grate.

Place the pork chops on the grill and sear, turning once, until grill-marked on both sides. Move the chops to an indirect-heat area - not directly over the hottest coals or over a burner - and cover the grill. Cook until somewhat firm to the touch or until a thermometer inserted into the center of a chop reads 145°F. This takes about 15 minutes.

Right before you remove the chops from the grill, brush them again with the brown sugar mixture and let the glaze set.

Transfer the chops to a plate and let rest for 10 minutes. Serve, drizzled with the remaining brown sugar mixture, with boiled potatoes and steamed vegetables. Enjoy!