Had it not been “date night,” I would have planned a Cinco de Mayo feast for dinner tonight; instead, I think I’ll do it on Saturday. If any of you are like me, and having a delayed Cinco de Mayo celebration, you might want to check out the latest copy of Budget Living magazine. There’s an article on hosting a Mexican party, including all the recipes. The Candied Margaritas sound divine … well, when has a Margarita not sounded divine? ;) Lucky for you, if you don’t subscribe, all the recipes are available online here, so check it out when you get a chance. Highlights include a Dulce de Leche Cactus Cake, Chicken Quesadillas, a Mexican Flag crudite platter and Pigs in Ponchos. If you had your own Cinco de Mayo feast, let me know about it.
Had a mystery shop at Panera tonight. Not my normal choice of “date night” restaurants, but being that it DOES have my new favorite non-alcoholic drink … ICEE Mocha!! … it’s not a tough sell. Had one? They’re a frozen drink that is delicious, and this is coming from a confirmed non-coffee drinker. It’s sweet chocolate and espresso blended with ice, topped with fresh whipped cream and drizzled with chocolate syrup. How can you not love that? I never even knew the drink existed until I saw someone walking out of Panera with it a few months ago. I asked him what the drink was, and the rest is history. For WW followers, it’s a 7-point drink, but that’s A-OK with me … sometimes you just gotta go with what tastes good.
OK guys, it’s a short post tonight so I can get some early shut-eye tonight. Busy weekend ahead, so I gotta rest up when I can.
Having a dinner party this weekend. Tune in tomorrow and I’ll fill you in on my menu. One of the desserts will be the Dulce de Leche Brownies I put below … perfect timing considering today’s holiday. Try them out — sinfully good and oh so easy to make.
Until then…
Dulce De Leche Brownies Recipe
Caramel Dulce Layer
1 can Dulce De Leche — (14 ounce) chilled one hour
Brownie Layer
1 cup unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 350 F. For brownie Layer, line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with buttered parchment paper that you leave overlapping with a 2-inch extension. If you do not have parchment paper, use foil. In a mixing bowl, or mixer, blend the butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla well. Stir in the cocoa, flour, baking soda and salt. Spread the batter in prepared pan. Distribute the dulce de leche in dollops all over the batter. Swirl with a knife. Place pan on baking sheet. Bake 26-30 minutes until just set. Cool well. Using the parchment paper overlap to assist, lift loaf out of pan. Chill well in refrigerator (30-45 minutes) before cutting into squares or bars.
Hmm…I have have another can of boiled condensed milk sitting around. This recipe would be great…if Matt can finish the torte!
Obviously, I’ve been doing the Cinco de Mayo thing all week. On one hand, I’m happy to be done (why must every recipe use all my pots, pans and utensils?). But, we’ve had some great flavors in the house. Oh, well…it won’t be long till I’m on some other kick.
Matt’s running to Panera tomorrow (today?) for croissants, so I can have my Mother’s day breakfast in bed. He’ll be coming home from a wedding in Atlanta that day, and feels mey quilty about it. And I’m ok with that!
Mmmmm brownies! Sounds ace.
Panera is decent, but I think they price for more the atmosphere than the actual food. That being said, I really like the Beef-Asiago salad (or something like that).
Ooh – I have a jar of dulce de leche in the cupboard that has been eyeing me for awhile. My coworkers will be thrilled!
Thanks!
I did make these yesterday and they were a huge hit! Thanks!
Awesome, Lisa! Glad to hear everyone enjoyed them. :)
Hi Sweetnicks,
I know I just read your blog a couple of days ago where you went to your dinner group and you guys had mexican food (black bean cakes with salsa, pumpkin enchiladas, etc..) I know I am responding on the wrong post but, for some reason I can’t find it now. Maybe it was an attachment to another. Anyway, there was this unusual beer cocktail you were drinking and I have been trying to find out what it is. Can you point me in the right connection. Thanks.
Angel in Chicago (an avid reader)
Hey Angel! Thanks for dropping by. What you were reading was a link at the end of my posts where it says … “A year ago today…” This actual post it was referring to was this one and the drink is Mambo Margaritas. I didn’t make it that night, but it is a tried-and-true for us. You can find the recipe here. Enjoy!