‘Bon Appetit Magazine’ Articles at Sweetnicks

Recipe: Flourless Chocolate Cake

February 18, 2016 · Narrative, Sweets

Moist, dense, and fudgy, this Flourless Chocolate Cake is a super simple cake designed to impress.

After copious amounts of cake, cupcakes, and cookies to celebrate Madeline’s birthday over the last week, you would think we would be done with sweets for a bit.

You would be wrong.

We were almost done.

On Monday, we all converged at my sister and brother-in-law’s place to celebrate her birthday, and I volunteered to bring dessert.

At that point, between all the cooking and baking I had done for Madeline’s birthday, coupled with the fact that we don’t currently have a working dishwasher, I was pretty over doing any more dishes.

Which means when I was trying to decide what to make, I wanted to keep it simple, but still have something worthy of the occasion.

I originally went with chocolate-studded brownies, but it didn’t yield enough for everyone, which means I was scrambling for a second dessert at the eleventh hour.

So much for keeping it simple.

The best laid plans and all.

I had noticed this Bon Appetit recipe for a Flourless Chocolate Cake earlier in the week, and since I had just cleaned out all our kitchen cabinets, I knew I had most of the ingredients on hand.

The recipe comes from celebrated cookbook author, Richard Sax, who has quite the library of cookbooks, and this particular recipe is actually featured on the cover of his Classic Home Desserts: A Treasury of Heirloom and Contemporary Recipes cookbook.

If you haven’t had flourless cake before, it is something pretty special. More dense than traditional cake made with flour, it also is extra fudgy and downright delicious.

Which made it perfect for birthday celebrations.

Bonus points for being able to slide it into the oven under thirty minutes after the decision to make it.

It’s a good recipe to keep on stand-by … for when you are having last minute guests over. For when you are in the mood for something slightly rich and very chocolatey. For when you have a double birthday weekend sandwiched around Valentine’s Day.

Or just because.

Topped with whipped cream, it was perfect.

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Recipe: Buffalo Wing Popcorn

June 15, 2015 · Narrative

A cross between Cracker Jacks and your favorite hot wings, this recipe for Buffalo Wing Popcorn just might be your new favorite snack.

My kids were out, I had a ton of work to do, and I wasn’t hungry.

Which is the perfect storm that led me to eating Buffalo Wing Popcorn for dinner on Friday night.

That, and not only did I just spy this recipe the night before, but the folks at Frank’s Red Hot Sauce had just sent me a few bottles of their hot sauce.

If that isn’t fate, I don’t know what is.

Ever since I started being ridiculously diligent about reading labels, Frank’s is the only hot sauce I use because it’s made without sugar.

And once you start reading labels, you soon realize how sugar is added to EVERYTHING.

I will be the first to say that this recipe, although quick to make, is a tad finicky. The caramel making portion of the recipe, that is.

Because it took me three attempts to be successful at getting it to the “deep camber color,” but avoid the “burning it” phase.

Burned it twice.

My advice?

Don’t turn it up to medium-high as the recipe suggests.

Don’t let it go 10-12 minutes as the recipe suggests.

And watch it like a HAWK.

And then you’ll be fine.

Once you’ve mastered that little piece of it (and by the second ruined batch of caramel, I was determined, darn it), the rest is quick and easy.

The end result?

The popcorn reminded me of what would happen if Cracker Jacks married hot wings.

It would result in this deliciousness.

Slightly sticky.

Slightly sweet.

And despite only a quarter cup of hot sauce, slightly hot.

Good stuff.

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What to Do with Leftover Halloween Candy

November 1, 2010 · Narrative

Halloween has come and gone and with its absence, we are left with an absolute ton of candy. Between four hours of trick-or-treating and what we had leftover for our own trick-or-treaters, our sugar cup runneth over. And I do mean runneth over. So now what? You and I both know if it stays in the house, it will get eaten. Whether or not it’s your most favoritest candy e-v-e-r. Because that’s just the way life is. I didn’t have breakfast today. But I did have a Butterfinger. True story. Not by design. It’s that kind of day. Clean eating freak or not. But I’m here to help. You. And you. And you. Oh and me too.

Halloween Candy Buy Back. Love this program. Go on and punch in your zip code and you’ll find a local dentist who will buy your candy from you at $1 per pound. How ya like them apples? Or Kit-Kats? And then they’ll send them to the fine men and women in our armed forces who are candy deprived. So you’re helping yourself, your kids, your dentist and the troops. Win, win, winners all around.
Call your local food pantry. Ours is taking Halloween candy. Is yours?
If you happen to be in our local area, there is a toy store that is buying back candy for $1/pound also, and it will be turned into store credit (think holiday shopping!). Smart marketing move on their part. They’re taking the candy to the local food pantry and sending it overseas as well.
Use your favorite candy bits and mix it in with your ice cream like they do at those overpriced ice cream shops.
And lastly, cook or bake with it! Easy suggestions would, of course, be to chop up some of your favorite candies and add them into your cookie or brownie batter, but there are tons of other recipes to make too, and I’ll share one I made yesterday.

I found this recipe for Halloween Peanut Butter and Toffee Candy Bark in the October issue of Bon Appetit magazine, and ripped it out when I saw it, because I thought it would be perfect for our pre-trick-or-treating Halloween party. Ridiculously simple to make and a deliciously awesome way to use up some of your Halloween stash.

Even though I fully admit to shaking down my own children for their Butterfingers and SweetTarts, I also don’t have much of a sweet tooth (and by the way, there was a surprising lack of Butterfingers and SweetTarts). Just a few things here and there, and nothing that I go out to actively satisfy. That being said, this candy bark is not something to keep in the house. Because besides being delicious, it’s addictive. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. I had two small pieces, sent a bunch home with our party peeps and the rest is going into the office tomorrow morning. So much safer that way.

Project 365
November 1, 2010, Photo #201

When Nick woke up this morning, he remembered that the Halloween Fairy was coming and ran downstairs to see what she left. After he checked it out, he asked me if she was real. I didn’t answer right away, to see what else was coming, and he said a friend told him that sometimes after Moms are done with their work at night, after the kids are sleeping, they leave out the stuff, and there really isn’t a Halloween Fairy. Can I just say how much I hate that? It made me sad, because I am all for kids believing in a little bit of magic, that magical things are possible. Of course, eventually they will really catch on and the jig will be up, but until then, I’m all for a wee bit of innocence. I didn’t refute his friends’ story but I just said that everyone believes something different, and it was up to him to decide what to believe in. And hey, if you know my kid, who still believes in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy, don’t tell him otherwise. He’ll grow up soon enough. I promise to not let it go so long that kids make fun of him. But he’s 8. He’ll be there soon enough, and until then, we believe.

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Chicken Parmesan Burgers

June 3, 2010 · Narrative

A few weeks ago, I put a magnetic clip on our refrigerator (one of many already there) to hold recipes that I plan on making in the next week or so. My intent was two-fold … I wouldn’t forget what I wanted to make and second, I wouldn’t lose the recipes. I have been on a terrible losing-things streak lately, so even though I still can’t find my GPS or iPod or one of my camera cards, at least I wouldn’t lose the current recipes I’m trying out. And for me, it works as a loose menu plan.

This morning, Nick spied a recipe for Chicken Parmesan Burgers that I had ripped out of a recent issue of Bon Appetit.

“Mom, what is that?”

“Chicken Parmesan Burgers. I’m making them soon.”

“They look really good. What’s that purple stuff?”

“Radicchio. It’s like a kind of lettuce. Do you want them for dinner tonight?”

“Sure.”

And so it was. Given this is the picture he saw, no wonder why he wanted it.

The recipe is in BA’s Fast Fresh Easy column, one of my go-to sections in the magazine. It listed the total time as 35 minutes, and it was on the table in 25, and that was including three trips to referee bickering between the kids. It definitely had the taste components of chicken parm, and even better, it was kid-approved and made use out of our big pot of basil in the yard. Nick managed half a sandwich without coming up for air. Both kids must be in growing spurts because lately they’ve been eating like two mini football players. For Madeline’s portion, I just deconstructed it a bit, giving her half a burger, a few slices of the cheese on the side and using the marinara sauce as dipping sauce. Give her something to dip her food in, and she’s a pretty happy camper. Hers was gone within minutes. Winner winner, chicken dinner!

I know I promised you guys at least one chocolate dessert recipe this week, but as you can tell I get distracted easily. My friend Sarah and I refer to it as Bright Shiny Things (BST) Syndrome. I know you understand. Next week, I promise, there will be chocolate and the round-up of new May recipes and who knows what else.

Have an awesome weekend full of rerows, laughter and good eats.

Project 365
June 3, 2010, Photo #105

I was a little late in making this dessert for Memorial Day, but I guarantee you that when I put this on the table tonight, the kids didn’t give a whit what the calendar said.

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