Saturday Night’s All Right for Baking

Fake Sister is having the third birthday celebration of turning 12 tonight (MTV Birthday Weekend!!!!) so the block has been overcome with tweens playing outside. They’re playing Infection, which we used to call Ghost in the Graveyard. Stupid zombies changing everything.

We’re hiding inside. So what did we do with this free time?

We grilled some salmon with a light Dijon/olive oil coating. Accompanying the salmon was:

Smashed Potatoes with Dill and Chive Sauce (adapted from Oh She Glows)

WHAT YOU NEED

For the Potatoes:
4 Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed
Sea salt and pepper
Chopped fresh parsley
2 Chopped fresh parsley
2 TBSP Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and fresh ground pepper

For the sauce:
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 TBSP chopped fresh dill
1 TBSP dried or fresh minced chives
½ tsp lemon juice
Sea salt to taste

WHAT YOU DO
Cover the potatoes with water in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil and boil until just fork tender, about 20 minutes.Drain potatoes and cool (this can be done up to ½ hour ahead).

Mix mayonnaise, lemon juice, dill, chives and salt in a small bowl. Add more dill or chives to taste (you want it dilly!). Cover and chill. Heat oven to 450.

Place cooled potatoes on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Smash them down with a measuring cup or meat mallet. Drizzle about ½ TBSP olive oil on each potato and season with salt and pepper. Place in oven until golden and crisp, about 25-35 minutes. Remove and scatter parsley on the potatoes. Serve drizzled with the sauce.

BUT, the Piece of Resistance:

BROWNIES!!!

Guitar Boy, as his alter ego Trumpet Boy, had an ensemble competition today where he and his partner got the highest mark you can get. So we made what are now known as…

Trumpet & Euphonium English Folk Tune Brass Duet Gets an I+ Blue Ribbon Brownies (Adapted only slightly from Broma Bakery Better than Boxed Brownies)

WHAT YOU NEED
½ cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
4 oz bittersweet chocolate chips
¾ cup all purpose flour
¼ cup dutch process cocoa powder
2 eggs plus 1 yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup dark chocolate chips
¼ cup semisweet mini chocolate chips

WHAT YOU DO
Preheat oven to 350°F. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter in 60 seconds, and then in 30 second intervals (so it doesn’t pop).

Remove from microwave, stir in sugar, and melt both for 30 seconds in the microwave. Stir again and melt for 60 seconds. It should bubble all over the surface. Remove mixture from microwave and stir in bittersweet chocolate. This should melt the chocolate completely. If it doesn’t, put it in the microwave for another 15 -20 seconds.

Whisk in all other ingredients except chocolate chips. Once whisked, fold in the dark chocolate chips. Pour batter into a parchment lined 8″x8″ pan with the parchment overhanging on the sides. Sprinkle with semi-sweet mini chocolate chips. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center of the brownies comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan with the overhang and allowing to cool completely.