Friday, April 20, 2018

Friday, 4/20


I have to make brownies tonight, so I may not sleep for the next few days.

Let me explain. I make these really gooey dark chocolate Grand Marnier brownies that Loraine likes so much. It’s actually a two-day process; you have to make the brownies the first day, then let them cool overnight so you can spread the ganache over them the second day. And technically, since the ganache also has to harden a little, it’s actually could be a three-day process to put the brownies together.

But I digress. I'll be making the latest batch of the brownies tonight after I get home from work. It'll be past 7 when I start them, and they're pretty much made up of dark chocolate, butter, sugar, cocoa powder, and dark chocolate chips. So with the preponderance of chocolate in the brownies (and just as an aside, do you think there’s enough chocolate in them?), it'll make our entire apartment smell like, well, a melted chocolate bar. Normally, that’s not a bad thing, but when you’re trying to get to sleep at night and all you can smell is chocolate? Uhm. . .

Maybe not just then.

I don’t know why the smell of chocolate keeps me awake at night, unless the caffeine in the massive amount of the stuff I use in the brownies somehow gets transferred into the air in our apartment, and I don’t THINK that happens. What I (kind of) think what happens is that, somewhere in that strange brain of mine, I know that chocolate has both caffeine and sugar in it, and that I know the combination of the caffeine and sugar can keep me awake. So while there really isn’t any caffeine or sugar in the air of our apartment, just the smell of all that chocolate makes my weak brain think there is.

I know I’ve said this before, and I’m sure I’ll say it again, but be glad you’re not a dork like me. Be really, really glad.

Thankfully, it’s only in baking the brownies that the smell of chocolate permeates our apartment. When I do the ganache tomorrow it won't leave any particular odor, despite the fact that it uses another massive amount of chocolate, along with whipping cream and a copious amount of Grand Marnier liquor. That’s probably because I just melt it all together and pour it over the brownies, instead of baking it for a half an hour and letting the smell go everywhere. One sleepless night because of the smell of chocolate was bad enough; two, I just can’t imagine.

In the end, though, it’s worth it, because (and I know this sounds bad) the brownies are just amazing. And I don’t say that to brag; just about everyone who’s ever tried them has told me how good they are. I just got really lucky when I put the combination together one day, all because Loraine had a hankering for brownies and a small bottle of Grand Marnier lying around. It’s as simple as that.

Now, if I could just figure out a way to stop them from keeping me awake at night!

*****

And, if you're wondering exactly WHY I'm making brownies on a Friday night; well, they're anniversary brownies. That's right, the women who inspired me to come up with the recipes, the woman who actually inspires me to do a lot of things, the woman I constantly refer to (because it;s true) as “the most amazing woman in the world”...well, she and I will be celebrating another year of being hitched tomorrow. I can't believe we've been together as long as we have been, but I sure am glad it's the two of us.

So happy (early) anniversary, Loraine. I can't wait to dig into the brownies with you!!!!

Love,



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