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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