Really fudgy and chocolatey with a hint of coffee and some orange to round out the flavour. Delish.
1 1/2 cups (350 mL) whole dates
1 cup (250 mL) fresh orange juice
1 Tbsp (15 mL) vanilla extract
2 large free-range eggs
1/2 cup (125 mL) cocoa
1 1/2 tsp (7 mL) espresso powder
1/2 tsp (2 mL) baking powder
1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
1/2 cup (125 mL) unsalted butter
1 cup (250 mL) all-purpose flour
1 cup (250 mL) chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 325 F (160 C).
Simmer dates with orange juice until very tender. Stir in vanilla. Purée to a smooth paste.
Line 8 x 8 x 2 in (20 x 20 x 5 cm) square baking pan with parchment paper.
In large bowl, whisk eggs with cocoa, espresso powder, baking powder, and salt.
In saucepan, melt butter. Add date purée and stir often until warm and bubbly. Scrape mixture into bowl with cocoa mixture. Gently fold in flour and chocolate chips.
Spoon batter into pan and smooth top. Bake just until set, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool completely, and then cut into squares.
Makes 16 brownies.
Each serving contains: 207 calories, 4 g protein;
11 g total fat (7 g sat. fat, 0 g trans fat); 29 g total carbohydrates (17 g sugars, 4 g fibre); 85 mg sodium
source: "Make It a Date!", alive #374, December 2013
Tourtière is, for me, the dish that best represents Québec. It can be traced back to the 1600s, and there’s no master recipe; every family has their own twist. Originally, it was made with game birds or game meat, like rabbit, pheasant, or moose; that’s one of the reasons why I prefer it with venison instead of beef or pork. Variation: If you prefer to make single servings, follow our lead at the restaurant, where we make individual tourtières in the form of a dome (pithivier) and fill them with 5 ounces (160 g) of the ground venison mixture. Variation: You can also use a food processor to make the dough. Place the flour, salt, and butter in the food processor and pulse about ten times, until the butter is incorporated—don’t overmix. It should look like wet sand, and a few little pieces of butter here and there is okay. With the motor running, through the feed tube, slowly add ice water until the dough forms a ball—again don’t overmix. Wrap, chill, and roll out as directed above.
My love of artichokes continues with this classic recipe, one of the best ways to eat this interesting, underrated, and strange vegetable. Frozen artichoke hearts are a time-saving substitute, though the flavour and texture of fresh artichokes are, by far, much superior and definitely preferred.
Cervelle de canut is basically the Boursin of France, an herbed fresh farmer’s cheese spread that’s a speciality of Lyon. The name is kind of weird, as it literally means “silk worker’s brain,” named after nineteenth-century Lyonnaise silk workers, who were called canuts. Sadly, the name reflects the low opinion of the people towards these workers. Happily for us, though, it’s delicious—creamy, fragrant, and fresh at the same time. Cervelle de canut is one of my family’s favourite dishes. It’s a great make-ahead appetizer that you can pop out of the fridge once your guests arrive. Use a full-fat cream cheese for the dish, or it will be too runny and less delicious.