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Well the Holiday Season descended quite rapidly, didn't it? OK, maybe we saw it coming - but it still just jumps on me a bit last minute, unless I have bucket loads of vacation time to spend an extravagant amount of time lazing about eating Bon Bons and grapes. While it may seem like I do that, I actually keep myself quite busy. Idle hands do the devils work, or in my case they push the devil's food into my mouth. That Devil sure knows how to cook apparently!
Today I don't have a review for you, I have a backlog building. Between the Thanksgiving meal at my house with my family, the Stragglers Thanksgiving celebrated with a mix of friends and family and the holiday rush at the office - I haven't had much time to write anything. Add to that the fact that I was knocked out for about a week and a half with a nice cold and flu cocktail - you begin to see where this all stems from. However, I've not only been eating delectable treats from places such as Butterfly Bakery, Hostess Cakes, work and many places in between - I've continued cooking. Yep, that oven has been on more in the past week or two than in the rest of the entire time I've lived in my apartment, which has been since March 2008. By the way, I highly recommend going to NPR and looking at the recipes they have from Christopher Kimball at Americas Test Kitchen. I used the recipe from the Ultimate Pumpkin-Sweet Potato Pie Recipe to make the pie crust that I actually filled with Wyman's berries. Yummy. I also used nearly half pastry flour - so my crust was absolutely divine! OK, it was also quite a pain to roll it out and keep it together. I didn't win any awards for beauty, (that's why there's no photo) but that crust was light, flaky and delectable.
Also - I have a post I've been holding off on posting as I'm awaiting the recipe. It was made by a co-worker and combines brownies, mint and frosting all in one Tasty Package. Amy - I need that recipe!!! Please? I also hear that another co-worker makes a dessert that could actually kill you if you eat too many - apparently your heart just can't help but skip a beat when you eat them - so be forewarned! Personally I thrive on the deliciously dangerous desserts. Bring it on!
Also - if you're looking for a tasty treat to get someone this holiday season, I'm going to personally recommend you make a purchase from the Vermont Brownie Company. Now of course, there are plenty of people to purchase things from and, in fact, I'm looking forward to having some treats from Sweet Science on Saturday at a Holiday Party (review to come) - but when it comes to getting that treat to send to Mom, Dad or the kids this holiday season, keep Vermont Brownie Company in mind. 'Nuff Said.
Showing posts with label vermont brownie company. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vermont brownie company. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Finally - my brownie and cookie prayers have been answered
The heat is on, as Sweet Science brought in another lovely sample a cookie - Lemon Rosemary in fact - kind of a buttery shortbread. It was deliciously crisp and the buttery lemon hits you right away while you get an immediate fragrant sign of the rosemary - which softly joins in as the other flavors begin to melt away. Downright tasty! Their website is almost fully up and running, with more info and online ordering on the way, there is some basic contact information there as of the time I'm writing this along with an email address you can send to for their full catalogue (which will be online soon.)
Now, on to Vermont Brownie Company, who I'm also mentioned before. On Sunday I had my first 'official' sample. I tried, for the first time, the Maple Toffee Crunch (Whoa!) - as they say on their website. It's really damn tasty. It was good enough that I sampled it more than once. I also signed up to win a box of them at "Shelburne Museum Goes To The Dogs". I just happened to be there doing some MCing duties for Pet Food Warehouse who organizes SMGTTD.
Now if you're a person who likes a somewhat dry and non-fudge like brownie, I'm not sure this is for you. It's not so much that the brownie itself is fudgey - but the maple toffee, or the one I'm sampling right now - the Espresso Dulce de Leche, have ingredients that meld with the brownie and give it a similar texture in certain areas. I don't have any issue with fudge, or anything reminiscent of it. If you don't think you like fudgey brownies - try this anyway. It's really kick ass. The sea salt on the Dulce de Leche is absolutely a welcome addition that just kicks the flavor of this concoction (with espresso beans in it btw) right into high gear. Now before you do anything else - plan your dessert dates accordingly to sample some of these tasty treats from Sweet Science and Vermont Brownie Company.
Now, on to Vermont Brownie Company, who I'm also mentioned before. On Sunday I had my first 'official' sample. I tried, for the first time, the Maple Toffee Crunch (Whoa!) - as they say on their website. It's really damn tasty. It was good enough that I sampled it more than once. I also signed up to win a box of them at "Shelburne Museum Goes To The Dogs". I just happened to be there doing some MCing duties for Pet Food Warehouse who organizes SMGTTD.
Now if you're a person who likes a somewhat dry and non-fudge like brownie, I'm not sure this is for you. It's not so much that the brownie itself is fudgey - but the maple toffee, or the one I'm sampling right now - the Espresso Dulce de Leche, have ingredients that meld with the brownie and give it a similar texture in certain areas. I don't have any issue with fudge, or anything reminiscent of it. If you don't think you like fudgey brownies - try this anyway. It's really kick ass. The sea salt on the Dulce de Leche is absolutely a welcome addition that just kicks the flavor of this concoction (with espresso beans in it btw) right into high gear. Now before you do anything else - plan your dessert dates accordingly to sample some of these tasty treats from Sweet Science and Vermont Brownie Company.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Ahhh... the Brownie
I'm quite pleased with Sweet Science. Not only is the owner/operator/baker a peach, she also brings me food to test out, along with some other friends. So far there hasn't been a bad one in the bunch.
The latest two to land on my desk were a spicy brownie and just a simple classic brownie. One was cut into triangle shapes (the spicy one) and here's the classic brownie, cut into the classic square. You may be able to see that there's a bit taken out of this, thanks to Rabid for the picture taking. His phone has a flash for the camera!
Wow! The spicy brownie was very tasty, and then.. the heat crept in. It snuck right up on me. It was definitely spicy! Not hot, sear the back of your throat closed and administer epinephrine.. no - it was just a nice warming that crept up the back of the tongue and slid across the throat a moment later.
Thinking on the heat, I suppose it's not that different in some ways from the heat you get from whiskey - but a totally different delivery system and the heat with the brownie also settled in and didn't leave right away. Can you tell I was sampling some whiskey recently? Of course, it was some of the good stuff - not the really pricey whiskey that your average guy or girl can't afford - but the very reasonably priced and very delicious Makers Mark. I know - that really doesn't have anything to do with dessert, does it? Still- I can't shake the similarity of that heat. I also love the melted wax that every bottle of Maker's Mark is sealed with.
So on to the classic brownie. Very classic, not too fudgey, not too crumbly - it was a great middle ground. It was very much a chocolate brownie, not just a brownie with a little chocolate and then some fats, oils and salts to try to 'fake' it. No - this was the real thing you were tasting. I happen to love the corner and edge pieces of brownies as I like the crispness you get at the edge and the nice moisture at the middle - but then those are typically the fudgey brownies I'm cooking. I wasn't left wanting with this one, except that I wanted to have about another half tray of them. This lady definitely got the simple basic brownie right - though I doubt it was as simple and basic in the making it as the end result appeared to be. This is a good jumping off point for those who like to add a few 'extras' to - but it doesn't leave you with the feeling something is missing if it's not in this brownie. I sure hope Sweet Science makes her treats more readily available - though a little bird has told me that Dobra Tea in Burlington might carry some of her tasty treats.
Soon, there will be some competition in play at my desk as Sweet Science will no longer be the only brownie in town, no. Vermont Brownie Company is coming.
They promise to tempt with Espresso, Mint and even White Chocolate with Raspberries. I did sample some early test brownies, but haven't yet had the pleasure of trying out the finished product for you. (hint, hint)
The latest two to land on my desk were a spicy brownie and just a simple classic brownie. One was cut into triangle shapes (the spicy one) and here's the classic brownie, cut into the classic square. You may be able to see that there's a bit taken out of this, thanks to Rabid for the picture taking. His phone has a flash for the camera!
Wow! The spicy brownie was very tasty, and then.. the heat crept in. It snuck right up on me. It was definitely spicy! Not hot, sear the back of your throat closed and administer epinephrine.. no - it was just a nice warming that crept up the back of the tongue and slid across the throat a moment later.
Thinking on the heat, I suppose it's not that different in some ways from the heat you get from whiskey - but a totally different delivery system and the heat with the brownie also settled in and didn't leave right away. Can you tell I was sampling some whiskey recently? Of course, it was some of the good stuff - not the really pricey whiskey that your average guy or girl can't afford - but the very reasonably priced and very delicious Makers Mark. I know - that really doesn't have anything to do with dessert, does it? Still- I can't shake the similarity of that heat. I also love the melted wax that every bottle of Maker's Mark is sealed with.
So on to the classic brownie. Very classic, not too fudgey, not too crumbly - it was a great middle ground. It was very much a chocolate brownie, not just a brownie with a little chocolate and then some fats, oils and salts to try to 'fake' it. No - this was the real thing you were tasting. I happen to love the corner and edge pieces of brownies as I like the crispness you get at the edge and the nice moisture at the middle - but then those are typically the fudgey brownies I'm cooking. I wasn't left wanting with this one, except that I wanted to have about another half tray of them. This lady definitely got the simple basic brownie right - though I doubt it was as simple and basic in the making it as the end result appeared to be. This is a good jumping off point for those who like to add a few 'extras' to - but it doesn't leave you with the feeling something is missing if it's not in this brownie. I sure hope Sweet Science makes her treats more readily available - though a little bird has told me that Dobra Tea in Burlington might carry some of her tasty treats.
Soon, there will be some competition in play at my desk as Sweet Science will no longer be the only brownie in town, no. Vermont Brownie Company is coming.
They promise to tempt with Espresso, Mint and even White Chocolate with Raspberries. I did sample some early test brownies, but haven't yet had the pleasure of trying out the finished product for you. (hint, hint)
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