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I had some homemade mascarpone left from when I made a recent chicken dish. As we had already explored a savory way to use the cheese, I wanted to do something more on the sweet side. Enter Chocolate Mascarpone Brownies (courtesy of Food.com).
Spoiler Alert: these brownies are not low-cal.
Things got started by chopping up some chocolate and melting butter in a saucepan. When the butter was hot, it was poured over the chocolate bits and stirred until the chocolate was completely melted.
Sugar and cocoa powder was sifted into the melted chocolate and given a stir to combine.
Next came beating in the mascarpone, eggs, and vanilla extract. When that was combined, flour and salt was then folded in.
My island counter top at this stage of the recipe:
Hey, sometimes it's good to be messy!
The brownie batter was poured into a pan and put into a pre-heated 325 degree oven to bake for about 45 minutes.
After they were taken out of the oven, the brownies cooled on a rack for about 20 minutes.
Without a doubt, these are the best brownies I have ever made and eaten. Thick, rich, almost a fudge-like denseness. Simply over the top. You might note that recipe calls for making a ganache to be spread on top. I personally think it would be way too much sweetness. But, hey, that's just me. But no matter what you do, make these brownies posthaste!
Recently I was casting around for a different way to cook chicken thighs. As luck would have it, I found this recipe (courtesy of Italian Food Forever). The idea of combining mascarpone cheese with mustard to make a sauce sounded interesting.
To get the ball rolling, I made a batch of mascarpone the day before I made the chicken, as it needs time to set up.
The next day, I started on the chicken. Thighs were seasoned with salt, pepper, and oregano and roasted in a 375 degree oven for about 30 minutes.
While the chicken was baking, I got started on the sauce. The recipe calls for browning up some diced pancetta. That being an ingredient that is hard to come by, here in Corozal, I substituted bacon instead.
When the bacon was done, I tossed in some finely diced onions and minced garlic. After that, some dry white wine was added, and let to reduce by half.
From there, some homemade chicken stock, thyme, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper were added. The heat was reduced a bit and the mixture was left to simmer for about nine minutes. The mascarpone cheese was then whisked in.
It was time for dinner!
I served the thighs over a bed of rice, spooned some of the sauce over top, and garnished with some of those lovely bacon bits.
The chicken was tender and moist and the sauce was outstanding. Not overly heavy (the chicken stock helped to keep it tasting light), with just the right amount of tang from the Dijon mustard.
I had sauce left over, so it got incorporated in a chicken taco recipe I made a few days later. Just warmed it up a bit before drizzling on top of the chicken bits and other goodies the taco contained. Delicious!
You may remember that last month I made ladyfingers, with the hope of being able to make my own Mascarpone cheese to turn out a Tiramisu.
Well, I haven't tackled the Tiramisu just yet, but I was able to make Mascarpone!
This recipe (Food 52) made it so dang easy and all it takes are two ingredients: cream and lemon juice.
I don't have pictures of the process, because both hands were busy stirring the cream and using an instant-read thermometer to keep the temperature in check. However, here's the final result:
And not only are there two ingredients, there are only five steps to make the cheese:
- Heat the cream to 180 degrees.
- Let it simmer at that temp for three minutes, then add the lemon juice.
- Simmer for another three minutes, then remove from heat. Cool to room temperature (about 30 minutes).
- Fill a small strainer with layers of cheesecloth and put a small bowl under the strainer.
- Pour the cooled cheese into the cheesecloth and place the entire bowl in the fridge overnight.
The only thing I will do differently the next time is to try using a coffee filter, instead of cheesecloth, to strain off the whey. I am hoping it will be easier to remove the cheese after its stay in the refrigerator.
The final product is amazingly thick with a slight tang and tastes absolutely delicious. For this batch, I'm going to serve it with some lovely strawberries.
Can't wait to make Tiramisu!
