ROOTS & WINGS

37. / 38. Game Night Yums

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At least once every month (depending on schedules) my neighbors/friends and I have a game night where we play good ol' board (and other) games. Of course, no one wants to starve while at it, so everyone cooks/bakes something, and brings it for the others to taste.

When it was my turn – back in October – I couldn't decide (typically girl, eh?), which of two Yums to make... and so did them both.

One's savory, the other brownies with a special (at least for me) twist.

What can I say? They were both very popular.

And they're pretty easy to make, too, so off to the kitchen!



Serves: 12 muffins / 16-25 brownies


Prep Time: ~ 2 hrs Muffins / ~ 6 hrs Brownies, but with cooling off time + firming up of couverture


Degree of Difficulty: Easy



WE NEED


APPLE BROWNIES


300 gr / 1.5 apples I had two, and ate the "difference". Also I used Granny Smith as their sourness goes PERFECTLY with the bittersweet chocolate.

200 gr / 7 oz. bittersweet chocolate At least 75 - 80% cocoa
125 gr / 4.5 oz. butter
4 eggs
150 gr / 5.25 oz. brown sugar
1 pck = 8 gr = 0.3 oz. vanilla sugar
150 gr / 5.25 oz. flour
1 pinch salt
150 gr / 5.25 oz. bittersweet couverture
50 gr / 1.75 oz. butter




"GREEN" MAC'N'CHEESE MUFFINS

250 gr / 9 oz. short maccheroni
250 gr / 9 oz. leaf spinach I had fresh but frozen's good too, of course.
250 ml / 8.5 US fl.oz. milk
3 tsp butter
3 tsp flour
150 gr / 5.25 oz. Parmesan Only REGGIANO, so you make sure you get real parmesan, and NO cheap/fake one
pepper
1 egg
2 tsp green pesto ORGANIC here, because the LESSER additives
3 tbsp chopped walnuts I measured them directly into the food blender, and roughly blitzed them
muffin tin
grease for it In THIS case, use it. I didn't, thinking I'm fine with a silicone tin, but three muffins got destroyed when I tried to remove them from the tin




WE DO



APPLE BROWNIES


1. Line a 24 (21) cm / 9.5 (8.5) in square / Brownie tin with baking paper. Measure the flour. Peel, quarter + deseed the apples and cut them into 0,5-1 cm / 0.2-0,4 cubes.


2. Melt chocolate + butter over a bain marie, stirring occasionally.


3. Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F top-/bottom heat OR 160°C / 320°F fan / convection.


4. Beat the eggs with the brown + vanilla sugars until very frothy. Add flour + salt and CAREFULLY stir into them the froth. Then add the chocolate mass. Last, fold in the apple cubes.


5. Pour the dough into the tin, smooth it if needed, and bake it for 30-35 minutes. Do a toothpick test, then let it cool in the tin.


6. For the frosting, melt couverture + butter over a bain marie, stirring occasionally, then pour it over the brownies. Let it firm up and cut the brownies into square (rectangular) pieces.


NO brownie tin!? Yup, dear Americans, it happens in Ol' Europe. Just use a 24 cm / 9.5 springform.




"GREEN MAC'N'CHEESE MUFFINS


1. Cook the maccheroni according to package instructions.


2. Thaw up the spinach. If you use fresh spinach, remove the largest stalks and cook it in a pan with about 1/2 oz. butter / oil for about 3-5 minutes OR until it wilts. Then purée the spinach with the milk.


3. In a pot, melt the butter and roux the flour. STIR; STIR; STIR with a whisk – or you've had a pot for the longest time Then whisk in the spinach milk, bring to the boil – while STILL whisking, you DON'T want it to overcook and mess up your stove! – then simmer for 10 minutes, still whisking. Switch arms for a workout


4. When the 10 minutes near their end, add 3/4 of the cheese and let it melt into the sauce. Season with salt + pepper, transfer it to a mixing bowl and let it cool. BELOW 40°C / 104°F, otherwise egg curdles, and you don't want scrambled egg in your Yum THEN stir in egg + pesto.




5. Preheat the oven to 200°C / 390°F and grease the muffin tin. See above.


6. Mix the (drained) pasta with the sauce and fill it into the muffin tin. Blitz the walnuts roughly in the food processor, mix them with the remaining 1/4 cheese, and sprinkle it on the muffins.




7. Bake the muffins in the middle of the oven for about 25 minutes. Keep an eye on them since every oven's different and it can take longer/shorter


8. After removing them from the oven, let the muffins cool in the tin for a few minutes, then remove them from the tin, and let them cool off completely – when you wanna bring them to Game Night / a potluck, etc. – OR: serve yet warm.



Guten Hunger.