Comfort Foods and Indulgences

ImageCulinary historians have traced the first cake “brownie” to the 1906 edition of The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book, edited by Fannie Merritt Farmer. This recipe is an early, less rich and chocolaty version of the brownie we know today, utilizing two squares of melted Baker’s chocolate. Food historians don’t know if Fanny Farmer obtained the recipe from another source, printed it as is or adapted it, or provided the name.

The second recipe, appearing in 1907, was in Lowney’s Cook Book, written by Maria Willet Howard and published by the Walter M. Lowney Company of Boston. Ms. Howard, a protégé of Ms. Farmer, added an extra egg and an extra square of chocolate to the Boston Cooking-School recipe, creating a richer, more chocolaty brownie

Be sure to test for doneness before removing the brownies from the oven. If underbaked (the toothpick has batter clinging to it), the texture of the brownies will be dense and gummy; if overbaked (the toothpick comes out completely clean), the brownies will be dry and cakey.

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GAMEDAY-DESSERTS-largeIn terms of sports-watching food, desserts are often neglected. And this just isn't right -- you have to balance out the nachos and wings with something sweet.

Granted, desserts aren't exactly the most fan-friendly food. Wielding a spoon while booing and cheering is a potentially dangerous (and definitely frustrating) endeavor. Which is why we've compiled a list of the best handheld desserts we could find. Classic cookies, rice krispies, blondies and brownies are all included.

Whether you're a fan of butterscotch, chocolate or peanut butter, we've got you covered. Check out our 35 dessert recipes that are perfect for football season.

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loaded-baked-potato-soupI dream about this kind of soup. It's completely decadent. It's probably one of the biggest comfort foods out there. Which is perfect for this time of year in Oregon. It's cold, rainy, snowy, sleety and it's so dark outside by 2 in the afternoon. The gray landscape just begs for dishes like this Triple Threat Loaded Baked Potato Soup.

Now, what makes it a "triple threat"? Let's see, it has lots of ham from my juicy ham I made the other day, it's full of bacon and extra sharp cheddar cheese...I won't even mention the cream, buttermilk and sour cream in here too. It is the best dang soup you could ever imagine. The kind of soup you have to force yourself NOT to eat three or four bowlfuls...because you'll want to. And you might even do it.

My husband took one bite and just looked at me like, "are you serious...this is incredible"...umm, yes, I know. Did you expect anything less....(insert maniacal laughter now)?

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chickenwingbitesThese little cakes have been on my mind since I had a version of them here. They were so, so good. Until now, I have never had a hot wing sauce quite like the one used to make these. It's literally mouthwatering....spicy...and tangy, which is everything you want in a hot wing bite. Definitely a step above the rest, and the reason why I have been craving this taste since I had it last.

Of course Saucy Mama sent us home with some of her amazing hot wing sauce, so I have been planning my little cakes since.  These are little bites of heaven with incredible flavor. I have no doubt, these will be your "go to" football food this season. I promise.

Saucy Mama used fancy little pastry shells and filled them with the chicken mixture. You can see their version here. I would use them too, EXCEPT you can not buy them in my town. I suppose we are not fancy enough in our part of wine country to have them. Lame! So I had to come up with my own version for a pastry shell.

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midnightpizzaWhen I awoke bleary-eyed at 12:15 am last night, I rolled over to Jeff's side of the bed to discover a still-warm, empty spot. Fearing he was ill, I immediately walked to the bathroom. Empty. I walked into the kitchen and there he was, standing in the darkened room lit only by the bluish glow of the refrigerator light. His cheeks were bulging, and he was holding a big slice of leftover eggplant and caramelized onion pizza.

"Watcha doin'?" I asked.

"Noffin," he said, trying unsuccessfully, to hide the ball of pizza stuffed in his mouth.

"Doesn't look like nothin'," I said, "Looks like pizza."

"You're dreaming. Go back to bed," he said.

If ever there was a pizza worth getting up in the middle of the night, it's this eggplant, caramelized onion and prosciutto pizza with smoked mozzarella.

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