Accountability 101

I'm all about accountability here, friends, and it's confession time. Remember how I got up on my soap box last week to talk about how I was going to eat less meat, and that it's healthier, better for the environment, etc.? Well, I'm off the wagon. This is what I had for dinner Friday night:

Yes, that's pepperoni.

And then for dinner on Saturday night, I had this:

Yes, that is a STEAK.

But, to my credit, I also had a nice salad:

Justyn wanted to put anchovies in it, and I said NO. So there.

And I also had some roasted asparagus, one of my favorite green veggies:

And for dessert I made baked fudge:

This stuff will change your life. I am not kidding. I'll get into that in a minute.

By the way, if you've ever wondered what happens when you beat whipping cream too long, this is it:

Kinda looks like cottage cheese, huh? But it still tastes good!

Okay, so here's what happened. Justyn and I were talking about what to do for Valentine's Day, and as usual, we decided to stay in and make ourselves a nice meal instead of contributing to the mass ripoff that happens every February 14th. Not only is it cheaper, but as you know I really enjoy cooking and it's actually a fun, romantic experience to get in the kitchen and rub elbows with your sweetie. I told you Justyn has been craving steaks ever since I started to mention becoming a part-time vegetarian, so I figured it was a good opportunity to give him what he wants. (And so maybe he'll lay off the whole red meat thing for a while.)

(I realized I skipped the whole pizza thing and it was intentional. I have no excuse other than I love love love pepperoni pizza and we had no groceries.)

Anyway, we started cooking and I suggested Justyn get the steaks out of the fridge so they could come up to room temperature (always a good idea when you're cooking steaks, in case you didn't know.) So he put them on a plate and moved them to the dining room table to get them out of the way while we started preparing the salad and veggies. I was in the living room looking up the recipe for dessert when I turned around and saw Oliver (our cat) up on his hind legs in the dining room chair literally CHOWING on one of the steaks. Like seriously, he had totally mutilated one half of one of the filets, and already had it off the plate and almost off the table. I screamed, Justyn turned and we both ran over and started yelling at him about how he almost single-handedly ruined our Valentine's Day dinner. Did you ever see the movie A Christmas Story? Remember how the dogs from next-door get in the house and eat the Christmas day turkey? It was sort of like that.

So there we are, standing and looking at a half-mutilated steak trying to figure out what to do. And because nothing gets in the way when it comes to Justyn and a good quality steak, he rinsed it off, cooked it, and ate it anyway. Gross, huh? I think so... but it did get completely cooked afterward, so.... I guess that makes it okay? He said it was very tasty, so all's well that ends well, I suppose.

Anyway, about the baked fudge. First of all let me say, "Thank you, Pioneer Woman." This is yet another amazing recipe from Ree Drummond, the same creator of my blackberry cobbler recipe which you may recall from last summer. I was a little nervous about making it because she said it may be hard to know when it's done cooking. You see, you want it crispy on top like a brownie, but the toothpick shouldn't come out clean. But it also shouldn't jiggle in the middle or be runny at all. Now, those of you who know me, already know without me telling you that these instructions are not to my liking. I need things to be clear-cut. But, after baking mine for 50 minutes, they came out absolutely perfect. It was so easy to make and so unbelievably tasty. If you like chocolate and need a good dessert recipe that will impress your guests and you, yourself, then you should make this as soon as possible. I'm serious when I say it will change your life.

Mmmm... gooey chocolatey goodness.

See? Not runny!

Pioneer Woman's Delicious Baked Fudge
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 heaping tablespoons cocoa
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 300 - 325. (I baked mine at 300 for 30 minutes, 315 for 10 minutes, and 325 for 10 minutes).

2. First, beat eggs until light in color. Next beat in the sugar until just combined. Now add cocoa, flour, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Mix gently until well combined.

3. Pour the batter into four large ramekins or one 8-inch square baking dish. Set the ramekins or pan into a larger pan halfway full of water.

4. Place in preheated oven and bake 40 to 50 minutes, or until upper crust is crispy and the rest of the batter is firm but not set. Toothpick should come out... not clean, but mixture should not be overly runny. If you pull it out of the oven and have second thoughts, stick it back in for 10 minutes.

5. Serve warm with sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Oh, one more tiny little thing. Then for lunch yesterday I had this:

My conscience is sufficiently cleaned. Thanks for listening.

P.S. Make the fudge. I'm serious.