Peanut Butter Cup Brownies

Hey everyone!

I just finished eating a delicious dinner that my mom helped me to make. It was Giada DeLaurentiis's recipe for Orechiette with Chicken Meatballs, Mozzarella, and Cherry Tomatos, and boy was it good! So light and fresh and satisfying all at once. The recipe is sort of long, so if you're interested in it you can probably find it on http://www.foodnetwork.com/. Another hit for Giada in my book. :)

For dessert, I made peanut butter cup brownies earlier. The recipe for this one is super simple, and I actually found in a Cosmo magazine amongst the raunchy sex tips haha! It's by Katie Lee Joel, Billy Joel's wife. She's a beautiful woman and a great chef, she's so much fun to watch whenever she's a guest on Paula Deen's show. So anyways, here's the recipe, incredibly easy and delicious!


Katie Lee Joel's Peanut Butter Cup Brownies

Ingredients:

Boxed brownie mix
9-10 Peanut Butter Cups, halved into 2 pieces (making a total of 18-20 pb cup halves)

Prepare brownie mix according to the instructions on the package. In a baking pan, pour half of the batter. Next, lay the pb cup halves evenly onto the batter. Then, finish by pouring the remaining batter over the pb cups. Bake according to manufacturer's directions, cool, cut, serve, and enjoy!


Before I head off, I'd like to thank everyone who reads this blog and has visited my YouTube channel to watch my Funky Punk Fresh videos. It means a lot to me that friends, family, and maybe even strangers are supporting my culinary endeavors! I'm at a strange part of my life now where my world has been literally flipped upside down, and I'm starting from scratch trying to figure out who I truly am at my deepest core. And I think I'm headed down the right path, following what my heart is telling me to do. It whispers to me, "Brooooooke, go to culinary schooooool..." And so I must listen. ;)

Thanks and tastefully yours,
Brooke

Pizza Misfortunes

Hey everyone!

It's sort of hard to type because I just burnt my finger pretty badly while making dinner... go figure haha. So I'll keep this short and sweet, with more to add later this week.

In recent news, I started my cooking show "Funky Punk Fresh," the first two installments are up on YouTube and ready for you to watch, rate, and comment on! The links are as follows:

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3q_rmnSsFg


Easy Cheesey Quesadillas with Papaya Guacamole-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwnMXbtFWhA&feature=channel_page

Enjoy!

Back to my dinner adventure of the night... I burnt myself making Brocolli, Chicken, and Sundried Tomato Pizza. It came out better than I expected and was relatively quick and simple to make, I'll put the recipe (courtesy of Rachael Ray) up on my blog within the next few days, when my poor finger isn't throbbing in pain each time I hit a keystroke. In the meantime, here's a picture to tide you over!

Alrighty then, I'm off! Have a good night, or day, depending on when you read this. :)

Tastefully yours,

Brooke

Strawberry Balsamic Salad

Hi everyone!

I figured a quick update should be in order, considering today is a lazy day and I have nothing of real importance to do haha.

The other night, I was in charge of making dinner while my mom was at work. So I decided to make buffalo chicken sandwiches with a strawberry balsamic salad on the side. The chicken was difficult to cook for some reason... I wasn't quite sure when it was done enough in the frying pan, but after a little trial and error I managed to get it right. The salad turned out fantastic! Absolutely delicious, the perfect balance of sweet and savory, sugary and acidic.


Strawberry Balsamic Salad

-romaine lettuce
-fresh strawberries
-glazed walnuts (or any nut of choice, pecans or almonds would work well too)
-shredded parmesan cheese
-balsamic vinegar

Slice strawberries into bite-sized pieces. Toast walnuts for about 5 minutes on low-medium heat in a skillet, just to deepen their flavor. Toss together lettuce, strawberry slices, walnuts, and cheese. Splash balsamic vinegar on salad before serving, to taste. Enjoy!



The other night, I caught the newest episode of "Ultimate Recipe Showdown" on FoodNetwork. The theme this time was burgers, and even though I don't eat red meat, some of the creations looked soooo good. I was suprised but happy that Harold won the prize, because it was great to see a disabled senior citizen taking joy in cooking and being recognized for his great recipe.

Alright, well I'm off to go relax and take it easy.

Tastefully yours as always,
Brooke

Holiday Wrap-Up

Hey guys and gals!

Well I think it's best I update now before I have too many thoughts piled up that I want to get down here.

The holidays are winding down (I can't believe it's already January 8th!), and I must say my jeans are a little tight around the waist. I ate, drank, and was generally merry. Christmas and New Year's were nice, I enjoyed myself very much so.

One of the biggest highlights of the break was our family dinner get together with my mom's best friend Penny and her sister Debbie at their beautiful lakehouse. Penny is a fantastic cook, as she always has been. The night started off with cotton candy martinis made with blood orange liquer... let's just say I had a few too many, but they were so darn tasty! Of course, the actual food was delicious as well- chicken parmigiana with penne and vodka sauce, and chicken francaise with penne and garlic and brocolli. I stuffed my face full, but managed to save a little room for dessert, which I made! I brought tiramisu made with Kaluha, as well as chocolate panna cotta with toasted almonds and freshly made amaretto whipped cream (recipe compliments of Giada DeLaurentiis, my favorite chef!). The panna cotta stole the show of the evening, with raving reviews from Penny, Debbie (who is apparently hard to please), and everyone else who took a bite. Success! :)

New Year's Eve, I hosted a small fondue party with some friends. The menu consisted of three cheese fondue (fontina, parmesan, and Velveeta- don't laugh, it melts soooo well) with an assortment of dippers, and chocolate fondue made with good quality (not to mension expensive!) Lindt chocolate with sweet goodies to dunk. The party was an overall success and very fun time... a big hit were the mocktails I made to order, particularly a recipe I whipped up for Peach Bellinis.

Peach Bellinis

1 part grenadine

2-3 parts peach nectar, depending on taste

1-2 parts club soda

Mix well, making sure ingredients are chilled beforehand. Enjoy!

And enjoy we did...

First post! Yay!

Hello world!

This is my first post on this brand-new blog, and hopefully not the last for a while! I'm using this blog as a way to network myself to the world and show people a little insight into the crazy world of Brooke Porter. I'm funky, I'm punky, I'm fresh... as the title of the blog suggests. :)

Those words are also used to describe one of my biggest passions in life- my quest for perfecting my cooking skills! I'm a self-proclaimed foodie, constantly glued to watching FoodNetwork, Top Chef, etc., and love to try new cuisine and techniques. Currently, I'm taking a semester off from college (Emerson College in Boston) to get my life in order and try to discover who I really am. I hope I can achieve this by exploring my passion for cooking, and within a month or so I plan to apply to the Connecticut Culinary Institute located in Hartford, CT!

Expect to get regular updates on my life, specifically my journey through the culinary world. Hope to see you soon!

Tastefully yours,
Brooke