Aaron Sanchez, Our Hero (The Recipe and Euphoric Rambling About Said Recipe Post)

Who is Aaron Sanchez, you might ask? And why the hero status? Well, this past Friday we had a goodbye party for our compound neighbors who are off to the Pacific Northwest in the U.S. We knew they'd be leaving come August, but it still came too fast and we are all going to miss them. Thusly, it was necessary to send them off in style and the compound hosted a party with a Latin cooking theme.

There were taco shells that had been purchased in Nairobi; there was salsa and guacamole; there were refried beans, enchiladas and a taco fixings bar and many other yummy, yummy foods. I made a kid version of sangria (alcohol free) and I also made Mexican Brownies. And this where Wonderful, Genius Aaron Sanchez comes in. My brownies were courtesy of a recipe of The Food Network's Aaron Sanchez and they were DELICIOUS--this is a wonderful recipe and that is why he is a hero! (Note: While living here makes me acutely aware of how fortunate we are just to be well fed each day, my taste buds do sometimes crave things we can't get here--like salsa and Mexican foods. Hence the excited post. But please don't think I have lost sight of the reality that we are so lucky to be able to eat all we need!)

It took some doing to secure the cocoa powder. We have exactly one unsweetened cocoa powder option and it is in the drinking cocoa section at Nakumatt rather than the baking section. I initially scoured the baking section and surmised that bar chocolate must be all that was available for baking and thus sadly conceded defeat and headed home with plans to contribute sosmething else to the party. After some asking around, I was told to try the drinking cocoa section for the Cadbury unsweetened cocoa contained therein. It took me two trips to get my ingredients, but Cadbury did right by me with their unsweetened cocoa option and thus we have a happy case of all's well that end's well.

I followed the recipe to the letter, right down to using a wooden spoon, and the result was a really chewy and fudgy and YUMMY brownie. I think this is the only brownie recipe I will ever use again!!! And I certainly won't be going back to the box (even when boxes brownie mixes are again an option).

There is cinnamon and a hint of cayenne pepper (the latter just adds a little warmth to the end of the brownie bite) as an homage to Mexican style chocolate and it is really good and it was REALLY satisfying to be able to bake this here. I have been craving baked goods and cheese lately because they are a bit hard to come by and between this brownie and splurging on Edam cheese at the deli section of Nakumatt, I have had a really, really nice fix!!!

I have included the recipe here, in case my excited ramblings inspire brownie cravings in my readership! :-) Also, so that I can always access it! I suspect that today might include a trip to Nakumatt for more butter so we can make another batch!

Aaron Sanchez's Mexican Brownies
Recipe courtesy Aaron Sanchez for Food Network Magazine
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/aaron-sanchezs-mexican-brownies-recipe/index.html
Serves:
18 brownies

Ingredients
2 sticks unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2/3 cup good-quality unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground Mexican cinnamon (canela)
1/4 teaspoon pequen chili powder or cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides. Press the paper into the corners of the pan and lightly grease the paper with butter.

Melt the 2 sticks of butter in a nonstick saucepan over medium-low heat; do not boil. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Add the sugar, eggs and vanilla to the saucepan and stir with a wooden spoon until combined.

Add the cocoa, flour, cinnamon, chili powder, salt and baking powder and mix until smooth.

Spread the batter in the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out fudgy, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in the pan on a rack, then use the parchment paper to lift out the brownies before slicing