Robert Robinson & Tim Frantzich Create Heaven on a Saturday Night

Quote of the Day:  We all have a job to do here. We can make a choice and work together to build a golden city. paraphrase from Robert Robinson from his concert in the Brainerd lakes area...Heaven on a Saturday Night, May 5, 2012.

It was a moment of Transformation.

Robert Robinson, Timothy Frantzich, David Ballman

I sat up front, just feet away from the most powerful, soulful, gospel voice on the planet. The piano was an arm's length from me. I could see the subtle tick of facial expression as well as the wide open exaltation. Brother Timothy, Robert Robinson, David Ballman, and pianist David Billingsly created Heaven on a Saturday Night. There in the old, stone church in North Brainerd, I felt a transformation. This was not the kind of concert that we rural Minnesotans of northern European descent are used to. Uhn-ah, no, ma'am. No one was sitting straight and still with hands in their laps. These folks rocked the house. Their music, encouraged by our response, brought everyone to a higher plane. We were on our feet. We were clappin' and wigglin' our hips and tappin' more than toes and huggin' our neighbor. At one point, Robert challenged us to be a gospel choir. He said, "Let's raise it one step higher and make you a Black Gospel Choir."  He said that he'd never heard of people just stopping once they get into a song. You finally get'em going, and then they're done? No. You gotta keep singing.

Okay, I might look a little drunk here as I'm singin' & clappin' & movin'. It's not alcohol, folks. I'm intoxicated by the music, the moment, and the energy.

We were rockin' the house, way up here in Brainerd, Minnesota, at the United Church of Christ. The performers encouraged us to sing along, to move something in response. (Who could sit still?)

David Billingsly at the piano.

I watched in awe as David accompanied Robert Robinson. He'd often have his eyes glued to the singer. Robert sings from a deep well inside of him. I can imagine it's never the same song twice. David is vigilant, ready with his talented fingers to bring the song along, to give us waterfalls of transformation, to lift up Robert in places, and then have his moments to shine. It was a joy to watch him perform.

He seemed so comfortable there. Sometimes he'd lean forward, scrunch up one eye, listen intently to Robert, then take it away.

Fingers on the piano.

A touch of magic.

David said that tonight, at our concert, Robert went places he'd never heard him go before. He had his transformation. Brother Timothy said that when all three voices hit a chord in a song, he felt the transformation. I'm telling you, folks, you aren't living if you don't attend live performances. There is no substitute, and the feeling stays with you forever. It lifts you up. It transforms you beyond time and circumstance, and it gives you the energy to "build a golden city."

Go. Create. Inspire!

Journaling Prompt:  What inspires you to build a golden city?

Thank you, Joey Halvorson, for taking so many wonderful pictures and capturing the moment. She has more on her facebook page, and I told her she could subtitle the album, The Body Language of Music. mmm. hmmm.

Espresso Brownies Alla Barbara

What a fantastic night with our friends from Venezuela.  Showed them that this Italian could move fast when it comes to that Salsa dancing... Or was it because of these Chocolate and Espresso brownies?  What a fabulous dessert!   I must admit, haven't danced like that in a long time.  This will get you dancing too~

Espresso Brownies~

There are several mistakes people make when attempting brownies of any kind. 
1.  Always use good quality chocolate.   I use Ghiradelli chocolate as it has the largest percentage of Cacao in the chocolate and is great for baking.  
 2.  Be sure and set a water bath under your pan in the oven.  This will ensure moist brownies every time.  Secondly, your brownies will not stick to your pan.
3  Throw away that espresso powder.  There was no such thing growing up. My mother and Aunt used straight coffee or Tia Maria for flavoring.  Espresso powder is made through a process of chemical additives and not good in your recipe.
4. Always save a piece for the cook.  Once you set them out on the table, they will be gone before you know it.

Ingredients:
7oz of Ghiradelli Chocolate (semi sweet morsels)
1 stick of unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 cup plus 1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons of espresso (cooled)
2 tablespoons of Kahlua (optional, if you elect not to use this please increase your espresso to help intensify the flavor).
10 oz of semi sweet chocolate to stir in your batter before backing

chocolate sauce:  Melt 8 oz of  semi sweet chocolate with 2 tablespoons hot water.  Drizzle over your Brownies just before serving.

Method:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees/bake
line a 9 inch brownie pan with parchment paper or grease your pan with butter and flour
Melt your butter and chocolate over some simmering water.
In a bowl, cream your eggs and your sugar with an electric mixer.   Add your espresso, Kahlua and mix.  Mix in your vanilla extract and flour. Pour in your cooled chocolate and mix until incorporated.  Mix in your chocolate morsels.  Pour into a greased 9 inch brownie pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.  Set on a rack to cool.  Cut your squares and drizzle over the top with chocolate sauce.~ Buon Appetito~

Optional: add  chopped walnuts.  I do not like nuts in my Brownies, so I do not use them.  If you are taking them as a hostess gift, it's better to be safe as you never know who is allergic to nuts.

Black Chocolate Stout Whoopie Pies . . . with Fluffy Stout Cream Filling

I suppose I should begin by telling you that beer, per se, is really not my thing. I never drink the stuff, rarely engage in beer-lingo-laden conversations about it, and have never--not even once--craved a cold glass of it. But I acknowledge that there's beer and then there's beer, and a fine quality black chocolate stout, I must concede, falls easily into the latter category. At the very least, I am willing to use it as a baking ingredient. While I have no desire to consume the stuff on its own, I realize it's the idea of the stout mingling with pure chocolate in a mixing bowl that excites my bakerly interest. It does smell kind of interesting, and looks kind of wonderful . . . it's oh-so foamy. Yes, I'll put it into cake. Just don't expect me to guzzle it.

My husband, who was once deeply enamored of home-brewing (as evidenced by the fact that I know exactly what a carboy is, and could point you to an old one in our basement), tells me that, in many cases, chocolate stouts don't actually contain any chocolate at all. They get their dark hue and intriguingly bitter flavor from special malts that lend a cocoa-like aspect. I had no idea and felt slightly cheated at that piece of news, so I was relieved to realize that I'd selected a stout for these whoopies--albeit somewhat randomly, from a store display of colorful and chunky bottles--that does indeed claim to contain true chocolate.

I chose Dubious Black Chocolate Stout from North Peak Brewing Company. (North Peak is a young craft brewery and restaurant in Traverse City, Michigan, that's housed in what was once a candy factory. Check it out if you're ever in that neck of the woods.) It clearly had pleasing qualities, obvious even to a non-beer lover like me.

Okay, I'm convinced . . .

If these tasty cream-filled whoopie pies are any indication at all, then chocolate stout and chocolate-chocolate can consort in my mixing bowl any time they want. Try it and you'll see what I mean. Just look what happens, below, when you whisk the two together. Some kind of wild and primitive chemistry ensues. I think maybe it's black magic.

About this recipe . . . 

I adapted these whoopie-pies from Baked Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented, by Matt Lewis & Renato Poliafito (such a lovable cookbook, no question). I altered their basic chocolate whoopie pie formula by using a whole cup of stout for the main liquid instead of half a cup of hot coffee (I know--aren't I daring?). I omitted the espresso powder altogether, and I increased the amount of flour by about 20 percent while ratcheting up the salt just a smidgen. Somehow, these shenanigans all worked out splendidly and the cookie/cakey parts were perfectly suited to their task.

For the filling, I whipped together confectioners sugar, a splash of the stout, a little vanilla-bean paste, unsalted butter, cream cheese, and a dab of heavy cream. Too, too yummy, I tell you what. You have to try these.

Black Chocolate Stout Whoopie Pies 
with Fluffy Stout Cream Filling
(For a printable version of this recipe, click here!)

Yield: At least a dozen large whoopie pies.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line two or more cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Ingredients for the cookie-cakes:
4 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, unbleached
scant 1/2 tsp. coarse kosher salt
1 and 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 and 1/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 cup natural cocoa powder (I used Penzey's brand.)
1 cup black chocolate stout, not cold (I used Dubious Black Chocolate Stout from North Peak Brewery.)
2 cups light brown sugar, firmly packed
3/4 cup canola oil
1 egg, large
1 tsp. vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract (I used Nielsen & Massey vanilla paste.)
1/2 cup buttermilk

Ingredients for the fluffy stout cream filling:
3 and 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted or whisked (I recommend Domino's 10x; if you use this, you can get away without sifting.)
2 Tbsp. black chocolate stout
1 tsp. vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsaltened butter, room temperature
1/2 cup cream cheese, room temperature
1 and 1/2 Tbsp. heavy cream

To prepare the whoopies:

Whisk the flour, salt, baking power, and baking soda in a medium size bowl, then set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the cocoa powder to break up lumps. Pour in the black chocolate stout and whisk until it's well mixed.

In another medium size bowl, stir together the brown sugar and the oil. Pour this into the large bowl with the chocolate mixture. Add into that the egg, vanilla, and buttermilk. Whisk until very well combined. Carefully fold in the flour, using a rubber spatula, scraping the bowl as needed.

Then, I recommend letting the batter sit for about ten minutes. It sort of thickens a bit as the dry ingredients absorb the moisture and it becomes easier to scoop.

Use an ice cream scoop to portion the batter onto the parchment sheets, leaving at least an inch for each whoopie to spread out when it bakes. (I used a number 24 scoop; that holds 3 tablespoons. Feel free to make them smaller if you like, reducing baking time accordingly.)

Bake each tray for about 12 minutes, just until the whoopies look completely dry on top and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out mostly clean. Cool the whoopies on the parchment for a few minutes, then use a thin metal spatula to remove them to a cooling rack. They may stick a bit, even on the parchment, so be careful when you're lifting them off of it.

Once they're completely cool, assemble your whoopie pies either by spreading the filling on with an offset spatula or by using a pastry bag. Store the filled whoopies well covered (I put them on a half sheet tray that was first covered with parchment, then laid a loose sheet of parchment atop that, then covered it all with plastic wrap.) You may want to keep them chilled until ready to serve, as the filling can become quite soft.

To prepare the fluffy stout cream filling:

In the large bowl of your mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese until soft and well combined. On the lowest speed, add in the confectioners' sugar, a cup or so at a time until the sugar is all mixed in. Add in the stout, vanilla bean paste or extract, and heavy cream. Beat on medium-high speed for a couple of minutes, until light and fluffy. If the filling seems too warm and soft, chill it before filling the whoopies.

(If you'd like to comment on this post, or to read any existing comments, please click on the purple COMMENTS below.)

Porchetta style Pork Roast (Maiale alla Porchetta)

Ingredients:  One, 6-8 pound, bone-in Pork end Roast or half picnic Roast.  

2 bunches (about 4 cups Rosemary, left whole)

One handful of fresh sage (about 2 cups)

3-4 cloves garlic, diced

2 teaspoons Sea Salt

2 teaspoons black pepper

4 pieces of  heavy duty foil, enough to cover the roast tightly and securely

One cup of white wine

 

Preheat your oven to 250 bake.

 

Take your meat out of the package and give it a rinse.  Pat your meat dry with paper towels. Place your meat in a Ziploc bag with your wine for several hours or even over night. The longer the better. If you wish, you can skip this step entirely and add your wine at the last minute.  Drain, pat dry, sprinkle with salt and pepper and place on a foil lined baking sheet.   

Make some holes around the top of our Roast and insert some garlic pieces right into the roast.  Do not worry if some of the garlic falls to the bottom of the baking sheet.  Lay your Rosemary and sage across the top of your Roast.  It is not necessary to add any additional fat.   Wrap up your roast using additional pieces of foil.  You need a good, tight fit. This will ensure even cooking, as well as air entrapment.  That is what you want to have happen.

Cook in a low oven, 250 degrees, for approximately 6-7 hours.  Check your Roast at the 6 1/2 hour mark.  You will notice that your package may have deflated by almost half.  Use the back of a wooden spoon to slightly, pat down on your package.  If your package is very soft, it's ready.    You will also notice that the liquid (fat) has now escaped  to the bottom of your pan, but your package looks intact.  

 Cut open your package across the top of the roast. Remove your Rosemary and sage that has wilted from the steam.  Open your package across the top.  Expose the top entirely.  (Add our wine here, if you haven't in the beginning).  Broil for 10-12 minutes until the top is golden brown.

Remove from oven and let rest at least 15 minutes before serving. Serve with several fresh sprigs of Rosemary and Sage.  Buon Appetito!

Special Note:  Make adjustments for convection cooking.  I usually use the 50 minutes per pound calculation based on this cut of meat and the low cooking temperature. 

Blog2Print Gift Certificate Giveaway Winner!

Just wanted to announce the winner of our Blog2Print $35 gift certificate. Drum roll please . . . Congratulations to Brooke at Tale of Three Forks blog! Brooke is a new mom who obviously loves everything about life with her baby girl. Brooke, please email me at janessweets@gmail.com, and I'll give you the info you need to retrieve your gift certificate directly from Blog2Print. Again, heartiest congratulations. I really hope you enjoy making your very own blog book. 

Spring Piano Recital

Quote of the Day:  Where words leave off music begins. from the cover of a new journal I bought called Rhapsody. It's a gorgeous Black Rock Journal, all black cover with silver letters and musical notations. It was screaming my name when I walked into the book store. The pages are smooth, and my pen glides across like notes in a bluesy piece when you know what it's saying even when you can't hear the words.

Favorite Photo Friday:

The 2012 Spring Recital.

They're both cute and talented!

We had a lovely afternoon of music at Edgewood Vista last Sunday. I thanked the students for their hard work and bravery to get up and perform. I thanked the parents for providing them with a chance to make music.

Here is an excellent article that busts the Myths of Learning to Play the Piano. It is particularly good for any adult who has been longing to play, but has hang-ups about what it takes.

May you have many musical moments this spring!

Go. Create. Inspire!

Journaling Prompt:  Do you have someone to thank for giving you the gift of music, either in lessons, or sharing their song?

Comparisons be Damned

Today is the Insecure Writer's Support Group hosted by the incredible Alex J. Cavanaugh.

Quote of the Day:  Do what you feel in your heart to be right, for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do and damned if you don't.--Eleanor Roosevelt

Don't compromise yourself. You are all you've got.--Janis Joplin

Don't listen to those who say, "It's not done that way." Maybe it's not, but maybe you will. Don't listen to those who say, "You're taking too big a chance." Michelangelo would have painted the Sistine floor, and it would surely be rubbed out by today. Most importantly, don't listen when the little voice of fear inside of you rears its ugly head and says, "They're all smarter than you out there. They're more talented, they're taller, blonder, prettier, luckier and have connections…" I firmly believe that if you follow a path that interests you, not to the exclusion of love, sensitivity, and cooperation with others, but with the strength of conviction that you can move others by your own efforts, and do not make success or failure the criteria by which you live, the chances are you'll be a person worthy of your own respect.--Neil Simon  Find more wonderful quotes like these and Quote Lady.

April has been a wild and wonderful month, possibly the best month of my life. We had five sold out performances of Coffee Shop Confessions. Add that to the two in March, and we had a great run and raised $400 for the Mid-Minnesota Women's Center. I viewed and reviewd plays at the Guthrie and The Children's Theatre Company, and I've been quoted and promoted by these theaters. Not to mention, completing the epic A to Z Challenge. I was on top of the world. I thought I'd stay there forever.

I started to tumble down the hill. Dang. Here's what happened. I sent my script off to a theatre in Seattle that produces plays by women with strong female characters. I figured, my place fits the bill, but I was scared. In fact, I waited until the last minute to push send. Deadline was May 1. I sent it the eve of May 1. Okay. Good for me. Then, my publicist sent me the link to this amazing place in Minneapolis called The Playwright's Center. I spent some time reading about all the awards, productions, connections, and accomplishments of the playwrights who have been in their program, and I thought, Who am I to send a play out to a company in Seattle. They're going to laugh at me, some no name, nobody, never heard of show from small town Minnesota.

Good grief. I've been reading and rereading those quotes up above. I'm giving me a talking to about all the things I did here in my community, the relationships I've formed, the START of something good. I'd go soak in the tub, but my water heater seems to have died during the day. We all had hot showers this morning, but I washed dishes with cold water tonight.

Here's a boot full of flowers. I'm just trying to change the subject.

You know, the designer of this arrangement is showing us that you can do something any way you want. A boot can be a vase, or art, or footwear. It's all on how you look at it.

Go. Create. Inspire!

Journaling Prompt:  Why do we artist go through extreme highs and lows? Where are you right now? Top of the mountain, or down in the valley?