Time in office = Time in airport

Ok. Not quite. But my trip was definitely extended by delay after delay in the airport on the way home. The weather was bad in Chicago. And I probably wouldn’t have minded the delay as much if we could have left the gate area. But they really strung us along with only last minute updates. We were even on the plane, then had to get off. Kate, Fred, Matt and I finally got out at maybe 9pm? Our flight had been scheduled for 4. Jerry, Kaunish and Al were scheduled for 2pm and their flights were cancelled outright. Kaunish and Al got out in the morning. Jerry didn’t leave til the following night. The only one who didn’t have any issues was Mike, who was flying to San Diego!

We did have a nice dinner with a lot of our Plano colleagues – Mia, Jason, LaShunda, Robyn, Jen – at Sixty Vines. On the outside this looks like a random restaurant in the middle of a parking lot in front of a strip mall. But once inside it was really nice and the food was great!

Afterwards, we walked across the parking lot to the Parkway Tavern to have another drink or two. And watch the Packer game!


I stayed at the Renaissance Legacy West and it was really nice. Beautiful hotel. There was a free shuttle all around town. More than once, we were the only ones on the shuttle and the guy just drove us wherever we wanted! Unlike other hotels I’ve stayed at, there was no free breakfast, but it is very close to the Legacy area that has a lot of shops and restaurants. Oh, and a cowboy hat in the room? Aveda products were nice.

At DFW, our gate was about 5 steps from security. And about 10 steps over was a Pizza Hut bar. Bar! With breakfast! And sandwiches and salads! Never saw one like it before!

Maida Heatter’s Denver Brownies

I made these brownies for a football party we had. The Packers were playing the Cowboys and we had a bunch of people over to celebrate. Packers won! The brownies looked fancy, but were pretty fast and easy to make! I love the Maida Heatter cookie book. Can never go wrong with it!

This is the note that Maida wrote about the brownie:

“When my husband and I were on tour for my chocolate book, I made hot fudge sauce on a Denver TV program. As we left the station, the receptionist handed me a recipe and said, “Since you like chocolate so much, you should have this recipe. When Julia Child was here, one of the men in the station made these for her and she loved them.” They are fancy little bite-size chocolate squares with a layer of white icing that is covered with chocolate icing. They look like elegant candy – make them for a party. They freeze well, but they are not for packing or mailing.”

DENVER BROWNIES
From: Maida Heatter’s Cookies
Yield: 64 tiny brownies

Brownie
¾ cup sifted all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup honey
2 tablespoons water or black coffee
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces at room temperature
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
6 ounces (generous 1 ½ cups) walnutsncut into medium-size pieces (Note: I used toasted pecans)
2 tablespoons bourbon, brandy or rum

Adjust a rack to the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. Prepare a 9-inch square cake pan as follows: turn the pan over and cover it with a 12-inch square of aluminum foil, shiny side down. Fold down the sides and the corner of the foil to shape it, remove the foil, the pan right side up, place the foil in the pan, and carefully press it into place. To butter the foil, put a piece of butter in the pan and place it in the oven to melt. Then brush it over the foil. Set the pan aside. (Note: I used parchment, not foil.)

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Place the honey, water or coffee, butter, and chocolate in a 2- to 3-quart sauce pan over moderate heat. Stir until the chocolate and butter are melted. Remove from the heat. With a wooden spoon, stir in the vanilla and then the eggs, one at a time. Mix well. Add the dry ingredients and whisk vigorously with a wire whisk until smooth. Stir in the nuts.

Turn the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

Bake for about 25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the middle just barely comes out clean. Do not overbake.

Remove from the oven and brush the bourbon, brandy or rum over the hot cake. (Note: I forgot to do this step!)

Cool to tepid in the pan.

Cover the pan with a rack, turn over the pan and the rack, remove the pan and the foil, cover with another rack, and turn over again, leaving the cake right side up. Let stand to cool completely and then transfer to a small board. (The cake will be ¾ inch high.)

White Icing
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

In the small bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter until soft. Add the vanilla and then gradually add the sugar, beating well until soft and fluffy.

Spread the white icing over the top of the cake. With a long narrow metal spatula, smooth top.

Refrigerate.

Chocolate Icing
6 ounces semisweet chocolate coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon vegetable shortening (Crisco or other)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Place the chocolate, shortening, and butter in the top of a small double boiler over hot water on moderate heat. Cover until partially melted. Then uncover and stir until completely melted and smooth. Remove from the heat.

Pour in a thick ribbon all over the white icing, working quickly before the chilled white icing sets the chocolate. With a long narrow metal spatula, smooth the top.

Refrigerate.

To cut, the chocolate might be so firm that it cracks while you cut it. Either let it stand at room temperature briefly or score the cutting lines gently and carefully with a long serrated knife, and then cut through with a long, thin, knife cutting straight down, not back and forth. First trim the edges slightly, then cut the cake into eight 1-inch strips. With a small, sharp paring knife, cut each strip into 1-inch squares.

Place the brownies in a single layer in a shallow covered box, or place them on a tray. Be sure the chocolate is firm and cover with plastic wrap.