What ACTUALLY was happening stemmed from that day in San Diego when I gave the guys the camera for the day. While touring the Midway Floating Museum they took pictures and a few of those pictures were taken in the kitchen; some were photos of recipes. Well, I just thought that they took those picutres because it was interesting to see what types of food the men ate on board the Midway and the huge porportions that were prepared for them. I was informed otherwise when I made this comment; "Why would I take a picture of a recipe that I had no intention of trying out?", Robby replied. Hmmm...So much for my quick in and out of the kitchen night. I had a feeling that THIS little experiment was going to prove to be a little messy!
Our dinner of hamburgers, grilled cheese sandwiches and homemade potato chips was quick and easy in more than one way. It was the first night this week that the kitchen had been cleaned up early and without having to scrub dishes, countertops and stove. A movie had been selected on television and we had all just settled in, when Ryan said, "Hey, Dad, you want my to go get the stuff to make those brownies?" I slowly glanced over at them, as Robby replied, "Bring me the computer." THAT'S when I knew that we were about to have a real "project" on our hands.
The "Midway Brownie Recipe" was, naturally, written to feed a large number of people...Robby and Ryan had to break it down to a reasonable amount for us. I listened as Robby calculated and Ryan wrote the ingredients down; he then headed out to the grocery store. Upon returning home, Ryan began to unload all of the ingredients, while Robby told him how much he needed to measure out on the scale. I thought that Ryan was going to attempt making these brownies alone, HOWEVER, if one knows my husband, they also know that he could NEVER just sit there and not become involved.
As the brownie preparations were going on, I saw that the recipe called for prunes...YUCK! I'm sorry, prune industry, but I really just HATE prunes! Oh, it may just be a "mental thing" now, but I am told (because I was far too young to remember...) that my first incident with prunes was when I was still in the highchair. Apparently my mother was attempting to get me to drink some prune juice...I slapped it out of her hand...and was immediately introduced to my first little hand popping! So, you see, I do NOT have good memories of prunes and make a point to NEVER eat or drink them in any form. I didn't want to discourage the guys, so I didn't verbally complain too loudly about those prunes, but I DID sort of turn my nose up and shudder a little bit at the thought of them.
As the large portions of flour and chocolate were being thrown into bowls and mixers, I noticed that in the process it looked as though someone had blown up my already clean kitchen for the night! (sigh...) Sitting at the counter, Caitlin answered the phone to talk to Kevin. I suppose he asked her what we were doing; the noise of the mixer and food processor was so loud (not to mention the screaming going on to be heard above them...) I'm not sure how she could even hear. THAT'S when we all heard her tell him that her dad and brother were making "Prune, Egg Brownies" from some recipe they had found from the 1800's! All activity stopped for just a minute as we looked over at her in shock...and then the laughing began! She glanced up from her conversation and said, "OK, that recipe must have been from the 1940's since they're all laughing at me." Ummm...YEA! That AND the fact that she just called their sweet treat, "Prune, Egg Brownies"!
The batter was put in the pan and popped in the oven. I raked my finger in the bowl to taste the batter...ugh! I could taste the prune puree' in them. Guzzling some water quickly, I hoped that the prune flavor would bake out of them in the oven. I noticed what a MESS the guys had made and announced that I was NOT cleaning it up!
Those brownies came out looking perfectly delicious! Now, it was time for a taste...PRUNES! It might just be in my mind (But I don't think so...) but I could STILL taste prunes instead of nice, fudgy chocolate. There was no way I would be able to eat them. I sat back down on the couch, where Robby and Ryan appeared to be enjoying them OK. Caitlin got up to sample a taste, herself and I could hear her mumble under her breath as she returned..."Tastes like prunes."
Now, I'm not sure WHY the cooks on the "Midway" would put prune puree' in their brownie recipe (although I DO have a sneaking suspicion why...), but, in my opinion, we need to find some other ingredient to replace those prunes or that pan of brownies will be the first in the history of sweets to survive for over a week at my house!
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