Double chocolate

So this morning I got to go to the shooting range with L, L's M, and a couple of others. I only had time to shoot one round, but it was so much fun that it was worth the drive. There's something to be said about shooting things--for some crazy reason, there is such satisfaction from seeing those bright orange disks explode. And plus, I didn't do half bad this time. I probably hit 35-40% (out of a round of 25), which, compared to my last attempt's average of maybe 10% in November (at a stretch--I think I hit between 1 and 5 per round for three rounds), is pretty good. I was happy with it. I am very tempted to save up for a shotgun one of these days. Whereas last time, I kind of just pulled the trigger randomly, today I could actually line up the gun and aim. I forgot how friggin' heavy the guns are, though. Yeah, I'm a wimp.

Hey, if I get good enough, maybe I can shoot a bird! Then Jim can get it, take off the feathers and head, and I'll cook it. :-) I have such the vegetarian mentality, don't I? I actually don't know if I could handle seeing all the blood. And once I read a story about how the boy duck flew down and lay next to the dead girl duck and waited for the hunter to kill him, too. That would break my heart. You'd almost have to kill him to put him out of his misery. Okay, maybe I couldn't shoot a duck. Besides, Jim doesn't like them anyway. A chicken or a turkey on the other hand . . .

We have dinner plans with Jim's cousin and her hubby tomorrow night. It's their fifth anniversary the day after, so I wanted to bake them something. I genuinely love baking, and it's certainly cheaper and more fun than buying a gift. And I feel somewhat obligated to do so, since we're seeing them the day before their anniversary. Not that it's an onerous obligation by any means. It's just the right thing to do.

I was racking my brain, trying to figure out something to bake for them. I actually couldn't come up with anything until I was on my way home--I decided to go with a recipe I haven't made since my best friend M was in town, brownies a la the Ghiradelli semi-sweet chocolate baking bar wrapper recipe. I've used this recipe at least a half a dozen times over the years because it's foolproof, quick, and nets a moist, tender, and not-too-rich brownie. I used a double boiler this time instead of melting it in the mot like I always have in the past. Other than that, it was business as usual. Oh, and I used Nestle Toll House chocolate chips instead of Ghiradelli (thanks to Costco, I have a huge bag of 'em). I use this scat brownie pan I bought on sale from Safeway of all places, and for whatever reason, that may be the best baking pan I own. I've abused the crap out of it and yet it continues to bake evenly and be non-stick. Amazing.



The brownies are so easy that while the melted butter/chocolate combo was cooling, I had time to start a recipe I haven't made before, Nigella's mint chocolate cookies. Contrary to their name, they're barely mint. The only mint in there is actually 1/4 tsp of peppermint extract used in the icing. But that is actually quite a potent flavoring--I've never baked with peppermint before and I was surprised at its strength. A little definitely goes a long way.