Happy May Day!

I can’t say that I enjoy holidays, generally speaking. I’m not one to decorate or send out cards. Sometimes I forget they’re even coming up and it isn’t until someone reminds me to purchase a gift or call my family that I realize my mistake. That has never been the case with May Day.

May Day is my favorite day of the year. It’s even better than my birthday.

As a child my mother would let us pluck flowers out of the garden. We would arrange them in plastic cups, baskets, or vases and leave them on our neighbor’s doorsteps (we would ring the bell and run away – if caught, we had to give the recipient a kiss). It’s a practice that I continued through high school, college, and now into my adult life. None of my friends have escaped the tradition and many have joined me in the game at least once. What’s more, no matter how far apart, many of my college friends still contact me each May 1st to wish me a happy day. It really is the best holiday around.

:: Salted Fudge Brownies ::

I had a realization this morning, right between a couple of big gulps of coffee.

The rise in my chocolate consumption lately directly correlates with the increase of gray skies and cold spring rain.
That’s all the explanation one needs, really. After that chocolate cake I made not too far off in recent memory, I wanted to try something different. Just not so different that it was outside of the chocolate box. I recently had salted caramel ice cream at Molly Moon’s in Wallingford. I was instantly hooked to the salty/sweet contrast. These brownies have a discrete hint of salt- it’s perfect.
Make these a few hours before you know you will be craving them. They take a while to cool. Just a word to the wise.

::: Ingredients :::

·  1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
·  2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
·  1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
·  2 cups sugar
·  3 large eggs
·  1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
·  1 cup all-purpose flour
·  1/2 teaspoon sea salt

::: Directions :::

>> Preheat the oven to 350º. Next, cover a 9 x 9 pan with foil and butter the foil slightly. This will make cutting the brownies at the end a lot easier.

>> In a large saucepan, melt the butter and the unsweetened chocolate on a very low setting and stir occasionally. Once melted together, remove from heat.

>> Whisk together, one at a time until fully combined, the cocoa, sugar, eggs, vanilla and flour. Then, pour the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle an even layer of sea salt over the top of the batter. Next, take a butter knife and swirl the salt into the batter.

>> Bake on the center rack for 35 min. or until the edges are firm, but the middle slightly soft. Allow brownies to cool for at least an hour at room temperature; place in the refrigerator for an hour. (The waiting is well worth it, I promise.) Once cooled completely, remove the foil from the pan and cut brownies into 16 pieces.

**I found this recipe via www.foodandwine.com