Desserts, Appetizers, Cutting and Sewing

After the snow day/mama lioness morning (see previous post if you're confused) we hurried home to prep for the next part of our busy day. 

Remember when I told you about my monthly get-togethers with all the ladies I used to work with?  Shireen was hosting January's, but I volunteered our house to meet at since we have two big tables and needed a lot of workspace.  There were two parts to our get-together: 1) a dessert and appetizer tasting and 2) making hygiene gift packs for girls in Africa.  We'll get to that in a minute.

So, anyway.  Michael and Spencer left to meet the husbands and other kids for a man hike.  There are no pictures of that, which is sad, since it was Spencer's first hike.  All the ladies came over to our house, where we started the party with a lot of eating.

I made mint chocolate brownies.

Shireen made this amazing baklava.

Brenda made this yummy bean dip.

There were many other dishes too.  Amy made a delicious chocolate eclair cake, Lauren brought hummus, and Maryellen made seasoned oyster crackers.  Maryellen also had the best line of the day in reference to the oyster crackers, "they don't actually have oysters in them".  I only took 2 pictures the whole day, so lots of stuff is missing.  I'm using pictures that I borrowed from Lauren's Picasa album.

After we ate we broke into 2 groups.  A sewing group and a cutting group.

Brenda, Nasreen, Shireen and Nasreen and Shireen's mom (I'm sorry! I don't remember her name) were on the sewing team.

Amy, Maryellen and I were cutters.  Amy was a fast cutter.

Maryellen and I were slow cutters.

Lauren was a cutter, but she was a floor cutter.  Girls in Africa will be getting fabric bags with Ginger hair on them.

Each girl gets a pair of underwear (or maybe 2) as part of their bag.  Did you know that most women in Africa have never owned a pair of underwear? 

The whole crew.  This picture took a lot of effort using the timer on Lauren's camera.

It was a GREAT day.  We didn't get nearly enough sewing done, but Shireen and Nasreen have assured us they will continue on their own.

Mint Chocolate Brownies

Brownie Layer

½ cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

1 ¼ cups white sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 large eggs

½ cup flour

¼ tsp salt

Mint Layer

2 TB unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup confectioners sugar, sifted

1- 1 ½ TB heavy cream

½ tsp peppermint extract

Green food coloring

Chocolate Glaze

3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

1 TB unsalted butter

Brownies: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and place the rack in the center of the oven. Have ready a 9 x 9 inch square baking pan that has been lined with aluminum foil across the bottom and up two opposite sides of the pan. Set aside. In a stainless steel (heatproof) bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the butter and chocolate. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar and vanilla extract. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well (with a wooden spoon) after each addition. Stir in the flour and salt and beat, with a wooden spoon, until the batter is smooth and glossy and comes away from the sides of the pan (about one minute). Pour the brownie batter evenly into the prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes or until the brownies start to pull away from the sides of the pan and the edges of the brownies are just beginning to brown. A toothpick inserted in the center of the brownies will come out almost clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to completely cool.

Mint Layer: In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat all the ingredients until smooth. Add a few drops of green food coloring if you want the frosting green. If the frosting is too thick, add a little extra cream. (The frosting should be just thin enough to spread.) Spread the frosting evenly over the cooled brownie layer. Place in the refrigerator for about 5-10 minutes or until firm.

Chocolate Glaze: In a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter. Spread over the mint filling and refrigerate for about 30 minutes or until the chocolate glaze starts to dull.

To Serve: Remove the brownies from the pan by lifting with the ends of the foil and transfer to a cutting board. With a sharp knife, cut into 30 squares. It is a good idea to wipe your knife between cuts with a damp cloth.