I come knocking with my elbows!
a discount + a recipe + a dog's day out
When I was a kid back in the late 70s my mom had a lot of parties. “Knock with your elbows,” she’d tell her guests. Which mortified me! What she meant was, come bearing bottles of wine, Fritos and bean dip, something to BBQ (no one said ‘grill’ back in the day). Their hands should be too full to knock.
I fashioned myself an up-and-coming socialite, devouring everything the maven Martha Stewart offered (collect depression-era glassware, polish copper pots, line the Thanksgiving table with charming turkey tchotchkes!) all while living in a beach shack with a mom whose most important grocery items were: pet milk for her coffee, jug wine that lived under the sink, and baby oil for tanning. “Knock with your elbows?” How crass I thought, to put upon your guests like that! And yet, she had fun, while I stood aside, sixteen-years-old, with kitten heels and pursed lips. Oh me.
And now here I am in your inbox, knocking with my elbows. I’m offering you this wonderful brownie recipe, which comes together in a snap, in one pot no less! I’ve been making them for decades. I even included the recipe in, SHOUT HER LOVELY NAME.
Lovey’s Brownies
4oz excellent quality unsweetened baking chocolate
2 sticks of butter
4 eggs
1½ c sugar
1 c flour
1 - 2 c chopped walnuts or pecans
1t vanilla
1t salt
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a rectangular baking pan
Over low heat, melt butter in saucepan with chocolate and stir until smooth. Many recipes recommend a double-boiler for this step. I’ve never had one so I lay the chocolate atop the sticks of butter and watch very carefully. Off heat when everything is melted
Stir in the sugar. I love this part as the batter thickens a bit and becomes glossy.
Add the eggs one at a time, stirring to fully incorporate. Add salt and vanilla.
Dump in the flour and stir until blended. Add the nuts.
Pour into your rectangular pan. Bake 40 to 45 minutes. Test with a toothpick which comes out clean when you poke in the center of the batch. Do not overbake; the brownies should be tender. Let cool (if you can wait), then cut into bars.
Plus I’m offering you 10% off subscriber rate for my newsletter until 1 December! In case you’d like to gift a funny and fun friend who likes to read.write.eat. And really, who doesn’t hit at least two out of the three? Or, maybe you’d like to elevate your subscription to support a writer-in-the-wild! Me! Either way, I thank you.
Take care, tell your people you love them. xN
Stanley living his best Thanksgiving Day!