Peppermint Cheesecake Brownies, oh my!

I recently made these brownies for my colleagues at work - they're courtesy of Cooking Light (which I love)...they were quite delicious and with a slight peppermint flavor. C loves cheesecake brownies (quite possibly the most sinful of brownies) so I'm pleased to find a recipe that is lighter and still as tasty!

Cheesecake batter:
1 (8-ounce) block 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Brownie batter:
4.5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
1 large egg
Cooking spray

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. To prepare cheesecake batter, place cheese in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Add granulated sugar and peppermint extract; beat well. Add 1 egg and 1 egg white; beat well. Add 1 tablespoon flour; beat mixture just until blended.

3. To prepare brownie batter, weigh or lightly spoon 4.5 ounces (about 1 cup) flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine 4.5 ounces flour, cocoa, and salt in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. In a separate bowl, combine brown sugar, oil, buttermilk, vanilla, 2 egg whites, and 1 egg in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium-high speed until well blended. Add flour mixture to brown sugar mixture; beat at low speed just until blended.

4. Reserve 1/2 cup of brownie batter. Pour remaining batter into a 9-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray. Carefully pour cheesecake batter over top; spread evenly to edges. Dot cheesecake batter with reserved brownie batter. Swirl top two layers of batters together using the tip of a knife. Bake at 350° for 26 minutes or until top is set. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.

Calories: 213 (32% from fat)

Perennial (favorite)

Living on the "edge" of Lincoln Park, C and I have a pretty restaurant accessible location. We are not in the midst of the hot spots, per se, but there are decent places in walking distance. Anyway, a new place opened up about the time we moved here in August - Perennial. While we have tried to go only once (it was their brunch opening), we have been wanting to try it for quite some time. What I love is that they are directly across the street from the Green City Market and use a lot of the fresh ingredients from the market in their food.

My company holiday party was there for an afternoon last week. It was primarily passed appetizers, a limited buffet and an UN-limited bar - isn't that a good equation? I am writing this based on my professed love of the passed apps...honestly, they were fabulous. Written from my (somewhat) foggy memory, here's what they served us:
Corn and crab hushpuppies
Semolina gnocchi with butternut squash puree
Potato bites with red pepper coulis
Ahi sushi with a ponzu sauce

My favorites were the hushpuppies (an overlooked southern food) and the gnocchi (nontraditional and delicious). The texture of the potato bites was a little off for me and the sushi was good, with a tad too much sauce. Given that none of these options are on their regular menu, the point might be moot...BUT, my thoughts are this: if their catering for 250 is this good - hand me the dinner menu.

Check it out.

P.S. It is the same restaurant group as BOKA and Landmark...good kin.

In Defense of Food

A friend of mine lent me a book recently In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan. I have been making my way through it and have enjoyed it and the things I'm learning...nothing totally ground breaking, but just reiterations of these tenets: Eat (real) food, not too much, mostly plants.

What I really like is the reference to "real food" or "whole foods" - there are so many manufactured and processed and additive-injected foods these days. While I'm not bashing these foods (hello, cheese and chocolate are processed) but I like that reminding people that an orange can do so much for your health, as can spinach or blueberries, or oatmeal.

Reading Pollan is like a smart-alec former biology professor - his personality shines through and it's refreshing when you are reading more dry content (eg. soil mineral deficiencies or colon cleansing). It's good for foodies, health-conscious folks, and anyone interested in learning more about what they eat.

Read it and eat. Available at Borders!