– by Neil White (on my Kindle) – a really, really interesting book. It’s a memoir about the year the author spent in prison in Louisiana. About his sanctimonious attitude when he arrived there (he was convicted of kiting checks trying to keep his publishing business afloat) and what he learns during his year. But as much as it’s about his life as a prisoner, it’s more about the other residents of the prison – the last remaining lepers (Hansen’s Disease) who are provided for in the facility. Neil White is quite a character and I wondered more than once if he was ever going to “get it,” that he was greedy and egotistical. The book wasn’t published for about 10 years after his release, so at least he didn’t profit immediately by telling tales. The epilogue was so sad – listing the deaths of many of the leprosy patients and some of the inmates he came to call friends. One person at amazon commented that it was not worth reading because the author profited from his incarceration, and that he didn’t appear to have redeemed himself. I disagree – I think he did. If he didn’t, then he knows how to spin a good yarn. I choose to believe he learned a whole lot about himself and where his life took a (wrong) left turn, and that he’s trying to atone for his failings by publishing the book. You decide.
- by P.D. James (on my Kindle) – if I hadn’t read about this book in the Los Angeles Times a week or so ago I’d never have pursued this book. It’s nothing even close to her wealth of books of the mystery genre. But yes, it IS a mystery (not something I normally read) but it takes place about 5 years after Pride and Prejudice leaves off. That was the hook for me. An entertaining read and a way to keep in touch with all the lovable (and not-so) characters from Jane Austen’s classic. It’s not a page-turner in the true mystery-murder style, but it’s fun to read.
– by Judith Ryan Hendricks – I picked up this book at a lending library I use now and then. I have to laugh, though – the collection of books (probably numbering about 350 or so) is divided by paperback and hardback. And then by color. COLOR? I find that so ludicrous. But anyway, the title caught my eye. It’s definitely a novel, about a youngish woman who’s been a baker and a chef, but who is suddenly single. It’s about her struggle to find herself, to find a new rhythm of life. In the telling of the journey some recipes are included (baked goods, including bread-bread), which are available on the 
– by Ree Drummond (The Pioneer Woman) – most everyone who reads blogs knows about Ree – the Pioneer Woman, from Pawhuska, Oklahoma. She’s always entertaining, whimsical and enjoyable to read. A couple of years ago she wrote a memoir of her romance with Ladd, her now husband. I can’t count how many times, as I was reading this, that I was LOLing (Laughing Out Loud). She is such a witty writer and knows how to tell a story. Even though I know she married Ladd and has since had 4 children, I was caught up in her story from the first page. I wrote it up in more detail on
– (on my Kindle) Michael Tucker (from L.A. Law some years ago) and his wife, on a whim almost, buy a home in Umbria. An old, old, old house with two bedrooms, a kitchen, living room, I think, and a nice terrace (where a lot of living goes on in Italian homes and families). It’s the story of the purchase itself, the friends they meet, the neighbors, how Michael finds the best butcher(s), bakers and candlestick makers. It made me long for another trip to Italy, actually. They enlarge the home, although they’re not there for most of the construction. It’s a similar tale to Frances Mayes’ books and Peter Mayle’s books too, but it’s different. Tucker is a TV star; his wife’s a stage actress. They live on some higher plane than I do, for sure, with lots of friends with connections. But it’s a cute story and I enjoyed it clear to the end.
(Stacy Schiff); 
; and 
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It all started when I was sifting through my file for cookies to bake. Our son-in-law, Todd, asked about the chocolate-chocolate chip cookies I blogged about 2 weeks ago. I don’t suppose Todd reads my blog normally. But my laptop that lives here in the kitchen is the one he uses in the evenings to catch up on his email. My blog was up, front and center last night, so he started glancing through it, spying things he’s eaten in the last couple of weeks. He spotted the picture of the cookies. There’s just one measly cookie left in the freezer, I was sad to tell him.
So I wanted to make something for him to snack on while he’s here. Nothing jumped out at me amongst my stand-bys, so I went to my file. The 100+ clippings I have from over 40 years of saving recipes. I used to be in an annual Christmas cookie exchange, so I have all those recipes. And little slips of paper from friends and acquaintances. Plus the bulk of magazine and newspaper clips, and a few taken from the internet. I had so many that some years ago I had to divide them up by cookie type (chocolate, bars, brownie type, holiday, spice, candy-type, etc.).
(this is my old recipe notebook circa 1965)
But, in looking through the very large stacks, I spied a photo of a cream cheese brownie which brought back a flood of memories. I went to my old binder where I used to hand-write all my favorite recipes. Went right to the page where I had my recipe for “Heavenly Cream Cheese Brownies.” The recipe is not there. The yellowed scotch tape is still there, but the recipe, a magazine clipping, is missing.
I knew the name was exactly “Heavenly Cream Cheese Brownies”. Figuring I’d find hundreds of listings on the internet, I put exactly that phrase into my google search box. Nothing. Huh? How can that be? There’s a site that tries to recreate or house archives of “lost” recipes. It’s called astray. I was certain it would be there. No, not by that name. After spending far too much time looking at various “cream cheese brownie” recipes I went to my cookbooks and figured some of those home-spun cookbooks I have would list this. Nada.
I don’t remember what type of chocolate the recipe used, but it seems to me that it was German’s sweet chocolate. The method: you poured some of the brownie mixture in the bottom of an 8×8 pan, then poured on the cream cheese batter that had a tad of flour in it (there wasn’t enough to cover the chocolate layer), then you blobbed on the last of the chocolate batter, which also didn’t cover completely. Then you ran a knife through it to swirl it around. Bake, slice and eat. I always loved that recipe.
I dug out my box of chocolate ingredients. Actually I have more than one, but this one contains the myriad of bar chocolates I use for baking. Thankfully, there was a bar of German’s sweet chocolate amidst this pile. I do eat chocolate too. But I diligently limit myself to about 1 ounce when I do. My preference for eating is the low-effective carb bars from Trader Joe’s. The dark chocolate type. I wanted to stock up on them (to take on our upcoming trip), but TJ’s is currently out of them. Hope that’s not permanent.My guess is that the cream cheese brownies recipe was first published (in a magazine ad) in the 1970′s. My recollection is that it was an ad for Knudsen Philadelphia style cream cheese. I remember reading it and thinking, what a novel idea. I tried it right away, and was very pleased with it. Over the years I probably made it more than 20 times. Now, of course, that I don’t have the original recipe, I was feeling bereft.
I finally found a recipe on allrecipes for a cream cheese brownie. It does use the German’s chocolate, and looks much like the one I remember. And the directions seem to ring a bell. Many of the recipes I found used a brownie mix. I didn’t want to do that, since I was sure the chocolate wasn’t cocoa, or 
Hershey’s liquid. So I wanted the real thing. So this one, submitted by a gal named Rosina, fit the bill. I also found a couple of recipes on the astray website that called them German’s sweet chocolate cream cheese brownies. They’re identical to this one, so I think I found the recipe. I’ll hope so. Here’s the batter all ready for the oven. I did use about 7 ounces of cream cheese. The original recipe calls for just a 3-ounce package. So mine have more of that light cheese swirl.
The report: excellent. They were exactly what I remembered. Bereft no longer, am I.
printer-friendly PDF
Cream Cheese Brownies
Recipe: allrecipes.com
Servings: 16
4 ounces chocolate — German sweet bar
5 tablespoons butter
8 ounces cream cheese — softened
1/4 cup sugar
3 whole eggs
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1. Melt chocolate with 3 tablespoons of the butter over very low heat. Stir constantly until smooth. Set aside to cool.
2. Cream remaining 2 tablespoons butter with cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add 1/4 cup sugar. Cream until light and fluffy. Blend into this 1 of the eggs, 1 tablespoon flour and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Set aside.
3. Now beat the remaining 2 eggs until light and fluffy. Gradually beat into them 3/4 cup sugar. Continue beating until thickened. Stir in the baking powder, salt and 1/2 cup flour. Add to this the cooled chocolate mixture. Blend well. Stir in the nuts and 1 teaspoon vanilla.
4. Spread half of the chocolate batter into an 8×8 inch greased baking pan. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the top. Then drop the remaining chocolate batter by tablespoons over the top of the cream cheese mixture. Swirl through batter layers with a spatula for a marbled effect.
5. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven for 35 to 40 minutes. Cool in the pan. Cut into squares or bars.
Per Serving: 221 Calories; 14g Fat (56.9% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 21g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 65mg Cholesterol; 142mg Sodium.
s.j.simon
said on November 15th, 2007:
lol. did you know that chocolate was banned in switzerland for many years. read this