Mother's Day

All of us at the Brownie Shop are busy preparing special orders for Mother's Day. Some of you may already know this, but the Simply Divine Brownie Company was actually named in homage to my mother, who loved to exclaim "That's simply divine," when she came across something (a dessert, a dress, a novel) that particularly tickled her fancy. Although I lost my mother over a decade ago, I like to think that she's been a big part of my journey here at Simply Divine. Owning a small business is full of challenging hurdles, but I'm so proud of what I've been able to accomplishm in the 5 years since I started this company, and I'm sure my mom would be proud, too.

Life is sweet, every twist and turn. I'm thankful I was able to experience so much of the journey with my mom by my side. Even though she isn't here with me today, I like to think that if she was, she would take one look at the Brownie Shop, sample a bite of the Pink Lady Brownie, and exclaim, in her exuberant way, "Why isn't this just simply divine!"

As Mother's Day approaches, I hope you're all able to steal a moment of time to think about your mother and the special place she holds in your life.

Girls Night Out

We all need to take a bit of time to pamper ourselves - that is exactly what our guests did when they gathered at Simply Divine Brownies for our "Girls Night Out," where they decorated brownies, indulged in chocolate covered strawberries and learned how to make (and enjoy) three new appetizers. And after a busy night of eating and sipping champagne, everyone was treated to a chair massage and a professional Tarot Card reading. Enjoy our photos of the evening and the recipe for one of the appetizers we whipped up - Curried Chicken in Endive.

Curried Chicken in Endive (appetizers for 8)
This is perfect for an appetizer, but I also use just the chicken salad for a luncheon or picnic. The medley of flavors is outstanding and will have people proclaiming it "this is the best chicken salad I have ever put in my mouth!" I promise.

Ingredients
18 ounces of Perdue’s Honey Roasted Carved Chicken Breast, cut in bite-sized pieces.
(available in deli section of grocery stores)
1 cup Hellman’s mayonnaise
2 tablespoons curry powder
½ teaspoon Kosher salt
3 scallions with dark green removed, chopped
1 cup of golden raisins
1 cup toasted slivered almonds
Belgian endive leaves, separated and washed

Mix all the ingredients, except for the endive, together in a bowl. Cover and chill for at least one hour. Just before serving, scoop into endive leaves.

We hope you join us for the next "Girls Night Out" at the Simply Divine Brownie shop - have a great day!

April Kitchen Conundrum

Every baker knows that you occasionally have to improvise in the kitchen to get the job done when the proper baking utensil isn't at your disposal - or in this case, doesn't exist! If you missed the March Kitchen Conundrum, here's the assignment at hand: each month we feature a tool that is essential to the creation of one (or more) or our delectable brownies. If you correctly guess the tool, it's use, and the brownie flavor(s) it's used to create, you will be entered into a random drawing. The winner of the drawing will win the featured tool and a whole bunch of brownies. Goodness, that's wordy, but I think you get the point!

So take a look at the picture and answer the questions below in the comments section of this post. And pay attention, because this month's featured tool is actually used in the creation of 6 of our brownies - but you only have to identify three of the brownies correctly to be eligible for the prize. And since we're asking you to to identify more than one brownie, we're also giving the winner more than one brownie. That's right - the winner of the challenge receive the tool and a dozen brownies.

Here are the questions you need to answer in the comments section of this post:

1. What is the tool? (Remember, we've altered this tool to serve our purpose, so it may look a little funny in the picture - but that's part of the challenge!)
2. What is the tool used for?

3. What brownies is the tool used to create? (We use this tool to help create 6 brownies - you just need to correctly guess 3 of the 6)

4. What's your email address? (So that we can contact you if you win!)

We'll select a winner at random on April 26th. Click here to search our brownie varieties to sleuth out which brownies the tool is used to create. Good luck - this is a tough one!

Meet the Pink Lady

It's a beautiful morning here in Maine - and I hope it's equally as gorgeous wherever you are! To add to the joy of this sunny day, I'm pleased to announce the second winner of our Build a Brownie contest, which is....the Pink Lady brownie, submitted by chocolate lover Emily! Since all of us at the Brownie Shop wear pink every day (from our baker's hats to our aprons) this seems like a particularly fitting brownie to add to our roster of delectable creations:) Here's Emily's submission (and her picture below):



"How about a strawberry cheesecake brownie! Brownie base, a cream cheese second layer, swirled with strawberry preserves."



We asked Emily a few questions and here are her responses:

How did you come up with the idea for your brownie?
I looked at your existing brownie flavors and thought that neither cheesecake nor strawberries were represented yet. I would have suggested cherry cheesecake, but you already highlight cherries in three of your recipes, so strawberry it was! My friend, Patricia, loves cheesecake brownies and I have baked them for her several times. Without her, I doubt I would have tried them and discovered how delicious they are.

Why do you plan to do with your brownies?
My daughter, Victoria, is turning 1 on April 29. We're hosting a block party for family and friends to celebrate and now we have an extra goodie to give out in addition to birthday cake!

Why do you love brownies?
I've had a lifelong love of brownies. They are my ultimate comfort food. When I can't find time to bake the recipe my mom always uses (from an older edition of The Joy of Cooking), I order yours. Cocoa's IncrEdible Creations and Appily Ever After are my favorite varieties.

I have to admit, we were all blown away by the outcome of this brownie - it is absolutely delicious. I'm afraid I even asked our head baker, Shannon, to whip up a few extra batches because all of us at the shop can't stop indulging. I hope Emily enjoys her Pink Lady brownies as much as we did (and continue to do)!

March Kitchen Conundrum Winner!

So, what is that strange looking tool that we featured in the March Kitchen Conundrum Contest? It's a ricer, and in the Simply Divine Kitchen we use it to rice mashed potatoes. Many of you are probably thinking - mashed potatoes and brownies - how do these two things go together?!?!?! Well, we use the mashed potatoes in the topping for our Need'Him or Her Brownie.

If you're a Mainer, you're probably familiar with Needhams, the delicious inspiration for this brownie. Needhams are a classic Maine staple (the "unofficial candy of Maine") which have been around for as long as I can remember. Needhams used to be sold in grocery stores here (in little orange candy sleeves - remember!) along side the likes of Snickers, Skittles and Milky Ways, but I think the heyday of Needhams has since passed. Not to worry, our Need'Him or Her Brownie pays homage to this classic candy in a sinfully decadent way. The brownie is comprised of our traditional brownie base, stacked high with Needham candy bar filling (that's where the potato comes into play), and then the whole brownie is dunked in dark chocolate...decadent, I know, but isn't that the point!

We use the potato in the Needham candy bar filling because it lends a creamy texture to this coconut-based concoction. And the ricer is a great tool for mashing potatoes because it never leaves them starchy, sticky or pasty like mixers tend to do…no lumps, either.

One person (Scott from Maine) correctly guessed the purpose of the ricer and the brownie for which it is used, so he'll receive a half dozen of Need'Him or Her Brownies plus the ricer! Congratulations Scott!

Stay tuned for April's Kitchen Conundrum...

Folks, We Have A Winner (3, Actually!)

A big thanks to everyone who participated in our Build a Brownie Contest - reading your posts was like flipping through the pages of an innovative cookbook - fun and inspiring! Due to the great response, we decided to randomnly select three winners (instead of just one). Over the next three weeks, we will post an in-depth look at each of these winners. First up, we have Matt and his dream concoction - Opposites Attract. Here's Matt's contest entry (and his picture below!):


"Since smoke salt caramels are our President's favorite candy, he (well, everyone) would love a brownie base topped with a caramel layer and sprinkled with a little smoke salt. Delicious."

I have to admit, I have a real soft spot for the sweet/salty combo, so Matt's vision for this brownie had me excited from the word go! We asked Matt a few questions about brownies, and here's what he had to say:

How did you come up with the idea for your brownie?
I came up with the idea for these smoked salt caramel brownies while I was browsing the already long list of delicious suggestions on the content page. After seeing a few that used caramel and a few that called for some salty element, all I could think of was President Obama. I've made that random connection ever since a friend of mine got a box of salted caramels during last year's election season and shared both the caramels and the fun fact that smoked salt caramels are Obama's favorite candy. The combination of sweet and salty and the excitement of a historical election made for an extremely memorable flavor - one that would be perfect featured in a rich, chocolately brownie.

What do you plan to do with your brownies?
To celebrate the creation of Opposites Attract, I want to gather my friends here at college and share the flavors our President loves so much. My friend, a Maine native, who told me about Simply Divine's contest and my other friend who first shared those salted caramels and that factoid with me will both be there, of course. In the spirit of the brownies, maybe we'll all sit around with tall glasses of milk and debate the merits of conservative and liberal policy. Or maybe we'll just talk about how much we love brownies.

Why do you love brownies?
There are many reasons to love brownies. I like that brownies are all about their intense chocolate flavor that can also be used as a delicious canvas for other flavors - which is what Simply Divine's contest was all about.

To read more about Matt's thoughts on brownies, visit his very own baking blog: http://aepie.blogspot.com/.

And to get your tastebuds revved up, here are some pictures of Opposites Attract in it's initial stages of creation:

First comes the batter...

...then the caramel. This requires constant stirring, so that it doesn't sugar out...

...and here our head baker, Shannon, tests the fudgy brownie base...

...and last, but not least, a healthy sprinkle of gourmet sea salt.

Matt's brownies are in the mail and we can't wait to hear what he thinks of them! And don't forget to check in next week for a look at our second Build a Brownie Contest winner: Almond Cheesecake and White Chocolate Chip...this is going to be good!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

The March Kitchen Conundrum

Have you ever noticed how silly looking some of the utensils we use in the kitchen are? At the Brownie Shop, we often find ourselves wielding strange looking contraptions to create our brownies and we thought it would be fun to share these tools with you...in an interesting way!

So here's the deal: every month we will be posting a photo of a kitchen tool that we simply cannot live without at Simply Divine Brownies. Each tool has a specific function related to creating just one of our heavenly brownies. We want you to answer the three questions below in the comments section of this posting, along with your email address, and on Friday, March 26, we will draw a lucky winner from the comments to receive the featured kitchen tool as well as half a dozen of the brownies the tool is used to make.

Here are the questions you need to answer in the comments section:
1. What is the tool?
2. What is it used for?
3. For which brownie is this tool an absolute necessity?
4. What's your email address?

Click here to search our brownie varieties to sleuth out the brownie created with the featured tool. Happy hunting and good luck!