Well.ca had our “New Office Party” last night. I must say, it was a great success. We had just the right amount of food (or too little and people went hungry and didn’t complain…), the music was amazing (we had a live local band, it was the perfect ambient music), and a lot of our friends and people who have helped us were there as well.

I’m really looking forward to moving into our new office, it’s a really awesome space. Since I’m a foodie, I love the fact that we have a full kitchen (a gas stove, BBQ, oven, fridge, and about 4 dozen huge drawers and other various storage). Time to bake instead of work.

I had a lot of people comment on the brownies and pecans I made for the party last night. Because of the amount of compliments I received I decided to post the two recipes. Unfortunately, I can’t say that I created these on my own, I found them both on the internet on some great food sites. For the brownies, I do like to add some variations: different kinds of nuts, Kahlua, Bailey’s, and coffee.

Dark Chocolate Brownies (warning: may cause incredible sugar highs)

Source: http://www.scharffenberger.com/re0102.asp

• 6 oz bittersweet chocolate
• 3/4 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup flour
• Optional: nuts, Bailey’s, Kahlua, coffee/espresso powder

1. Preheat oven to 325`F
2. Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler (a bowl placed over a simmering pot of water). Or microwave the chocolate and butter for 45 seconds then stir and, if needed, microwave it again in 15 second increments.
3. Stir in the sugar until mixed.
4. In a separate dish, lightly beat the eggs and vanilla together.
5. Add the vanilla and eggs to the chocolate mixture. You may need to use a folding action to get the eggs to mix in.
6. At this point, you can add the optional ingredients if you desire.
7. Mix in the flour.
8. Pour into a greased pan and cook in the oven for approximately 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes up with crumbs (not batter).

Candied Pecans

Source: http://www.slashfood.com/2006/10/24/candied-pecans-easy-and-addictive/

• 2 1/2 cup raw pecans
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1/2 tsp salt (I generally skip this, up to you)

1. Preheat oven to 300`F.
2. Stir the pecans and egg white together.
3. In a small bowl or dish, stir the sugar, cinnamon, salt(optional), and allspice.
4. Pour the sugar mixture over the nuts and stir until well coated.
5. Spread nuts over a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
6. Bake for 30 minutes.
7. When the nuts are cool, break them apart and serve. They can be stored at room temperature in a airtight container.

Good luck!