The right Mou for the job

Ever since our beloved AS Roma shocked the soccer world by hiring José Mourinho—the self-anointed "Special One"—to be their next coach, Brad, Dylan, and I have agonized over the choice. On the one hand, he's one of the most successful football managers ever, having won multiple trophies, including the Champions League with two different teams, one of them the treble-winning Inter Milan during his first stint in Italy. On the other hand, he's achieved that success largely by developing a bunker mentality amongst his players and playing a defensive brand of football ("parking the bus") that is not the least bit pleasing to the eye. But here, based on his response to the question of what is his favorite music, we have definitive proof that Roma has found the right man for the job:

 

 

 

Daje, José, you're now the Boss, too!

 

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The three brownie recipes I've already posted all involve chopping up and then melting chocolate. That's not an onerous kitchen task, but sometimes you just want to make your own brownies without cutting up any chocolate or resorting to a boxed mix. That's the beauty of brownies made with that cocoa you have just sitting in your cupboard at all times. And these are some of the best-loved cocoa brownies on the internet. With a few tweaks, the recipe is a snap to make using just one medium saucepan.

 

Cocoa Brownies

Adapted from Alice Medrich via Food52 Genius Recipes and Sheela Prakash’s “lazy approach” to these brownies via the kitchn

Time: 45 to 50 minutes (~20 minutes active)

The original recipe doesn’t have chocolate chips in it, but Brad doesn’t think brownies are complete without chips, so I always put them in all of my brownies. This is a small amount of flour, so it may work with a gluten-free flour blend, but I haven’t tried it yet.

140 grams (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter
250 grams (1¼ cups) granulated white sugar
80 grams (¾ cup + 2 tablespoons) high-quality, unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch-process or natural)
½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cold large eggs (~57 grams each still in the shell)
65 grams (~½ cup) all-purpose flour
65 grams (~⅔ cup) toasted walnut or pecan pieces, optional
115 grams (⅔ cup) chocolate chips, optional (see note)

    1. Place a rack in the lower third of the oven; heat to 325 degrees.
    2. Tear off a 12-by-12-inch sheet of aluminum foil. Turn an 8-inch square baking pan upside down, center the foil on it, and fold the overhang over the sides of the pan. Fold and crease the corners, as though wrapping a present, and slip the liner off the pan. Turn the pan right side up and insert the liner. Spray with nonstick cooking spray.
    3. Cut the butter into rough cubes. Place in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When the butter is just melted, kill the heat. Add the sugar, cocoa powder, and salt, and stir until smooth. Remove from the heat.
    4. When the mixture is only warm, not hot, stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each addition. When the mixture looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour. Stir until no streaks of flour remain, then beat vigorously for about 20 seconds. Fold in the nuts and/or chocolate chips, if using. Scrape the batter into the lined pan and spread evenly.
    5. Bake until the edges are firm and a toothpick stuck in the center comes out with some moist, fudgy crumbs, about 25 to 30 minutes, but start checking at 20 just to be safe. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and cool the brownies completely.
    6. Lift the edges of the foil liner to remove the brownies from the pan. Using a cutting board as support, invert the brownies and peel off the foil, then turn the brownies right side up again onto a cutting board. Cut into 16 large or 25 small squares. The brownies keep stored airtight for 2 to 3 days.