1(4 oz) bittersweet chocolate baking bar, chopped
3/4 cup butter
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 (1oz) bottle red liquid food coloring
1 1/2 teas baking powder
1 teas vanilla
1/8 teas salt
Small batch cream cheese frosting*recipe to follow
preheat oven to 350. Line bottom and sides of a 9 inch square pan with foil. Allowed to 2-3 inches to extend over sides, lightly grease with oil.
microwave chocolate and butter in a large microwave safe bowl for 1 to 2 minutes or until melted and smooth; stir at 30 second intervals. Whiskey in sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, whisking just until blended after each addition. Gently stir in flour and next 4 ingredients. Pour mixture into prepared pan.
bake at 350 for 44 to 48 minutes, or until brownies test done. Cool completely about 2 hours. Lift brownies from pan using foil sides as handles; gently remove foil.spread small batch cream cheese frosting over top of brownies and cut into 16 squares.
*frosting
1(8) ounce package of cream cheese,softened
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
beat cream cheese and butter at medium speed with mixer until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar with vanilla. Mix until smooth.

Yes you read right. When going through that same 1928 cookbook which has recipes from the Depression, I came across this and couldn’t believe what it was. Right in the middle of the recipes for meatball soup and Tamale Pie was “possum & sweet potatoes”. Randy told me I had to put this recipe on the blog. He says that my blog will be the only other food blog with a recipe for cooking possum. I think he is right.
Pour a large kettleful of hot water into a convenient vessel; add a small amount of ashes and then put the possum in. Turn until fur is loosened and it can easily be scraped clean. Remove head and feet; wash thoroughly. Salt in and outside. Let hang overnight outside to freeze.
Wash again and put in baking pan with a little water. Cover and put over the fire. When tender remove cover and put in oven to brown. Dust with pepper and baste with drippings; have medium potatoes peeled and boiled tender, adding a little butter and sugar.
When potatoes are tender, baste with juices until golden brown. Arrange possum on hot platter with potatoes around him and serve.

I don’t know about you but not even the best sweet potato casserole could make me like possum. Think I will stick to cows, pigs and chickens. They are much easier to skin.

This week has been a week of self reflection. Since moving back to Texas from California, we have discovered that under the fine layer of sophistication that we tried to maintain around friends out West,lies the real Texas redneck demeanor that we tried to ignore is the real us.
The last 9 days, 13 hours and 48 seconds (but who is counting) we have had adult kids and grandkids staying with us. When we went to the airport to pick up the 2 older darlings, 12 and 4, we were filled with excitement that we would show them the finer things of living in the great metropolitan city of Dallas. The rest of the group wasn’t showing up for 2 more days so that would give us time to have grandparently influence that would hopefully teach them about great restaurants, museums and parks that were a kid’s dream. We are 9 days into this and we have yet to visit a museum, park or fine restaurant, unless you count Chick Fila.
Last night we truly realized that our dreams of teaching refinement had come to a halt. As Jaden the 12 year old, has an ankle the size of a basketball since kicking a punching bag with his foot and missing, hitting the base, Jodi and I decided that we needed a break from waiting hand and foot on Jaden, laying on the couch with his foot covered with ice bags. We decided to take Noah outside to get some fresh air. He had been stuck in the house all day and we thought maybe getting him outside would alter his mood for the good, plus ours in that we wouldn’t have Micky Mouse Clubhouse playing in the background.
Since Randy and I live in a community of townhomes that only have courtyards with no yards, we have taken to sitting out back in the driveway. It is much cooler in the back, as we get the wind and the kids have the ally to play (well as long as we are there to watch for speeding cars going back and forth out of the driveways that line the ally).
We drag our lawn chairs out and Noah(who is 2) proceeds to point to the van, indicating that he wants all the doors to the gray minivan open. Jodi allows him to do this, hoping that he will sit and watch his video in the van, giving us a chance to just sit and visit for a few minutes. We look down and see that Noah has brought out the training potty and sat it down at the back of the van. Apparently he had set it out without us knowing it and was sitting on it when cars were driving by. We thought the neighbors were just being really friendly and smiling when all the while they were watching Noah sitting on the potty in the driveway with us sitting in our lawn chairs with our glasses of tea. Jodi looks over at me and says, “mom, we are now officially rednecks”. We quickly shut up the doors to the van, brought the chairs into the garage, emptied out the training potty and ran in the house before anymore neighbors drove by.
Randy and I are quickly running out of places that we are welcome to live. We have bought an Arkansas map and am planning a trip to scout out our new residence. We are hoping that we fit it a little better there than Frisco.