OH WHAT I ATE, IN 2008!!

Like Wall Street and Oprah's weight, 2008 had its ups and downs: we finished renovating a house, moved our home across the country, started new jobs, met new friends, learned how to play bridge while Alaska built bridges to nowhere. We went from picking lemons off of our trees in California, to picking ticks off of our legs in New York. Joe perfected his Beer Can Chicken and mac and cheese while I collected fallen leaves. From Dining to Designing, we did it all with very little whining. While many think it's great that 2008 has passed, I'll look back to the things we ate...and hope I'll lose the weight fast!

GO AHEAD, DINE IN 2009!

One of my favorite recipes (and main reason I'm thinking about joining Curves) is Ina Garten's OUTRAGEOUS BROWNIES recipe from her "The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook." You can also find it on the food network website by googling "Ina Garten's Brownies." Joe made these TWICE over the holiday. Now I'm twice as big as I was, but who cares..I enjoyed every bite! These are guaranteed to be the most Divine you've had in 2009!

1 pound Unsalted Butter

1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

6 ounces unsweetened chocolate

6 extra large eggs

3 Tablespoons instant coffee granules

2 Tablespoons pure vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups sugar

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1 Teaspoon salt

3 cups chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour 12x18x1 inch baking sheet. Melt together the butter, 1 pound of chocolate chips, and the unsweetened chocolate in medium bowl over simmering water. Allow to cool slightly. In a large bowl, stir (do not beat) together the eggs, coffee granules, vanilla and sugar. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool at room temp.

In a medium bowl sift together 1 cup of flour, the baking powder and salt. Add the cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts and 12 ounces of chocolate chips in a medium bowl with 1/4 cup flour, then add them to the chocolate batter. Pour into baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes then wrap the baking sheet against the oven shelf to force the air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Bake for about 15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. DO NOT OVERBAKE. Allow to cool thoroughly. Enjoy.

TIME TO COMPLETE TASK: Thirty minutes to bake, thirty days on treadmill to work off!

COST: Less than $10.00

STRESS LEVEL: Eating brownie: LOW Thinking about what I ate: HIGH