Chocolate-Beet Brownie Sundae w/ Beet-Balsamic "hot fudge"....

...Ooh, Yum.

All your food groups in one dessert! The brownies are delicious on their own for a picnic (or whatever) if you don't feel like messing around with the whole ice cream thing.

For the Brownie:

10 oz dark chocolate (70% cocoa)

10 oz butter (whoa!)

10 oz sugar

3 eggs

9 oz self rising flour (or 1.5t baking powder per cup of flour)

14 oz beetroot; boiled, skinned and pureed (boil up about 5-6 good size beets, this leave extra for topping)

Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler over barely simmering water (or use a stainless bowl set on top of a pot). Whisk together sugar and eggs, then fold in flour. Fold in beet puree. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes in a greased pan (9x13).

For the "hot fudge"

mix together about half beet puree and half good quality, aged balsamic vinegar. If you only have the cheap watery stuff, just reduce it until it has some body and add the beet puree to it.

Vanilla ice cream:

You will need an ice cream maker for this. I have the cuisinart model with two bowls. It's awesome, get one. You will never buy store bought ice cream again! This recipe fills both bowls and yields about 10-12 big scoops

sugar (reserve 1/4 cup)

3 c heavy cream

1 c milk

12 egg yolks

1 vanilla bean, scraped (carefully slit it open with and fold the sides back to open flat. Scrape the inside with the back of your knife)

Combine milk, cream, 3/4 c sugar, vanilla bean scrapings, and pod in a pot. Heat and whisk until almost boiling. whisk together egg yolks and 1/4 c sugar. Prepare an ice bath. Temper hot milk into yolk mixture and pour back into pot. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until mixture becomes thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 10 minutes. Transfer mixture to a bowl in an ice bath and refrigerate until well chilled, about an hour. Pour into frozen bowls of ice cream maker, push the button and behold the magical wonders of your homemade ice cream!