The Funky Kitchen

This feels a little like a break up.

Google, who I am normally very enamored with, is shutting down Google Reader on 1 July 2013, and to jump in with both feet, on 1 November 2013 it is also discontinuing iGoogle.

These are two services that I personally use on a regular basis, and it makes me a little sad to know that soon my home page will no longer have a banner of cupcakes across the top of it, my email, the weather, my feed reader, and a little pet turtle looking back at me. (Yeah, I have a pet turtle on my home page. So?) It’s been the opening page of my browser for years, and I’m going to miss it.

Google Reader has me at a little bit more at a loss than iGoogle because it has been an invaluable tool at keeping me organized with who’s been posting what and making sure I don’t miss too many posts by blogging buddies. The community of blogging has been one of the most rewarding parts of this little project, and I feel like by reading you get a little view into people’s lives (and kitchens) that you wouldn’t otherwise get to. I don’t want to fall into a situation where I miss out on events, stories and recipes because of the loss of this tool. If you use Google Reader for the feeds you read, remember it isn’t very long before this service disappears.

There are other feed readers out there, and I’ve transitioned over to blog lovin’ which I am so far enjoying and figuring out. This may be of little or great interest to you, but if you’re sitting in the same spot I was, where you know you are going to need to find a new tool to use and aren’t sure what to do, this is the feed reader that I would suggest.

Part of me feels like I’m jumping ship, that I should stick around until they are shut down. But I think maybe in this case it’s for the best to explore other options before needing other options.

I’ll miss you Google Reader. And you too iGoogle!
Chocolate always helps with a break up, have a slice!

Chocolate Chess Pie

(from Ezra Pound Cake)

Not-So-Secret Pie Crust, enough to line a pie pan

1 1/2 Cups sugar

1/4 Cup cocoa

1/4 tsp salt

5 oz evaporated milk

1/4 Cup melted butter

2 eggs

1 Tbsp vanilla

Directions

• Roll out the pie crust and use it to line a pie pan, trimming off or folding over the edges.
• Set the oven to 350° F to preheat while you prepare the pie filling.
• Stir together the sugar, cocoa and salt in a mixing bowl.
• To the bowl, add the evaporated milk, melted butter, eggs and vanilla. Whisk until smooth.
• Pour the filling into the prepared pie shell, and pop in the oven to bake.
• The pie is finished baking when the filling is set but still a little wobbly in the center, and has formed a deliciously crackly layer over top.
• Let the pie cool before serving. It pairs well with ice cream if served warm, but on its own it’s at its best room temperature.

This is such a delicious, easy dessert. The best part is the crackly top that forms on the filling. Delectable, I love the texture! Much like another dessert that was featured here not too long ago, it is also assembled quite easily with a handful of ingredients that a person is likely to have hanging around in the pantry. Before this recipe I didn’t keep a can of evaporated milk in the house for just in case, but now I do. If someone stops by at random, I can make this pie without working up a sweat.

One thing I will note, though, is that this pie is pretty rich. Most pies I make I’ll cut into 8 pieces, but this one warrants getting cut into 12 for sure!

This time last year: Sundried Tomato, Snap Pea, and Gouda Skewers

And the year before: Chicken Thighs in North African Spice Paste

And the year before that: Lemon Meringue Tarts

Yes, the recipe that follows was something I brought to a brunch potluck (we had so much fun!) but first we need to talk about this awesome potluck idea:

When we go to potlucks I’m always asking for the recipes of things that people have brought to contribute, and sometimes people ask me for the recipe I brought along too. Then, because you’re inevitably eating and milling around when these questions get asked, it’s either, “Oh I got it from this cookbook…” or you give a brief rundown of what you did. Either way, unless the person is willing to put  in a bunch of effort to try track down a cookbook or contact the person who brought it at a later time (who they might not even know well), you’re unlikely to come away with the recipe that you were so eagerly munching down on at the potluck. You miss out on the recipes for the fantastic foods you’ve sampled!

Solution?

Why don’t we all bring the recipe with us when we go to a potluck?

The industrious of us might bring photocopies in case multiple people want the recipe. Or a person could bring just one copy and people could copy it out. The organizer in me wants to suggest that everyone brings a copy and gives it to the host, so that if someone asks, the host can get it to them after the party. There wouldn’t be any awkward copying out of things during a social function, and you wouldn’t have to run off a stack of copies not knowing if anyone was going to ask. The host is going to know everybody at their party after all, so they could send recipes out as needed.

Yes, this could be made simpler by people just not swapping recipes, but where is the fun in that? We intrepid food explorers are always looking for something delicious to add to our repertoires. At least I am.

So this particular recipe is one that I brought to a brunch potluck that was well received:

Gooey Monkey Bread with Caramel Glaze

(recipe adapted from Julie Albert and Lisa Gnat’s Bite Me)

for the dough

1/4 Cup warm water
1 tsp sugar
2 1/4 tsp dry active yeast
3/4 Cup milk
1/4 Cup butter
1/4 Cup sugar
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
3 1/2 Cups flour

for the sugar dredging

1/2 Cup sugar
1/2 Cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
5 Tbsp melted butter

for the glaze

1 Cup brown sugar
1/4 Cup butter
2 Tbsp coffee cream

Directions

• First stir together the warm water, first measure of sugar, and the yeast. Set aside for about 10 minutes to bloom.
• Melt the first measure of butter into the milk. A microwave does this quickly but you can also do this on the stove top.
• If you have a mixer with a dough hook: pour the milk and butter into the bowl and stir in the 1/4 Cup of sugar, salt, eggs, and bloomed yeast mixture. Get the dough hook going, and add the flour in portions until it has all been incorporated. Let knead for 3 minutes.
• If you don’t have a mixer with a dough hook: Combine all of the same ingredients together, incorporate the flour, and then knead on a floured counter top for about 5 minutes.
• Let the dough rise until doubled in size in a lightly oiled bowl covered with a tea towel (~45 minutes).
• Butter the inside of a 10-inch Bundt pan.
• Assemble your sugar dredge by combining the sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon in a shallow dish. Put the melted butter in another bowl nearby.
• When the dough has risen, get it out of the bowl and punch it down. Cut it into about golf ball pieces and roll them into balls, you should end up with between 40 and 50 dough balls.
• Dip each ball into the butter and then dredge them in the cinnamon sugar.
• Tumble the dredged dough balls into the prepared pan and give it a bit of a rap on the counter so that they settle to the bottom.
• 
• Make the glaze by combining the brown sugar, butter and cream in a small saucepan and bringing it all to a boil. Stir often, because it will burn easily.
• Remove the glaze from heat and pour it over the dough balls.
• Cover the pan with a cloth and let it rise until the dough takes up most of the height of the pan (~45 minutes).
• 
• Bake in a 350° F oven until golden brown (~30 minutes).
• Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before carefully flipping the monkey bread out onto a serving plate.

Monkey bread is so tasty and comforting. Cinnamon and sugar are like a hug, they just make a person feel good.

Why does monkey bread make for a great contribution to a potluck? It easily divides to feed a crowd. And if you aren’t scared of getting your fingers a little messy, it doesn’t need serving spoons; just pluck a gloriously caramel and cinnamon bite of bread (or two) from the stack. If you’ve got the chance, get some from the very bottom of the stack. They’ve got extra crispy bits from being exposed to the air during baking. Delightful!

Monkey bread is another lovely June Cleaver kind of retro rewind sort of recipe that shouldn’t be left in the past. For more retro fun, maybe try some cocktail sausages! We could put on our tea length dresses and have a Mad Men party!

Mr was too busy brunching on everyone else’s potluck contributions that he didn’t eat any of my monkey bread, so he has no Mr. says for this recipe. I’m going to have to make it again so that he can have some.

This time last year: Pounchki

And the year before: Spaghetti with Spicy Italian Sausage, Roasted Acorn Squash and Labneh

Today is my little brother’s birthday!

(He is little only in the respect that I had the luck to be older than him. He’s 2 1/2 years younger than me but in my memory has always been at least my size, if not taller.)

Happy birthday Nolan!

The thing about brothers, little or otherwise, is they are the peer who has been at your side for the longest. They know you in ways that it is hard for other people to know you, because your lives have been steeped in each other’s pretty much from the beginning.

Like Baz Luhrmann once said, “Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future… the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.”

Though I don’t know from personal experience, I’m sure it’s very much the same with sisters.

So, for the boy who would don rubber boots alongside me to muck about in the thawed ditches every spring, and tie yarn harnesses on his toys so we could have them mountain climb up book shelves, the man who enjoys an extremely silly board game as much as I do: Happy birthday. I love you to bits!

Stuffing Muffins

(adapted from Inspired Magazine)

1 loaf stale bread of choice (or equivalence in other bread product, I used some buns)

1/2 Cup pine nuts

6 slices of bacon

1 large onion

200 grams cremini mushrooms

2 tsp fresh thyme

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 Cups chicken broth

Directions

• Tear up the loaf of bread into bite sized pieces. You can cut it into cubes, but tearing up the bread leaves crags and crannies that  give the stuffing extra texture.
• Toast the pine nuts in a pan over medium heat until they get fragrant. Set them aside for later use.
• Set a skillet over the hob, cut the bacon into lardons, and cook them until crispy. Set aside for later.
• Slice and dice your mushrooms and onion, respectively. Add them into the skillet that was used to crisp the bacon, and cook until the onions are translucent and a lot of the moisture from the mushrooms has evaporated. Remove from heat.
• In a large bowl, mix together the torn bread pieces with the pine nuts, bacon, onion, and mushrooms.
• In a smaller dish, whisk together the black pepper, thyme, egg and chicken broth.
• Pour the liquid slowly over the dry stuffing, tossing to moisten evenly.
•  Separate the stuffing gently into 12 balls and place in muffin cups, bake in a 350 °F oven until the tops are browned and crispy ~20-25 minutes.
• Note: if you wish to bake it in one large dish, rather than muffin cups, extend time to ~30-35 minutes.
• Serve with the rest of the meal, and enjoy slathered in gravy if possible.