Little Grey Cloud

In case you were wondering what Jacky Scrapple was up to... It's no good.

Blueberry Muff's

When we spent that grueling day constructing Fancy Acre Farm in the back yard, I knew I had to feed my workers right. So I made muffins like a lady. I had a giant tub of Nancy's whole-milk honey yogurt in the fridge that I wanted to use up, and so in it went. They were moist on the inside and had a nice brown sugar crust on top. I might not be much of a muffin person (too healthy) but I found these to be very good, especially when served with butter. 

• Blueberry Muffins made with Yogurt
• 3 cups of a-p flour
• 1 T baking powder
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 1/2 t salt
• 10 T unsalted butter (1 1/4 stick), softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cup plain whole milk yogurt
• 1 t grated orange peel
• 1 1/2 cups blueberries
• brown sugar to sprinkle on top
•  
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a standing mixer, cream butter and sugar together, then add eggs one at a time. Slowly add some dry mix, then some yogurt, then some dry mix, until both are thoroughly encorporated- do not over mix. Gently fold in blueberries and orange zest. After greasing them with butter, fill muffin tins about half way with batter. Sprinkle brown sugar and a little sea salt on top and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

I think I'm In Love

Guess which one I bought? No it's not the fox, though that is how I first found Stephanie Tillman, the genius behind this work. Its spaghetti face!!! Yes!! Check out her Etsy shop if you're nasty.

Easter Chocolates

I don't know what my grandma is trying to do to me, but I like it. From here on out, I want any gift I am lucky enough to receive to have a note in it that says it is made with heavy cream and needs to be eaten within two weeks. No problem.

Cooking for People without Teeth

Having my wisdom teeth out really sucked. It hurt, it made me grumpy, but worst of all it dramatically limited my options food-wise. At first I could only have ice cream and creamy soup which might sound like the best time ever, but actually it got old really quickly. Yogurt, smoothies and kefir, which are all the same thing, came next. By friday I was feeling ready to upgrade something excitingly mushy. I consulted the Chez Panisse "Vegetables" cookbook and found a recipe for Panade. Call me sheltered, but I had never heard of such a thing. I read the recipe and couldn't imagine what it was getting at so I asked my friend Holly for a description. Her eyes rolled back and she sighed, "It's like brothy bread pudding with a cheese crust! Every time you pull a spoonful out, cheese stretches with it... There are silky bites, and crunchy bites... and so much cheese." Now that I had such a clear visual of what this dish was I knew I could make it, and also eat it.

It was a huge success. It tasted like something I would make even if I had a fully functioning jaw. And that is a big compliment, Alice Waters.

Onion Panade
adapted from "Chez Panisse Vegetables" by Alice Waters

6 sweet onions
2 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup madeira
1 1/2 quarts beef stock
3 springs of thyme
salt and pepper to taste
12 slices stale or toasted country bread
1 cup grated parmigiano reggiano
1 cup grated gruyere

I used a large dutch oven for this recipe. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Slice onions into rainbows and caramelize with olive oil. Scrape the bottom of the pan frequently, and when the onions have taken on plenty of  color deglaze the pan with 1 cup of madeira. Separate remove the onions from the pan and set half aside in a bowl, and in another pan add the other half to the beef stock and let simmer. Break the bread slices into pieces and make one layer in the bottom of the dutch oven. Then layer on some of the reserved onions, then the parmesan, then one of the sprigs of thyme. Repeat this layering 3 times, and then ladle the beef and onion broth over the whole thing. The broth should come up an inch from the top of the last layer. Sprinkle the top with gruyere. Cover the pan and bake for 45 minutes, then remove the top and bake for another 45 until the cheese is toasty brown.

I'm Pleased to Announce

Fancy Acre, My new farm blog. You see, this way I will be able to keep STAFF MEAL full of food and delights and leave those horrible chicks and piles of filthy dirt out of it. Also, Fancy Acre has several contributors so each post will be full of tricks and surprises. And, as always, thank you for reading.

Spring Chicken