Monkey Bread - For All Your Favorite Monkeys

Oh my gosh, is this ever an easy evening snack or quick dinner party starter or a great breakfast treat for crazy monkeys.

I think that I'll make this savory version for our next family movie night which we like to do when it's cool enough to have the outdoor fireplace going.

We roast marshmallows, little smokies and Tsunami will set up the flatscreen tv so we can watch the movie outside by the pool, sit by the fire and have snacks right in the garden. Quite lovely and festive.

I got this idea after having traditional monkey bread with my girlfriend and her little girl. Something we love and have made together before. But because we wanted a quick fix, we decided to cut the whole process short and use biscuits in a can instead of making the monkey bread dough from scratch.

No time for that with a 6 year old! Instant gratification is more important and so, we made it together the night before and put plastic wrap on top in the fridge so we would have it the next morning. She liked rolling the dough balls and we worked on the sugared mixture.

Quick Fix Monkey Bread:

• biscuits, cut in half or quarters, rolled into balls
• buttered or oiled bundt pan

Traditional Sweet Flavors:

• 1 stick of butter
• 1/4 c sugar
• 1/4 c brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla

Savory American Flavors:

• Bacon, crispy and crumbled
• Wisconsin Sharp Cheddar (or Vermont)
• Chives or Green Onions, (optional garnish)
• Melted butter

Savory Italian Flavors:

• Sopressata chopped
• Parmesan cheese
• green olives chopped
• Parsley chopped (optional garnish)
• olive oil

Savory Mexican Flavors:

• Chorizo, fresh or cured
• Quesadilla cheese
• Red onions, diced
• Cilantro, chopped (optional garnish)
• olive oil

For the sweet monkey bread:
Melt the butter, sugars, vanilla and cinnamon in a saucepan on the stove over medium heat, mixing thoroughly before hand but not stirring while it heats up. This prevents sugar crystalizing and allows the mixture to caramelize and thicken. Once the sugar has melted and dissolved, turn off the heat.

Dump all dough balls into the warmed sugar mixture and then dump the whole pan of sugared dough into the buttered or greased bundt pan.

Optionally, you can also add raisins soaked in Brandy or Cognac, which I love, but since we were making these for the youngster, we opted to leave this out and just do plain.

While we were baking these, which we baked for about 30 minutes on 350 F, our hungry munchkin asked if we could make some icing. Of course! So the pretty little princess helped and that's what we did.

Icing:

• 1 cup of powdered sugar
• 1 tsp of vanilla
• 2 tbsp of milk or enough to make the consistency you desire
• 1 princess to stir until it's perfect

For the savory monkey bread:
Put dough balls and all savory ingredients into a bowl and gently fold to mix everything thoroughly. Dump the whole mess into a bundt pan and drizzle with your favorite olive oil or melted butter.

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.

To serve any version, turn out onto a serving dish and serve immediately.

You're The One That I Want - John and Olivia's Baked Chile Rellenos

Crazy freaking couple of years...  I'm starting to believe that my life is more of a Modern Love Food Diary, but maybe it has always been that way.

I've been married an awfully long time and this new chapter of being un-married again is fraught with exciting and terrifying twists and turns. Sometimes I cry for sentimental reasons. I have, at times, missed our early life together, memories stuffed into the nooks and crannies of this blog. Reminders of the past; nostalgia.

Sometimes, I can't remember what he looks like, what his voice sounds like. Even the good memories, slowly fading...

Other times I have to giggle outright because what may seem like the worst thing in the world that could ever happen to you, turns out to be a beautiful, amazing blessing in disguise. As in save your life kind of blessing in disguise... I mean what the Hello Kitty happened? Could it be any more intriguing, confusing, mystifying, utterly terrifying, butterflies-in-your-tummy kind of ride? Don't really think so.

Between going through a divorce I thought, at first, I never wanted and navigating life as a single woman in unchartered waters, on my own, far from anything or anyone familiar... it has been quite a wild roller coaster ride. Just me, myself and everyone, everything, new.  Totally scary, but kinda exhilarating once the sheer terror wears off, which admittedly has taken quite a bit of time for me.

But it's true what they say... When one door closes, another door opens wide.

And then suddenly, when you least expect it and when the timing seems insane but yet, wildly appropriate, you randomly meet someone kind, genuine... a Tsunami of Goodness, he would later call himself boastfully. I still smile when he says it because it couldn't be more true.

Sharing this rollercoaster ride with a man I am now certain is Richard Pryor and Joan River's lovechild, the past year and a half has been anything but boring. And my new friendship has been anything but typical. It's been so fun, it's stupid. And being that we've both been displaced from everything we have known and loved before... it has been like learning to walk all over again. Oddly comforting when nothing feels familiar or comfortable. A feeling of safety and security that is more real than anything I've had in a good long while. And that thing... I never thought I'd ever feel again...

Laughter. Nothing cures a broken heart like laughter. And a lot of time. And a good looking hunk of a Green Beret that cooks like an Iron Chef!

Let's face it, a man that cooks for you, makes you laugh till you pee your pants and treats you like his dreams have also been answered, will almost certainly seal the deal. Hard to cry when you are trying not to pee yourself laughing...

I've been trying to write down all of the madness because it is so comical. I keep a journal of all the hilarious things he says because he really is a riot and the first time he opened his mouth, I was hooked; trying not to laugh but not able to contain myself.  Something you might see in a movie.

He gets out the scrabble board while I finish making dinner and randomly tells me I'm his Olivia Newton John. I secretly gush with pride and smile to myself... I mean, who doesn't want to be John Travolta's Olivia Newton John??!

So Modern Love is covered, let's get on with the Food Diary part..

After a super mellow night (for us) at the Tacos al Carbon food trucks, we decide to make chile rellenos because the back food truck is the only one that makes the rellenos. As usual, we are too late. Once they are done, they are done; we missed the boat that night. Unthwarted, I head over to the Mexican grocery store across the street and pick up everything I need to make it for dinner the next night.

Prepping the Chiles:
4-5 poblano peppers, roasted and skinned, seeds removed.

I roast the peppers for 10 minutes on a nonstick cookie sheet with a silpat. After 10 minutes under my broiler, I flip the peppers over and roast on the other side for another 10 minutes. The idea is to literally blister and blacken the skin of the poblano peppers. Don't fret, you won't burn them and this is part of the process of a good chile relleno.

The poblano skins are tough and don't digest well so you blister the peppers in an effort to easily remove the skins much like you would to blanch tomatoes or peaches when trying to remove the skins of fruits and vegetables. You probably could poach them in water, but traditionally, they are roasted which imparts a nicer flavor.

Once the peppers have blacked on each side, I remove them from the oven and place the peppers in a paper bag, closing the bag to let the peppers cool and steam a bit. This makes the blistered skin just slide off once they are cool enough to touch. Once the peppers cool, gently run your fingers along the skins and they should easily slip off. Just be gentle with them because the rellenos will hold stuffing so you want them to remain as intact as possible.

Once the skins have been removed, I tug at the stem to remove the stems and this will create an opening in which I can slide my finger along the length of the pepper to remove the remaining seeds. You should have a nice pepper "sheet" at this point which will allow you to stuff the pepper with whatever stuffing you choose and roll it up to create a little chile bundle.

Stuffing:
This stuffing was pretty darn good but you can use whatever you like to stuff the chiles. Traditionally, it's cheese or meat and cheese.

I used what I had on hand, as usual but I love going to the Mexican grocery store so I picked up some Mexican cheese and other chiles to make salsa, guacamole and enchilada sauce for meals later in the week.  The Mexican grocery store where I live has exceptional produce and the best selection of chiles so I stock up while I'm at it, just for fun. It always freaks the Mexicans out to see the white girl with her haul of hot peppers. But I actually know what to do with them and I have a wild Florida boy who likes hot stuff too; maybe even more than I do.

This time, I used this for stuffing the peppers:

Roasted chicken breast shredded
~ 1 c of cotija cheese
~ 1 c of grated Monterrey Jack (or Oaxaca or Quesadilla cheese if you have it)
1 cup of salsa, tamale or enchilada sauce

I had some roasted chicken leftovers from earlier in the week, fresh cotija cheese which you can find at any Mexican grocery store and often times at your regular grocery store depending on where you live. Either way it isn't a must but since I have access to it, I usually get it. Cotija is a crumbling fresh cheese very mild in flavor but it is traditional so I get it when I can.  It is great on salads, too so I usually get enough to have on a pepita (sunflower seed) salad later on in the week.

Butter a casserole dish and ladle about a cup of salsa or enchilada sauce on the bottom of your casserole dish.  Once the peppers are seeded, gently stuff the peppers with whatever mixture you use and gently close the pepper around the stuffing. It's almost like a little burrito. Lay the stuffed pepper in your casserole dish, seam-side up and prepare the batter below in a blender to make it easy to pour over the pepper bundles.

Batter:
1/3 c flour
1/3 c milk
1/2 tsp baking powder
4 eggs

I put everything for the batter into a blender and blend to incorporate all ingredients thoroughly. Pour the batter over the peppers, just to the edge of the peppers and sprinkle more grated cheese over the top.

Bake:
Bake at 425 F in a buttered baking dish or mini loaf pan if doing individuals for 25 minutes or until brown and bubbly. Take out of the oven and cool for about ten minutes before serving.

I also have a recipe for traditional, fried chile rellenos and will post that one later. I make both but baking them is so much easier to clean up than frying them, so I usually prefer that method although I do love both ways.

Serve:
I usually serve this with a little shredded lettuce, grated cheese, guacamole and sour cream on the side. Of course, we always have salsa or a sauce of some kind.

A word about salsas:
My go to salsa is super quick and easy, as is most Mexican sauces so I will make a point to post those recipes as well since I have quite a few good ones to share. But if you love ready made salsa, I ain't mad at ya, but do try your hand at making it fresh because it really is a very different flavor profile. Most all pre-made salsas, whether jar or canned varieties, are cooked. And while I am no salsa snob, I have grown more fond of fresh salsa having grown up with it made fresh as a child. It's just a personal preference.

Chizza - Child of Pullman

Ingredients:

• 6 1/2 cups flour 
• 1 1/2 tbsp yeast 
• 1 1/2 tbsp sea salt 
• 1 Konig's Pilsner 
• Bake @ 450 degrees F for 25 minutes (45 minutes for the pullman loaf pan)

What do you get when an overactive beer yeast dough overflows its proverbial banks? Well, you get an extra bit of dough that makes a perfect meal in itself. For me, I just threw the dough in a mini spring form pan and loaded the top with Supremo quesadilla cheese because that is what I had. The beer in the dough gives this dough extra flavor and adds a bit of rise so when this little cheese pizza hit the oven, the rise is quite marvelous. If you ever wanted a bagel without all the lye, malt bath jazz, this might just be it. Instead of the malt being in the bath, it is in the dough itself. Great flavor, tender chewy texture that I really enjoyed. My hubby just said, "Money. Wify, this is money." The money must be in the imported beer I kidnapped for the bread... A wonderful Austrian Pilsner that rivals my favorite Czech beer. It was well worth the risk of misadventure and will likely become a staple if I can spare a beer every now and then. The cheese on top melts so nicely and creates a cheese crust that just gives the right amount of cheese flavor. Use what you have. An aged cheddar would be excellent. We split this little experiment and few crumbs survived to tell the tale.  

This recipe fills a Pullman loaf pan which is what I started with to begin with. Actually, I make the dough so that Hubby can make bread if he runs out mid week. He started the rise, left it a bit too long and the excess oozed out and that is how this chizza was born, y'all.