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.
