Best Sticky Buns Ever

Plus: Homemade Brioche, Springy Roast Chicken, and Gruyère Onion Toasts.

Hey everyone,

Sorry for the delay! We’re gearing up to go to NY tomorrow to start the search for our next apartment. (We’re not moving until 9/1, so this is more about looking at neighborhoods, etc. If you know of any two bedrooms with nice kitchens in Carroll Gardens or Fort Greene, we’re all ears!).

Anyhoo, I made what are easily the best sticky buns I’ve ever tasted this weekend. It’s Chef Joanne Chang’s recipe and it’s TRULY THE BEST. Here’s a little video I made of the process:

@amateurgourmetBest Sticky Buns Ever! The ultimate recipe from Chef Joanne Chang. Get the whole thing on amateurgourmet.com. #food #buns #stickybuns #baking #foodtok #foryou #cooking

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The best part? It’s really two recipes in one. First you make a batch of her dreamy brioche dough. You let that rise for six hours in the fridge and then, when you’re ready to get to work, you divide it in two. With one half, you can make a loaf of homemade brioche, just like I did here:

Check out my post on the subject: Brioche for Beginners.

Then, with the other half of the dough, you make the Best Sticky Buns Ever (click those words or the picture for the recipe). They’re fluffy and gooey and really complex from the toasted pecans and cream and honey. You won’t find a better sticky bun out there.

If you don’t feel like baking, that’s okay. I’ve got a springy roast chicken for ya!

For this, I went to the farmer’s market and bought all of the vegetables that I thought would taste good roasted under a chicken.

As you can see, we’ve got baby squash, we’ve got radishes, we’ve got carrots, and we’ve got leeks (I also added an onion cut into wedges). Using my classic roast chicken technique, I coated the veg in vegetable oil, salt, and pepper, then laid on a chicken which I also rubbed with oil, seasoned with salt and pepper, stuffed with garlic and thyme, and laid about four tablespoons of butter on top. Into a 475 oven it went for twenty minutes until it started to turn golden, then I lowered to 425 and roasted until a thermometer said 165 for the dark meat and 155 for the white meat.

Look at that beauty! I let the chicken rest on a cutting board, tossed the vegetables around, and popped them back into the oven until they got brown all over. I carved up the chicken, placed the veg on a platter, the chicken on top, and sprinkled with parsley.

Who wouldn’t want a bite of that? Winston was so jealous, he started growling at the table.

Finally, for an appetizer last night, I sliced up the previously mentioned brioche, and toasted it on both sides under the broiler. I caramelized a sliced onion for 45 minutes in butter until deep golden brown. Then I topped each toasted piece of brioche with grainy mustard, the caramelized onion, and a handful of grated Gruyère — taking the flavors from Nancy Silverton’s incredible grilled cheese. I popped them into the oven and baked for 5 to 6 minutes until the cheese was bubbly and topped everything with parsley. A triumph!

Now here are some links for your enjoyment:

• Sign me up for this strawberry rhubarb tart (David Lebovitz);

• Bill Addison’s epic trip to Tokyo and guide to LA sushi (LA Times);

• 3 Quick Waffle Recipes for Easy Breakfast (NYT);

• This brave person cooked her way through most of my recipes from Give My Swiss Chards to Broadway! (Bubbling Up with Helena).

That’s all for this week, folks.

As mentioned, I’ll be out of town, so no newsletter this Thursday, I’m afraid. But if you want to follow along our New York eating adventures, I recommend giving me a follow on Instagram.

Hope you have a great week….

Your pal,

Adam