One of the first phrases I learned in French before my trip to Paris was "Where is the bakery?"  My friend Ines (Parisan and former Cast Member of mine) emphasized the importance of French bakeries, and gave me a laundry list of items that we needed to sample. 

Perhaps one of our favorite bakery finds was found in a rather untraditional setting, Disneyland Paris.  What was this confection that could not be located in the bakeries of Paris?  "Brioche Mickey," a brioche bun in the shape of Mickey Mouse stuffed with a healthy dollop of Nutella baked into the center. 

While perusing the Internet for bread recipes, I stumbled across this gem of a recipe:
http://www.clockworklemon.com/2011/11/brown-butter-brioche.html
Since the recipe creates not one, not two, but THREE loaves, an idea struck me.  Why not make the third loaf with a nutella swirl, inspired by my beloved Mickey shaped roll?! 

This bread took some patience, but it was WELL worth it!  I followed the recipe on Clockwork Lemon's blog, so I will not be reposting it here. . .the only exception is the Nutella loaf, but all I did was "paint" a thick line of nutella horizontally across the dough before rolling it up. 

In my next entry, I'll show you some of the fun things I did with this delicious bread!

When surfing pins, how can one ignore a recipe that starts with OMG?  Plus, the recipe was so simple, I just had to give it a whirl. 

Take raw chicken breasts, put them on a cookie sheet, slather them with a combination of mayo, parmesan cheese, and Italian seasoned bread crumbs.  Bake.  Yup, that's it. 

I roasted half of a butternut squash, and whipped up some macaroni and cheese (Peter bought a "gourmet" mix that was BOGO at Publix), and called it a meal!

So here's where it gets awkward: I didn't like it.  The macaroni was good, and the squash was delicious, but the chicken?  Not so OMG.  At least, not in my mind. . .but Peter LOVED it.  Asked for it to be in our weekly rotation.  I have seen a few variations using Greek Yogurt or Sour Cream, so I may try revamping it to see if I can please the two of us with this.  I will say that the chicken was as moist as can be, it was just too overpowering of a mayo flavor!

I'll keep you posted on any recipe adjustments, but here's the original recipe:

Oven 425 degrees F

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Hellmann’s or Best Food’s Real Mayonnaise
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, about 1 1/4 lbs. total weight or about 5 ounces per breast
4 teaspoons Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs

Place mayo and cheese in a small bowl and mix.
Lay chicken breasts on baking sheet (I line my baking sheet with parchment paper to make clean up easy) and spread mayo mixture evenly atop each.
Next evenly sprinkle bread crumbs atop each.
Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked thoroughly and juices run clear. Tops will be browned and chicken will be incredibly juicy. Season with a dash of fresh cracked pepper and sea salt, if desired.

If you're wondering how I roast my butternut squash, I slice it in half, scoop out the seeds, peel the skin off, and then chop it into cubes.

On a cookie sheet lined with foil, I drizzle olive oil over the squash, and shake the pan around to distribute the oil evenly.  Then it is into the oven at 400 degrees or so for about 30 minutes.  I vary the temperature and time depending on what else is in the oven.  Just watch them closely, and flip them halfway through.