Sugar and Spice Brioche Buns and the Song of a Bird

I woke up Sunday morning to the sound of a bird singing just outside the bedroom window.  It gave me a sense of calm and brought back a flood of memories.  Every time I hear a solo bird singing I think of my dad.  Many years ago on the day of his funeral,  I woke up in his home in Tampa, and heard such a  beautiful song from a bird out on his dock.  I don't remember the type of bird it was, I just remember I felt it was singing to me.  Singing to me to be joyful that my dad was no longer in any pain, that he had gone on to a place where he would find calm and happiness.  I always felt like it was my dad's way of telling me everything would be all right.  And to this day I get that same feeling from the early morning song of the bird. 

My life is in flux right now and maybe I was looking for a sign.  J has been reassuring me that I always rise to the occasion with new challenges and this one would be no different.  But you know how you just have to have that one little message or that one little sign that says it really is going to be all right-and I got that Sunday morning-thank you Dad.  I can see you tilting your head that way that you did and making that funny tsk sound and smiling, putting your arms around me and making me feel that I could do anything I wanted.  It's truly amazing what that little bird did for me this morning. And I'm so grateful to have such a sweet memory of my dad.

I had this brioche dough fermenting in the refrigerator from earlier this week.  I had planned on just making plain brioche but after that beautiful morning wake up I knew I wanted something sweet and special.  I recently bought Joanne Chang's ""Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe cookbook (yes another one to add to my collection -is there a cookbook's anonymous program for us cookbooks addicts ? ) . There are so many delectable recipes -it's a  beautiful cookbook and she has these wonderful little stories about her history as pastry chef along with informative baking tips-buy it ,you'll love it if  you bake a great deal. I wished I lived in Boston so I could take her classes - maybe some day I'll make the trip .

Anyway in her cookbook is a recipe for Sugar and Spice Brioche Buns.  Can I tell you how addictive these are ?  First of all the smell of the brioche baking will knock you out.  I ran some things out to the compost bin while they were baking and when I opened the door and came back into the kitchen-wow-I thought I had just walked into a bakery in Paris-I wish I could bottle that smell.  And the sugar spice mixture-cinnamon,ginger,nutmeg and cloves oh my !  That's a nice little mix that I plan on keeping on hand for beignets and doughnuts. If you don't finish these off the first day fresh from the oven-just pop them in the microwave for 15 seconds to freshen and they return back to that wonderful soft buttery brioche with the sugar and spice topping. Buy Chef Chang's book or visit Dessert First for the recipe. Bon Appetit.