Cinnamon Rolls

Pioneer Woman has a classic cinnamon roll recipe which looked fun, delicious, and surprisingly easy enough for me to accomplish in one afternoon.  I've made it three times now and it's never disappointed me.  I most recently made it with my mom and toddler and they were able to help with the assembly process (and had a lot of fun in the process.)  My daughter loved them so much that she did her best to eat more than one roll at each sitting (and often succeeded.)

It's not a fast recipe (you need at least 2 1/2 hours from start to finish, more if you refrigerate the dough for a little) but it yields a lot of cinnamon rolls.  I usually don't add coffee to the frosting but I'm sure it'd be delicious if I did.  It was a nice intro to baking with yeast as well.

Thanks, Ree!  

Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients

• 1 quart Whole Milk
• 1 cup Vegetable Oil
• 1 cup Sugar
• 2 packages Active Dry Yeast, 0.25 Ounce Packets
• 8 cups (Plus 1 Cup Extra, Reserved) All-purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon (heaping) Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon (scant) Baking Soda
• 1 Tablespoon (heaping) Salt
•  Plenty Of Melted Butter
• 2 cups Sugar
•  Generous Sprinkling Of Cinnamon
•  _____
•  MAPLE FROSTING:
• 1 bag Powdered Sugar
• 2 teaspoons Maple Flavoring
• 1/2 cup Milk
• 1/4 cup Melted Butter
• 1/4 cup Brewed Coffee
• 1/8 teaspoon Salt

Preparation Instructions

For the dough, heat the milk, vegetable oil, and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat to just below a boil. Set aside and cool to warm. Sprinkle the yeast on top and let it sit on the milk for 1 minute.

Add 8 cups of the flour. Stir until just combined, then cover with a clean kitchen towel, and set aside in a relatively warm place for 1 hour. After 1 hour, remove the towel and add the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and the remaining 1 cup flour. Stir thoroughly to combine. Use the dough right away, or place in a mixing bowl and refrigerate for up to 3 days, punching down the dough if it rises to the top of the bowl. (Note: dough is easier to work with if it’s been chilled for at least an hour or so beforehand.)

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

To assemble the rolls, remove half the dough from the pan/bowl. On a floured baking surface, roll the dough into a large rectangle, about 30 x 10 inches. The dough should be rolled very thin.

To make the filling, pour 3/4 cup to 1 cup of the melted butter over the surface of the dough. Use your fingers to spread the butter evenly. Generously sprinkle half of the ground cinnamon and 1 cup of the sugar over the butter. Don’t be afraid to drizzle on more butter or more sugar! Gooey is the goal.

Now, beginning at the end farthest from you, roll the rectangle tightly towards you. Use both hands and work slowly, being careful to keep the roll tight. Don’t worry if the filling oozes as you work; that just means the rolls are going to be divine. When you reach the end, pinch the seam together and flip the roll so that the seam is face down. When you’re finished, you’ll wind up with one long buttery, cinnamony, sugary, gooey log.

Slip a cutting board underneath the roll and with a sharp knife, make 1/2-inch slices. One “log “will produce 20 to 25 rolls. Pour a couple of teaspoons of melted butter into disposable foil cake pans and swirl to coat. Place the sliced rolls in the pans, being careful not to overcrowd. (Each pan will hold 7 to 9 rolls.)

Repeat the rolling/sugar/butter process with the other half of the dough and more pans. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Cover all the pans with a kitchen towel and set aside to rise on the countertop for at least 20 minutes before baking. Remove the towel and bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until golden brown. Don’t allow the rolls to become overly brown.

While the rolls are baking, make the maple icing: In a large bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, butter, coffee, and salt. Splash in the maple flavoring. Whisk until very smooth. Taste and add in more maple, sugar, butter, or other ingredients as needed until the icing reaches the desired consistency. The icing should be somewhat thick but still very pourable.

Remove pans from the oven. Immediately drizzle icing over the top. Be sure to get it all around the edges and over the top. As they sit, the rolls will absorb some of the icing’s moisture and flavor. They only get better with time… not that they last for more than a few seconds. Make them for a friend today! It’ll seal the relationship for life. I promise.

Miso-glazed Eggplant

Easy, pretty, delicious!  There's not much more I could want from an eggplant dish.  Thanks to Joy for posting this recipe.

Miso Glazed Eggplant
serves 2

5 small Japanese eggplants
Canola oil
1/4 cup white miso
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons mirin
2 tablespoon rice wine
Toasted sesame seeds

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Cut off the top of each eggplant and slice in half, lengthwise.  Carefully cut crosshatches into the flesh of the eggplants, but do not cut all the way through.  Place the eggplants skin side down on a baking sheet and brush the tops with some oil.  Bake for about 8 minutes, until the flesh starts to become tender.  Remove the eggplant from the oven and set your oven to broil.

In a small saucepan, over low heat, combine the miso, sugar, mirin, and rice wine.  Whisk until the sugar dissolves and the sauce begins to thicken.  Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

Top each eggplant liberally with the miso glaze.  Place under the broiler until browned and bubbly, just a few minutes.  

Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and serve with rice.

Easy Pull-Apart Pepperoni Garlic Knots

J. Kenji Lopez-Alt has been one of my favorite food writers for some time now, and I finally got around to making one of his recipes for a family dinner.  One of my family members is not very adventurous when it comes to new food but she ate half of the garlic knots.  I'd consider it a success.

I can't even tell you how many hours I've spent reading Food Lab articles.  Let's just say it was worth it for this recipe.

Easy Pull-Apart Pepperoni Garlic Knots

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 4 ounces pepperoni, cut into 1/4-inch squares
• Pinch red pepper flakes
• 6 medium cloves garlic, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh chives (optional)
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for sprinkling
• Flour for dusting
• 1 pound homemade or store-bought pizza dough (see note above)
• 1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
• Homemade or store-bought pizza sauce for serving

Procedures

1. 1
   
   
   Heat butter and oil in a 10-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat until butter melts and foaming subsides. Add pepperoni and cook, stirring, until pepperoni begins to crisp, about 2 minutes. Add pepper flakes and garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add parsley and chives and stir to combine. Transfer mixture to a large bowl and stir in Parmesan cheese. Do not wipe out skillet.
2. 2
   
   
   On a lightly floured surface, divide dough into two even pieces. Working one piece at a time, roll or stretch into an oblong about 8 inches long and 4 inches wide. With a bench scraper or knife, cut crosswise into 12 strips. Repeat with other half of dough.
3. 3
   
   
   Tie each strip into a knot and transfer to bowl with pepperoni/garlic mixture. Toss and fold with your hands until every knot is thoroughly coated in mixture. Transfer the knots to the skillet in a single layer. Drizzle with more olive oil, cover tightly with plastic, and set aside until doubled in size, about 4 hours. Alternatively, refrigerate until doubled in size, 12 to 16 hours.
4. 4
   
   
   When ready to bake, preheat oven to 425°F and adjust oven rack to center position. Unwrap garlic knots. Sprinkle with Romano cheese. Transfer to oven and bake until golden brown and crisp, 25 to 30 minutes.
5. 5
   
   
   Remove from oven and immediately brush with more extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle lightly with more Parmesan. Serve right away with warmed sauce on the side.

Chinese Pork Tenderloin

This pork tenderloin smelled good but didn't have as much flavor as I had hoped.  I think it would have been better if I had marinated it overnight.

Thanks to Jennifer for posting on allrecipes!

Chinese Pork Tenderloin

• 2 (1 1/2 pound) pork tenderloins, trimmed
• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 1 tablespoon sherry
• 1 tablespoon black bean sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger root
• 1 1/2 teaspoons packed brown sugar
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 pinch Chinese five-spice powder

Directions

1. Place tenderloins in a shallow glass dish. In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sherry, black bean sauce, ginger, sugar, garlic, sesame oil, and five-spice powder. Pour marinade over pork, and turn to coat. Cover, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Remove tenderloins from refrigerator while the oven preheats.
3. Bake pork in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or to desired doneness. Let stand for 10 minutes, and then slice diagonally into thin slices.

Turkey Tetrazzini

We had leftover turkey and I wanted an easy casserole dish.  Pioneer Woman to the rescue!  We omitted the olives and completely forgot to buy cheese but just added whatever shredded cheese we had (it was a Mexican blend and I used maybe only half a cup.)  I forgot to add panko crumbs, too.  Either way it was delicious.

Thanks, Ree!

Turkey Tetrazzini

• 1-1/2 pound Thin Spaghetti, Broken In Half
• 4 Tablespoons Butter
• 4 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1 pound White Mushrooms, Quartered
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1 cup White Wine
• 1/3 cup Flour
• 4 cups Turkey (or Chicken) Broth
• 1 block 8 Ounce Cream Cheese
• 3 cups Cooked (leftover) Turkey, Shredded Or Diced
• 1 cup Finely Chopped Black Olives
• 1-1/2 cup Frozen Green Peas
• 4 slices Bacon, Fried And Cut Into Bits
• 1 cup Grated Monterey Jack Cheese
• 1 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
•  Salt And Pepper, to taste
•  Extra Broth For Thinning
• 1 cup Panko Bread Crumbs

Preparation Instructions

Cook pasta until not quite done - al dente according to package instructions (it will finish cooking in the oven.) Drain, rinse, and set aside.

In a large pot, heat butter over medium-high heat. Add garlic and saute for a couple of minutes. Add mushrooms and salt, then saute for a couple more minutes. Pour in the wine and allow it to cook with the mushrooms for several minutes, or until the liquid reduces by half.

Sprinkle in flour, then stir the mushrooms around for another minute. Pour in the broth and stir, cooking for another few minutes until the roux thickens.

Reduce heat to medium low. Cut cream cheese into pieces and add it to the pot. Stir it to melt (don't be concerned if the cream cheese remains in little bits for awhile; it'll melt eventually!) Add the leftover turkey, the olives, the peas, the bacon, and the cheeses. Stir to combine, adding salt and pepper as needed.

Add the cooked spaghetti and stir it to combine. Splash in more broth as needed; you want the mixture to have a little extra moisture since it will cook off in the oven. If it's a little soupy, that's fine! Add up to 2 more cups of liquid if you think it needs it.

Pour the mixture into a large baking dish and sprinkle the top with Panko crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes, or until the casserole is bubbly and the crumbs are golden brown.

Boston Cream Pie

My dad had a big birthday this year and since he was going to be in town afterwards I asked what he wanted for his birthday cake.  He requested Boston Cream Pie and I happily obliged.

Reviews for the Saveur recipe were consistently good so I made the cake a day or two before, put it in the freezer, and made the pudding the day before.  Assembly was quick the next day and the chocolate ganache on top was spot-on.  It was the surprise hit of the party.

Thanks, Saveur!

Boston Cream Pie

SERVES 10

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CAKE
12 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pan
1½ cups flour, plus more for pan
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. kosher salt
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 eggs
⅔ cup buttermilk

FOR THE FILLING AND GLAZE
1 cup sugar
¼ cup cornstarch
½ tsp. kosher salt
½ vanilla bean, seeds scraped and reserved
6 egg yolks
1½ cups milk
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 oz. 60-percent bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
½ cup heavy cream

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Make the cake: Heat oven to 350°. Grease and flour a 9″ round cake pan; set aside. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl; set aside. In another bowl, beat butter, sugar, and vanilla on medium-high speed of a hand mixer until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each, until smooth. Alternately add dry ingredients and buttermilk in 3 batches, beginning and ending with dry ingredients; beat until just combined. Pour into pan; smooth top with a rubber spatula. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes, and then invert onto a wire rack; let cool completely.

2. Make the filling: Whisk together sugar, cornstarch, salt, and vanilla seeds in a 4-qt. saucepan; add yolks, and whisk until smooth. Stir in milk, and place pan over medium heat; cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and add butter one cube at a time, whisking until smooth; stir in vanilla extract. Transfer pudding to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap; chill until firmed, at least 2 hours.

3. Make the glaze and assemble cake: Place chocolate in a bowl. Bring cream to a boil in a 1-qt. saucepan over high heat; pour over chocolate and let sit for 1 minute. Slowly stir chocolate and cream until smooth and shiny; set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Using a serrated knife, split cake horizontally into two layers so that the top layer is slightly smaller than the bottom. Spread chilled pudding over cut side of bottom layer and cover with top layer; pour chocolate glaze evenly over cake, letting it drip down the side of the cake. Refrigerate cake until glaze is set, at least 30 minutes. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Crockpot Falafel

I was a little bit surprised that this worked as well as it did.  I should have used a food processor to make the chickpeas more fine but other than that I was really happy with the results!

Thanks to Stephanie O'Dea from Crockpot 365!  She's my crockpot hero.

Crockpot Falafel

1 (15-ounce) can garbanzo beans (chick peas)

1/2 onion, finely chopped (I used a yellow onion, red is okay too, if you like that flavor)

1 tablespoon dried parsley (dry is better than fresh because it's too wet)

2 cloves minced garlic

1 egg

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

 juice from 1 lemon (that's a lemon. a weird looking lemon, but a lemon nonetheless)

1/2 to 3/4 cup bread crumbs (I have gluten free crumbs made from a loaf of brown rice bread that I keep in the freezer)

2 tablespoons olive oil (for the bottom of your crock)

The Directions.

Take a deep breath. It looks like there are a lot of ingredients, but this comes together awfully quick. I seriously only spent 25 minutes from start to finish. The hardest part was getting all the spice bottles arranged for the photo.

Drain garbanzo beans. Dump them into a mixing bowl and smash them with a fork. Set aside.

Get out your blender or food processor (I used our vitamix. I love that thing!). Blend together all of the spices, the onion, the garlic, the egg, and the lemon juice.

Pour on top of your smashed garbanzo beans. Use your fork to mix together, and add the breadcrumbs slowly until the mixture is wet and sticky but can be formed into balls nicely. I needed 3/4 of a cup of breadcrumbs.

Pour 2 T of olive oil into the bottom of your crockpot stoneware insert.

Form squished golf-ball sized patties of falafel. Dip each side into the olive oil and then nestle into your crockpot. It's okay if they overlap or are on top of each other.

Cook on high for 2-5 hours. Ours cooked on high for 3.5 hours--you will know that the falafels are done when they turn brownish-golden. You can flip them halfway through the cooking time if you feel like it, but they will brown on top even without flipping. (I know. I don't get it either.)

Serve with yogurt sauce or mayonnaise. I made a quick yogurt sauce with Greek yogurt, celery seed, dill, salt and pepper and lemon juice.