Recipes that Rock: 2017

[Thanks for the Crepes]

On 4/20/2017 at 10:00 AM, kayb said:

@Anna N -- These are very similar to my dinner rolls (mine are all water, no milk, and only one egg). I agree; they are very nearly foolproof, and among the best rolls I've ever eaten.

 

Kay,

 

I hate to ask this as you have given me the link to your roll recipe before. I even made them once, but failed to put them in my permanent file, which is a handwritten hardcopy in a looseleaf notebook I keep. I had it bookmarked on my computer before it crashed last December, but that does me not a bit of good now. I did search your wordpress site and eG, but to no avail.

 

If you will be kind enough to indulge my request, I will make the effort to transcribe it this time. 

[kayb]

@Thanks for the Crepes -- happily.

 

4 1/2 c all-purpose flour, divided (the recipe calls for either White Lily or Gold Medal, but I use whatever I've bought)

1 packet (about 2 1/2 tsp) yeast

1 tsp salt

1/3 cup sugar

2 tbsp butter, room temperature

1 egg, lightly beaten

 

Put 2 1/2 cups flour, yeast, salt, butter and sugar in a bowl (I put yeast to one side and salt to the other after adding flour, but I'm not certain that's critical), and add 1 1/4 cup hot tap water; mix with a spoon or mixer until incorporated. Add egg and stir/mix until incorporated. Add a cup of reserved flour, and then remaining flour in smaller increments until you have a soft dough. It will be sticky. Dump onto floured board and knead for just 2-3 minutes, then place in an oiled bowl and let rise until doubled.

 

Once dough has risen, pinch off the size you want for rolls and shape them. You can bake either in muffin tins, in a cake pan so they'll rise and butt up against each other, or on a cookie sheet so they'll bake like buns (and I often use them for slider buns, or make them bigger and use for regular burger buns). Let rise again for an hour or so, and bake at 350 until light golden brown.

 

This makes about 18. I make the full recipe for Sunday dinner with the kids, as my son-in-law, a large young man, can eat about six of them, and I send him home with a "doggy bag." But you might consider, given you're cooking just for yourself, one of these options:

 

Make half the dough into rolls/buns, and roll the other half to about 1/2 inch thick and make either cinnamon rolls (brush with melted butter, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, roll up and slice) or ham and cheese rolls (brush with melted butter, cover with minced ham and grated swiss cheese, roll up, slice, and when you're ready to bake, pour a mixture of melted butter, Worcestershire sauce, dijon mustard, brown sugar and poppy seeds over it) and bake. You can freeze either one of these in the pan, and then just thaw and allow to rise before baking. You can also shape the rolls and stick them in the freezer on a cookie sheet; when they're frozen, move them to a plastic bag and thaw out however many you want at a time. I've frozen the baked rolls -with some success, and I've also par-baked them for 10 minutes and then frozen, and finished baking from frozen when I was ready for them.

 

I've made this as a loaf bread, too. It's great for toast, but it's not sturdy enough for a sandwich. But if you want to knead it a lot longer -- I go 10 minutes in the stand mixer -- it toughens up enough to make a decent sandwich bread.

 

For those who've never read the story of these rolls on my blog (here), these are the rolls that always accompanied the Marion United Methodist Church annual Thanksgiving dinner. I've tweaked it a bit over the years.

 

[Thanks for the Crepes]

Thanks @kayb!

 

The fact that you can freeze the dough is perfect for me.

 

[Smokeydoke]

I been thinking about what to contribute for this thread and unfortunately I've only got one. I've been cooking a lot of new recipes but they seem to be remakes of old classics and none have blown my socks off.

 

I made Diana Henry's Lamb with Dates, Feta and Sumac for Easter and it was fabulous.

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018316-lamb-chops-with-dates-feta-sumac-and-tahini

 

The sweet dates meld so well with the gamey lamb and the bitter herbs. This is probably my favorite recipe this year.

[ElsieD]

I made the Bacon Scallion Cream Sauce again the other night to go with some ham, cheese and asparagus crepes.  I used ground pepper rather than cracked and added 1 tablespoon of whole grain Dijon mustard.  It was really good so I thought I would mention it here in case anyone else might be interested in this slight variation.

[Anna N]

 Having recently tasted the maple vinegar made by @Kerry Beal,  I would have to say that this  is definitely a recipe that rocks. The link is to a recipe in Popular Science but it is very similar to the one in the New York Times.  The one I have linked to uses the metric system of measurement.

 

If you have a membership to the New York Times then you can do a Google search on its version. If you don't have a membership to the New York Times cooking site it's free and well worth it. 

Edited April 28, 2017 by Anna N (log)

[Anna N]

This very simple recipe floated my boat!  

 

 

 I added the goat cheese only because this was going to be my dinner. The salad certainly did not need it. Now I will be praying that somebody will stash their excess zucchini in my mailbox.  I used only one zucchini and perhaps 2/3 of a very small lemon.  

[ElsieD]

19 minutes ago, Anna N said:

This very simple recipe floated my boat!  

 

 

 I added the goat cheese only because this was going to be my dinner. The salad certainly did not need it. Now I will be praying that somebody will stash their excess zucchini in my mailbox.  I used only one zucchini and perhaps 2/3 of a very small lemon.  

 

Geez, that looks really good.  How do you find these recipes?

[Anna N]

15 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

 

Geez, that looks really good.  How do you find these recipes?

I spend far too much of my time with my head in cookbooks.  I actually found this in Rozanne Gold's book but searched the web to find a link. 

Edited June 25, 2017 by Anna N (log)

[blue_dolphin]

I have raved about the Green Chile Adobo from Rick Bayless' More Mexican Everyday before but haven't officially nominated it in this category so I'm doing so now.  The recipe may also be in other Bayless and appears on his website here.

It's a condiment, not a dish in and of itself.  Just fresh parsley & cilantro, pan-roasted garlic & serrano chiles, olive oil and salt blitzed together in a blender or processor.  It has a brilliant jewel-like green color and maintains that color and it's fresh flavors in the fridge for months, under olive oil.

 

Last year, I must have mentioned it a dozen times, putting it in dishes from that cookbook like the risotto-style rice & beans and skillet tacos to everything else I could think of - eggs, sandwiches, chicken and fish.

This year, cooking from Diana Henry's Simple and Ottolenghi's books, I realized I could use it as a shortcut to so many of their sauces by adding a squeeze of fresh lemon or lime juice, chopped mint leaves, minced preserved lemon, freshly toasted and ground cumin, coriander, cardamom or cloves - not all at once, of course, but it made it so easy for me to make small amounts of various green sauces.

 

I will not be without it!

[Darienne]

Thanks to Anna N who is kicking back in Manitoulin, we have found our rocking recipe for 2017...well, until mid-year anyhow: Yotam Ottolenghi's Cauliflower Cake liberally doused in Romesco Sauce courtesy of Bon Appetit.  First we ate it pretty warm...and then we ate the rest pretty cold.  Loved it both ways.  Thanks Anna.  

[Anna N]

8 minutes ago, Darienne said:

Thanks to Anna N who is kicking back in Manitoulin, we have found our rocking recipe for 2017...well, until mid-year anyhow: Yotam Ottolenghi's Cauliflower Cake liberally doused in Romesco Sauce courtesy of Bon Appetit.  First we ate it pretty warm...and then we ate the rest pretty cold.  Loved it both ways.  Thanks Anna.  

 Some credit must go to @blue_dolphin  who made the cauliflower cake first and inspired me. I have all the ingredients for romesco sauce but only the one from the Zuni Café cookbook will suit me and it's quite involved. First I need to blanch 12 almonds  and roast 32 hazelnuts. Anyone recognize the signs of a Zuni recipe here?

[Darienne]

6 minutes ago, Anna N said:

 Some credit must go to @blue_dolphin  who made the cauliflower cake first and inspired me. I have all the ingredients for romesco sauce but only the one from the Zuni Café cookbook will suit me and it's quite involved. First I need to blanch 12 almonds  and roast 32 hazelnuts. Anyone recognize the signs of a Zuni recipe here?

The best I can say of the Bon Appetit recipe is that it's mainly throwing stuff into a blender.