Use your muscles--knead the dough by hand!

I don't remember where I got this recipe, honestly.  I've had it a while, and I know it wasn't a family recipe, so I probably got it online.  Since these dinner rolls require three risings, keep that in mind when making them.  I've lucked out a few times and had them come out of the oven right as dinner was ready.  They're very good once they've been out of the oven for a while, but they're so much better if you eat them slathered with butter straight out of the pan.  These beat the heck out of any rolls you can buy at the grocery store.  Now that I think about it, they're better than any restaurant rolls I've had, too!

Super Fluffy Dinner Rolls

2 packages yeast (not instant)

1/3 cup warm water

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter, melted

2 teaspoons salt

1 cup scalded milk

2 eggs, beaten

4 1/2 to 5 cups flour

Melted butter

In a large bowl, combine sugar, butter, salt and scalded milk (let it cool to luke warm first).  Soften yeast in warm water until foamy (about 5 minutes) and add to the bowl of wet ingredients along with the eggs.

 This is what it should look like after five minutes assuming your water was the correct temperature.  Notice the little bubbles?  They were emitting a lovely yeasty smell.  :)

Gradually add the flour to form a stiff dough, beating well after each addition.  Knead on a floured surface until smooth and satiny (5 minutes or so).

Place in a well oiled bowl, cover and let rise for about 1 hour (or until doubled).

Yes, I realize this is more than double its original size.  I got busy helping the boys with homework and it rose for closer to 1 1/2 hours.  Oops.

 

Punch down and let rise until doubled again (another hour or so).

 Notice my fist mark in the dough?  I, uh, was a little frazzled from trying to explain even and odd numbers to Jacob for nearly 20 minutes, and I took it out on the poor dough.  It'll be a miracle if these things turn out at all.

Punch down and shape into 18 round balls.  Place in a greased 13x9 baking dish, cover, and let rise until double (again, about an hour).  (I cut the recipe in half and used a 9x9 pan.)

Before

After

 

Brush tops carefully with melted butter and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 15 - 18 minutes.  Immediately upon removing from the oven, brush tops again liberally with melted butter.

 If anyone is curious, these rolls end up being about 3 1/2 inches tall.  :)

I'm from the South--of COURSE I know how to make peach pie.

This isn't my usual recipe--this is one I discovered recently (about 6 hours ago, actually).  I love love love Saveur magazine.  I've yet to make a recipe from one of the issues that wasn't outstanding.

The boys and I were at Walmart tonight and I noticed they had peaches on sale for $0.68 per pound.  I thought, "Yeah, they're beautiful--I'm sure they're about as soft as rocks."  I picked one up and I'll be damned--they're PERFECT.  Seriously.  I have never bought any type of fruit from Walmart that was ripe.  Normally it has to sit on my counter for a few days before you can eat it without chipping a tooth.  So when I got home I thought, "Now what?  I know--I'll make a peach pie for my blog!"  I used the crust recipe listed instead of one of my own.  I might have mentioned before that when it comes to food, I believe that "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."  I always try a recipe as-written once.  If it's perfect, then great!  If it's not, then I'll try to figure out what it needs (or doesn't need), make notes, and tuck the recipe away for making again later.  I figured I'd give the crust recipe a shot.  You know what?  It's awful.  It's the worst pie crust I've ever eaten.  Use a different crust recipe!

Speaking of pie crust, I love working it with my fingers (versus a pastry blender).  There's something about rubbing bits of cold butter into recently-sifted, very soft flour that makes me nearly euphoric.  I'll (seriously) stand there and drift off to my happy place while working the butter into the flour.

Okay, enough of that.  I'm willing to bet this will be the best peach pie you've ever tasted.  Yummmmmmm!

Ginger Peach Pie  

 2 cups flour
1⁄2 tsp. salt
8 tbsp. chilled butter, cut into pieces
3 tbsp. chilled vegetable shortening
1 egg
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 tsp. peeled, minced fresh ginger
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
2⁄3 cup plus 1 tbsp. sugar (next time, I'll increase the sugar in the pie to 1 cup)
1⁄4 cup instant tapioca
4 lbs. fresh peaches
2 tbsp. butter
1 egg white

For the crust: Sift flour and salt into a medium bowl.  Rub butter and shortening into flour mixture with your fingers until it resembles coarse crumbs.  Whisk egg and lemon juice together in a small bowl, then sprinkle into flour mixture with 3–4 tbsp. ice water.  Mix until dough just begins to hold together.  Wrap; refrigerate 1 hour.

For the filling: Combine lemon juice, ginger, cinnamon, 2⁄3 cup of the sugar, and tapioca in a large bowl.  Blanch peaches in a pot of boiling water for 15 seconds, then cool in a bowl of cold water.  Peel, cut into thick slices, and toss in lemon juice mixture.

Preheat oven to 375°.  Divide dough in half.  Roll into two 12" circles on a floured surface.  Line a 9" pie pan with one circle; add peach filling.  Drape remaining circle on top, crimp edges, and slash top.  Brush with egg white, and sprinkle with remaining 1 tbsp. sugar.  Bake until golden, about 1 hour.  Serve warm.

The first time I made this recipe, I vowed NEVER to make it again.

That was when I had my "first place" and was starting to cook for myself without the help and guidance of my grandmother (the second best cook in the universe!).  She never made Greek food, so I never learned from her how to work filo dough.  (We're German on one side and English on the other, and what do they know about filo, right?)

This recipe for Spanikopita came from a cookbook compiled by the good ladies at Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral  in Richmond, Virginia. My sister and I went to the Greek Festival there many years ago and I scraped up $10 to buy one of their cookbooks.  That has to be without a doubt the best $10 I've ever spent.

If you've never worked with filo, you're in for a treat.  It's tricky at first, but once you get the hang of it, all the work is so worth it when you try the finished product.  By the time this had finished baking, I was ready to cry.  My kitchen had melted butter covering practically every hard surface; I had sheets and sheets of torn and dried filo (remember to keep it covered with a dish towel while you're not using it) littering the counter top; I had dirty dishes galore piled in the sink that I knew were going to take me two hours to wash (They were from the night before, but it still LOOKED bad and didn't make me feel any better.); and my entire apartment reeked of burned spinach (I had to cook it and wring the water out.  I forgot it was cooking and went to chat with my next door neighbor for a little while.  Oops.)  I had to start that part over, and I can tell you that wringing water out of spinach is a complete pain.  If you have any flour sack dish towels, they make great spinach-wringers, but they do a horrible job drying dishes.  Anyway, when I finally pulled it out of the oven I took one bite, moaned with pleasure, and thought "Damn this is good.  Too bad I'm never freaking making it again."  That was in 1998 when I was young, single, and had all the time in the world to cook.  Since then, I've gotten married, had three children, and have lost count how many times I've made this recipe.  I can whip one up in about 30 minutes.  I'm so glad I gave this delicious spinachy-cheesy goodness another chance.

Kali Orexi!

Spinach Pie - Spanikopita

1 pound filo dough (You'll use less than half of one roll of the double roll box)

2 (10 ounce) boxes frozen, chopped spinach OR 1 pound fresh spinach, cooked and wrung dry

1 pound feta cheese, crumbled

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 beaten eggs

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1/2 bunch fresh dill OR 3/4 teaspoon dried dill

1 cup clarified butter (if you attempt to make this with margarine, you deserve a good smack upside your head)

1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped (Do not omit this.  It's far more than a garnish in this particular recipe.)

1/4 teaspoon pepper

To a large bowl, add the cooked spinach, feta cheese, eggs, salt and pepper, parsley, green onions and dill.  Mix well.

Butter a 13x9 baking dish and lay nine sheets of filo, buttering between each layer with melted butter.  Add filling and spread evenly.  Lay nine more layers of filo on the top, again buttering between each layer.  Butter the top and edges well.  Cut through the top layer only into desired portion sizes; bake in a preheated 350 oven for one hour or until golden and well risen.

Mmmmmm--apple pie--mmmmmm.

 This particular example isn't one of my prettier pies, but I was pressed for time and forgot to add the sugar on the crust until it was almost finished baking.  I accidentally tapped the crust and got a big crack.  :(  I was also a bit upset while making it, hence the vicious stab marks instead of dainty steam holes carefully cut into an artful apple pattern.  Oh, and then I dropped the pie onto the oven door as I was removing it.  I should probably make this pie again and take a new picture.  :D

Who doesn't like apple pie??  Okay, so my stepfather doesn't, but he also doesn't like mashed potatoes, and the only vegetables he'll eat are Green Giant cut green beans and Lesueur early peas (and yes, they have to be those specific brands).  Need I say more?

This (and I'm sorry, Granny) is better than Granny's apple pie.  It's not as good as Aunt Linda's pie, though.  She claims it's because she uses Northern Spy Apples.  Personally, I think she gave me the recipe a little too quickly when I asked for it.  She probably left out a crucial secret ingredient.  Hmph.  This isn't your typical apple pie because the apples are covered with a caramel sauce after being put into the pie shell instead of being tossed with flour, sugar and cinnamon.

Growing up, we always ate apple pie with a thick slice of sharp cheddar.  Sometimes we'd eat it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and sometimes we'd eat it plain.  I can honestly say that this pie needs nothing extra.

I'm also including one of my crust recipes below.  (Not the one made with lard.  This one is a vinegar and butter pie crust.)  The lard crust is so rich, and with this recipe and the large amount of butter in it, it's rich enough on its own.

Caramel Apple Pie

1 double crust pie pastry (recipe to follow)

1 stick butter (salted or not--your choice.  I prefer unsalted.)

3 tablespoons flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup water

8 granny smith apples peeled and sliced thinly

Milk

Sugar

Melt the butter in a sauce pan and stir in the flour to form a light roux.  (Do NOT let it brown too much or your pie will taste, well, just weird.)  Add the sugars, cinnamon and water.  Bring to the boil, reduce to low, and simmer for about 5 minutes.

Place the bottom crust into your pie plate (I use a 9" deep dish plate, which makes for a "flatter" pie.  If you want a big, pretty one, use a 9" standard pie plate.  If you want to make a gigantic mess, burn yourself with caramel, and end up cussing a lot, use an 8" pie plate.)  Fill with apples, mounding them slightly.  Pour the caramel sauce carefully over the apples, place the top crust and crimp the edges.  Carefully brush milk over the entire crust (including the rim) and sprinkle with sugar.  Cover the edges with foil. 

Bake for 15 minutes in a preheated 425 degree oven.  Reduce the heat to 350 and continue baking for about 45 minutes.  Remove the foil during the last 15 minutes or so of baking.

Vinegar and Butter Pie Crust

4 cups flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

1 3/4 cups cold butter (if using salted, decrease amount of salt in recipe to 1/4 teaspoon), cut into small pieces

1 tablespoon white vinegar

1 egg

1/2 cup ice water

Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl.  Cut in the butter using your fingers (or, if that freaks you out, a pastry blender, two knives, etc.) until it's crumbly.  Whisk the vinegar, egg and water and add to the flour/butter mixture.  Mix until just combined.  ***DO NOT OVER WORK YOUR PIE CRUST OR IT'LL HAVE THE TEXTURE OF CARDBOARD***  Okay sorry about that, but it really irritates me to eat crappy pie crust.  It's so incredibly easy to not screw up a pie crust.  Just stop fiddling with it!!!

Divide into four equal parts, flatten, and wrap each part in plastic wrap.  Chill for at least an hour before using.  Roll out and use.

This makes enough dough for two 9" deep dish pies.  It freezes beautifully--just make sure to wrap it well before you do. 

Granny sure could cook!

Granny (my maternal great grandmother) had to be without a doubt the best cook since the beginning of time.  She was born in 1904, was one of 13 children who lived on a farm in the Hocking Hills of Ohio, and she learned to cook in an era where there was no fat free anything.  These people were out from sun up to sun down working their butts off to keep their farm running, and I can guarantee you they never ate chef salads with light Italian dressing, or low carb, fat free bread with heart healthy "spread."  These people ATE because they needed to.

Granny and Pop owned a small but profitable restaurant in Winchester during the Great Depression.  Dinner was $0.25, and there was no 13 page menu on parchment paper with gilt lettering and a wine list with bottles starting at $50.  This was good, home cooked, no frills food.  What you had for dinner depended on the day of the week.  I have absolutely no idea what day "pot roast" day was, but Granny made it often for us growing up.  It's not really a recipe; it's sort of like mashed potatoes--you don't need exact measurements and specific instructions.  You just...well, you just MAKE them.  

If you're looking for a pot roast recipe that calls for any cut of meat other than chuck, and contains some type of wine or an herb that costs $15 an ounce, honey this ain't it!

P.S.  I'm not posting a picture of this.  I've never eaten a pot roast that was worth a damn that looked good.  If you see a recipe and picture with a beautiful, evenly shaped, sliced, perfectly cooked roast with delicious, crispy, brightly colored vegetables strategically placed around the roast, then that's not a true pot roast--it's probably some type of roast that looks nice, but has the texture and flavor of shoe leather and saw dust, and I'm willing to bet that the vegetables are either mostly raw or made from plastic.

P.P.S.  Almost forgot:  Granny added turnips along with the carrots and potatoes, and I HATE turnips (almost as much as I hate beets.)

Granny's Pot Roast

1 (3 to 4 pound) boneless chuck roast

Flour

Salt

Pepper

Oil

Salt and pepper the roast well and dredge in flour.  Heat the oil (a few tablespoons) in a dutch oven and sear the roast on all sides (don't forget the ends!) until it's brown and has a nice crust on it.  Once it's browned, remove the roast and add two (14 ounce) cans of low sodium beef broth (Granny used homemade beef stock, but who has time for that?!) and scrape up the browned bits on the bottom.  Add the roast back to the pan, quarter a large onion and add it, cover it with a tight fitting lid, and put it in a 350 degree oven for about three hours.  

Once the time is up, add to the pot:  2 large carrots, cut into big chunks, and several potatoes, cut into quarters.  Don't use the enormous Idaho bakers--they're tough and mealy.   I prefer Yukon gold (if they're small, cut them in half; if they're large, quarter them) because they have a nice color, and you don't have to peel them.  Anyway, add the carrots and potatoes to the pan, re-cover, and bake an additional 30 - 45 minutes (depending on how large you cut your potatoes).

When the potatoes and carrots stick tender, remove everything from the dutch oven to a serving platter.  If you want to strain the liquid, great; if not, great.  I prefer to leave the little bits of onion that fall through the slotted spoon in the gravy.  I think it adds something.  Mix about 1/2 c. of water with 2 tablespoons cornstarch, and slowly pour half of it into the cooking liquid.  Put it on the burner on medium(ish) heat and let it start to simmer, stirring constantly.  If after a minute or so it's not thickening up, add the rest of the cornstarch/water and let it simmer for another minute or two.  If it STILL doesn't thicken to the consistency you like, then mix up another batch of cornstarch water, and add a tablespoon at a time until it's right.

Cut the roast (good luck with that.  It'll be so tender you won't be able to cut it--it'll just fall apart) and serve with the vegetables.

Hey--I TOLD you these people knew how to eat!

Did I mention that I love Indian food?

Before I go any further, let me explain that I'm not one for "presentation" when it comes to cooking.  Quite honestly, I always feel a bit pretentious when adding a garnish.  And I usually fail miserably (hence the poor, wilted cilantro sprig).  Also, even though my husband just bought me a super cool new cell phone, it IS a cell phone, and takes cell phone quality pictures.  I am also not a professional food photographer, so please keep in mind that these dishes will usually taste much better than they look.  :D

That being said, this is a recipe I discovered ages ago, but made only recently.  I've doctored it up by adding a little, taking away a little, and it's absolutely wonderful.  I love love love Indian food, and I also love shrimp.  This is great, and as with all curries, you can make it as hot or mild as you want.  I make it mild so my young sons will eat it.

Shrimp Curry

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon garam masala

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

3 heaping tablespoons chopped cilantro

1 green chili pepper, finely chopped

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 cup coconut milk

3 tablespoons oil (I prefer peanut.  Must be the southerner coming out in me.)

1 1/2 teaspoons mustard powder

3 large cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

1 pound medium or large shrimp

Add the tomato paste, salt, sugar, garam masala, cumin, cayenne pepper, cilantro, chili, lemon juice and one tablespoon water in a food processor and pulse until pureed.  Add the coconut milk and blend thoroughly.  (If you want to make the sauce ahead of time, it's perfectly fine to cover it with plastic wrap and let it sit on the counter for an hour or so to let the flavors meld.  There's nothing perishable in it.)

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  When it's hot, add the dry mustard powder and stir for a few seconds.  Add the minced garlic and cook it until it's lightly golden.  (This will not take long.  Anyone who has ever burned garlic knows how awful it smells, and what a pain in the butt it is to start over.)  Add the shrimp and cook until it's almost done.  Add the sauce, bring to a simmer, and cook until it's completely done (just a few more minutes).

I served mine with basmati rice (my husband thought it would be funny to purchase a 12 lb. bag of basmati rice at BJ's.  We've been eating a lot of rice lately.)  If you know how to make rice, or have your own recipe, awesome.  If not, here's mine (not that it's much of a recipe):

1 cup basmati rice, rinsed several times until the water is clear

1 3/4 cups water

1/4 cup coconut milk

1 teaspoon fresh minced ginger

Large pinch of salt

Put all the ingredients into a pot with a lid.  Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.  Remove from heat, let sit for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.  NOTE:  Because of the coconut milk, this rice has a tendency to be a bit on the sticky side, so if it comes out looking the exact opposite of this, don't say I didn't warn you!

1/4 lb. double chocolate cookies

I found this recipe on vanilla sugar's blog.  I substituted all brown sugar for the brown/white combination (out of necessity).  I normally try to follow a recipe to the letter though.  I probably should have named this blog "The Queen of Substitutions."  hah! 

I affectionately refer to my six-year-old son as "the human garbage truck" because this kid can plow through anything and he's not picky.  He ate half of one of these and walked around for an hour or so holding his stomach like people do after Thanksgiving dinner.  I ate the other half and I have to say--they are incredibly rich, and if you ever have one of those "OH MY GOD I NEED CHOCOLATE" moments, this is definitely the recipe for you!

1/4 lb. double chocolate cookies

2 and ¾ sticks of room temp unsalted butter

¾ cup granulated white sugar

¾ cup packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons half & half (or cream)

1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

3 cups all purpose flour

½ cup + 2 TB cocoa powder

½ teaspoon cinnamon

Oversized ¾ teaspoon sea salt

1 and ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

2 cups (60% or higher cocoa) dark chocolate chips or chopped chocolate (I used plain old Toll House semi-sweet chips)

In a mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, or by hand beat butter and both sugars just until creamy. Don’t overbeat. Add in the eggs, vanilla, and half & half and beat just until incorporated.

In another bowl mix the flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt. When thoroughly mixed, add to batter and stir just until blended. Stir in chocolate chips.

Keep in mind this dough is very hard and thick. I like to chill my dough for at least 3 hours before using.

Divide dough into 12 big 4 oz lumps. Mold into HUGE golfballs; do not press flat! Keep them as balls on the cookie sheets. Bake on ungreased cookies sheets (one sheet at a time).

Put the cookies in a 365 degree oven for about 12 minutes, rotate pan, then bake another 8-10 minutes OR until the cookies are just set. It will be hard to tell when the cookies are done. Recipe by dawn finicane. Look for crackles on side, cooked tops and semi-firm; they should be a bit soft in the middle. Don’t overbake or they will turn into scones. Once baked don’t try and move the cookies off the pan, they will break apart, let them chill a bit before touching.

Once they are completely cooled, dip the tops in melted dark chocolate (or milk chocolate). Makes 12 giant cookies.