Buttery Dinner Rolls

I’ve never been able to make a pretty dinner roll. I can remember my mom making rolls; perfectly round and golden. When I try they look lumpy and ugly (though they taste fine). I made this recipe at Thanksgiving and, for the first time, served beautiful rolls. We're making them again for Easter dinner!

Brenna helped me make these as it involved rolling the dough into balls. Fun!
The recipe came from the April 2009 Cuisine at Home magazine.

Recipe makes 12 rolls. Warning: this is time consuming! Takes about 4 hours; 3 1/2 of it is rising time.

Ingredients
2/3 c whole milk
1/2 stick unsalted butter, diced
1/4 c sugar
1 pkg active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
2 T unsalted butter, softened
3 c all-purpose flour
1 t table salt
1 egg, beaten
1 egg yolk, beaten

Directions
Heat milk in a small saucepan to 180° over mdium heat. Add 1/2 stick butter and sugar; stir to dissolve sugar. Cool mixture to 110°. Stir in yeast. Let rest in a warm place until it swells and becomes bubbly; about 10 minutes.

Grease inside of a bowl and a muffin tin with 2 T softened butter.

Whisk together flour and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add yeast mixture, egg and egg yolk.
Knead mixture with a dough hook on medium speed until dough forms a ball and pulls away from the bowl; about 6-8 minutes. Add 1 T flour at a time if necessary. Place dough in buttered bowl and let rise until doubled in size; about 2 hours.

Divide dough into 36 equal portions. Shape portions into balls; place 3 each into each well of muffin tin. Cover dough with plastic wrap. (Dough may be refrigerated overnight at this point.) Let rise until doubled in size; about 1 1/2 hours (2 1/2 hours if dough was chilled).

Preheat oven to 375° with rack in lower third of oven.

Bake rolls until light brown; about 10 minutes. Cool slightly in pan before removing.

Handy tip: my kitchen tends to be cool. I heat my oven on a low setting while I mix the dough and turn it off when it becomes warm. I place my dough, covered, in here to rise. Don’t make the oven too warm.

Cheddar Ale Soup

Because my family lives so close together we gather annually for Christmas. The kids open gifts from their cousins and grandparents and we adults plan a meal that usually centers around soups for the main dish.

This year I found a recipe in the Williams Sonoma catalog that I had to try. They were doing an "English Christmas" theme and the Cheddar Ale Soup sounded like just the thing to follow an afternoon of sledding.

The soup was smooth and rich and pairs wonderfully with fresh baked Irish Brown Bread.

Ingredients

4 thick cut bacon slices, cut into 3 " strips

2 Tbs. unsalted butter (If you omit the bacon, use 4T butter)
1 yellow onion, finely diced
2 celery stalks, finely diced
2 carrots, peeled and finely diced

3 cloves minced garlic
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 c pale ale
1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce

2 c milk

2 c chicken broth
1 1/4 lb. sharp cheddar cheese, grated
Kosher salt and ground pepper, to taste

In a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium high heat, approx. 8 minutes. Drain on paper towels; discard all but 2 T of bacon fat.

Reduce heat to medium add and melt the butter. Add the onion, celery and carrots and cook, covered, until soft- about 20 minutes. Add garlic, cook 1 minute.

Stir in the flour and cook for 3 or 4 minutes.

Add ale, stir constantly 3-4 minutes.

Add Worcestershire, milk and broth; bring to a simmer over medium high heat. Reduce heat to medium low; simmer 10-12 , minutes.

Puree with an immersion blender.

Set pot over medium low heat. Add cheese by handfuls, stirring constantly; do not boil. Season with salt and pepper.

Garnish with crumbled bacon. Serves 4 to 6.

Scotch Eggs

I am a HUGE fan of Scotch Eggs. There is a lovely pub in downtown Des Moines that we visit 4-6 times a year just for their excellent fish & chips and Scotch Eggs. Having actually been in British and Irish pubs I can honestly say that they have a great ambiance and we don't feel a bit bad about taking our girls there.

What is a Scotch Egg? It is, quite simply, a hard boiled egg wrapped in sausage, coated in breadcrumbs and deep fried. Sounds divine, no?

Last week I was playing with my dinner spinner (have an iPhone or iPod Touch? Get this free app!) and trying to figure out what to do with all the sausage we got from a hog we purchased and butchered. I was impressed with the options that popped up, but the one that most caought my attention was Scotch Eggs. After browsing the various recipes I chose this one. I made a few changes, which I will detail below in italics, in the recipe.

These were great! Paired with a pint of Magners or Guinness and some Coleman's spicy mustard. Mmmmm... Delish.

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

* 1 pound pork sausage meat
* 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
* 4 hard-cooked eggs, peeled
* 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1 egg, beaten
* 2/3 cup dry bread crumbs
* 1 quart oil for deep frying

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the pork sausage and Worcestershire sauce. Combine the flour, salt and pepper; mix into the sausage. If you are using plain sausage and like more flavor, add spices. I added some garlic, a bit of onion and some basil.

1.5 Make sure the eggs and the sausage are cold. I used the flour on my counter top to make the sausage patties. It helps keep it from sicking quite so much.

2. Divide the sausage into four equal parts. Pat flat on floured surface. Mold each part around one of the hard-cooked eggs, rolling between your hands to shape. Place the beaten egg and bread crumbs into separate dishes. Dip the balls into the egg, then roll in the bread crumbs until coated. Shake off any excess.

3. Heat the oil in a large saucepan or deep fryer to 365 degrees F (180 degrees C), or until a cube of bread dropped into the oil turns brown in 1 minute. Lower the eggs carefully into the hot oil. Fry for 5 minutes, or until deep golden brown.
OR
Preheat oven to 350. Heat 2 T olive oil in large pan over medium high heat. Brown all sides of the Scotch Egg adding more Olive Oil as necessary. When all are nicely browned place on foil covered baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Still crispy on the outside, just not deep fried so less greasy and a tiny bit better for you. Not much, but a tiny bit.

Garnish with cheddar cheese, lettuce leaves or chopped tomato.




How to hard cook eggs:

Place eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring water to a boil and immediately remove from heat. Cover and let eggs stand in hot water for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from hot water, cool, and peel.

Seared Sea Scallops and Gouda Mashed Potatoes

Large sea scallops are a food that I don’t make, well, ever. In the heartland they are quite expensive and when I have made them I haven’t been please with the results. But, since we are residing just outside Boston for a couple of months, I thought I would give them another try. These turned out so yummy I will have to splurge once in a while when we get back home!

I think I figured out my problem. 1) I am an impatient cook. Large sea scallops need 3 minutes per side to cook. And they need to be left alone! And 2) I’m not sure that my stove at home gets hot enough. Or I didn’t let my oil heat enough. Again with the impatient cook thing…

The scallops themselves are very simple; the potatoes need to be prepared the night before and refrigerated at least 8 hours before cooking.

This “Day Before Mashed Potato” recipe came out of Reader’s Digest… I’m not sure when. I made some additions due to my family’s preferences.

9 potatoes, peeled & cubed
6 oz. cream cheese (use 4 if your potatoes are small)
1 c sour cream (use ¾ c if your potatoes are small)
2 t onion powder (I used onion flakes)
1 t salt
¼ t ground black pepper
2 T butter (I omitted this as there was plenty of fat with the cream cheese & sour cream)

I also added 1-2 cloves minced garlic and ¼ c shredded Gouda. Cheddar or Gruyere would also be yummy…

Boil a potatoes 15 minutes until tender but firm. Drain and put in large dish to mash. When smooth add remaining ingredients.

Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight. To warm heat oven to 350 º F. Lightly grease a medium baking dish, spread mixture into dish and bake about 30 minutes.

The Pan Seared Scallops recipe is pretty basic. I found this one in Martha Stewart Living.

1 lb sea scallops (this is about 10)
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon, cut into wedges (optional)

Pat scallops dry with paper towels and season with salt & pepper. Heat 1 T oil in a skillet over medium-high heat (I would use high if your stove is electric, medium high if it is gas.) Add half the scallops to skillet and cook, flipping once until golden brown and cooked through, about 3 minutes each side. Repeat with remaining scallops adding more oil as needed. Serve immediately with lemon wedges on the side, if desired.

Pork Chops with Apples and Stuffing

I'm gonna be honest here and tell you that for all the cooking that I do from scratch I have a tendency sometimes to be lazy. As in seriously lazy. As in I don't want to spend a lot of time making dinner because, honestly, I'd rather be playing with my girls in the crispy leaves outside.

So this dinner is perfect for fall. It has apples (and the only thing that is more fall to me than apples is pumpkin) and stuffing. Oh, and only 3 ingredients.

The best part? Noone has to know how unbelievably simple it is unless you tell them. Because, honestly, it tastes like you spent the afternoon in your kitchen.

I got this recipe from Kraft's Food & Family magazine (it's free, so you should definitely sign up for it) and we've had it twice in a month (once with chicken instead of pork).

Prep Time: 10 min
Total Time: 50 min
Makes: 6 servings

Three Ingredients:

1 pkg. (6 oz.) Stuffing Mix for Chicken
1 can (21 oz.) apple pie filling
6 boneless pork loin chops (1-1/2 lb.), 3/4 inch thick

Make It

HEAT oven to 375ºF. Prepare stuffing mix as directed on package.

SPREAD pie filling onto bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray; top with chops and stuffing. Cover with foil.

BAKE 30 min.; uncover. Bake 10 min. or until chops are cooked through (160ºF).

Now remember- no one has to know how easy it was!

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

I love dishes that appear like you spent the afternoon in the kitchen but really didn't take as much work as they look like. This Parmesan Crusted Chicken recipe from Cuisine Magazine
tastes like you spent half the day in the kitchen. The crusting keeps the chicken juicy inside and gives it tons of flavor.

In fact, this recipe was in the sample issue they sent to me and is one of the reasons I subscribe to that magazine! I usually pair this with a roasted potato (chop 3-4 medium potatoes into bite size, toss in olive oil and spices and roast in the preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes; toss them in right after you crust the chicken) and side salad but they are also great with these stuffed potatoes.

Makes: Four Servings Total Time: 1 Hour

You need:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 egg whites
2 t. cornstarch
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 cup coarse bread crumbs (to dry, bake at 200� 10 - 15 min.)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 T. chopped fresh parsley
1 t. kosher salt
1/4 t. ground black pepper
Zest of one lemon, minced
3 T. olive oil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450�.
Prepare chicken breasts. Cut in half lengthwise, then pound between plastic until 1/2" thick.
Whisk egg whites, cornstarch, and lemon juice in a shallow dish for the dipping mixture; set aside.
Combine ingredients for crusting mixture (coarse bread crumbs thru lemon zest) in a wide, shallow dish. Crust prepared chicken by dipping both sides first in the dipping mixture, then in the crusting mixture. Transfer the crusted chicken to a rack set over a baking sheet. Air-dry chicken 20 - 30 minutes to help set the crumbs. (See tip at bottom)
Saute the chicken in a large, nonstick, ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Cook until golden and crisp on one side. Flip the chicken, then transfer pan to preheated oven to finish cooking, 8 - 10 minutes. (See tip at bottom)

Tip: Dipping and Crusting Chicken
Pat crumbs onto both sides of the chicken breasts - it's okay if some crumbs fall off. Rest at room temperature on a rack for 20 - 30 minutes.
Tip: Sauteing
Saute chicken until golden, about 3 mintues. Carefully flip the chicken (use your hand to help guide it). Then transfer the pan to the oven.

Add a New Wave to Your Dining

I don’t know about you, but when I prepare a special meal (whether it’s just for Doug and I or for a group) I want my food to be the center of attention. And to make a beautiful meal even more beautiful you need outstanding tableware to really make it memorable—right down to the after dinner coffee.

Now, I’ll admit that most things “modern” really aren’t appealing to me. But the design and style of the NewWave Caffe mugs made me look twice. The design of the handle and the way it sits on the mug just look like it’s made for you to curl up in a chair on a cold day and cuddle the cup between your hands. And the fact that it is dishwasher safe makes it perfect as an “every day” cup and not just a “company” cup.

But if you de decide to use it for company the party plate, with it’s wave design, would make a great conversation piece. A few petite fours + coffee = a great after dinner dessert. (Did I mention that the New Wave line of mugs, plates and accessories are half price during the month of August? I’m going to get a few of the Latte Macciato cups for cocoa.)

If you want to expand on the New Wave Caffee set there are great companion pieces like the Dinnerware Set (I love the pattern on the Acapulco), a serving bowl, a serving tray, a three section dish and cutlery. Or pair them with another great set at the Villeroy & Boch site.

No matter what you choose you’ll get great quality at a substantial savings over MSRP. And for anyone getting married- they have a gift registry. It’s really easy to set up- why not start married life with fabulous plates?

"Steakhouse" Steaks & Stuffed Potatoes

With Valentine's Day just around the corner and all the "good" restaurants busy I want to share a dinner that is, quite honestly, better than you will get at a restaurant on V Day- and will cost less!

"Steakhouse" Seared Steak and Stuffed Baked Potato

For the steak:

You can buy filets that are already cut or you can buy a tenderloin and cut the filets.
Preheat oven to 425F.

Season filets with salt and pepper. Heat 2T olive oil in an oven-proof pan over medium high heat for 5 minutes.
Sear filets on one side for 4-5 minutes. Turn them over and place the pan in the oven and roast to required doneness
Rare: Sear 5 minutes, Roast 5 minutes
Medium Rare: Sear 5 minutes, Roast 7 minutes
Medium: Sear 5 minutes, Roast 9 minutes
Let filets rest 5 minutes before serving.

And now for the essential side:

Stuffed Baked Potato with bacon, Cheddar and horseradish sour cream
From Cuisine magazine.

Preheat oven to 450F. Wash potaotes, pierce with a fork. Place in a plastic bag and coat with oil. Bake directly on oven rack for 1 hour or until tender when pierced.

Remove potatoes from oven. While hot cut off 1/4 inch, lengthwise (think how Subway sandwiches used to be cut).

Scoop flesh into a bowl, being careful not to tear the skins. Use a potato ricer (or mash) the potatoes.

Fold in to potatoes:
1/2 c. warm half & half (I use whole milk- just let it set out a bit)
1/2 c. grated sharp Cheddar
1/3 c. cooked, crumbled bacon
1/2 stick softened, unsalted butter
Salt to taste

Stuff mixture into potatoes. Place potatoes on baking sheet lined with a cooling rack or parchment paper.

For topping mix:
1/2 c. sour cream
1/4 c. mayonnaise
2 T. prepared horseradish (usually near the seafood)
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
Garnish with 2 T chives (fresh if you can get them)

Now is a good time to begin the steaks. Right after you put the steaks on to sear place the potatoes in the oven. The potatoes need to bake about 10 minutes, until the tops are golden.

When baking is done:
Remove steaks to let rest, remove potatoes and top with sour cream horseradish mixture. Garnish with chives.

Perfect timing! Serve and enjoy the praise.

**If you want to make the potatoes a day ahead- you can! Just bake them at 350F for 25-30 minutes.