Parker House Rolls (or, amazing, incredible, perfect for any Thanksgiving Day table rolls)

I have tried many many roll recipes over the past few years. I have been on a bit of a quest for the perfect dinner roll and have only found a few tried and true recipes. The Lion House rolls are always a hit with any meal, and I often make those whenever a roll is needed. But, when I saw this recipe in Food Network Magazine (I love this magazine, btw!) I just had to give it a shot, and I am sooo glad I did! It turned out amazing! Hot from the oven is best, but we served later with White Chicken Chili and the constrast of the slightly sweet dough with the spicy chili was amazing! And the salt sprinkled over the top just sets these rolls apart! Sorry, no pics, I made them a week ago and just thought to share the recipe, so you will have to use your imagination...or head over to the store and pick up a copy of the magazine for step by step instructions and photos! :)

Parker House Rolls

1 1/4-ounce package active dry yeast
1/2 c sugar
7 1/2 to 8 cups flour, plus more for dusting
12 tablespoons butter (unsalted), melted and cooled, plus softened butter for brushing
2 cups whole milk, at room temp
2 large eggs, at room temp
1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling

Measure out 1/2 cup very warm water (110-120 degrees). Sprinkle the yeast into a large bowl, add the warm water and whisk in the sugar. Let sit 1 minute (it should bubble and froth slightly), then gently stir in 1 cup flour. Set aside near the stove while you prepare the dough.

Mix the melted butter and milk in a stand mixer with the hook attachment on low speed. Add the eggs and mix until blended. Scrape in the yeast mixture and mix until incorporated. Add 6 1/2 cups flour and 1 T. salt; mix until the dough forms a ball, 2-3 minutes, adding up to 1/2 c more flour if the dough is too wet and sticky.

Brush a large bowl with softened butter (or spray with Pam). Transfer the dough to the bowl, cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place for 2-2 1/2 hours. THe dough should double in volume.

Preheat the oven to 375 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Dust a clean flat surface with flour and turn the dough onto it. Flour your hands; gently press the dough into a 16x8 inch rectangle, about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick (do not use a rolling pin).

With the short side in front of you, cut the dough in half lengthwise with a floured knife. Then slice crosswise into 12 strips. One at a time, fold each strip of dough into thirds. Place seam side down on the prepared baking sheet in 3 tightly packed rows. (Leave an inch or so between columns and have the sides almost touching so the rolls rise together in the oven and create a "pull apart" style of roll.)

Bake until the rolls are bursting at the seams and golden brown, 18-20 minutes. Remove from oven and brush with softened butter. Sprinkle with kosher salt and serve immediately.

If you would like, you can make in advance and freeze them before baking. After you have placed dough on the prepared pan, wrap the whole baking sheet tightly in plastic wrap and freeze up to 3 weeks. When you want to bake them, bake frozen rolls at 325 for 25 minutes, then 10 minutes more at 375.

Pumpkin Cream Cupcakes...

My co-worker brought in the yummiest pumpkin cupcakes. She said they were easy to make. That said, right after work I was off to buy the ingredients at the store. I was so excited to make these for family night. There I was, batter all mixed up and cream cheese mixture ready to go. Small problem, I ran out of cupcake liners. At this point I lost my motivation to run back to the store. So instead of cupcakes, I made it as a cake. I poured the cake batter in a 9 x 13 pan. Poured the cream cheese filling on top and swirled it with the cake batter. Baked it a little longer and Viala! Pumpkin Cream cake. Almost just as good - not as much cream cheese filling, but we still managed to scarf it down!

photo curtesy of kraftrecipes.com

Pumpkin Cream Cupcakes

1 pkg. (2-layer size) spice cake mix

1 pkg. (3.4 oz.) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

HEAT oven to 350ºF.

PREPARE cake batter as directed on package. Add dry pudding mix and pumpkin; mix well. Spoon into 24 paper-lined muffin cups.

BEAT cream cheese with mixer until creamy. Blend in sugar and egg; spoon over batter.

BAKE 18 to 21 min. or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool 5 min.; remove to wire racks. Cool completely.

Kraft Kitchens Tips: Stir 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg into 1-1/2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping; spread over cooled cupcakes. Keep refrigerated.

apple dumplings...

We've eaten really good this week! I've been trying new recipes and revisting lost favorites. One recipe we revisited was apple dumplings. Awhile back, we had our good friends over for dinner. Kristy was in charge of dessert. Because this is a desert you eat right out of the oven, she prepared it at my house. I was a little skeptical watching her make it, but I figured with two sticks of butter how could it go wrong! It was so good!

Fast forward to last night...going through my recipe binder I came across the recipe. Without any hesitation I ran to the store grabbed the ingredients. We enjoyed our fabulous treat (and then again for breakfast this morning). Hope you enjoy it as we do!

I only made half the recipe.

Apple Dumplings

Kristy Mayes

2 granny smith apples

2 cans Pillsbury crescent rolls

2 sticks butter

1 ½ cups sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Cinnamon

1 can Mountain Dew

Peel and core apples. Cut into 8 slices each. Roll each slice into crescent roll dough. Place in 9 x 13 buttered pan.

Melt butter. Add sugar and barely stir. Add vanilla. Pour over apples. Pour Mountain Dew around edges of pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake at 350˚ for 40 minutes.

Serve with ice cream. Spoon sauce from pan over the top

Greek Salsa Chicken

We made the best dinner last night. It's become one of our favorites. It's easy and quick. Ryan even said " You could put this on a bumper and it would taste good!" I'm sure he stole the line from Emeril, but I was still thankful for the compliment. Sorry there's not a picture. I was so hungry I just dug in, completely forgetting my camera.

Cook 4-6 chicken breasts. Top with Greek Salsa. Serve with couscous on the side. I mix my salsa in with the couscous. De.Lish!

Greek Salsa

4 oz feta cheese
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/4 cup pitted Kalmata olives
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Mix all ingredients. Serve.

***I've also used 1/2 can diced tomatoes, drained. I also add 1/4 cup finely diced red onion.

Jumbalaya...

As you can see from the date on the last post - It's been a long time! Summer always seems to throw me off schedule. I haven't even thought about the blog, until my sister had a question on one of the recipes she found on here. So I've decided to start up again. My goal is to try and make one to two new recipes each week. Hopefully they'll turn out and I'll share.

This week's new recipe is a combination of two recipes. Everyday Food and Cuisine at Home both had jambalaya recipes. They were both very similar, so I just combined them. I don't know that I would call it jambalaya, but it was still tasty.

Jambalaya

1 8-oz smoked sausage, sliced (we use turkey sausage)
2 TBSP olive oil
1 onion, medium dice
1 bell pepper, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
2 cloves garlic
2 14-oz can diced tomatoes
2 cup cooked rice

In a large skillet, saute sausage in olive oil. Cook about 5 minutes.

Add in onion, pepper and celery. Cook until veggies are tender, about 6-8 minutes.

Add garlic, cook 2 minutes. Add tomatoes. Scrap bottom of pan! Cook 3 minutes, until it thickens up. Stir in rice. Cook until heated. Serve.

***I added a few dashes of Tabasco sauce with the tomatoes to spice it up. I also put the Tabasco on the table for anyone who wants it spicier. We served with black beans.

***You can also add one pound raw shrimp with the garlic. Cook until shrimp is cooked through before adding tomatoes.

Coconut Cream Cupcakes...

We had an Easter brunch at our house. I made one of my favorite treats - Coconut Cream Cupcakes. It combines two of my favorite things - sweetened condensed milk and cream cheese frosting. The recipe is for a cake, but I adapted it into cupcakes. It truly is heavenly. You must try it!

Coconut Cream Cake

1 box white cake mix
3/4 cup sweetened coconut
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 Tsp coconut extract

Make white cake according to directions on box, except omit oil and add 6 TBSP coconut. Bake at 350 for 28 minutes. While baking, in a small bowl combine sweetened condensed milk and coconut extract. When cake is done, remove from oven, poke lots of holes on top of cake. Pour milk mixture over the top. Allow to cook.

Top with whipped cream and remaining coconut.

For cupcakes - bake for 15 minutes. Because the milk mixture runs off the cupcakes, I had to find an alternate to getting it inside the cupcakes. I used my Ronco injector - I knew that it would come in handy one day - I just didn't expect it to be with cupcakes :). Squirt a little bit into each cupcake. If you don't have an injector, I guess you can try poking holes.

Instead of the whipped cream topping, I opted for something a bit more tasty...

Cream Cheese Coconut frosting

4 oz cream cheese, room temp
1/2 cup butter, room temp
2 tsp coconut extract
4-4 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Mix ingredients together.

Looking for recipes...

I'm going to start making freezer meals. I'm hoping they can save my sanity on those days that just don't go as planned. I've got a few recipes to start with, but I'd love to get more. Any suggestions on what you love to freeze?

Soft Pretzels

Tonight we are having spaghetti and meatballs. Rather than making the usual garlic bread or bread sticks, Josh and I thought we'd mix things up a bit and make soft pretzels. I came across this recipe from The Sister's Cafe. They were super easy and quick to make. I used "Big Red" to knead the dough (I don't have the patience to do it by hand)

As always, my soux chef Josh was there to lend a hand. He had fun trying to shape dough. He preferred making rocks instead of snakes.

Soft Pretzels

www.sisterscafe.blogspot.com

1 1/2 cup warm water

1 pkg yeast (or 1 Tb)

1 Tb sugar

1 tsp salt

4 cups flour

Add sugar to warm water then sprinkle yeast on top. Let float for a minute then stir to dissolve the yeast. Let sit for 10 minutes as yeast activates and starts to foam. Add salt and flour and knead 5-10 minutes; adding more flour as needed to reduce stickiness. Divide dough in to 12 pieces and roll each piece into a long rope or "snake". Twist into pretzel shape and place on nonstick baking sheet. Make an egg wash with one egg and a Tb of water, lightly beaten together. Brush pretzels with egg wash then sprinkle liberally with Kosher salt. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

*Soft pretzels just aren't the same the next day. They are still good but not as soft and fresh tasting. I'll tell you a secret though... brush them with melted butter, sprinkle on Parmesan cheese, and toss them under the broiler for a minute and you have a delicious cheesy pretzel snack! Yum!!