Pennsylvania Dutch Tea Rolls

 These are my go-to dinner rolls, and have been since I ripped out the page from Cooking Light. They have never failed to be enthusiastically devoured. They take a while to make, but the result is a dense, chewy, slightly sweet vehicle for your best butter. The only flaw is that it's hard to eat more than one of them. 

You can use a scale to get rolls that are all the same size, but I like having smaller ones and bigger ones to choose from. 

Ingredients

• 5 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 1 ⅓ cups warm 1% low-fat milk (100° to 110°)
• 1 package quick-rise yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
• ½ cup sugar
• ¼ cup butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• Cooking spray
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 ½ teaspoons poppy seeds 

Steps

1. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 2 cups flour, warm milk, and yeast in a large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, and let stand 1 1/2 hours (batter should become very bubbly and almost triple in size).  
2. Add 3 cups flour, sugar, butter, salt, and egg; stir with a wooden spoon 3 minutes or until well combined. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 8 minutes); add enough of remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel tacky).  
3. Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size. (Lightly press two fingers into dough. If indentation remains, the dough has risen enough.)  
4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; lightly dust dough with flour and pat into an 10 x 8-inch rectangle. Divide dough by making 3 lengthwise cuts and 4 crosswise cuts to form 20 equal pieces; shape each piece into a ball. Place balls in a 13 x 9-inch baking pan coated with cooking spray.  
5. Lightly coat the dough with cooking spray. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in size.  
6. Preheat oven to 375°. Brush 3 tablespoons milk lightly over dough; sprinkle with poppy seeds. Bake at 375° for 20 minutes or until browned. Cool rolls in pan 5 minutes. Serve warm, or cool completely on a wire rack.
   

Tangy Cucumber Pickles

I love this kind of quick, mild pickle, but most of the recipes I have for it call for a long prep time. I don't always think that far ahead of making dinner, so I was excited to find this version in Quick and Easy Thai. 

Ingredients

• 1/2 c white vinegar
• 1/2 c water
• 1/2 c sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 large hothouse cucumber, or smaller ones equal to 1 pound
• 3 Tbsp thinly sliced shallots or red onion
• 2 tsp thinly sliced fresh hot red or green chilies

Instructions

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the vinegar, water, sugar, and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until dissolved, 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. 
2. Peel cucumbers and cut them lengthwise into 4 long strips. Slice each strip into small triangles. Place in a bowl. Top with shallots and chilies. Shortly before serving, pour the cooled vinegar mixture over the cucumbers. Serve at room temperature, or cover and refrigerate for up to two days.
   

Sauteed Chicken with Garlic and Rosemary

 Wow, it has been a long time since I updated this little blog. The pandemic has not done much for my cooking -- if anything I've gotten tired of doing it all the time, of being stuck at home by requirement rather than choice, of spending hours and hours in my kitchen for lack of anyplace else to do my work. For a while, it was difficult to do real menu planning, since it was hard to guess what the store would have. I made a lot of "throw together" meals that didn't rely on a recipe.

Now that the weather is getting cooler, and the situation is clearly going to drag on well into next year, I am trying to be a little more intentional about things, and to spend more time in the analog world. I have loads of cookbooks, and I've barely touched them in ages. This book in particular I don't know if I have ever used -- Bon Appetit's Fast Easy Fresh Cookbook, a goliath of a compendium from years of the magazine. I subscribed for ages, but there came a time where it began to feel stale and repetitive, like I had seen the seasons of their publication year come and go too many times. I use my back issues during the holidays, and that's about all.

This entry may be a one-off--I don't try to predict much these days--but it is a solid recipe and worth recording.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs chicken thighs with bones and skin
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary (or use 2 tsp dried)
• 1 c chicken broth
• 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

Instructions

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large heavy skillet over high heat. Add chicken to skillet and saute until browned, about 5 minutes per side. 
2. Reduce head to medium-low, cover, and cook until chicken is tender and cooked through, about 15 minutes
3. Transfer chicken to bowl. Discard all but 2 Tbsp drippings from skillet. Add garlic and rosemary, and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. 
4. Add broth and vinegar. Boil until sauce is reduced to 1/2 cup, about 7 minutes. 
5. Return chicken and any juices to pan and simmer over low heat until chicken is heated through, about 5 minutes. 

 

French Onion Soup

It's a cold, gloomy day in Boston, with snow in the forecast, and not much on the schedule. Perfect, in other words, for this soup. This is not a quick one; the original version is lying when it says you will get caramelized onions in a half hour. Budget at least an hour for that stage.

On the other hand, the ingredient list is short, and this soup will look after itself for most of the time it's cooking. I have altered this recipe somewhat from the original Cooking Light version, but you are welcome to try to caramelize onions in a whisper of olive oil. I usually make a half recipe of this, since the kids aren't yet to an age where they like this kind of thing.

Ingredients

2 Tbsp olive oil

8 cups sliced onion; I use a mix of yellow, sweet, and red, and slice them thickly
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup dry white wine
8 cups less-sodium beef broth

1 teaspoon dried thyme
8 oz French or other sturdy bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
8 slices Swiss cheese

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onions to pan; sauté for 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in sugar, pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Reduce heat to low and cook for an hour or so, stirring occasionally, until the onions are a deep golden brown. 
2. Stir in wine, and cook for 1 minute. 
3. Add broth and thyme; bring to a boil. 
4. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 2 hours. 
5. Preheat broiler. Place bread in a single layer on a baking sheet; broil 2 minutes or until toasted, turning after 1 minute.
6. Place 8 ovenproof bowls (if making the full recipe) on a jelly-roll pan. Ladle 1 cup soup into each bowl. Divide bread evenly among bowls; top each serving with 1 cheese slice. Broil 3 minutes or until cheese begins to brown.

Classic Apple Pie

This is the first and only apple pie recipe I have ever used, from one of the first cookbooks I ever bought: Mrs Fields Cookie Book. It turns out great results every time, so I never bothered looking for another one. People like to complain about making pie crust, but I have literally never had a problem with this recipe. Note that like other recipes in this book it calls for salted butter.

Crust Ingredients

3 c all-purpose flour
2 tsp grated lemon zest
1 c salted butter, chilled
6-8 Tbsp ice water
1 large egg, beaten
1 Tbsp sugar

Filling Ingredients

4 cups thinly sliced apples (4-6 peeled apples; you can use Granny Smith, Cortland, Macintosh, or other sturdy baking apples)
1 c white sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 c cornstarch
1/4 c salted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces

Crust Steps
I use a food processor to make pie crust and always have. Cut in the butter using short pulses, and after you add the water let the processor run until it starts to come together.  

1. Mix flour and lemon zest together with a wire whisk in a medium bowl. 
2. With a pastry cutter or two knives, cut in the butter until the dough resembles coarse meal. 
3. Add ice water and blend until the dough can be gathered. 
4. Divide dough in half and wrap tightly in plastic wrap or waxed paper. Chill for 1 hour or until firm. 

Pie Steps

1.  Combine sugar, cinnamon, and cornstarch in a large bowl. 
2. Add the apples and stir until they are well coated with the sugar mixture. 
3. Preheat the oven to 400F. 
4. On a floured surface , use a floured rolling pin to roll out one piece of pie crust into a circle 11 inches in diameter. Place the crust in a pie plate. Trim excess dough if needed, leaving about 3/4" over the edge of the plate. 
5. Spoon in the filling. Sprinkle butter pieces on top (I have lately started skipping this step and can't taste any difference). 
6. Roll out the second piece of pie dough and place over the filled pie. Fold overhanging top crust over the bottom crust and crimp together (make it pretty if you want). 
7. Brush the top crust with beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar (you can use white sugar or demerara). Cut steam slits in the crust. 
8. Place pie on center rack of oven and bake for 20 minutes. Turn the heat down to 350 and bake for an additional 30 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Remove and allow to cool on a rack. 

Goes great with ice cream or whipped cream. 

Aloo Gobi

An easy, mild dose of Indian flavors that cooks quickly enough to make on a weeknight. I got this from Pinterest somewhere and made a few adjustments.

Ingredients

2 1/2 Tbsp canola oil, divided
1 1/2 lbs cauliflower florets; you'll want them fairly small so they cook evenly
2 large potatoes, peeled and diced
1 cup red onion finely chopped
1 inch of ginger root, grated
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can small diced tomatoes or equivalent fresh
1 Tbsp tomato paste 
1/2 tsp Salt 
1 tsp chili powder  (will make a mild dish; use more if you want heat)
1/2 tsp turmeric 
1 tsp whole cumin seeds 
1 Tbsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp Garam Masala 
3 Tbsp plain yogurt 
4-5 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions

1. Heat 1 1/2 Tbsp oil in a heavy pot. Add diced potato and saute for 5 minutes on high heat. 
2. Add cauliflower and cumin seeds, and cook until cauliflower is little tender (5-7 minutes) Remove from the pot and set aside.
3. To the same pot, add the remaining Tbsp oil, onion, ginger, and garlic. Saute until onions are lightly browned (3-4 minutes).
4. Add all of the spices and cook for 30 seconds.
5. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, and salt, and cook until the oil separates. (5-6 minutes on high heat.)
6. Return the potatoes and cauliflower to the pot, add a half cup of water (or as needed to provide enough liquid for the vegetables to cook), cover tightly and cook until tender. (10-20 minutes depending on how big you chopped things). Check once or twice to make sure the pot hasn't dried out. 
7. Remove lid, add yogurt and chopped cilantro. Stir a few times so the yogurt doesn't curdle; cook until the cilantro wilts, which might take less than a minute. 

Cinnamon Scones

I don't know how long I've had this recipe or where it came from originally; I grabbed it from the old Cooking Light community forum. (RIP, my favorite Internet sites of the 00s.) I do know that it has been a favorite here ever since it debuted. These are so good that I very rarely make other scones. I make them in a food processor up through adding the cinnamon chips; it makes cutting in the butter very easy.

They have whole wheat flour and oatmeal; they're practically healthy!

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oatmeal
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons butter - cut into pieces
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon turbinado sugar
1/2 cup cinnamon chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. In a bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. Using a pastry blender, cut the cold butter into the dry ingredients until the dough is crumbly. Fold in the cinnamon chips. Add the buttermilk and stir lightly until the dough comes together to form a ball. Don't overwork the dough.
3. On a lightly floured surface, pat the dough into a large circle about 2 inches thick. Cut the dough into wedges with a knife; do not separate the wedges. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar. (Or you can do what I do, and just form the circle right on the baking sheet, because moving it afterward is a huge pain.)
4. Transfer dough to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 22 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned.
5. After cooling, separate wedges with a serrated knife.

makes 8 scones