Heavenly Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients

• 4 1/4 to 4 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup mashed, cooked potato*
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• Cream Cheese Icing

Directions

In a mixing bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups of the flour and the yeast; set aside. In a medium saucepan, heat and stir milk, mashed potato, the 1/3 cup butter, the granulated sugar, and salt just until warm (120°F to 130°F) and butter almost melts; add to flour mixture along with the eggs. Beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately soft dough that is smooth and elastic (3 to 5 minutes total). Shape dough into a ball. Place in a lightly greased bowl; turn once to grease surface of dough. Cover; let rise in a warm place until double in size (45 to 60 minutes).

Punch dough down. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, lightly grease a foil roasting pan; set aside. For filling, in a bowl, stir together brown sugar and cinnamon; set aside.

Roll dough into an 18x12-inch rectangle. Spread the 1/4 cup butter over dough and sprinkle with filling, leaving 1 inch unfilled along one of the long sides. Roll up rectangle, starting from the filled long side. Pinch dough to seal seams. Slice rolled rectangle into 12 equal pieces. Arrange in prepared pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place until nearly double in size (about 30 minutes).

Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes; drizzle with Cream Cheese Icing; cool completely.

Cream Cheese Icing:In a mixing bowl, beat one 3-ounce package cream cheese, softened; 2 tablespoons softened butter; and 1 teaspoon vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed until combined. Gradually beat in 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar until smooth. Beat in milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, to reach spreading consistency.

*Mashed cooked potato: Prick a 10-ounce unpeeled potato all over with a fork. Microwave on 100 percent power (high) for 5 to 7 minutes or until tender. Halve potato and scoop pulp out of skin into a bowl; discard skin. Mash the potato pulp with a potato masher or an electric mixer on low speed. Measure 1 cup of mashed potato.

Make-Ahead Directions: Prepare as above through Step 4, except do not let rise after shaping. Cover loosely with oiled waxed paper, then with plastic wrap. Chill for 2 to 24 hours. Before baking, let chilled rolls stand, covered, for 30 minutes at room temperature. Uncover and bake as directed.

Spicy Pork Ribs

3/4 cup Harissa Paste
3 TBSP fresh Lemon Juice
1 TBSP minced Garlic
2 slabs Baby Back Ribs (about 1 1/2 lbs each)
Kosher Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper
2 bottles (12 oz each) Budweiser

In a small bowl, stir together the harissa paste, lemon juice and garlic. Set aside.



Rinse the ribs and pat dry with paper towels. Using a dull butter knife, loosen the thin papery membrane that runs along the underside of the ribs, then pull it off with your fingers (or with a paper towel). Rub the ribs generously on both sides with salt and pepper, then slather all over with the harissa mixture. Wrap the ribs in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours.

Ribs can either be smoked or grilled. For grilling prepare the grill for indirect heat grilling. First you will want to oil the grill rack. For smoking you will also want to oil the grill rack as well. Also for smoking use the beer in the water pan, pour in both bottles and then fill the rest of the way with water.

Place the ribs bone side down on the grill. If grilling you will want to baste every 10 minutes with the beer on both sides until the ribs are tender and cooked through. For smoking you just put them in and leave them until they are tender and cooked through. (We made these ribs by smoking.)

(Harissa paste was rather difficult to find, but I ended up finding it at Dean and DeLuca)

French Onion Soup

1 lb. 6 oz. peeled Onions
3 oz. Butter
1 tsp. freshly ground or cafe ground Pepper
1 tbsp. Spanish Paprika
2 Bay Leaves
1 1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 c. All-purpose Flour
1 1/2 qt. Beef Bouillon (from cubes or canned) (I used 1/2 beef broth 1/2 chicken broth)

Cut onions in half and slice with the grain about 1/8" thick. Melt butter and add sliced onions. Saute slowly for 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Add paprika, pepper, bay leaves and flour. Mix well, keeping flame low. Stir while cooking for 5 minutes.

Gradually add hot bouillon while stirring, preferably with a wooden spoon. Simmer soup, covered, for at least 30 minutes.

If a rich brown color is desired, add caramel coloring. Taste soup and season with salt. Yield: 2 quarts.

Serving Suggestion: Heat soup and fill oven-proof casserole or individual oven proof crocks with 8 ounces of soup. Top with thin slices of French bread and cover each serving with 1 1/2 ounces of grated Swiss cheese (Emmenthaler or Gruyere preferred). Place under broiler and melt cheese until golden brown. (I used Mozzarella and Provolone cheese and they both worked fine as well.)

(From Kate Beem)

Boneless Pork Loin Chops with Leeks and Apples

1 TBSP Unsalted Butter
4 4-5 oz boneless center-cut Pork Loin cutlets
2 medium Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1 large Leek, white park only, halved, washed carefully and thinly sliced
1 Garlic Clove, minced
1 tsp Caraway Seeds
1 tsp Celery Seeds
1 cup Dry White Wine
2 tsp Dijon Mustard

Heat the butter in a 12" skillet over medium heat. Brown the pork loin cutlets and transfer to a plate and tent with aluminum foil to keep warm. Add apples and leeks to pan and saute. Add garlic, caraway seeds and celery seeds into pan. Raise the heat to medium-high and add the dry white wine and scrape the bottom of the skillet. Bring the liquid to a simmer and reduce the liquid by half. Add the Dijon Mustard into the pan. Reduce the heat to medium and return the meat and any juices to the skillet. Cook until pork is 160 degrees. Season with salt and pepper before serving.

Cream Cheese Potato Soup

4 cups Chicken Broth
4 cups Potatoes (peeled, shredded or cubed (smaller is better) if you like chunkier soup)
1/4 cup Onion, minced
1/2 tsp Seasoning Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
1/4 tsp Cayenne
8 oz Cream Cheese, cut into chunks

Saute onions in a little bit of oil or a large pot. Add broth, potatoes and spices. Boil on medium until potatoes are tender. If you used cubed potatoes you will need to smash a few to help thicken the soup. (I used an immersion blender to help make the soup a little smoother.) Reduce heat to low and add cream cheese. Stir until cheese melts.

Can also be done in a crock pot by first sauteing the onions in a pan and then adding into the crock pot, adding other ingredients (minus the cream cheese) and put on low for 4 hours. During the last 20 minutes add the cream cheese.

Can be garnished with bacon and shredded cheese and served with a nice crusty bread.

Calzones

Start with making 1 batch of pizza crust.

1 TBSP Active Dry Yeast
1 1/2 cups warm Water
3 1/2 cups Bread Flour (plus a little more for dusting) (and yes it must be Bread Flour)
1 1/2 TBSP Olive Oil (plus extra to grease the bowl for rising)
2 TBSP Molasses
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Italian Seasoning (optional)

Add the yeast to the warm water and set it aside. Place the flour in a large bowl and whisk to fluff it up. With your hands create a well in the flour. To make clean up easier add the olive oil first and then the molasses. Add salt and optional Italian Seasoning. Add yeast and water mixture to the well. Stir the ingredients until they are moist and well mixed. (If using a mixer use the lowest setting and only knead about a minute after the dough comes together.)

Flour your work surface and knead the dough for about three minutes. After kneading shape the dough into a ball. Grease a large bowl with Olive Oil and place dough in the bowl, turning several times to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to rise for at least thirty minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Additional Ingredients:

Pizza Sauce
Shredded Mozzarella
Various toppings (thinly sliced is better)
Olive Oil for brushing (will also need a pastry brush)
Water to seal the dough
Cornmeal if you have a pizza stone
Cooking Spray if you have a baking sheet

Divide the dough into desired portion sizes. Roll the dough out into a circle then use your finger to wet the edge of the crust all the way around. To half of the circle add toppings first and then pizza sauce so that the dough doesn't absorb the sauce. Make sure that the edge is still wet (can wet again if needed) and fold over. Use a fork to seal the edge of the calzone so that nothing comes out. Transfer to either a greased baking sheet or a hot pizza stone that has been sprinkled with cornmeal. Use a pastry brush to coat the calzone with Olive Oil so that it will be golden brown and not just pale and floury. With a sharp knife cut slits in the top so that steam can get out. Bake 10 - 15 minutes at 375 degrees. (If calzone is larger in size it may take longer.)

No Knead Crescent Rolls

Heat oven to 400 degrees

1 cup Milk, scalded
1/2 cup Sugar
2 packages Dry Yeast
6 cups sifted Flour
1/2 cup Margarine/Butter
1 TBSP Salt
1/2 cup luke warm Water (110 degrees)
4 Eggs

Combine milk, margarine, sugar and salt. Cool to luke warm. Sprinkle yeast over water and stir to dissolve. Add yeast mixture and two cups of flour to milk mixture. Add eggs and beat with mixed at medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in remaining flour (dough will be sticky). Cover bowl with plastic wrap and then aluminum foil. Let stand in refrigerator at least 2 hours (up to 1 week). Punch down and divide in half. Roll into 14" circle and cut into 12 wedges. Roll each wedge from the wide end forming a crescent. Place on greased baking sheet, cover and let rise until doubled (about 1 1/2 hours). Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 24 rolls.