Perfect Holiday Breakfast: Gooey, Amazing Cinnamon Rolls

I often ask people what their last meal would be before shuffling off this mortal coil.  It is interesting to see what people want as the final tastes on their tongues.  I've gotten everything from steak and lobster to sushi to chocolate cake and frosty, cold milk.

My answer varies from day-to-day, craving-to-craving. Right now, it would be a crunchy, golden brown plate of frites with sea salt and malt vinegar with a flame-broiled burger with cheese, bacon and roasted garlic aioli. Or maybe the salmon risotto dish I tasted at Emeril Lagasse’s restaurant at Loew’s Miami Beach years ago. The entrée always changes, but dessert never has. So when I’m 114 years old and on my deathbed, and my rich, exotic 80-year-old husband asks me want I want to eat, I’ll breathlessly ask for…*drumroll* …a gooey, decadent, buttery cinnamon roll.

This breakfast/lunch/dinner/any-time-of-the-day food is one of my carved-in-stone favorites, although I eat and make them more in the winter.  Paired with hot chocolate, it’s the perfect cure for anything Jack Frost can dish out. Like The Winter of Unemployment and 100 Inches of Snow. Or the Post-Christmas credit card bill. Or cabin fever created by the blizzard that’s raging outside right now.

It’s also the perfect thing for Christmas morning. I know, I know, I hear the groans. You have to wrap the presents or go to this party or even do last minute shopping with your cousin who always procrastinates. But you can do this too because making these treats is not nearly as daunting as it seems, especially if you have the right recipe. After trying out a few different ones, this one is it!

There are just a few steps to making cinnamon rolls, but they're simple and fun!

Knead ‘N Rise


Dough has been kneaded and is ready to rise. 

 Roll ‘N Fill


After rising, dough has been punched down; rolled flat; and filled with butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. 


Rolling is easy and fun.   Any sugar that falls out, just add to empty spaces in the baking pan.

Proof ‘N Bake


Rolls have proofed and ready to to bake!  Aww, they're cute, aren't they?


Glaze 'N Enjoy! 


Ready to be eaten.  The fruits of your labor! 

(If you have to ask, then yes, these are technical names for the steps.)

You probably already have nearly all of the ingredients, except yeast.  You get a gold star if you have the yeast. 
Bake these little treats the day before, seal them up in an airtight container, and re-heat them in the morning, and it’s the perfect culinary present for your friends and family. 

And you know how the scent of Cinnabuns lures people to the food court at the mall in a haze of need and  joy?  That happens when you bake these, too.  You're welcome.

Oh, and don’t forget to leave one for Santa. It’ll be a nice break from all of the cookies!


Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Glaze
epicurious.com


Dough:
1 cup whole milk

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 1/2 cups (or more) unbleached all purpose flour, divided

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg

2 1/4 teaspoons rapid-rise yeast (from 2 envelopes yeast)

1 teaspoon salt

Nonstick vegetable oil spray

Filling:
3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

Glaze:
3 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
For dough:
Combine milk and butter in glass measuring cup. Microwave on high until butter melts and mixture is just warmed to 120°F to 130°F, 30 to 45 seconds. Pour into bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Add 1 cup flour, sugar, egg, yeast, and salt. Beat on low speed 3 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl. Add 21/2 cups flour. Beat on low until flour is absorbed and dough is sticky, scraping down sides of bowl. If dough is very sticky, add more flour by tablespoonfuls until dough begins to form ball and pulls away from sides of bowl. Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if sticky, about 5 to 8 minutes. Form into ball.

Lightly oil large bowl with nonstick spray. Transfer dough to bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.

For filling:
Mix brown sugar and cinnamon in medium bowl.

Punch down dough. Transfer to floured work surface. Roll out to 15x11-inch rectangle. Spread butter over dough, leaving 1/2-inch border. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar evenly over butter. Starting at 1 long side, roll dough into log, pinching gently to keep it rolled up. With seam side down, cut dough crosswise with thin sharp knife into 18 equal slices (each about 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide).

Spray two 9-inch square glass baking dishes with nonstick spray. Divide rolls between baking dishes, arranging cut side up (there will be almost no space between rolls). Cover baking dishes with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled in volume, 40 to 45 minutes.

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Bake rolls until tops are golden, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and invert immediately onto rack. Cool 10 minutes. Turn rolls right side up.

For glaze:
Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat until smooth. Spread glaze on rolls when they are warm. Serve warm or at room temperature.  Store leftovers in an airtight container and re-heat before serving.

Chef's Note: I do recommend trimming the edges of the dough so you have straight lines before filling.  I did not when I made them for photos, and got some oddly shaped, cinnamony knobs after baking.  Delicious but a little weird.

Chef's Note 2:  I didn't have the right size glass pans as I made these for Thanksgiving morning, so I used a regular 9x13 baking pan without a problem.  The rolls fit and the misshapen pieces went into a smaller pan.

The Power of Ganche: Chocolate Torte with Pistachios

Sometimes, I understand how silly foodies can be. I feel it when I’m running around the kitchen, photographing chopped blueberries in natural light and artfully arranging plates of food when everyone else just wants to eat it. Maybe it’s a romantic and slightly naïve sentiment, but I truly believe in the power of good food—that it can nourish the soul as well as the body.

There’s one food that I think has the power to heal the world. Two words, say it with me, Chocolate Ganache.

It’s a painfully simple mixture of chocolate and cream, yet I’m pretty sure it has supernatural powers. It could end the war, keep Charlie Sheen sober, make M. Night Shyamalan movies good again!

It already demonstrated its powers just this Thanksgiving. I was making a Chocolate Torte for the feast’s dessert. It baked perfectly, yet when I tried to remove it from the pan, it wasn’t coming out. After twenty tense, nail-biting minutes of scraping and running over the burner, and getting my mom to help, my sister had to bang and pry it out of the pan because I was too scared to do it.  It was mostly whole and still completely delicious, but it was rough around the edges. It wasn’t perfect, and I was upset. Because it was THANKSGIVING and IT NEEDED TO BE PERFECT! (Of course, the meal was anything but perfect, as most holiday meals are, but the food was excellent, and no one else cared that due to minor problems and setbacks, we didn’t eat until almost eight.  Dinner was scheduled for six.)



Enter the ganache. I poured it over the cake and it covered the tears and small divots, and kept me from having to resort to cake surgery and the consequent “it looks weird, but it tastes GREAT!” dance for my family.



It was a Thanksgiving Miracle!! And the power of ganache!

Ultimately, the dessert came together winningly, the torte was dense and sweet; the ganache was velvety and robustly chocolate; the pistachios added some crunch and luxury to an already elegant dish.

So you work on making this torte and believing in the power of food. And I’ll go feed some of this to M. Night Shyamalan, and see if we can get another miracle.



Torte

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, plus more for pan
1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk

Ganache
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup shelled, unsalted pistachios, coarsely chopped


Directions
Make cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour an 8-inch round cake pan; line bottom with parchment or waxed paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.

In a large heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, melt butter and chocolate, stirring frequently, 4 to 5 minutes Make sure the water does in the saucepan does not touch the bowl. Remove bowl from pan. Whisk in sugar and vanilla, then eggs, and buttermilk. Fold in flour mixture just until combined.

NOTE: The chocolate wasn’t too hot after melting, but tempered in the eggs by whipping them slightly with the buttermilk adding a bit of the chocolate before adding that mixture to the chocolate. I didn’t want to take the chance of the eggs cooking when added to the warm chocolate.  Also, you want to make sure the buttermilk is at room temperature or close to it.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 55 to 70 minutes, depending on your oven. Let cool in pan 5 minutes; run a knife around edge, and invert onto a wire rack. Remove paper, and let cool completely, about 3 hours. (To store, wrap in plastic, and keep at room temperature, up to 3 days).

Make ganache: In a small saucepan, bring cream to a simmer, stirring often. Remove from heat. Add chocolate, and let stand 5 minutes; whisk until smooth. Let cool until mixture falls back in ribbons when lifted with a spoon. It shouldn’t take more than 5 to 10 minutes.

Set cake on a serving platter; tuck strips of parchment paper under edge of cake to prevent ganache from dripping on platter. Pour ganache onto center of cake; using a table knife, spread evenly over the top and let it drip down the sides.  Let set, about 30 minutes. Remove paper from under cake; sprinkle top with pistachios.

Chef's Note: Make sure you remove the torte from the pan 5 to 10 minutes after baking.  I didn't, and you know what happened.  ;-) 

Perfect Quick Meal: Lemony Chicken Milanese with Arugula Salad

Thanksgiving is probably one of the foodiest days of the year as the entire tradition revolves around good eats and lots of it. Some meals are planned weeks in advance and all of the focus is on Thursday. Turkey Day (or for our family this year, Chicken and Pork Roast day!). Sadly, there has been little thought, at least on the cooking shows or in magazines, to the day BEFORE Thanksgiving.

With company arriving and the start of meal preparation, the day before Thanksgiving can be hectic with little thought to the meal served that night. Usually, we order out for chinese or pizza.

Not this year.

I found a perfect recipe for the night before Thanksgiving that simple, flavorful and always a crowd pleaser. Lemony Chicken Milanese is bright from the lemon juice, peppery from the arugula and has that satisfying, seasoned crunch of breaded, sautéed chicken. It is a wow dish that will please arriving company still miffed from TSA pat-downs and body scans.


*garnished with tomatoes and grated Parmesan cheese

Lemony Chicken Milanese with Arugula Salad
Adapted from recipe at epicurious.com


Ingredients
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
Seasoning Salt
Pepper
Garlic Salt

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
2 cups (packed) baby arugula leaves (about 2 ounces)

Directions
Using meat mallet or rolling pin to tenderize and flatten chicken. Whisk eggs in medium bowl to blend.

Season chicken to taste on both sides. Dip chicken in beaten eggs; turn to coat. Dredge in breadcrumbs, coating completely.

Heat 3 tablespoons oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and sauté until golden brown and cooked through, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to plates; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Toss arugula with remaining 1 tablespoon oil and remaining lemon juice, season lightly with salt and pepper.  Mound arugula salad ontop of chicken breasts, garnish with tomatoes and a bit of grated parmesan if you like, and enjoy! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Decadent Monster Cookies

*Recipe revised on December 24th.

I’m leaving for Las Vegas—my first real vacation in six years—so it is fitting that the theme of this post be overindulgence. The most decadent thing I’ve made in recent memory has to be a recipe I adapted from Paula Deen’s Monster Cookies (Do you say Paula Deen's name in a southern accent?  I do!). This cookie combines peanut butter, oats, candy, and pretty much whatever else you want into a squishy, flourless cookie dough that’s as fun to play with as it is addicting.

I started making these with my niece when she was five. Most children are masters in overindulgence. When they dress themselves, they want to wear the purple pants, the green tutu and ALL of their necklaces. When they make cookies, they want to add all of the chocolate chips and candy pieces in the WHOLE WORLD and seventy bazillion cups of whatever else they love. These cookies are designed to take it.


And it works in the way that purple pants-green tutu on an adorable four-year-old works.


These cookies are an addiction in our family to the point that we make them even without the munchkin around.


So while I’m gambling away my cash or partying all night in Las Vegas, you can have a little indulgence of your own in a flourless cookie!  Hee!




Monster Cookies
foodtv.com

Ingredients
3 eggs

1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 12-ounce jar creamy peanut butter

1 stick butter, softened

1/2 cup M&Ms, optional (about two regular-size bags)

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup toffee

2 teaspoons baking soda

4 cups old-fashioned oats

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggs and sugars. Mix well. Add the salt, vanilla, peanut butter, and butter. Mix well. Stir in the chocolate candies, chocolate chips, raisins, if using, baking soda, and oatmeal. Drop by tablespoons 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.

Bake for 9 to 13 minutes until cookies are light golden brown. Let stand for about 3 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool. When cool, store in a large airtight container.



Yes, it looks weird.  It's supposed to!


Oh, pretty colors!  Let's add MORE STUFF!


*This recipe is gluten-free if you use GF baking soda and oats.

Potato, Portabella, and Parmesan Gratin

When I was a child, I had a boundless imagination. It made being grounded fun, and punishing me next to impossible. As an adult and a writer, I actively nurture my imagination and my inner child. I like to laugh make up stories, and generally enjoy myself. On special days, I play with my food. Enter the Potato, Portabella and Parmesan Gratin.

This recipe takes a bit of time to assemble, so I treated it like a culinary puzzle picking the perfectly shaped piece of potato to create the layers. I then added the cheese and even tossed in some mushrooms. The result was a filling, decadent gratin that was as simple as it was flavorful, and served with a quick salad, you have a delicious (and meatless) dinner. And I even snuck mushrooms past my inner child.



Potato, Portabella and Parmesan Gratin
Adapted from Oriana Neri’s recipe

Ingredients
4 lb medium boiling potatoes

1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt

2 to 2 ½ cups half & half

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

7 oz finely grated parmesan cheese (3 1/2 to 4 cups)*

1/2 to 1 cup baby portabella mushrooms, cleaned and diced

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F.

Peel potatoes and cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices with a food processor or an adjustable-blade slicer. Spread slices out on a large kitchen towel. Sprinkle with sea salt.

Dot bottom of a 3-quart shallow baking dish (13 by 9 inches) with half of butter and pour in 1/3 cup of dairy. Layer potatoes in baking dish, season lightly with black pepper.

Spread 1/3 cup half & half and about 1/4 of cheese between layers. Drizzle remaining cream over potatoes and dot with remaining butter. Season with black pepper and sprinkle a bit of extra cheese and any mushrooms you have left.

Bake, uncovered, until potatoes are very tender and top is browned, about 2 hours. Let stand at room temperature 10 minutes before serving.

*Chef’s Note: I did use an imported Italian cheese from the cheese counter, but not Parmigiano-Reggiano, and the gratin was fantastic. Just use quality cheese, and you’ll be fine.

Saturday Chef's Awesome Rosemary Spice Chicken Wings

*Recipe revised on October 26th.*

So many people I know LOVE chicken wings. You know, those squishy, messy, greasy, spicy little chicken arms that usually more bone than meat. I never got why they were so popular, maybe it’s all the alcohol traditionally consumed while eating them. I don’t really like them and certainly never crave them. The only time I eat a chicken wing is when I make or bring home a roast chicken. It is the first piece I taste, and that’s usually meaty and salty and delicious.

My mother has been admirably working to lose weight for months. She exercises with a determination I can admire—usually while I’m in the kitchen. (Can cooking be considered cardio?) Lately her resolve has been cracking and the fast food cravings are gaining power. Finally, she broke. “I want fried chicken wings. I want Popeye’s!” She proclaimed after an hour on the treadmill.


I promised her I’d make her some chicken wings that would settle her craving, but wouldn’t negate all of her had work.


So I set out on the ‘net, sorted through recipes with glazes and  super-spicy sauces and 25 ingredients, and settled on this one with a bit of trial and error on the mix of spices. These wings are baked, not fried, yet the skin is still crispy and the meat is still tender and flavorful. Now, these are chicken wings I’d like to knock back while watching a football game and drinking beer.


And they passed not one, but two tests. First, my mother LOVED them and declared her fast food craving had been satisfied. Second, my father, who puts hot sauce on pancakes, ate these wings without it.

Mission accomplished.



Awesome Rosemary Spiced Chicken Wings

Ingredients

4 to 5 pounds chicken wings

1 tablespoon olive oil plus more for drizzling

1 ½ tablespoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped

1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder

½ teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons seasoning salt (such as Lawry's)

½ teaspoon ground cumin

¾ teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon chili powder*

½ teaspoon cayenne*

Salt


Directions

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Line two banking sheets with aluminum foil.

Remove the tips of the chicken wings with kitchen shears or a knife. Clean wings of any stray hairs.
Thoroughly rinse wings and pat dry with paper towels. In a large bowl or large pan, drizzle chicken wings with 1 teaspoon of olive oil and mix with hands until all wings are evenly coated. Add all spices, mixing with hands to make all wings are coated.

Place skin side up in a single layer on baking sheets, allowing a bit of space between each wing. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil over the wings, and rub over the top to distribute. Finally, sprinkle each wing very lightly with salt.

Bake in the oven until wings are a deep golden brown and the skin is crispy, about 45 to 55 minutes. Rotate pans halfway through cooking process so wings will brown evenly.

Serve immediately.

*Measurements of spices and herbs may vary based on the amount of wings being prepared.
*You can make the wings as spicy as you like. I prefer just a little heat. Increase the chili powder and cayenne if you’d like more of a kick.

Umptious Spaghetti and Meatballs

I’m going to put on my sparkly pink cape and become Captain Obvious for forthcoming confession.  Are you ready?


I love food.  (See why I needed the cape?) I love all kinds of food, from the healthy and leafy to the junk varieties.

But as much as I love it, sometimes it’s hard to wax poetic about artichokes or barbecue sauce. Lately, I have been struggling with not only writer’s block, but (Saturday) chef’s block. I haven’t made anything that I would deem blog-worthy or even been inspired by too many recipes.

Thankfully, I got the October issue of Bon Appetit in the mail, and as I flipped through its glossy pages, I found a recipe for spaghetti and meatballs, complete with a tantalizing picture. Instantly, my chef’s block was gone!

I worship spaghetti and meatballs. When made right, it’s everything one could one in a meal—meaty and tender with a delicious sauce. When made wrong, it’s as Chef Ramsay would seethe, “a dog’s dinner!”

I had the most fabulous plate of spaghetti and meatballs at a little Italian place in my small town with a girlfriend nearly a decade ago. I’ve been trying to re-create that salty, beefy, tomato-y umptiousness since that night as that little Italian place is now a big sports bar. Since then, I’ve tried every variation I could think of and literally dozens of recipes. I’ve used all turkey, all veal, even threw some bacon in the mix. I’ve pan-fried them and finished in the oven. I’ve simmered for hours in tomato sauce. I’ve had pleasing results and some meatballs that resembled beefy ping-pong balls.

This recipe is Why-Didn’t-I-Think-Of-That simple, and delivers ridiculous flavor. The sauce with San Marzano tomatoes (or Magic Tomatoes as I call them, because I’ll eat them plain and I HATE the texture of tomatoes) is vivid and bright.

If you’re on a quest for the perfect spaghetti and meatballs, it just ended here!

 

 
Spaghetti and Meatballs
Adapted from recipe in Bon Appetit, October 2010
 
Sauce

2 28-ounce can of diced tomatoes and juice, preferable San Marzano
1 stick butter
2 medium onions, roughly chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/2 to 1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth as needed

Directions
Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. When butter foams, add onions and sauté until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add entire can of tomatoes and juice. Season liberally with salt and pepper.

Reduce heat to low. Simmer uncovered for 45 minutes.

Use an immersion blender to break up the larger chunks of sauce, but leave fairly chunky. If too much liquid has evaporated, stir in vegetable broth to thin out. Season with salt and pepper to taste.



Meatballs
1 cup of plain breadcrumbs
1/3 cup milk (2% or whole)
8 ounces lean or extra lean ground beef
8 ounces pork or veal
1 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
1/3 cup Italian parsley, finely chopped
Salt, pepper
2 large eggs, whisked
2 large garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 pound spaghetti, cooked al dente

Directions
While sauce is simmering, mix breadcrumbs and milk. Set aside for 10 minutes to allow the breadcrumbs absorb the milk.

Place beef and veal in a large bowl. Add cheese, parsley, salt, pepper, garlic, whisked eggs and milky breadcrumbs. Gently mix meat mixture with hands until evenly combined. Meatball mix should be moist, but hold together.

Roll meat between hands to form meatballs that are a little smaller than a golf ball. Place rolled meatballs on in a pan or cookie sheet lined with foil. Chill in the freezer for about 20 minutes.

After sauce has been simmered, blended and seasoned, gently drop meatballs into sauce. Simmer covered until cooked through, about 15 to 20 minutes, occasionally swirling pot by the handles to stir meatballs without breaking them apart.

Spoon sauce over cooked spaghetti, garnish with parsley and grated parmesan.

NOTE: The recipe in magazine calls for whole tomatoes and juice.  I made it once with whole tomatoes and the sauce came out watery.  The diced tomatoes work better in my opinion.