Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls

Have you tried these yet?  Oh my goodness!  If you haven't, set some time aside some weekend very soon to make them for someone you love.  These were requested by my 7 year old for his birthday, along with roasted chicken, bow tie pasta, homemade marinara (on the side), salad (dressing on the side), rosemary rolls and carrot cake.  But these were at the top of the list, although he didn't call them Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls.  He called them, "the rolls you made at Christmas".  I knew what he meant.  How could I forget?

They are out of her new cookbook and they are to die for.  I cut the recipe in half, because honestly, we don't need 40 to 50 huge sweet rolls in the house.  We don't need 20 to 25 either, but that is a moot point. 

To begin, take 2 cups of milk,

1/2 cup of vegetable oil

and 1/2 cup of sugar and heat it just until boiling.  Remove from the heat and cool to lukewarm.  I'm not kidding here. COOL TO LUKEWARM!  Both times I've made these I hadn't cooled the liquid enough and have promptly killed my yeast, at which point I jump back up to step one and repeat.

When the liquid is at about 110 degrees, according to my candy thermometer, sprinkle 2 1/4 teaspoons of active dry yeast (or one package) on the top of the mixture and let sit for one minute.

Then add 4 cups of flour and stir.  Cover with a towel, put in a warm place and let rise for one hour. 

After an hour, or so, when it has doubled in bulk, add 1/2 heaping teaspoon of baking powder, 1/2 scant teaspoon of baking soda, 1/2 heaping tablespoon of salt

and an additional 1/2 cup of flour.   

Mix to combine.  Both times I've made these, I've done this the night before, covered it with a towel and let it sit overnight in a cool place so that it is ready to go when I wake up.  I punched the dough down when I went to bed

and in the morning, it has risen again, so I punched it down

and removed it from the pan to a lightly floured surface. 

Roll out the dough

until you have formed a 30 by 10 inch rectangle.

Now melt 1 cup of butter and spread it over the top of the dough with your fingers. That is a lot of butter!  If you don't use quite all the butter, don't worry.  You can use it to grease the pan you bake the rolls in.

Now sprinkle the dough with lots of cinamon

and top with lots of sugar (about a cup).

Begin rolling, starting at the opposite end, making a tight roll as you go.  When you get to the end, pinch the dough to close. 

PW says not to worry if some filling leaks out, so I didn't.

I took the remaining butter and used it to grease a jelly roll pan.

and then began slicing the roll into 1 1/4" sections.  The first ones weren't pretty but once I got in about 2 inches, they were beautiful.

Arrange the rolls on the baking sheet and preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  You want to let the rolls sit and rise for at least 20 minutes, so cover them up with a towel so they don't dry out. When the oven is preheated, cook for about 15 minutes until lightly browned.

While they are baking, prepare the icing.  Add 1/4 cup of milk to 2 cups of powdered sugar.

Add a splash of coffee,

maple flavoring,

and 1/4 teaspoon of salt

along with 3 tablespoons of melted butter.

Whisk until smooth. 

When the rolls are done, remove from the oven

and douse them with icing.  Prepare to have your socks knocked off.  These are out of this world decadent.  You can find Pioneer Woman’s Cinnamon Roll recipe on
The Tasty Kitchen.  Enjoy!

Uova in Purgatory

See this cookbook?  This well used and loved cookbook?

A few years ago, my husband was on an Italian cooking kick, and this turned into his bible.

I know...  A TV show cookbook?  But seriously, it has some great recipes in it. 

It has been rode hard and put away wet...  The pages are dog eared and tattered....

It has food splashed on it and some of the pages have stuck together, but it has been a fixture in our kitchen for many years.  These days, we make modifications of many of the recipes which have been tailored to meet the palate of our family.  But, I would highly recommend the cookbook to anyone who wants a good general purpose, traditional Italian cookbook.  I'm going to be posting a few of our favorites in the next few weeks.  Today, it is Uova  (Eggs) in Purgatory. 

The ingredients are pure and simple.  Tomatoes, eggs, garlic, basil, olive oil, and (missing from this picture) salt, pepper and Parmesan.

My family is garlic crazy, so we start with around 8 garlic cloves

and mince them up into a nice big pile.

Next, take two 14.5 ounce cans of diced or whole tomatoes

and puree them in a blender.

I think this recipe is best done in a cast iron skillet, but most types of skillets should work.  Add 1/4 of cup of olive oil to the pan along with the minced garlic.  I usually don't turn the heat on until both the oil and garlic are in the pan because of the potential to scorch the garlic if the oil is too hot.

Cook the garlic over medium heat until it is lightly browned and then add the pureed tomatoes.

Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste

and then stir in a bunch of basil.

Once combined, simmer the sauce over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes.  While the sauce is cooking, grate 1/2 a cup of Parmesan cheese.  I like to use a coarse grate for the cheese in this dish.

The sauce is thick enough when you can see the bottom of your pan for a few seconds as you stir.

Now it is time to add 8 eggs.  I've found the easiest way to do this is to lay a spoon into the sauce, making a well, crack the egg into the spoon and then slip the spoon out from under the egg.

Try to keep the eggs evenly spaced in the pan.

Season again with salt and pepper and sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the top.

Cover and cook over low heat until eggs are the desired consistency.  If you like a nice runny yolk, this is usually about three minutes.

Sprinkle the dish with a little Italian parsley, if desired,

spoon two eggs with lots o' sauce onto each plate

and serve with crusty Italian bread to sop up the extra sauce and yolk.

Uova in Purgatory
serves: 4  (Recipe also on Tasty Kitchen)

• 8 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
  
• 2 14.5 ounce cans of diced tomatoes, pureed
  
•  salt
•  freshly ground pepper
• 10 basil leaves
  
• 8 eggs
• 1/2 c Parmesan, coarsely grated
  
• Italian parsley, for garnish
  

Puree the tomatoes in a blender.  Heat 1/4 cup of olive oil with minced garlic in a cast iron skillet until golden.  Add the pureed tomatoes and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Stir in a bunch of basil.  Simmer the sauce over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes until nicely thickened.

Making a well in the sauce with a spoon, crack an egg into the spoon and then slip the spoon out from under the egg.  Repeat for each of the eight eggs, keeping the eggs evenly spaced in the skillet.  Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the top.  Cover and cook over low heat until eggs are the desired consistency, about three minutes.

Garnish with a little Italian parsley and serve with Italian bread.