Holiday recipes

Don’t take this wrong, I love getting phone calls around this time of year for recipes. But what if you’re in the middle of something and can’t reach me? I’ve decided to post some of my best recipes. Don’t be insulted by the details. I’m merely being specific in response to mistakes friends have made when they tried the recipe.
The first and most requested is for my potato roll recipe. For the uninitiated, it’s popular because I simplified it, cut out the saturated or trans fats and the rolls turn out light and flavorful. This recipe can be used for dinner or sweet rolls. It’s a pretty big recipe.

Dinner or sweet rolls (read the whole recipe before you start)

6 cups “baby bath warm” water (no don’t bathe your baby in it first, just get it to the temperature a baby would appreciate.)
1 cup white sugar
2 table spoon active dry or instant yeast. (I know there’s a difference, but I never notice it.)
1 1/2 cups instant potato flakes
2/3 cup oil
4 eggs
1 1/2 Tablespoon salt
Stir in 6 cups of bread flour. You may use all purpose flour, or whole wheat flour, but I do notice a nice difference when I use the bread flour. If using a stand mixer, add three more cups of flour while running and then slowly add two or three moreuntil it forms a soft, slightly sticky dough. If you’re using your hands like I do, add three cups and get another one standing by. Mix well with your (clean) hands and add more flour as needed to make a soft, slightly dough that you can pick up in one piece, but it won’t necessarily be firm enough not to have part of it fall back into the bowl. Cover and let rise until double. Divide into 4 portions. For dinnner rolls, flour the surface and roll a portion into a medium pizza-sized circle. Cut into 16 portions like a pizza and roll from the outside in. Place point down, let rise until triple, Bake at 375 until golden, about 12 minutes.
For sweet rolls, divide dough in half and roll into a long rectangle about 12 inches wide and half an inch thick. Spread with 3 tablespoons soft butter, sprinkle liberally with cinnamon, sugar raisins, or sugar and then orange zest. roll lengthwise, (so it’s long and skinny, not short and fat) and slice into 1 inch slices. Lay slices, half an inch apart on a greased baking sheet or pan, let rise until triple, Bake at 375 until golden, glaze while hot with icing made from powdered sugar, vanilla, butter, dash of salt, and water to make slightly runny.

My Razzleberry Pie (three large pies)

5 cups cold water
3 1/3 cups sugar
1/2 cups lemon juice
2 t. vanilla
1 1/3 cups corn starch
2 16 oz (frozen)packages of triple berry blend. (The one I use has blueberries, bosenberries and raspberries)
1 16 oz package of frozen raspberries

Stir all except last package of berries in a large pot until thick. Fold in frozen raspberries until well blended. Cool while you make pie crusts.
Fill crust, top with crust, crimp edges tightly to make a good seal so filling won’t leak, trim excess, decorate with cut bits of dough, (I make holly leaves and berries), Bake 350 until golden (30-40 minutes)

NO (NEVER, NOT EVER) Fail Pie crust.

3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup (butter flavor is good) shortening
1 egg
1 tsp vinegar
6 tablespoons of ice water

mix flour, salt and shortening until crumbly, (I use an electric mixer but a wisk (whisk?)will do),
add wet stuff and mix well, (I ususally use my hands). Divide into five balls and roll out between sheets of waxed paper. remove top sheet and lay dough into pan,(wax paper up) making sure the corners are filled. If you have a short edge, you can add a piece from a long spot. Remove
second sheet of waxed paper, leave ragged edges for a two crust pie, trim and crimp for a topless (like pumpkin) pie.

Extra good pumpkin pie

1 15 oz can pumpkin
1 12 oz can evaporated milk (skim is fine)
2 large eggs,
1 cup BROWN sugar
1 t. flour
1/2 t. salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 ginger
1/4 nutmeg
pinch of cloves
(or replace spices with 1 1/4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice)
Mix well, fill pie crust, bake at 425 for 15 minutes, reduce heat to 350 and bake an additional 40-50 minutes until center is set and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
(I recently served this to guests and they noticed the caramelly undertone of flavor the brown sugar gives. It’s very tasty.)

Thanksgiving Yams and Apples (for Brian)

Bake or pressure cook or microwave 6 medium yams until tender. Peel and slice yams and 6 granny smith or other tart apples, layer yams and apples in a large, lightly greased casserole dish. Over medium heat, cook sauce until thick:
3/4 t. salt
4 T cornstarch
1 cup white or brown sugar
2 cups of water
1/2 cup butter (butter is so much better than margarine in this recipe!)
2 tsp cinnamon.
Pour sauce over yams and apples, try to fill the nooks and crannies, bake at 350 for 30 minutes. MMmmmMMMmmm.

Cheese Marbled Brownies

1 cup softened butter (or inferior margarine)
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 t vanilla (if you have Mexican vanilla, Bless you!)
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cups good quality cocoa powder, (I prefer Hershey’s)
1 t baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 cup chopped nuts if desired.
Mix butter and sugar, add eggs one at a time, mixing well, add dry ingredients, spread in greased 9×11 pan. Then mix in order:
1/2 cup softened butter
8 oz softened cream cheese or neufatchel cheese
1/2 cup sugar. (try this recipe with brown sugar after you’ve tried it with the white sugar in the cheese filling)
3 tbls. flour
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
Spoon over brownie batter, swirl with knife to marble, pulling up some of the dark to the top. Smooth, bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes until brownie begins to pull away from the pan. Cool, frost if desired. ( I brown two tablespoons of butter, add 1/4 cup cocoa powder, 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 t. vanilla, thin with a little water (add one tablespoon and then a little at a time if needed to make thick liquid)

Other recipe requests, respond to my blog. These are my “most requested.”