At the age of 95 my grandma Stella finally “retired” from the role as Thanksgiving dinner cook. Given my near-obsession with cooking, I immediately volunteered to take on the job. The only part that worried me was trying to duplicate one of my grandmother’s most cherished recipes: feather-light Ice Box Rolls that only appeared on the table at holidays.
Everyone in my family had tried to make rolls as good as my grandmother’s. They never succeeded. I knew Thanksgiving wouldn’t be the same without them. I had eaten those rolls every Thanksgiving and Christmas my entire life. Was I really up for the challenge?
Most families have a sacred recipe that makes its way to the table holiday after holiday. Funny enough, in my husband’s family it was also a recipe for rolls. Grandma Lucy’s Rohliky (the Czech word for “rolls”) were the thing everyone looked forward to at Thanksgiving dinner. The recipe comes via Bohemia, now a region of the Czech Republic, the area from which grandma Lucy’s family hailed.
Turns out my first batch of Ice Box Rolls were just as good as my grandmother’s. I’m convinced it’s because she stood next to me and walked me through each step. Each subsequent batch has been almost, but not quite, up to par.
Someday I’ll work up the nerve to make Rohliky and see if my husband can tell the difference. Unfortunately Grandma Lucy passed away in 2005 and isn’t here to help teach me. If you have a family member who makes a world-class recipe, ask if you can help them prepare it this holiday season. When you’re trying to preserve that special tradition there’s nothing like learning from the master.
Ice Box Rolls
Makes about 24 rolls
1 c. mashed potatoes
2/3 c. shortening
2/3 c. sugar
1 c. milk
2 eggs
1 t. salt
1 yeast cake (or one package yeast)
3 c. plus extra flour
2 T. butter, melted
Place shortening, potatoes, and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Scald milk; add and stir well. Let mixture cool to lukewarm, then add eggs and salt. Crumble yeast in your hand and stir into milk mixture. Stir in only enough flour to make mixture the consistency of pancake batter (about 1 cup). Cover with plastic and let rise in the refrigerator until doubled, 1-2 hours.
Stir in enough flour to make a stiff dough. Cover, place bowl back in refrigerator, and let rise overnight (checking once and punching down if necessary to keep dough from flowing out of pan).
Shape as desired. To make Parker House rolls: On a lightly floured board, roll dough to 1/4" thickness. Cut out with a biscuit cutter. Brush both sides of roll in butter. Using a knife, make a small crease in the center, then fold so one side is slightly off-set from the other. Place rolls in ungreased 13” x 9” pan. Cover with a towel and let rise at room temperature for about four hours.
Cook at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
Rohliky
Makes 25 rolls
3 c. flour
1/4 c. sugar
1 t. salt
1/4 c. shortening
1 egg, beaten
1 c. warm milk
1 envelope yeast, dissolved in 2 T. warm water and ¼ t. sugar
For topping:
1 egg, beaten
1 T. water
Poppy seeds or sesame seeds
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt. Add shortening and mix well. Add egg, milk and yeast and stir to combine. Dough will be a little sticky.
Grease bowl, then return dough. Cover bowl with a towel and put in a warm place. Let rise until doubled. Punch down and let rise again.
Tear off a chunk of dough big enough to fit in your palm. Roll between your hands into a rope as big around as a nickel and about six inches long. Tie in a loose knot. Place on a greased baking sheet; curve ends slightly.
Combine egg and water; brush over top of each roll. Sprinkle with poppy seeds or sesame seeds. Cover with a towel and let rise again. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
A Lesson in Cooking Oils
I try to keep up on current health trends and consider myself relatively knowledgeable about food. So when a lengthy article claiming that canola oil was bad for you appeared on my Twitter feed I was shocked. Canola oil was supposed to be the best thing since sliced bread, the heart-healthy oil. And now I hear it can cause diseases?
The next blow came when my sister informed me olive oil has carcinogenic properties when you cook it. All the cooks I admire use olive oil. Lots of it, in some cases. Could it really be true?
In my despair I called my friend Yaakov Levine. Yaakov is a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner with offices in Creswell and Eugene and a columnist for the Creswell Chronicle (see copies of his past columns here). Surely he could offer an answer to my oil dilemma.
He did, although he didn’t have quite the answers I was looking for. Canola oil is, in fact, not the healthy alternative it’s touted to be. “Some people call [canola oil] ‘Franken-oil’,” he said. It’s made from genetically modified seeds and must be highly processed before it goes to market, which strips out most of the benefits. (Here is a copy of the original article on NaturalNews.com that tipped me off about canola oil).
And “The World’s Healthiest Foods” by George Mateljan, my favorite food reference book, states that heating olive oil at high temperatures can cause the “formation of unwanted aromatic substances . . . in the oil that can increase our risk of chronic health problems including cancer.”
So what’s a cook to do? “We all need fat in our diet,” Yaakov was quick to point out. Fat gives our cells structure and our bodies energy. There are essential fats that we need that our bodies can’t produce, so we need to find them elsewhere.
The key is choosing the right fat. Yaakov is a proponent of coconut oil. It’s easy to digest, provides plenty of energy, and has a nice flavor. Added bonus in the winter – it has anti-bacterial properties that help prevent colds and flus. Try it when cooking vegetables, in a smoothie, or in Gooey Balls, a dessert recipe provided by Yaakov.
Butter and lard are Yaakov’s other fats of choice. Skip the brick of lard at the grocery store, which is likely to have trans fats. Visit your local butcher instead and see if he or she has a source for something produced locally.
High-oleic sunflower oil is an option in recipes where you don’t want the taste of the oil to be overpowering – for example, Red Onion Salad Dressing, a staple around my house. (A high-oleic oil is one that is high in monounsaturated acid, a “good” fat.) High-oleic safflower oil can be used on the rare occasion when you must deep-fry something.
Eaten at room temperature, or even used for light frying, olive oil is still a good choice.
“What leads me down the road toward more traditional fats is that we have problems with diseases now that we didn’t use to have,” Yaakov says. 100 years ago “they weren’t eating so many plant and seed fats like we are now.” Heart disease is now the leading cause of death for Americans, and poor diet is part of the reason for that.
Whatever type of oil you use, store it in a dark colored bottle and out of direct light. Oil turns rancid quite easily.
All fats should still be used sparingly. Here’s one last tip on lowering your consumption of heated oils: the next time a recipe directs you to brown meat in oil, use a little bit of high-quality stock instead. It will add extra flavor and keep the meat from sticking to the pan. Freeze stock in ice cube trays and store the cubes in plastic bags so you always have some handy.
Gooey Balls
1 c. coconut oil
2 c. shredded coconut
1 c. sesame seeds
6 dates, finely chopped
Pinch high mineral sea salt
Vanilla or orange extract to taste
Melt coconut oil gently (it melts at 76 degrees). Stir in remaining ingredients. Form into balls, place on a baking sheet, and chill.
(Note: For a less sweet option, replace the dates with a grated apple and a drizzle of lemon juice.)
Red Onion Salad Dressing
1/2 c. champagne or apple cider vinegar
1/4 red onion
2 T. honey
1 t. Dijon mustard
1 t. salt
1/2 c. high-oleic sunflower oil
Place vinegar, onion, honey, mustard and salt in a blender. Blend until well combined. With blender on, add oil in a slow, steady stream until well combined.
The next blow came when my sister informed me olive oil has carcinogenic properties when you cook it. All the cooks I admire use olive oil. Lots of it, in some cases. Could it really be true?
In my despair I called my friend Yaakov Levine. Yaakov is a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner with offices in Creswell and Eugene and a columnist for the Creswell Chronicle (see copies of his past columns here). Surely he could offer an answer to my oil dilemma.
He did, although he didn’t have quite the answers I was looking for. Canola oil is, in fact, not the healthy alternative it’s touted to be. “Some people call [canola oil] ‘Franken-oil’,” he said. It’s made from genetically modified seeds and must be highly processed before it goes to market, which strips out most of the benefits. (Here is a copy of the original article on NaturalNews.com that tipped me off about canola oil).
And “The World’s Healthiest Foods” by George Mateljan, my favorite food reference book, states that heating olive oil at high temperatures can cause the “formation of unwanted aromatic substances . . . in the oil that can increase our risk of chronic health problems including cancer.”
So what’s a cook to do? “We all need fat in our diet,” Yaakov was quick to point out. Fat gives our cells structure and our bodies energy. There are essential fats that we need that our bodies can’t produce, so we need to find them elsewhere.
The key is choosing the right fat. Yaakov is a proponent of coconut oil. It’s easy to digest, provides plenty of energy, and has a nice flavor. Added bonus in the winter – it has anti-bacterial properties that help prevent colds and flus. Try it when cooking vegetables, in a smoothie, or in Gooey Balls, a dessert recipe provided by Yaakov.
Butter and lard are Yaakov’s other fats of choice. Skip the brick of lard at the grocery store, which is likely to have trans fats. Visit your local butcher instead and see if he or she has a source for something produced locally.
High-oleic sunflower oil is an option in recipes where you don’t want the taste of the oil to be overpowering – for example, Red Onion Salad Dressing, a staple around my house. (A high-oleic oil is one that is high in monounsaturated acid, a “good” fat.) High-oleic safflower oil can be used on the rare occasion when you must deep-fry something.
Eaten at room temperature, or even used for light frying, olive oil is still a good choice.
“What leads me down the road toward more traditional fats is that we have problems with diseases now that we didn’t use to have,” Yaakov says. 100 years ago “they weren’t eating so many plant and seed fats like we are now.” Heart disease is now the leading cause of death for Americans, and poor diet is part of the reason for that.
Whatever type of oil you use, store it in a dark colored bottle and out of direct light. Oil turns rancid quite easily.
All fats should still be used sparingly. Here’s one last tip on lowering your consumption of heated oils: the next time a recipe directs you to brown meat in oil, use a little bit of high-quality stock instead. It will add extra flavor and keep the meat from sticking to the pan. Freeze stock in ice cube trays and store the cubes in plastic bags so you always have some handy.
Gooey Balls
1 c. coconut oil
2 c. shredded coconut
1 c. sesame seeds
6 dates, finely chopped
Pinch high mineral sea salt
Vanilla or orange extract to taste
Melt coconut oil gently (it melts at 76 degrees). Stir in remaining ingredients. Form into balls, place on a baking sheet, and chill.
(Note: For a less sweet option, replace the dates with a grated apple and a drizzle of lemon juice.)
Red Onion Salad Dressing
1/2 c. champagne or apple cider vinegar
1/4 red onion
2 T. honey
1 t. Dijon mustard
1 t. salt
1/2 c. high-oleic sunflower oil
Place vinegar, onion, honey, mustard and salt in a blender. Blend until well combined. With blender on, add oil in a slow, steady stream until well combined.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Top Five Winter Squash Recipes
Forgive me for having a total foodie moment, but I had the most amazing squash experience the other day.
I should start by saying that I don't really like squash. I've come to enjoy butternut in some things, and I'll eat a slice of pumpkin pie if it has enough whipped cream on it. But most of the time, everything about it grosses me out.
But since I make pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving every year, I wanted to try cooking and freezing a Hubbard squash. My cousin always used flesh from the blue gourd in pies and got rave results.
I picked up a squash at the farmers' market one Saturday. I quartered it, scooped out the seeds (which were excellent roasted in the oven with some butter, seasoning salt and minced garlic, by the way, but that's another story), and roasted it in the oven. When it finally came out of the oven the flesh was dark, wrinkly and stringy-looking. It didn't exactly scream "perfect holiday dessert." As soon as it cooled I scooped the soft flesh into a bowl and let it chill in the fridge for a couple days while I tried to figure out what to do with it.
Eventually inspiration struck. I could put the squash through a food mill. That would catch the stringy, icky parts and keep them separate from the squash I could actually use.
I set to work with my mom's old food mill, a cone-shaped strainer with a wooden paddle. Soon bright orange squash starting coming out the tiny holes in the mill. I scraped it down into the bowl before setting to work on the next chunk of squash.
All the squash, even the parts that looked inedible, were smooth as custard by the time I was done. The more I handled the squash with my (very clean) hands, the more I marveled at the incredible texture of it. I'd never seen squash so smooth - except in those cans of pumpkin pie filling. Who know you could produce something so lovely at home?
Alas, I ran out of squash way too quickly. I scooped two-cup portions into freezer bags and packed them away. My squash weighed less than 10 pounds and yielded nearly six cups of can-perfect pie filling.
I have yet to actually try the squash, but I'm hoping it will continue to change my opinion about this vitamin-packed veggie. After Thanksgiving I'll post an update on how I do!
Which brings me to... a squash skeptic's five favorite ways to use winter squash:
1) Pumpkin Pie: This recipe from Martha Stewart Living includes chipotle chili powder, which makes an already-amazing pie recipe even better.
2) Apple-Cheddar-Squash Soup: from The Food Network. Sure, it has squash, but it also has good things too, like apples and cheese and potatoes. Smoked gouda is good in place of the cheddar too.
3) Winter Squash Risotto with Prosciutto, Hazelnuts and Sage: Originally from the Oregonian's FOODday section, one of the my favorite recipe resources. Don't scrimp on the hazelnuts. They really add a lot.
4) & 5) I admit I haven't tried these two recipes, but they come highly recommended by my friend who works at FOOD for Lane County. I'm sure they're good... if you like eating squash. Me, I may stick with mostly playing with it.
Butternut Squash and Ginger Soup
1 butternut squash
2 T. butter
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, sliced
2 T. fresh ginger root, minced
6 c. water or stock
2 t. salt
Apple cider vinegar
Crème fraîche or sour cream
Toasted hazelnuts, chopped
Cut squash in half lengthwise and place on a rimmed baking sheet, cut side down, with water in the pan. Cook at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until the squash is soft. Scoop out the seeds and set aside (seeds can be roasted later if desired). Scoop out the flesh and place in a bowl.
Heat butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger root and cook until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the cooked squash, water or stock, and salt; bring to a simmer. Cook until the squash is tender enough to smash with a spoon, about 30 minutes.
Puree the soup with an immersion or upright blender. Ladle the soup through a strainer into a clean soup pot, discarding any bits of squash or ginger left behind.
Heat the soup through once more and season to taste, adding salt first and then the vinegar. Add the vinegar one-half teaspoon at a time; it will take a little more than 1 tablespoon.
To serve, ladle the soup into wide bowls and spoon 1 to 2 tablespoons of crème fraîche onto each. Scatter a few toasted hazelnuts over the soup and serve immediately.
Stuffed Acorn Squash
1 acorn squash
2 c. chopped apples
1 c. roasted walnuts
1 T. maple syrup
2 T. melted butter
½ t. salt
Slice squash in half lengthwise, remove seeds, and place face down on a rimmed baking sheet. Cook at 375 degrees until squash is just tender, 25-40 minutes.
Combine remaining ingredients. Scoop filling into the center cavity and bake squash face up for another 10-15 minutes or until tender.
I should start by saying that I don't really like squash. I've come to enjoy butternut in some things, and I'll eat a slice of pumpkin pie if it has enough whipped cream on it. But most of the time, everything about it grosses me out.
But since I make pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving every year, I wanted to try cooking and freezing a Hubbard squash. My cousin always used flesh from the blue gourd in pies and got rave results.
I picked up a squash at the farmers' market one Saturday. I quartered it, scooped out the seeds (which were excellent roasted in the oven with some butter, seasoning salt and minced garlic, by the way, but that's another story), and roasted it in the oven. When it finally came out of the oven the flesh was dark, wrinkly and stringy-looking. It didn't exactly scream "perfect holiday dessert." As soon as it cooled I scooped the soft flesh into a bowl and let it chill in the fridge for a couple days while I tried to figure out what to do with it.
Eventually inspiration struck. I could put the squash through a food mill. That would catch the stringy, icky parts and keep them separate from the squash I could actually use.
I set to work with my mom's old food mill, a cone-shaped strainer with a wooden paddle. Soon bright orange squash starting coming out the tiny holes in the mill. I scraped it down into the bowl before setting to work on the next chunk of squash.
All the squash, even the parts that looked inedible, were smooth as custard by the time I was done. The more I handled the squash with my (very clean) hands, the more I marveled at the incredible texture of it. I'd never seen squash so smooth - except in those cans of pumpkin pie filling. Who know you could produce something so lovely at home?
Alas, I ran out of squash way too quickly. I scooped two-cup portions into freezer bags and packed them away. My squash weighed less than 10 pounds and yielded nearly six cups of can-perfect pie filling.
I have yet to actually try the squash, but I'm hoping it will continue to change my opinion about this vitamin-packed veggie. After Thanksgiving I'll post an update on how I do!
Which brings me to... a squash skeptic's five favorite ways to use winter squash:
1) Pumpkin Pie: This recipe from Martha Stewart Living includes chipotle chili powder, which makes an already-amazing pie recipe even better.
2) Apple-Cheddar-Squash Soup: from The Food Network. Sure, it has squash, but it also has good things too, like apples and cheese and potatoes. Smoked gouda is good in place of the cheddar too.
3) Winter Squash Risotto with Prosciutto, Hazelnuts and Sage: Originally from the Oregonian's FOODday section, one of the my favorite recipe resources. Don't scrimp on the hazelnuts. They really add a lot.
4) & 5) I admit I haven't tried these two recipes, but they come highly recommended by my friend who works at FOOD for Lane County. I'm sure they're good... if you like eating squash. Me, I may stick with mostly playing with it.
Butternut Squash and Ginger Soup
1 butternut squash
2 T. butter
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, sliced
2 T. fresh ginger root, minced
6 c. water or stock
2 t. salt
Apple cider vinegar
Crème fraîche or sour cream
Toasted hazelnuts, chopped
Cut squash in half lengthwise and place on a rimmed baking sheet, cut side down, with water in the pan. Cook at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until the squash is soft. Scoop out the seeds and set aside (seeds can be roasted later if desired). Scoop out the flesh and place in a bowl.
Heat butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger root and cook until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the cooked squash, water or stock, and salt; bring to a simmer. Cook until the squash is tender enough to smash with a spoon, about 30 minutes.
Puree the soup with an immersion or upright blender. Ladle the soup through a strainer into a clean soup pot, discarding any bits of squash or ginger left behind.
Heat the soup through once more and season to taste, adding salt first and then the vinegar. Add the vinegar one-half teaspoon at a time; it will take a little more than 1 tablespoon.
To serve, ladle the soup into wide bowls and spoon 1 to 2 tablespoons of crème fraîche onto each. Scatter a few toasted hazelnuts over the soup and serve immediately.
Stuffed Acorn Squash
1 acorn squash
2 c. chopped apples
1 c. roasted walnuts
1 T. maple syrup
2 T. melted butter
½ t. salt
Slice squash in half lengthwise, remove seeds, and place face down on a rimmed baking sheet. Cook at 375 degrees until squash is just tender, 25-40 minutes.
Combine remaining ingredients. Scoop filling into the center cavity and bake squash face up for another 10-15 minutes or until tender.
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