Holiday Meal - Yeast Roll From Grandma's Table

Yeast Rolls - A True Southern Tradition

Now that the holidays are just around the corner, and this is going to be our last holiday season in our current home, I'm wanting to pull all the stops out and make a fab dinner at Thanksgiving and Christmas!

In talking to a vendor friend of mine (Neal Warnick in Seattle, WA) we realized how very very different our growing up eating styles were. No real surprise - Neal grew up in Tacoma, WA just outside of Seattle and I grew up in Dixieland (Memphis, TN).

What really amazed me was that Neal had NEVER heard of "yeast rolls". We were discussing the printed Lunch Menus for school when we were kids which were posted in the Sunday newspaper for the upcoming week. I asked him if his schools also served the awesome yeast rolls like I enjoyed from First Grade to Graduation Day. Color Me Amazed when Neal replied "what are yeast rolls?" To a southern, that's like saying "Who Are The Beatles?" (although there are plenty of 20 somethings that really don't know who the Beatles are these days)....but I digress...

Back to the yeast rolls - Neal said his mom, Saralee, grew up in Norfolk, Virginia (which is SOUTHERN Virginia) and that she'd probably know what they were. (Hello, with a name like Saralee, you can almost bet she knows a bit about baking with yeast!) I challenged him to "find a yeast roll recipe" in the Home Ec Series of cookbooks that I had sent him to review....and then I said NO WAIT! I'll send you my Grandma's Callie Yeast Roll recipe - which is da bombdigitty!! We had it every major holiday we visited at Grandma Musa's home in Memphis, TN, circa 1960's.

I remember her putting the dough in a big 'ol bowl and placing it on the bottom of the stairs leading up to her attic, as that was the warmest place in her house, at that time of year, for them to rise. My sister and I just couldn't resist opening the door to sniff that wonderful aroma that only yeast-based-bread can give you. And then we'd get yelled at...You Girls Close That Door Or They'll Never Rise!  (whatever that meant - we didn't know or care - just that they smelled so yummy!)

So, I typed up the recipe and emailed it onto Neal and having done that, I decided why not share it with as many people as possible!

I'd love to hear what YOUR favorite bread memory is - this is def mine - and if you try the rolls, tell me how they turn out for you too!

Enjoy....


Callie Yeast Rolls
Musa Argo (my grandmother) got it from Rebecca Matthews
Vintage 1940’s - Makes 3 dozen
40 Minutes to prep
2 hours to rise (depends on how warm the house is – the warmer the faster it will rise)
10 minutes to roll/cut
2 hours to rise (again, depends on how warm house is)
15 minutes to bake


Ingredients:
¾ Cup solid shortening (like Crisco)
¾ Cup white sugar
1 Cup boiling water
2 Yeast Packets
1 Cut tepid water (lukewarm)
2 eggs
6 Cups All Purpose Flour (UNSIFTED) She always used Dixie brand, but I doubt you have that around up where you are)
1 tsp Salt

Prep:
Mix shortening and sugar, then add cup of boiling water and let cool to lukewarm.
Meanwhile, dissolve the yeast in the cup of tepid water, then add to the shortening, sugar water after it’s cooled to lukewarm.
Beat eggs well and add to mixture.
Sift flour completely one time and then add salt and the rest of the ingredients into the flour.
Stir flour with all ingredients to mix well, but don’t beat excessively.

1st Rising:
Great a large mixing bowl (I like steel) and pour mixture into the bowl. Be sure to grease up to the very top of the bowl, which will help the dough rise better.
Cover with a hand towel, and place in a warm spot in the house to rise.
Work down after 2 hours (should have almost doubled in size) by removing from the bowl and beating and pounding the air out of the dough.


2nd Rising:
Roll out on a very lightly flour dusted surface – the less flour the better.
Cut into biscuits and place on a lightly greased pan to let rise again another 2 hours, or until the biscuits rise to twice the height of the cut.

Baking:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place a thin layer of melted Crisco (OR I prefer brushing with real butter) on top of raw biscuits.

Bake for 15 minutes. Watch closely for browning as some ovens cook faster than others.

I only serve them at the table with REAL Butter too…

Vintage Water Pitcher Makes Perfect Vase for Sweet Potato Vine

I love this 1950's water pitcher, which was my grandmothers. Growing up as a kid, it always had KoolAid in it! I wanted to display it (not use it for fear of it getting broken) so came up with this idea.

I got the idea from my mother-in-law. Her mother used to always have a sweet potato vine growing in the kitchen. All you have to do is have the sweet potato half in the water (use can use toothpicks to support it if the opening of your vase is too wide.)

I found the water pitcher was perfect width to hold the potato half in/out. This is so low maintenance anyone can do it - even if you routinely kill every house plant you've ever tried to grow. Just keep it filled with water (refresh with completely new water 1-2 a week) and it will thrive!!!

What Chilly Weather Drink Are You?

Waking up to chilly weather this morning, makes me love my loose teas even more. I only drink the Elmwood Inn brand from Bruce Richardson's line. I've been a fan of Bruce's teas for well over 10 years now, and I've tried something from each of his categories, which he has 10 categories to choose from. Who would have thought there were so many different varietals of tea? Bruce truly has something for every one's taste, and he travels the world looking for specialty teas as well and is considered an expert in the tea field. So, you can't go wrong with his offerings!

Elmwood Inn - fine teas, cookbooks, and more!

My personal favorites are his Jasmine Green - his Jasmine Phoenix Pearls are simply divine too. I live on the  Lung Ching China Green, Sencha Japanese Superior Green, and the Ti Kwan Yin China Superior Oolong. Also, his Serene Green has a sacred place in my cabinet, as it was one of the very first I tried over 10 years ago and got me hooked on tea. It is still my absolute favorite to snuggle up with as it has such a soothing effect. 

I love any of his Rose teas, and his English Grey Lavender when I'm in a more "girlie mood" and want something with a floral aromatic touch. The Ginger-Orange Caffeine Free has a wonderful fragrance as well, and is wonderful to have with Asian foods, as it has a hint of Lemongrass that is really unique.

When I need a good kick-in-the-pants to get me going, I adore his Tippy Assam Black Tea, his Duchess Earl Grey and his special Kentucky Blend. They all have a wonderful robust flavor.

So, whatever your tea needs are, I encourage you to check out Bruce's line - he truly has the World's Greatest Collection since he travels the world-wide hunting for tea-treasures. Enjoy!

Outrageous Pecan Pie

I just ate my very last piece of Gaido's Seafood Restaurant Pecan Pie which was sent to me by a friend. It is by far the BEST I've ever tasted, and being a native southern my entire life, that's saying a lot!

It doesn't have a traditional pie crust - it's all about the pecans and the filling!

Put it on your list for holiday meals - you can order it via their website. Or, if you live in the Galveston, TX area just drop by and pick one up. No, this isn't a blatant advert for Gaido's Seafood Restaurant....just the Best Dang Pecan Pie ever!

Lest We Forget Haiti...

One of our own, Roger Conner who is a Vice President and Publishing Consultant at my parent company FRP, recently went on a trip to Haiti along with his son, Dylan, and other men from his church with a plan to help build in the devastated areas.

I had a really really bad weekend this past, and the timing of Roger sending out this video email this morning, pulled me up short, and made me realize how very blessed I am even with all the challenges I face on all sides.

Thank you Roger for reminding me and for all the hard work you, Dylan and the rest of the group of men did in Haiti.

Too Hot in the Kitchen - Awesome French Toast a Real Crowd Pleaser!

The last weekend before my youngest, Demi, went back to USM (University of Southern Miss) she had some gal-pals over for a last "fling" before they all parted ways back to schools all across the country.

It was a festive and super-crazy-fun night. I knew it was going to go very late (I got to bed at 5:00am!)  - so I had prepared a make-ahead brunch dish from Holly Clegg's newest cookbook, Holly Clegg's trim&TERRIFIC Too Hot in the Kitchen.  The recipe is given below and I must say the girls all loved it! There was just a bit left over after they left - surprised but thankful as I found that it was just as good reheated as when it came right out of the oven!

This one gets a 4-Star rating from me with a notation in the front of the cookbook to be made in the future. That's what I do in all my cookbooks - I write in the front inside cover only the 4-star recipes along with their page number. Makes for a quick reference when trying to locate recipes later on.

Enjoy!

ONE DISH OVEN BAKED FRENCH TOAST

Makes 10 servings

1 large loaf French Bread, cut into 1-inch thick squares (whole wheat my be used)
1 (10 oz) jar seedless all natural blackberry fruit spread
1 (8 oz) package reduced-fat cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup skim milk
2 eggs
4 egg whites
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 cups fat-free half-and-half
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Coat 13x9x2-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray

Place half of French bread squares in prepared baking pan. In microwave-safe dish, heat fruit spread until melted, stirring occasionally. Drizzle over bread.

In bowl, beat together cream cheese, 1/3 cup sugar and milk until smooth. Drop over bread mixture and cover with remaining French squares.

In large bow, whisk together eggs, egg whites, brown sugar, half-and-half, vanilla and cinnamon. Pour mixture evenly over bread. Gently press bread into liquid mixture, cover, and refrigerate as time permits, preferably overnight.

Preheat over 325 degrees. Bake, covered, 30-35 minutes. Uncover and bake 5-10 minutes more or until bread is golden.

Now...more then EVER...Cookbooks Sales Remain Solid

In a tough economy, the comfort of home cooking always rises - see related article.
http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20100818/ARTICLES/308189996/1004?Title=No-stopping-cookbook-sales

Bene Toffee – Charleston Receipts (46/60)

Bene Toffee – Charleston Receipts (46/60)

Scrumptious Banana Pudding

As you can tell from my last two entries, I LOVE BANANAS!!!!

This past weekend, we had a family get together and I was (naturally) in charge of dessert. When the Heat Is On, there's nothing better than a cool Banana Pudding to top off a BBQ dinner, which came from The Germantown Commissary one of my favorites from the Memphis, TN area...nobody does BBQ like my hometown Memphis!

Here's the recipe, as found in RECIPES WORTH SHARING - my all time favorite cookbook from the Cookbook Marketplace collection - I cook out of this title more than any other.....enjoy!

    

SCRUMPTIOUS BANANA PUDDING

1) 14oz can sweetened condensed milk (I always use Eagle Brand)

1) 6oz package vanilla instant pudding mix

2) cups milk

1) 8oz cream cheese, softened

1) 16oz whipped topping (gotta be Cool Whip Original)

1) 12oz package vanilla wafers (I prefer Nabisco)

4 or 5 large bananas, sliced

Combine the sweetened condensed milk, pudding mix, milk and cream cheese in a large mixing bowl and beat until smooth. Fold in 1/2 of the whipped topping. Reserve some of the vanilla wafers to garnish the top. Layer the remaining vanilla wafers, pudding mixture and banana in a 2-quart serving dish Top with the remaining whipped topping. Garnish with the reserved vanilla wafers and chill in the refrigerator. For a reduced-calorie version of this recipe, use reduced-fat ingredients. (Recipe submitted to RECIPES WORTH SHARING from CREATING COMFORT, Genesis Women's Shelter, Dallas, TX)

Grilled Bananas

This past 4th of July, I Grilled Bananas with a recipe out of the cookbook THE KANSAS CITY BARBEQUE SOCIETY COOKBOOK and they were wonderful!

Reminded me a bit of Banana's Foster, but without the alcohol content.

Here's the recipe for your next cookout - super easy!

Barbequed Bananas / Yield: 10 Servings

10 Bananas

Lemon juice to taste

1 cup packed brown sugar

Cinnamon or nutmeg to taste

Allspice to taste

1/2 cup butter

Place each banana on a sheet of heavy-duty foil. Brush with lemon juice; sprinkle with brown sugar. Dust lightly with cinnamon and allspice; dot with butter. Fold and seal foil; twist ends. Grill over hot coals for 10 minutes, turning occasionally.

I think it tastes best served warm with a side of vanilla ice cream!

Enjoy!

Anne ;-)

Dave Kempf, A Life by the Sea

Dave Kempf, A Life by the Sea

More Great Cooking from Community Cookbooks

Stephen Fries shares some more wonderful foods from two Classic Community Cookbooks!

Dave Kempf, Cuban Sandwich: Regional Fare, Delicious Anywhere

Dave Kempf, Cuban Sandwich: Regional Fare, Delicious Anywhere

Pickles Galore...

I wanted to find out how easily my recent pickle posts would come up in the tumblr search engine - being new to this environment I naturally want to see how the search engine works. I was floored to see how popular pickles are with people today. There seems to be a pickle-obsession that goes beyond just eating pickels!
By the time I got to the 15th page, I had enough and was tired wanting to go to bed, when I happened upon this little fella. Now he's just too dang cute! Reminds me of the very first gift my husband gave me (many many years ago) which was a jar of "pickled people"...they were super cute - still have them in my kitchen.
So, there you go - I never did get down to my pickles, but was happy to see that I am in such great-widespread company!

I've Got A Pickle...I've Got A Pickle....I've Got a Pickle...heh..heh...heh.....heh!


P.S. I made the above post originally in tumbler, but as I've worked in the tumblr environment, I've found it does not rank well with SEO, so I've made the move back to Blogger. Blogger is much more established, alot more powerful with more flexible page layouts, and posts immediately with SEO. I simply added a SHARE button from ADDTHIS.com into my html main page code and can easily post my entries into Facebook and Twitter!

Peace.....Anne

One Final Thought on Pickles - Reuse That Juice!

Here's a great little trick I learned from my mother-in-law, Fannye Pritchard, who grew up during the Great Depression and learned to never waste anything along the way.

Once your pickles are all gone :-(   you can still make great use of the wonderful juices left behind :-) !

Take any type of onion (red is my favorite) and thinly slice them into the pickle juice. Stick it back in the frig, and in a few days, you have wonderfully flavored onions for use in sandwhiches, salads, are just to the side as a garnish.

So, I'm getting the most out of that wonderful juice from Ms. Betty's Sweet Garlic Pickles.
Any other ideas on reusing pickle juice?

Peace.....Anne

Ode to the Pickle...

So sad to say, but I just ate my last wonderful Sweet Garlic Pickle from Betty Sims :-(
I'll be making them this weekend, though, and we'll see in 3 weeks time how they turn out!
If you'd like to shop with Ms. Betty, you'll find she had other wonderful food items, along with her fabulous cookbooks too.
Peace......
Anne

from blogger via share button to tumblr to fbook and twitter

OK - here's the true test - putting up a POST at my blogger and will then use the ADD THIS feature for SHARE BUTTONS that I added to the main HTML code, and see if putting it in tumblr, will then auto flow out to twitter and fbook.....

cross your fingers!
5-28-10 at 7:26pm

Bunco Jumble.....Is it candy or salty snack?

Dave’s stories on the Junior League of Tampa CULINARY COLLECTION and how those books all came about are truly amazing. It is inspiring what the leagues do within their communities.

I can’t wait to see their new book, CAPTURE THE COASTS.

In the meantime, let me share with you one of my all time favorite recipes from this collection. It comes from THE LIFE OF THE PARTY, which is so fabulous - 80% of the recipes can be done ahead of time, so you are the Life of the Party!

Bunco Jumble is one of those special treats that you can get totally creative with. It makes great gifts in clear cellophane bags (colors in the mix can match the occasion or season) and it’s the best snack item to serve at any youth event, as I’ve found from personal experience with my own church youth group!



Enjoy….

1 box mini Ritz peanut butter sandwich crackers
1 cup dry roasted peanuts
1 (12-oz) bag mini pretzel sticks or twists
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cut light corn syrup
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 (10-oz) package mini or regular “M&M’s” chocolate candies
Combine the sandwich crackers, peanuts and pretzels in a large roasting pan. Heat the sugar, butter and corn syrup in a sauce pan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the vanilla and baking soda. Pour over the cracker mixture, stirring to coat well. Bake at 250 degrees for 45 minutes, stirring the mixture every 15 minutes. Remove to waxed paper and the chocolate candies and let cool completely. Break up the mixture into small pieces as necessary.
Yield: handfuls of fun!

You can also use mini cookies, graham cracker bears, popcorn, candy corn, jelly beans, Reese’s pieces, pecans….the combinations are only limited by your own imagination!

Peace….Anne

Culinary Collection Finishes Strong...

 

I have so enjoyed the journey with Dave as he reminisced about all the ladies he worked with from the Junior League of Tampa, as they set out to create a collection of cookbooks. This last book, Capture the Coast, looks to be a very strong finale to the series!

I loved watching their VIDEO of the behind-the-scenes food shots and location setups. I've never attended one of these, but have heard that they are grueling work. From the video it looks like these ladies are having a lot of fun along the way.

So, Kudos to the Junior League of Tampa for improving their community with works and projects which truly impact the neighborhoods where they live. You are all an inspiration!

Peace.....Anne

Kids in the Kitchen !

Check out these Chef-Kids demonstrating the Kids in the Kitchen Cookbook! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnZdmecSlFw

The cookbook was born out of the AJLI's program to combat childhood obesity, which has gained national attention over the past two years, and now the First Lady, Michelle Obama, has made this a main point of action of her own!

Order the book from https://www.frpbooks.com/store/store_details.aspx?iid=1508&tid=4 and start those kids cooking today!

RETRO Style Cookbooks On Sale

Check out our collection of RETRO style cookbooks on sale this month at throwback prices! 40% off retail until end of April...enjoy!

Do You Have A Cookbook In You???

Have you dreamed of having your very own cookbook published?

Are you already working on creating a new cookbook?

Do you currently have a published cookbook and need help with marketing and promotion?

Let FRP share the Ingredients to Successful Cookbook Publishing with you!

We've been in this business for over 40 years, and are by far the market experts in self-published cookbooks. Over one-third of our cookbooks have won some type of Culinary Award. Visit our company website for full details and to register for this annual event. It's the perfect place to network with like-minded foodies and publishing professionals as well!

Have a Delicious Day!

Spring Is In The Air! 40% off cooking titles...

The 2009 Award Winners was recently announced, and we've got a collection of 14 titles that were recognized!

We're so excited, and honored to be involved with these award-winning titles, that we're offering them at 40% off during the month of March!

Visit website: www.cookbookmarketplace.com and use promo code Mar-Award when checking out....

Cheers!
Anne