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madbakerHere are two, count 'em two Thanksgiving Resolution recipes.
Soft Dinner Rolls
3 cups white flour
1 packet yeast
1 1/4 tsp salt
3 Tbsp sugar
4 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup milk
1 1/8 cup warm water
1 Tbsp butter, melted
Whisk the yeast into the water and let stand for five minutes. Mix the dry ingredients, rub in the butter, then gently mix in the yeast water and milk to make a soft, smooth dough. Add as little flour as possible while kneading - the more flour added, the heavier and drier the rolls will be. Split dough into 16 balls, oil lightly, and let rise until doubled. (I used muffin cups because I'm lazy.)
Heat oven to 350. Brush rolls with butter and bake for 15-18 minutes, until golden brown.
What worked: These were reasonably soft and tasted like rolls. They were good and went well with the turkey dinner.
What didn't: They took a bit longer to bake than I expected, and never got that lovely golden-brown sheen except on the bottom. Maybe because I used a Silpat, so the heat didn't reflect as much as if I'd been using a metal cookie sheet?
Will I make them again? I didn't grow up eating rolls routinely with dinner, so I don't usually make them for Thanksgiving (or any other time), but this was a request. I might but it would be because someone specifically wanted rolls.
Chocolate Pecan Pie
a 9" pie crust
2 cups pecan halves
2 ounces 64% bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used 1.5 ounces 71% Valhrona)
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 Tbsp butter, melted
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp rum or bourbon (I used rum)
1 tsp vanilla
3 large eggses
Toast the nuts for 6-9 minutes, until fragrant.
Press a 12" square of aluminum foil against the bottom of the pie crust and tent the edges over the crust, not touching, to prevent overbrowning. Fill the foil with pie weights. Bake for 20 minutes; remove the foil and weights, and bake for 10-12 minutes more until the bottom of the crust is golden brown.
While the crust is baking, make the filling: combine the chocolate, corn syrup, and butter in the top of a double boiler over barely simmering water. Stir until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Stir in the brown sugar, salt, rum and vanilla. Add the eggses and stir until the mixture is well-blended and hot to the touch. Set the double boiler aside, stirring the filling occasionally.
Remove the crust from the oven (and patch if necessary). Pour the nuts into the crust and the hot filling over the nuts. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the filling is puffed and cracked but is still jiggly in the center. Serve warm or at room temperature.
What worked: As promised, this is a nice balance between traditional pecan pie with a rich chocolate flavor that doesn't overwhelm. Yummy.
What didn't: I used a deep 9" pie which meant that the filling looked a tad meager - it didn't fill the crust up. Also, the convection toaster oven was a bad choice for baking because it browned quicker than I would have liked.
Will I make it again? Shrug. People liked it, including me. However, to my surprise I prefer a more traditional pecan pie.
Soft Dinner Rolls
3 cups white flour
1 packet yeast
1 1/4 tsp salt
3 Tbsp sugar
4 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup milk
1 1/8 cup warm water
1 Tbsp butter, melted
Whisk the yeast into the water and let stand for five minutes. Mix the dry ingredients, rub in the butter, then gently mix in the yeast water and milk to make a soft, smooth dough. Add as little flour as possible while kneading - the more flour added, the heavier and drier the rolls will be. Split dough into 16 balls, oil lightly, and let rise until doubled. (I used muffin cups because I'm lazy.)
Heat oven to 350. Brush rolls with butter and bake for 15-18 minutes, until golden brown.
What worked: These were reasonably soft and tasted like rolls. They were good and went well with the turkey dinner.
What didn't: They took a bit longer to bake than I expected, and never got that lovely golden-brown sheen except on the bottom. Maybe because I used a Silpat, so the heat didn't reflect as much as if I'd been using a metal cookie sheet?
Will I make them again? I didn't grow up eating rolls routinely with dinner, so I don't usually make them for Thanksgiving (or any other time), but this was a request. I might but it would be because someone specifically wanted rolls.
Chocolate Pecan Pie
a 9" pie crust
2 cups pecan halves
2 ounces 64% bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used 1.5 ounces 71% Valhrona)
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 Tbsp butter, melted
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp rum or bourbon (I used rum)
1 tsp vanilla
3 large eggses
Toast the nuts for 6-9 minutes, until fragrant.
Press a 12" square of aluminum foil against the bottom of the pie crust and tent the edges over the crust, not touching, to prevent overbrowning. Fill the foil with pie weights. Bake for 20 minutes; remove the foil and weights, and bake for 10-12 minutes more until the bottom of the crust is golden brown.
While the crust is baking, make the filling: combine the chocolate, corn syrup, and butter in the top of a double boiler over barely simmering water. Stir until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Stir in the brown sugar, salt, rum and vanilla. Add the eggses and stir until the mixture is well-blended and hot to the touch. Set the double boiler aside, stirring the filling occasionally.
Remove the crust from the oven (and patch if necessary). Pour the nuts into the crust and the hot filling over the nuts. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the filling is puffed and cracked but is still jiggly in the center. Serve warm or at room temperature.
What worked: As promised, this is a nice balance between traditional pecan pie with a rich chocolate flavor that doesn't overwhelm. Yummy.
What didn't: I used a deep 9" pie which meant that the filling looked a tad meager - it didn't fill the crust up. Also, the convection toaster oven was a bad choice for baking because it browned quicker than I would have liked.
Will I make it again? Shrug. People liked it, including me. However, to my surprise I prefer a more traditional pecan pie.
