Category: Brunch

Holly B’s Cinnamon Rolls

April 6, 2010

Friends, the clock is ticking.  I am just about 3½ months away from a big birthday.  Big as in huge.  40.

Last July, when I turned 39, I set some goals for myself.  Since I still have a few months to go, I will wait to fill you in on whether all the goals are met.  (Here is a hint – yoga, yay!  Croissants – not so much!).  But now I can cross a big one off my list.

Every single time I go into Holly B’s Bakery I either get a cinnamon roll, or I regret not having gotten a cinnamon roll in addition to whatever delicious item I did get.  If I did one of those free association exercises and you said, “Holly B”, I would no doubt say, “Cinnamon roll”.  You get where I am going with this.  Holly B = cinnamon roll.  And yet, in all years I have owned her cookbook, I have never made them.  I can partly blame it on the fear of finding myself in the house with a dozen or so cinnamon rolls and partly blame it on timing.  You see, this recipe ends with the dreaded words, “Serve still warm from the oven”.  How do you time that?

Now that I have made them, I kick myself for not just diving in sooner.  It is not complicated.  First you make a bread dough which needs to rise for an hour or so.  Then you roll the dough out, do the brushing and sprinkling and the rolling back up.  Then you slice and place on a baking sheet where they rise again for about 30 minutes.  They bake for about 30 and then you eat them.  Why did this sound so daunting?  I wanted to bring these rolls over to a friend’s house for a post egg-hunting brunch.  I made the dough and let it rise about and hour and a half before we left.  I formed the rolls just before we walked out the door and let them finish their rise in her warm kitchen and bake in her oven.  Then we feasted.

Back to that free associate exercise.  If I say “cinnamon roll” and you think “Cinnabon” then I would not advise making these rolls.  They have very little in common with those shopping mall monsters (sorry, I am biased).  Remember, this is a bread recipe (that has a whole cup of whole wheat flour in it) which is rolled out, brushed with butter, sprinkled with two kinds of sugar, a full tablespoon of cinnamon, raisins, and sliced almonds.  There is no icing and I wouldn’t want there to be.  Because the roll itself actually tastes like something other than air, you actually want to taste that part.  The roll is delightfully nutty from the whole wheat flour and the sugars caramelize just so.  I always tell you how I don’t like nuts in my baked goods but I wouldn’t think of leaving those sliced almonds out.  They are delicate and add a wonderful crunch and very subtle flavor.

I wanted to get a picture of me with both boys but the Easter egg hunting was a little too exciting for them to both stand still at the same time.  Separate was the best I got.

One Year Ago:  Marinated Chickpea Salad with Radishes and Cucumber

Holly B’s Cinnamon Rolls
Adapted from With Love & Butter
Makes approximately 12 rolls

For the dough:
2 cups warm water
2 tbsp. honey
1 package (2¼ tsp.) quick-rise yeast
2 tbsp. mild tasting oil (DT: I used canola oil)
Scant 4 cups flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
3 tbsp. milk powder
1¾ tsp. salt

For the Rolls:
Flour for dusting work surface
¼ cup (½ a stick) butter, melted
¾ cup raisins
¾ cup sliced almonds
¾ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp. cinnamon

Make the dough:
Swish together the water, honey, yeast, and oil in a roomy bowl.  Now dump in the flours and lastly the milk powder and the salt.  Mix these dry ingredients gently with your fingers without breaking through to the liquid below.

Now grab a wooden spoon and mix the dough vigorously until it’s just too stiff to continue.  Either knead the dough with floured hands on a lightly floured surface or use a dough hook with a stand mixer.  If the dough feels too wet, add a little more flour.  If it feels too stiff, sprinkle with warm water.  You will want a nice smooth dough – 2-5 minutes of kneading should be fine.  Dust the ball of dough with a little flour.  Lightly oil a bowl and place the dough inside.  Drape with a dishtowel and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size.  (This takes about an hour.)

Lay a sheet of parchment paper down on a 10×15-inch baking sheet.

Make the rolls:
Do not punch down the dough, but gently turn it onto a floured surface.  Sprinkle the dough with flour and roll into a rectangle ¼-inch thick and approximately 10 by 25 inches with the short sides top and bottom.  Check the underside of the dough frequently.  Loosen any stuck spots and sprinkle on a little more flour.  Brush the dough with the melted butter, coating well but not leaving puddles.

Combine the raisins, almonds, sugars, and cinnamon.  Distribute the mixture evenly over the buttered surface, pressing down on the edges so the filling won’t fall off when you roll up the dough.

Starting at the short edge nearest you, roll up the dough, tugging gently to achieve a nice, snug long and keeping the edges even.  Turn the log seam downward and use a serrated knife to slice the dough into 10-12 rolls.  Place the rolls snugly in the pan.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until puffy and doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

Before the rolls finish rising, preheat the oven to 375°F with the rack in the center position.  Bake the Cinnamon Rolls for 15 minutes, rotate the pan, and bake for another 15 minutes more.  The rolls should be light gold and no longer doughy inside.  (DT: I think it’s best to check on the insides – mine looked done but were a little doughy.)  Serve still warm from the oven.



For People Who Fear Crust

March 24, 2010

Some people are afraid of yeast so they don’t make bread.  Some people are afraid of crusts so they don’t make tarts or pies.  (I myself am afraid of frosting layer cakes but I don’t let it stop me.)  So, If I say “tart”, are you one of those people who gets scared?   Truth be told, I find crusts can be tricky even thought I have made a lot of them.  Every time I make a pie, I say a little prayer to the crust gods to make things go smoothly.  My only advice is that it helps to have a good recipe and lots of practice.

If you do suffer from a crust phobia, please make this pie.  I would say it’s like a crust-less quiche, but it does in fact have a crust.  It is nothing more than some breadcrumbs sprinkled into a buttered pie plate, but somehow just that little bit of attention makes it more elegant, interesting, and also helps hold the slices together.  The lack of a butter and/or shortening  crust also makes a slice much lighter and healthier – so you can be a little more heavy-handed with the cheese.

This is one of many Jeanne Lemlin tarts that I have made – all easy, all delicious.  It is totally adaptable and great for lunch, brunch, or dinner.  Although she says it is important to use Swiss cheese in this one to help keep it all together, I bet you could substitute another firm cheese and have it turn out fabulously well.

One Year Ago: Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake

Zucchini, Tomato, and Swiss Cheese Pie
Adapted from Quick Vegetarian Pleasures
Serves 4

1 tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature
¼ cup bread crumbs
Olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced
3 medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced
1 tsp. fennel seed
¼ tsp. salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 large eggs
1/3 cup milk
¼ pound grated Swiss cheese
3 tbsp. grated fresh Parmesan cheese

1.  Preheat oven to 375º F.  Butter a 9 inch pie plate, then sprinkle the bread crumbs all over the sides and bottom.  Allow whatever loose crumbs are there to just sit on the bottom.

2.  Heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Add enough olive oil to just coat the bottom, then add the onion.  Sauté until translucent, then add the garlic and sauté for another 3 minutes.  Stir in the diced tomatoes and sauté another 5 minutes.  Raise the heat to high.  Mix in the zucchini, fennel seed, salt and pepper.  Cook until the zucchini is barely tender, about 5 minutes.  Remove the pan from the heat and cool 5 minutes.  (The recipe may be prepared in a dvance to this point an dchilled up to 24 hours.  Bring to room temperature before proceeding.)

3.  Beat the eggs in a large bowl.  Stir in the milk, then mix in the zucchini mixture.  Pour half into the prepared pie plate, top with the Swiss cheese, then pour on the remaining vegetable mixture.  Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese all over the top.

4.  Bake 30 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean and the top is golden brown.  Let sit 10 minutes before cutting.



Learning to Love Onions

December 13, 2009

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I have introduced my husband Randy to many different foods over the nine years we have known each other.  In some ways, I feel like I have introduced him to food period.  Randy has always been athletic and so he has always viewed food as fuel.  Before he met me, he had some crazy calculation for the protein to carb to vegetable ratio so that he could just keep moving without bonking.  It had very little to do with taste.  There was a lot of tuna, chicken, rice, and salsa in his life.  Occasionally a vegetable or two.

Then along comes me.  Vegetarian.  Loves to eat.  Loves to dine out.  Loves to talk about food.  Loves to research restaurants in far away cities.  Loves to obsess about each and every upcoming meal.  I’ve got to hand it to the guy – he has made a huge effort to embrace the obsession.  He tries new restaurants with me.  He enthusiastically eats everything that I cook, even the most aggressively vegetarian food (he is a carnivore).  He has opened his mind up to food that he thought he hated.  And I have converted him.  Peas, lentils, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and tofu used to be on the black list.  He eats all of them now.  (Brussels sprouts are still dicey and cauliflower only if it is roasted.  But still, progress.)  The only dislike he holds on to is beets.  And I can live with that for now.

But before I pat myself on the back too heartily, there are foods he has brought into my life for which I am eternally grateful.  It is hard for me to believe, but I had never tasted Pho (the Vietnamese rice noodle soup) before a trip we took to Vancover together.  Now Pho is a large part of our family’s life.  He also reawakened my love for Mexican food, spicy food in general, and he made me embrace onions.

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I still don’t like raw onions, but I do love them in all other ways.  Especially caramelized onions.  I have been cooking up lots of them lately.  I love them in these tarts, and in a quick and easy appetizer that I will share here shortly.  When my brother and sister-in-law came for brunch yesterday, I knew I wanted to make this frittata.  I’m not sure why so much time has gone by since my last go-around with this lovely dish but I guess that’s what happens in a busy kitchen.

Now, you might be wondering – are those eggs brown?  Did she overcook the frittata?  We all know that overcooked eggs are one of the worst things about brunches in restaurants, right?  Let me reassure you.  That brown top is actually balsamic vinegar that has been cooked down so that it is syrupy and sweet, and then brushed over the top of the frittata.  Not an A+  in the looks department but definitely in the taste department.

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Want another Frittata?  Check out this one.

Frittata with Caramelized Onions, Goat Cheese, and Sage
Adapted from Fields of Greens
Serves 6

2 tbsp. olive oil
3 medium onions, quartered and thinly sliced
Salt and pepper
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
8 eggs
1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated, about 1/3 cup
1 tbsp. chopped fresh sage
3 ounces mild creamy goat cheese, crumbled
3 tbsp. Reduced Balsamic Vinegar (method follows)

Preheat oven to 325ºF.  Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large skillet; add the onions, a large pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper.  Sauté the onions over medium heat for about 10 minutes to release their juices.  Add the garlic; continue to cook over medium heat for about 40 minutes, gently scraping the pan with a wooden spoon to keep the onions from sticking as they caramelize.  Transfer the onions to a bowl and set aside to cool.  (DT: These can be made days in advance.  Put in an airtight container in the refrigerator.)

Beat the eggs in a medium bowl.  Stir in the onions along with the Parmesan and sage.  In a 9-inch sauté pan with an ovenproof handle, heat the remaining tablespoon of oil to just below the smoking point.  Swirl the oil around the sides of the pan to coat it.  Turn the heat down to low, then immediately pour the frittata mixture into the pan.  The eggs will sizzle from the heat.  Crumble in the goat cheese and cook over low heat for 5 minutes, until the sides begin to set; transfer to the oven and bake, uncovered, for 20 to 25 minutes, until the frittata is golden and firm.

Loosen the frittata gently with a rubber spatula; the bottom will tend to stick to the pan.  Place a plate over the pan, flip it over, and turn the frittata out.  Brush the bottom and sides with the vinegar and cut into wedges.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

For the balsamic vinegar, heat 6 tablespoons of vinegar in a small saucepan and cook down gently until it is reduced by half.  If you want to have some of these amazing taste treat on hand, just make extra and store it in the refrigerator.  This process goes quickly, so watch your pot carefully.



Holly B’s Orange Swirls

November 4, 2009

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These are the orange rolls that almost weren’t.  Sometime on Sunday morning I got hit with a bad bug.  I hesitate to even say “flu” because that seems to throw people into a panic.  I had a fever and the worst sore throat of my life.  Randy had to leave town Monday morning so the timing was truly awful.  Fortunately our preschool is very flexible and we were able to get some extra hours so I could sleep.  I figured there was no way I could stick to my Holly B’s challenge this week.

I woke up this morning still not feeling well but also just so bored.  I’m tired of laying down, I’m tired of all the terrible TV options and I don’t have the attention span to read when I’m sick.  I figured I might as well bake.  Besides, I have been excited about baking these rolls for the past week.  Over the many years of eating Holly B’s treats, I have tasted just about everything and I do have my favorites.  If they have just been pulled out of the oven, I will always choose a cinnamon roll.  But every so often, an Orange Swirl will call my name.

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Here is where one of those weird food tics come to light.  I like oranges (especially clementines) but I don’t like anything orange flavored.  Orange popsicles and lollipops are a last resort for me.  I don’t even like the color orange and I certainly would never choose to eat orange cheesecake or pound cake, even one I have made.  (OK, just for fun, here is another tic.  I like fresh cherries and cherry flavored things, but I can’t stand cherry desserts.  Like cherry pie, cobbler, etc.  Yuck.  Yes I know it’s weird.)

So why do I like these rolls?  I don’t know.  Because they are delicious?  Because the orange is subtle and the glaze is lemon (which I love)?  Because that Holly B can really work some magic?  Why ask why?  Sometimes in life, I have found it is better to not ask, especially when it comes to baked goods.  Just trust and enjoy.

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One Year Ago:  Moroccan Harira Soup

Orange Swirls

Adapted from With Love & Butter
Makes 10 rolls

In her book, Holly directs you back to her Basic Bread recipe (with the Orange Bread variation) for the dough.  For the sake of clarity, I am combining the recipes here.  I found this dough to be exceptionally sticky, so please heed the advice to keep flouring your board and the dough well.  Also my dough measured about 16 inches by 28 inches and it all turned out fine.

For the dough:
3/4 of a fresh orange, unpeeled, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 tbsp. honey
1 package (2 1/4 tsp.) quick-rise yeast
2 tbsp. mild tasting oil
5 cups flour, plus more for dusting
3 tbsp. milk powder
1 3/4 tsp. salt

For the Swirls:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
1/2 cup honey
1 cup sliced almonds
1 tsp. nutmeg

For the glaze:
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup honey

In a food processor fitted with the metal blade, purée the orange.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.  Add 1 1/2 cups warm water and process to a fairly lumpless liquid.  Transfer the mixture to a measuring cup and add enough warm water to bring the level to 2 1/3 cups.  Pour this mixture into a large bowl.  Add the honey, yeast, and oil.  In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, milk powder, and the salt.  Add the dry mixture to the wet.

Using a wooden spoon or a stand mixer, mix the dough vigorously until it is too stiff to continue.  Coat your hands with a little flour and knead the dough inside the bowl (this really minimizes the mess on your work table).  Knead until the dough is smooth, or use a dough hook.  (DT: I used a spoon and then the dough hook.)  If it feels too stiff, sprinkle with warm water and continue to knead; if too wet or sticky, add a little more flour.  Two to five minutes of kneading should be enough.  Dust the ball of dough with a little flour.  Lightly oil the bowl and place the dough back inside.  Drape with a dishtowel and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size.  (DT: Mine took about an hour.)

Once dough has doubled, do not punch down, but gently turn onto a well-floured surface, taking care not to deflate.  Flour the top of the dough and pat it into a rough rectangle.  Now take a rolling pin and finish rolling the dough into a rectangle about 12 inches wide by 28 inches long and 1/4-inch thick.  Check the underside of the dough frequently for sticking, sprinkling with flour as required.

Place the rectangle of dough in front of you with the short sides top and bottom.  Brush the dough with the melted butter.  Drizzle on the honey and distribute the almonds and nutmeg evenly over the surface.

Starting with the short side, roll up the dough, tugging gently as you go, to create a snug log.  Turn the log seam side down and slice into 10 even tolls with a serrated knife.  Space the rolls out evenly on a large parchment paper covered cookie sheet and let them rise for 30 minutes, or until puffy and nearly doubled in size.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375°F with the rack in the center position.  Bake the Swirls 10 minutes, then rotate the pan and bake 8 to 10 minutes more, or until slightly browned.  Check the bottoms:  The tops can look pale while the bottoms get too dark.  Allow the Swirls to cool slightly while you make the lemon glaze.

Heat the lemon juice and honey in a saucepan or in the microwave.  Brush on the warm Swirls.  Serve with butter.



Holly B’s Lemon Sour Cream Muffins

October 28, 2009

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Blind date set-ups in the movies invariably feature a well meaning person describing their friend as “nice”.  Or having a “great personality”.  We in the film audience know those are cue words for not-so-easy-on-the-eyes, right?  But, in real life, what if a date really is nice and they do have a great personality?  As I got older and realized that “cute” could only take me so far, nice and great personality sounded pretty good.  (As it happens, I got all three.)

These muffins are kind of the food equivalent of those set-up dates.  They are not going to win any beauty contests and if they were placed next to something else – anything else – you would probably just pass them by.  But they are lemon sour cream muffins.  In 12 muffins, you will find 1 1/2 cups of sour cream and a full stick of butter.  The tops are dipped into a lemon juice and sugar glaze which takes them from very nice cakes to Wow! – sweet, tart, and super moist all at once.

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I tried taking decent photos of these modest muffins, but they didn’t end up looking like anything that would make a reader of this blog jump up and head to the kitchen.  My kids were in the dining room with me (where the majority of Dana Treat photos are taken) and they thought it was very funny to pretend to eat them.  These shots are better than the food porn equivalent of just muffins.  The funny thing is, the only reason they were slightly interested is because they thought the muffins were cupcakes.

Although I told myself I would not mess with Holly’s recipes so I could accurately portray what a wonderful cookbook this is, I just had to change a little something here.  She instructs you to put all the dry ingredients right on top of the wet without mixing them first, but I think they need a good toss in a separate bowl first.  If you have those giant sized muffin tins, this recipe will fill 12 of those.  If you have standard tins, it will make 18.  (I found this out the hard way when I crammed all the dough into 12 standard sized and there was much oozing.)

You can buy a copy of Holly’s cookbook by visiting this site.

Lemon Sour Cream Muffins
Adapted from With Love and Butter
Makes 12 large or 18 medium muffins

1 1/2 cups sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp. butter, melted
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
Grated zest of 1 1/2 lemons
1 tbsp. lemon juice
2 1/2 cups plus 2 tbsp. flour
1 cup plus 2 tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/8 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt

Lemon Glaze
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar

Preheat the oven to 375°F and position the rack in the middle.  Butter the rims of your muffin tin(s) and line the cups with papers (or grease generously).

Whip together the sour cream, milk, melted butter, egg and and egg yolk, zest, and lemon juice in a blender (or use a beater or whisk), then pour into a big bowl.  In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, then add dry ingredients to the big bowl.  Mix just until smooth and combined.  Divide the batter between the muffin cups.

Bake the muffins 10 minutes, turn the pan, and bake 5 more minutes.  Check for doneness with a toothpick; bake a few minutes longer if still gooey on top.  Bake until just done – these muffins are best before they get at all brown.  Remove the muffin tin to a rack to cool while you prepare the lemon glaze.

Mix the lemon juice and sugar and warm in the microwave (about 1 minute) or on the stove until the sugar dissolves.  Stir again.  Holding each muffin at the bottom, dip the top into the warm glaze.  Let stand a moment before serving to absorb the glaze.



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