Fly off the plate rolls

Dinner rolls are incredibly important to me. They are a crucial part of Thanksgiving dinner and the process of eating the leftovers. They are necessary for making mashed potato and turkey sandwiches, which are essential to my happiness.

Biscuits are wonderful, but they don't do it for me on Thanksgiving. The perfect Thanksgiving roll has a light texture and a relatively soft crust. The flavor is delicate.

These were perfect.

{rolls, fluffy}

Fly off the plate rolls from Prairie Home Breads (a go to resource for excellent bread)

Makes 16 rolls

1/4 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water (I used milk instead)
1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
3 3/4 to 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3 tablespoons instant nonfat dry milk (I left this out)
1 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, beaten
3 tablespoons melted butter

*Proof the yeast - add it to the lukewarm water (or milk) along with 1 1/2 tablespoons of sugar and let it sit for 5 minutes or so, until foamy.

*In a large bowl, stir together 3 cups of the flour, the salt, the dry milk powder (if using) and the rest of the sugar. Stir in the yeast mixture and then add the egg and the melted butter. Beat well.

*Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 7 - 10 minutes. The dough will be soft. Knead in up to 1 1/2 cups more flour until the dough is elastic and only slightly sticky. Place the dough in a large oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover with a damp cloth and set aside to rise, about 45 - 60 minutes or until doubled in bulk.

*Grease two 9-inch round cake pans and set aside. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Cut the dough in half, then cut each piece in half again. Cut each quarter of dough into 4 equal portions and form each portion loosely into a ball. Place 7 rolls around the perimeter and 1 roll in the middle of each prepared pan. Cover with clean tea towels and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. (If you need a bit more time, you can put the pans in the fridge after about 30 minutes. They'll hold there for a couple hours with no problem.)

*Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the rolls for 15 minutes, or until risen and lightly browned. Serve warm.

A little something for you ...

Hop over to Marta's beautiful blog for a chance to win my navy rosebud belt. You only have until this evening to comment, and the winner will receive the belt in time for Christmas (pinky swear!).

New favorite toy

I picked up a new paper punch the week before Thanksgiving and proceeded to go nuts with it. Talk about mindless, satisfying craft projects - it's the easiest tool to use and it makes paper even better than it already is. I have the lace border punch, but now I am a little tempted to buy some of the other patterns.

{table setting}

These napkin rings were super simple. I cut pieces of kraft paper about 3 inches wide by 4 inches long and then used the border punch on the long edges. I rolled my napkins up and then wrapped a strip of the punched paper around each one, using small Zots to secure the paper ring in the back (Zots are one of my craft staples). Then I just tied a bit of cream colored crochet thread around the paper.

I did the same thing for the candle holders, except I used vellum instead of craft paper, so the candle light would show through and the lace pattern would be a little more subtle. I neglected to take anymore pictures because I was busy getting food produced. They looked great lit - you'll just have to take my word for it.

{thanksgiving table}

The votive candle holders are sturdy, squat little guys that D found at the thrift store the day before Thanksgiving. He just walked in the door with them and said he had picked them up on a whim (except he must have said it differently, because I'm pretty sure he's never said the word "whim"). What he didn't know was that I had already made the little vellum wrappers in a fit of craftiness and then realized that we didn't own any votive candle holders, so I wasn't going to be able to use them. I know. It's like it was fate.

Cauliflower with mustard lemon butter sauce

The surprise Thanksgiving hit this year ...

{cauliflower with mustard lemon sauce}

The original recipe is here. I had to modify it a bit to make it work for the big day. I am not a fan of juggling trays of roasted veggies while guests are in the kitchen.

I followed the recipe as written until the step where you add the sauce. At that point, I simply tossed the roasted cauliflower with the sauce, piled it in a dish and set it aside. Later, I popped it in the oven at 375 for about 30 minutes to finish it off.

It would probably be even more delicious if you made it the way they recommend, but my method worked well for a non-fussy large batch recipe. I think you could cut the butter substantially to make it a bit more appropriate for every day eating. I'll probably be experimenting, because even D appreciated it and he has previously confessed to a slight uneasiness about cauliflower (albino broccoli, as he refers to it).

The weekend, briefly

Such a busy long weekend. Thanksgiving was wonderful and my mom, my sister and I spent all day in the kitchen.

We set the table with family silver, my favorite heirloom lace crocheted table cloth, and the hand painted china.

{thanksgiving table}

We spent the weekend working on the leftovers.

{leftovers}

And there was a whole lot of this (poor Circe hates the camera - she cannot understand why I insist on pointing that stupid thing at her when there is a perfectly good toy at my feet).

{curious terrier}

There was soldering to be done (I took the photographs, rather than handling the blow torch).

{gingerbread house cookie cutters!}

And pie for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

{pie, eaten}

And a sunset drive down PCH, to round off the weekend.

{PCH, sunset}

Holidays, managed (part 3)

This may be the most important tip.

{slow down}

Slow down and know when to quit. Some of us have trouble setting limits, which is how I managed to nearly chop off the tip of my finger a few seasons ago. Making cheesecake with an immersion blender sounds like an okay idea when it's 1 am and you're high on holiday music and feeling pressured.

Last year, I broke down and purchased frozen desserts from Trader Joe's when I was running low on time. And you know what? The world did not collapse. No one even blinked. And I got some extra sleep. Some of you are probably laughing right now but that was a huge step for me.

You don't have to do anything. Seriously. If you are stressed out by the thought of cooking the entire Thanksgiving meal, go order one. I give you permission. Or pick up Chinese food and call it a night. Just don't do it reluctantly. Whatever you decide to do, embrace it joyfully. The holidays are about you and your family and friends. When we lose our focus, it's hard to remember that. You should be doing things that work for you and make you happy (even forgoing celebrations altogether, if that's good for you), not worrying about how your efforts stack up against everyone else's.

And with that, I'm off to make a mess of my kitchen. Have a wonderful, fabulous Thanksgiving, everyone! I'll be back next week.

Holidays, managed (part 2)

A little bit of work in the beginning of the season can make it go much more smoothly. Three simple shopping trips can leave you well prepared for the round of parties and entertaining. And I promise you won't have to set foot in a mall.

{impromptu champagne toast}

1. Wine store - pick up a case of decent wine and a few bottles of champagne. Sparkling cider is a good bet as well. When you're running out to door to a party or dinner, you can grab a bottle to take with you.

2. Thrift store - look for vases. Pretty much every thrift store has a decent collection of simple vases. I keep about five at all times. If you want to bring the host flowers, having those thrift store vases on hand makes a difference. Bringing flowers is great, but bringing flowers already arranged in a vase (that doesn't have to be returned) is thoughtful, and it won't send your host scurrying to the kitchen to try to scrounge up something that will hold flowers.

3. Office supply store - get some little hanging tags (usually called merchandise tags) and some twine or string. The tags are great for everything, because they can make simple, unwrapped items feel like gifts. Think about it - handing over a pound of coffee is nice, but if you've tied a bit of twine around it and added a gift tag with a note, it looks about a million times more personal.

Non-shopping related prep - I make a huge batch of this cookie dough to store in the freezer. It means I can have cookies ready in under 15 minutes, for impromptu occasions.

Any of you clever readers have holiday prep tips to share? I'm always looking for simple things I can do ahead of time.