Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Dinner Rolls

These rolls are easy and can be prepped ahead of time. I followed this recipe from The Kitchn. I made these to go with The North Carolina Pulled Pork. While great as regular dinner rolls, these would work smaller for sliders or larger for burger buns. 

from the fridge overnight 
1 hour from the fridge
cooked!
with the pulled pork
Dinner Rolls
Makes 12 rolls

Ingredients
1 tablespoon active-dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup milk (I used almond milk)
1 large egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon butter

Instructions
1. In a stand mixer: stir the yeast into the warm water and let it sit until dissolved.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, oil, sugar, and salt. Add this to the yeast mixture and stir until combined.
3. Add all the flour and stir until it forms a shaggy dough.
4. Knead the dough at low speed for 8-10 minutes, until smooth but slightly tacky. It should spring back when poked.
5. Cover the mixing bowl and let the dough rise in a warm spot until doubled in bulk, about an hour.
6. Dust your work surface with a little flour and turn the risen dough out on top. Divide the dough into 12 pieces. Roll the dough against the counter or between your palms until round.
7. Line a 9x13 pan with parchment and spray with nonstick coating. Arrange the rolls inside the pan spaced a little apart*.
8. Let the rolls rise until they fill the pan roughly 30-40 minutes. While the rolls are rising, pre-heat the oven to 375°F.
9. Brush the rolls with butter. Melt the butter and brush it over the risen dinner rolls. This helps the tops to brown and keeps the crust soft. (I forgot this step)
10. Bake the rolls until golden, 15-18 minutes.
11. Lift the rolls from the pan using the parchment and let the rolls cool on a wire rack until cool enough to handle.

*At this point you can also cover the rolls and put into the fridge to rise over night for dinner the next day. The next day let the rolls come to room temp (about 1 hour) prior to baking. Then continue with step 8.

Saturday, November 8, 2014

Homemade French Fries

"These taste like real french fries!!" The kids were pretty impressed that I was able to turn potatoes into french fries at home.

Super easy and a relatively healthy side dish. The silpat mat helps make the fries extra crispy.

Often these are served with Mr. Tom's Chicken and Oven Roasted Broccoli.


French Fries
1 potato = 1 to 2 people

Directions
Preheat oven to 400F. 
Peel raw potatoes. Slice them up. Thinner will cook faster.
Put sliced potatoes on silpat/foil/parchment lined cookie sheet.
Drizzle with olive oil and your choice of seasonings. I do a little garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Toss to coat all the potato pieces. If it was for adults I would add some cayanne or oregano.
Bake 25-45 minutes. The difference will be how thick the potatoes were cut and how crispy you want the fries. Fries are done when you pierce with a fork and the potato is tender.

Enjoy!