Lion House Orange Rolls Filed under ( bread, Breakfast, fruit, rolls )

A while back I found this gem on Katy's blog Food for a Hungry Soul. Have you visited her yet? If not, you really must, she's always got such gorgeous pictures and recipes on her blog. So while I was wondering what I should make for Mother's Day brunch (that's right, I make my own brunch, I wouldn't appreciate being forced out of the kitchen on my own day!) these orange rolls came to mind. You can find the link to the recipe here.

Not only were these completely delicious, but they were so much fun to make. This was my first time doing any kind of pastry like this, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Since I did get a little confused at how we were supposed to cut them, I figured I'd take pictures of how I did it...after Glenn explained it to me. I loved rolling these up, it was like play dough for grown ups!



Definitely give yourself enough time if you plan to make these, as you do have to wait for the dough to rise etc. But I promise they will be worth every second! Thanks again Katy!

And hey, have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! I wish sunshine, good company and great food your way!

HBi5: Red Beet Cheese Buns and Chocolate Cinnamon Bread Filed under ( beets, berries, bread, cheese, chocolate, fruit, HBi5, rolls )

Happy Valentine's weekend! I really love Valentines Day. I love the aisles at the store that are full of pink and red. And I think it's great that we have a day to celebrate love, which according to John Lennon, is all we need!


The breads for this week were chosen wisely as they both reflect the holiday in different ways. The red beet buns were an obvious for their red color. I'll be honest, I wasn't that excited about this particular bread, but my curiosity kept me from skipping it. As it turns out, this has been my favorite so far! Of course the fact that I stuffed the buns full of cheese probably helped, but seriously, I loved the red "beety-onion-y" flavor of this bread. And the best part...my veggie/fruit hating son ate about three of these! (evil laughter...you're eating beets little boy!)

I made the dough per the instructions, and when it came time to bake them, I rolled the dough out to about an inch thickness, and spread garlic powder, Parmesan, mozzarella and sharp provolone. I rolled it up jelly style, sliced and baked. Pretty much like a savory cinnamon roll. The only downside is that the dough made my fridge smell pretty funky, but it was worth it. I'll be making this again!


The second bread was supposed to be a chocolate-espresso combination, but neither of us are coffee drinkers, and my husband finds the flavor of coffee abominable. So, instead I added a good helping of ground cinnamon for a nice subtle bite to the bread. Before baking the bread I worked in some extra chocolate chunks, the zest of an orange and some dried cherries and cranberries. It came out a very fun and pretty loaf of bread, but I wasn't too crazy about the taste. Since it's still a yeast bread, it never got too sweet and lacked a bit in flavor. It's basically something that you have to turn INTO a dessert. So I did what any sensible chocolate lover would do, smothered it in Nutella and strawberries. Now we're talking.

I think this bread has a lot of possibilities for a lot of fun desserts, however, I don't see myself making it again. I just think if I'm going to spend my calories making and eating a dessert, it's going to be something a little less...uh healthy!

Be sure to check out the other wonderful HBi5 entries here.

Have a wonderful Valentine's weekend my friends!

Homemade Rolls - you just have to try! Filed under ( bread, rolls )

I know when it comes to yeast, many of us shy away from trying anything. I remember back in my early days of cooking, I would try rolls similar to these and they would be hard as rocks. Since then, I have just found that yeast is a little temper-mental and the temperature of the water has to be just right. These truly take like 5 minutes to mix and then a few steps of letting them rise and forming them into your desired shape. I am telling you - these are so worth the effort. I promise your family will thank you!

Shared this recipe with Mommy's Kitchen - Potluck Sundays. You should visit her blog - lots of great recipes shared during today's potluck!

Basic Yeast Dough ( adapted from Southern Living)

*This dough can be used for various breads - cloverleaf rolls, parker house rolls, crescents and even cinnamon rolls

1 pkg active dry yeast
1 cup warm water ( 105 to 115 degrees)
3 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp shortening
1 large egg
1/2 tsp salt
3 - 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Combine yeast and water in a 1 cup measuring cup - let stand for 5 minutes. Use a thermometer to test the water to make sure it is warm (too hot will kill yeast and too cold will keep from rising). Combine yeast mixture with sugar, shortening, egg, salt and half of flour in a large mixing bowl. Mix at low speed until smooth. Gradually stir in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Place dough in a well-greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (*85 degrees) for one hour or until doubled in bulk (can cover and store in refrigerator for up to 4 days at this point - return to room temp before cooking) Punch dough down, turn out onto slightly flour surface and knead 8 - 10 times. **Shape and cover - let rise in a warm place for about 40 minutes. Bake at 400 for 8-10 minutes. Serve with softened butter.

*my house wasn't 85 degrees. Southern Living suggests putting the dough in your oven with a pan of HOT water on the rack underneath. This worked great. I did this before I shaped them and after.

**Parker house rolls (pictured) - roll or pat dough to 1/4 inch thick, cut with a glass or biscuit cutter, dip in melted butter and fold in half. Allow to rise in warm place (oven like suggested above )Bake at 400 for 8-10 minutes. Yields - 2 dozen

Cloverleaf rolls - rolls dough into inch balls - place 3 in a each muffin cup-lightly greased. Allow to rise in oven like others - bake at 400 for 8-10 minutes. Brush with melted butter. Yields - 2 dozen

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