Easy Caramel Corn

Easy and delicious recipe. When you need an additional sweet treat when company comes or need to bring a gift, this recipe is made and ready easily within 15 minutes.

Caramel Corn

1 stick of butter
1 cup of brown sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
2 cups of popped corn
4 cups of Crispix or Chex Cereal
(any variation of the cereal and popped corn to suit your preference)
1/2 cup salted peanuts (optional)
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
large brown paper grocery bag without staples

Combine the popped corn, cereal and nuts in the large paper bag. Seal and shake to mix the ingredients.

Combine the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and salt in a medium saucepan.
Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes.
Remove from heat and add the baking soda - the caramel will foam up.

Pour caramel mixture over the popcorn and cereal in the paper bag.
Quickly fold down to seal and shake vigorously.

Place bag in the microwave for 90 seconds. Remove and shake vigorously and Repeat one more time.
Adjust the time according to the heating power of your microwave.

Empty bag onto a greased surface to cool. (Caution it is very hot).

Seal in bag or airtight container when cooled.

Summer Reflections

Baked Ziti

Baked Ziti with cottage cheese instead of ricotta and using a white sauce along with the red sauce. I use this recipe for trips to places that have an oven as I freeze it in an aluminum pan. I have even packed it in luggage frozen.

Baked Ziti
1 pound of cottage cheese
2 large eggs lightly beaten
3 ounces grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup of finely chopped parsley
1 pound of ziti pasta or other pleasing shape
2 tablespoons olive oil
5 garlic cloves pushed through a garlic press
1 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes
1 14.5 ounce can of tomato sauce
1 teaspoon of dried oregano
1 teaspoon of dried marjoram
1 teaspoon sugar
black pepper to taste
1/2 cup of fresh basil leaves or 1 teaspoon of dried
3/4 teaspoon cornstarch
1 cup heavy cream
8 ounces of mozzarella cheese shredded or cut into cubes

Preheat oven to 350 F
Mix together the cottage cheese, eggs, parsley and 1 cup of the Parmesan cheese and set aside.
Bring a large pot of water to boil then add pasta and cook until just underdone. Drain pasta in colander and set aside.
In another pot or large skillet heat oil and add garlic and cook until fragrant but not brown. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato sauce, spices, sugar and pepper. Cook until slightly thickened about 8 minutes. Remove from heat and add the fresh basil. If using the dried basil add with the oregano in the first stage of the sauce.
Mix the cornstarch and heavy cream together in the empty dutch oven bring to simmer and cook until thickened. Remove from heat and add the cottage cheese mixture, 1 cup of sauce and 3/4 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Stir to combine. Add the pasta and stir until coated.
Pour into a 13x9 baking dish. Spread the remaining sauce over top and sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.
Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes then remove foil and bake for another 30 minutes until bubbly and browned. Let cool slightly before serving.

Note: I sometimes add 1 pound of meat to my ziti by precooking and slicing Italian sausage or meatballs cut in half or quarters depending on their size.

Hot Fudge

I worked at a drugstore soda fountain on weekends when I was a teenager and one of my many favorite things was coming in early and plugging in the hot fudge pot and smelling the chocolate as it heated up as I passed by. By far coffee was the dominant smell as town people piled in for their moning coffee, pastry or english muffin and newspapers. Cigarette smoke, coffee and an occasional whiff of chocolate was Sunday morning. The early before church coffee crowd would clear out and we would gear up for the after church crowds. First the Episcapalians, then the Congregationalist and finally the Catholics would come in for their morning coffees and extended fellowship. People crowded to the counter and drank their coffee standing. Coffee only cost 50 cents and we served old fashioned egg creams, ice cream sodas, malted milks and brown cows. The soda fountain consisted of flavor syrups and a tap for seltzer water. Sadly, the owner took out the soda fountain when the town refused to allow him to expand onto a porch area then he sold the drugstore to a chain and the chain has closed it. The building remains vacant.

Hot Fudge Sauce
3/4 cup (180 ml) heavy cream
1/4 cup (60 grams) packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup (40 grams) unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup (125 ml) light corn syrup
6 ounces (170 g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chopped best quality
1 tablespoon (15 g) salted butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix the cream, brown sugar, cocoa powder, and corn syrup in a large saucepan. Bring to boil and cook, stirring frequently, for 30 seconds.

Remove from heat and add the chocolate and butter and stir until melted. Stir in the vanilla. Serve warm.



Store leftovers in an airtight container and reheat in a glass bowl in microwave or in a saucepan.

Oatmeal Cookies

Oatmeal cookies are a cookie that you can and almost feel like you are eating healthy, and, heck, what is an extra 1 or two, they are good for you! I must be careful with oatmeal cookies! Oatmeal, butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar make a lovely combination.

Oatmeal Cookies
makes about 4 dozen

Preheat oven to 350 F

1 cup (2 sticks) of butter softened
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups of uncooked oats - whatever kind you have on hand. I use the regular Quaker kind.
1 cup of raisins - optional - my family doesn't like the raisins though I do.

Combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in medium bowl and mix with whisk.
Beat together butter and sugars until creamed.
Add the eggs and vanilla and beat well.
Add the flour mixture gradually to the butter and egg mixture.
Add the oats and raisins and mix well.
Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown
Cool on wire racks.

Biscuits

Baking Powder Biscuits
makes about 12 biscuits
preheat oven to 450F

2 cups all purpose unbleached flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
6 Tablespoons of cold butter cut into 1 inch or so cubes
2/3 cup of milk

Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder together in a large bowl. Add the ice cold butter cubes to the flour mixture making sure they are not clumped together.

Cut the butter into the flour with a pastry cutter or two knives until you have about large pea size pieces - it is important not to over do this.

Stir in the milk until the ingredients just come together. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead 1 or 2 times until the shaggy dough comes together. Pat into a rectangle about 1/2 inch or so high. Cut into rounds with a biscuit cutter or glass dipped into flour.

Place on a greased sheet placing close together. I use a cast iron pan for this. I find crowding the biscuits helps them rise even higher.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.



Note: If you are making biscuits for shortcake add 1/4 cup of sugar to the dry ingredients.

Sloppy Joe Sandwiches

Some week nights I am scratching my head at what to make for dinner. I want something nutritious, delicious, quick and with a fairly easy cleanup. Sloppy joes are my quick and easy go to meal. They satisfy a children and adults of all ages. I like to serve mine with coleslaw and macaroni and cheese for the ultimate American style meal.

Sloppy Joes
Serves 4

Olive oil
1 medium onion chopped finely
1 garlic clove run through a press
1 teaspoon of chili powder
1 pound of ground beef or turkey
1 teaspoon of brown sugar
1 cup of tomato sauce
1/2 cup of ketchup
splash of water, if needed
salt and pepper
Tabasco sauce to taste

Brown onion and a pinch of salt in a bit of oil in a large saute pan. Cook until lightly browned about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and chili powder and cook until fragrant. Add the ground beef, brown sugar, and some salt and pepper and cook until meat is browned, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the tomato sauce, ketchup, and water. Cook until slightly thickened. Season with Tabasco and salt and pepper.

Serve on rolls.

Spring Birthday Wishes

It has been said before, children grow up so quickly. Even knowing intellectually that sage knowledge of my elders, I cannot believe how quickly time has passed! My babies are no longer babies; they firmly have both feet steeped in teenager life. I have so strongly identified with my mothering role and now I feel a shift. A shift that makes my eyes fill with tears but makes my heart happy because this is the path of time and I am grateful for it. Their needs are changing and I must adapt and let them live - let them make their choices - celebrating successes and learning from mistakes. I wish for them to always do their best and keep their minds open.

Candied Pecans

Makes 2 Cups

1/4 honey
1 1/2 tablespoons whiskey
1 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups raw unsalted nuts - pecans, walnuts, your choice

Preheat oven to 300F

In a large bowl, mix together the honey, whiskey, vanilla, cinnamon, salt. Add the nuts and mix well.

Spread coated nuts on a large well greased or silpat lined baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Stir and scrape them up every 5 minutes with a heat proof spatula and return the pan to the oven until the nuts smell good and are a deep glossy brown. Be careful not to burn.

When the nuts are cool, dry and set, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 weeks.

I used these nuts as an accompaniment to banana cream pie. I froze the left overs and plan to grind them up in a tart crust for some crunch.

The roses are beautiful this Spring!

Homemade Ranch Dressing

I was raised in the American tradition of meat and potatoes for dinner. Dinner always had meat. Dinner was defined by meat. My father would buy, with my grandfather and uncle, a cow and then raise it have it butchered. My grandfather would have his old heifer cows butchered and then shared the meat with family members. Knowing the cow's name that you are eating isn't such a great thing - old Beth and Pete. I hated and couldn't eat steak for a long long time.
As a teenager when my father worked the night shift, my mother would make "salad for dinner" during the hottest part of the summer. It was an adventure to eat salad for dinner because we rarely did it and it was special. Really anything that breaks the routine is a grand thing to the psyche. My mother did not make a simple salad with greens alone, she would put whatever was in the vegetable crisper in the salad - lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, celery, cucumbers, onions, oranges, canned fruit salad, olives, hard boiled eggs, shredded cheese etc. Then she would mix up a packet of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing from a packet (that is all they sold at the time) with mayonaise and pour it over the salad. She would serve this salad with a side of Top Ramen soup and boiled eggs.
Ranch salad dressing has always been a favorite. When my children were younger it was the rage among the moms to top all their kids' food with ranch dressing to get them to eat. I didn't push the ranch dressing in that way but when I became more aware of ingredients, I stopped buying the ranch dressing and I started making it. Here is an easy recipe for homemade ranch dressing that uses my favorite ingredient buttermilk.

Ranch Dressing
makes about 1 cup

1 clove of garlic peeling, minced and then chopped and smashed on a cutting board with coarse salt (this is so the garlic is able to blend into the dressing versus pieces of it or you can just mince it).
3/4 cup of buttermilk
2 to 3 Tablespoons of fresh lemon or lime juice
1 Tablespoon of fresch minced parsley
1 Tablespoon of fresh chopped onion, red onion, shallot, chives - I prefer the shallot and/or red onion
Salt and Pepper to taste
If you like a thicker consistency add 1/3 to 1/2 cup of sour cream or mayonaise (I use the sour cream for its tangy freshness).

Place all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk or a jar with a tight fitting lid and shake to combine.
It is best if the dressing has some time to let the flavors develop though I usually use it right away. Store in refrigerator.
from the Joy of Cooking

Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies

If you need a chocolate fix these are the cookies for you. They are rich and chocolately and I love that the chocolate kisses stay soft. I also like that I can make these cookies right from the ingredient list (there is no sifting or combining ingredients before hand. Plus the cookies are a great Christmas Cookie tray addition. On the sprinkles, I do use them during the holidays but I try to stay away from them because of their "scary" list of ingredients.

Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies
2/3 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups all purpose unbleached flour
3/4 cup chocolate or multi color sprinkles - if desired
36 chocolate kisses unwrapped

Directions:
Beat butter in a large mixing bowl with electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt, beat until combined scraping sides.
Beat in egg and vanilla until combined.
Mix in the flour.
Chill dough for 30 minutes or until easy to handle.
Shape:
Scoop dough with a small cookie scoop or shape into 1 inch balls, roll in sprinkles if using and place on a parchment lined sheet pan 2 inches apart.
Bake for 6-8 minutes depending on your oven.
Remove from oven and immediately press a chocolate kiss into each cookie.
Transfer to wire racks.

lemon bars

It is that time of year - lemon harvest! I am fortunate to have a lemon tree in the back yard that produces really nice lemons. It is not a Meyer lemon but similar. So aromatic and the zest is wonderful. I saw these bars made on the Martha Stewart Show by Amy Scherber a couple of years ago and they are relatively quick and easy to make (I like to eat mine a warmish but if you like them icy cold like the rest of my family it takes more time).

Zesty Lemon Bars

Ingredients
Makes 20 bars.
• FOR THE CRUST
• 1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces, plus more for pan
• 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
• FOR THE TOPPING
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons plus 3/4 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

Directions
7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees with a rack in the center of oven. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.
8. To make crust: In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, confectioners' sugar, cornstarch, and salt; process to combine. Add butter to processor and process until mixture is pale yellow and resembles a coarse meal, about 10 seconds. If you don't have a food processor, whisk together flour, confectioners' sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a large bowl. Add butter and work into flour mixture using a pastry blender or your fingers.
9. Pour crust mixture into prepared baking dish, pressing down with your fingers to create a 1/4-inch-thick layer along the bottom and 1/2-inch up the sides, pressing firmly at the edges to seal. Transfer pan to freezer and freeze for 30 minutes. Transfer to oven and bake, rotating pan once during baking, until golden brown, about 20 minutes.
10. Meanwhile, make the topping: In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, and flour; stir in lemon juice, milk, and salt until well combined.
11. Remove baking pan from oven. Stir topping and pour into warm crust. Return pan to oven and continue baking until topping is just set but not browned, about 20 minutes.
12. Transfer baking pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Cut into 20 squares. Serve immediately or wrap each bar tightly with plastic wrap and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
This recipe, courtesy of Amy Scherber can be found in "The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread."

Lentil Soup

When I think of soup, I think of childhood. As a small child, I remember my father making soup during lean times to feed us. Not only did soup provide the sustenance to get my family through economic hardship but it also provided solace. A peace of mind that something was cooking in the kitchen for the family meal. My mother made homemade bread at this time and my father would make his homemade noodles that he called haluski which are basically and egg style noodle/dumpling boiled in water. My father used a fork to make the noodles - they were quite large and satisfying. Soup is the all time comfort food especially when little food is to be had.

One of my favorite soups is lentil. I love the earthy flavor and the heartiness of it. It is my favorite thing to have for lunch. I like to put some fresh spinach in the bottom of my soup bowl and ladle the soup right on top. Sometimes I add some cooked kale like in the photograph.

This is my sister's lentil soup recipe.

Lentil Soup
2-3 Tablespoons of olive oil
1 large onion finely chopped (about 1 cup)
1 stalk of celery, chopped
1 carrot chopped
2 - 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 1/2 cups of brown lentils, rinsed and picked over for stones
44 ounces of chicken chicken broth
1 teaspoon of crushed oregano
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon of lemon zest
2 Tablespoon lemon juice
2 Tablespoons dill weed
salt and pepper to taste

In a large dutch oven or soup pot. Heat oil and add onions, celery, and carrots. Cook until softened about 5-8 minutes. Add the pressed garlic and oregano and cook until fragrant about 30 seconds. Add the lentils, broth, zest, lemon juice, and dill weed. Cook for 2 hours until lentils are tender. Add extra liquid (chicken broth or water as desired) as needed.

Grilled Chicken Escabeche

I want to really learn to cook well. I can follow a recipe just fine and even come up with some of my own ideas loosely based on recipes. Though, what I want is to have some basic techniques that I can refer to and come up with a decent meal. On cooking shows like Top Chef they use terms like meuniere, coulis, seviche, sous vide, reduction sauce, veloute, and escabeche among others and I always wonder what the terms mean. So I am starting my own "cooking school" of sorts.
I started with basic escabeche.

escabeche-meat that is cooked first then marinated. The length of time is your preference from immediately to 1 to 6 hours in the refrigerator and served cold.

Grilled Chicken Escabeche
1 1/2 pounds of boneless chicken breast (pounded thin if preferred)
3 Tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper

Heat grill to highest setting. Coat chicken in olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place chicken on grill and turn down to medium high to medium. Grill until done. Remove to platter and cover with the Marinade.

Garlic Vinaigrette Marinade
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley
3 Tablespoons of fresh squeezed lemon juice (or balsamic vinegar if preferred)
2 to 3 cloves of garlic squeezed through a press
1 Tablespoon of honey optional
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients and set aside.

Molten Lava Chocolate Cake

I planned on celebrating St. Valentine's day with something super rich and loaded with chocolate but I needed it to be a straightforward and fairly simple recipe. I didn't want to make my super dense flourless chocolate cake or a regular cake. Brownies were a maybe but I wanted more. Then I remembered a delicious desert from a few years back that I had when my sister and I went to Millerton, New York for shopping, Harney Tea Shop and enjoying each other's company which is something we do so very rarely living so far apart. The restaurant version was called warm chocolate cake.

I found a recipe in "How to be a Domestic Goddess" by Nigella Lawson. It was so easy to whip up with my handheld mixer (everything went into the dishwasher, thankfully, no hand washing) and the best part is they can be made in advance. I made them a day ahead and kept them in the refrigerator and while we ate dinner I had the oven preheated and just popped them in and they were ready for a delicious hot melty dessert!

Molten Lava Cake
makes 6 six-ounce custard cups

Grease the custard cups with butter and cut a round of parchment for the bottom of the cup if you are tipping the little cakes out. You can cook and serve in the custard cup if you like.

scant ¼ cup soft butter
12 ounces of your best bittersweet chocolate
½ cup sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature, beaten with a pinch of salt
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/3 cup all purpose unbleached flour

Preheat oven to 400F if making right away. Put a sheet pan in the oven on the middle rack to heat up at this time.
Melt the chocolate in a bowl over simmering water. Let cool slightly.
Cream together in a large bowl the butter and sugar. Gradually beat in the eggs, salt and vanilla. Add the flour and when smoothly combined scrape in the slightly cooled chocolate and mix to a smooth batter.
Divide the batter between the 6 cups and remove your hot sheet pan from the oven and place the cups on it and place it back in the oven and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. If you have refrigerated your batter bake for a few minutes longer.
As soon as the cups come out of the oven, tip the cup onto the serving plate (you may have to run a knife along the edge. Remove the parchment and serve with ice cream or whipped cream. the hot and cold combination is just luscious.

This dessert is easy and impressive.

Basic Corn Muffins

There is nothing more basic and American than the combination of corn muffins with chili. Eating a bit of chili and corn muffin is the perfect forkful. Perhaps because corn bread hearkens back to our colonial and pioneer settler days - corn the golden food - the food that allowed continuance and survival - the food that was a gift to the first colonists from the Native Americans. Both corn bread and chili can be made around a camp fire or refined in a five-star kitchen.

Corn bread is earthy, hearty and delicious.

Corn Muffins
Makes 12 muffins

Preheat oven to 400F
1 1/4 cup of unbleached all purpose flour
3/4 cup of corn meal (I use a grittier texture meal from Bob's Red Mill)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1/4 cup canola oil
1 egg beaten

Line (or grease) a muffin tin with 12 muffin liners.
Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix with a whisk.
Add the milk, oil and beaten egg and stir until moistened with a wooden spoon.
Fill each lined muffin cup two thirds full of batter.
Bake in middle rack of oven for 12 - 15 minutes until done (when a toothpick is crumb free).

Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes

Sunday breakfast is almost always pancakes. When my children were little, I made pancakes nearly every day. They loved them then and still do. Now I make pancakes with buttermilk. It took me a long time to figure out the virtues of buttermilk. It rounds out the flavor of pancakes and baked goods and adds a tenderness to the crumb. I worked with an older woman who had a quirky buttermilk habit. She was always espousing the health benefits of buttermilk. She drank it straight from the quart container. It cleansed her system, apparently, after her chain smoking and candy corn habit. I haven't been able to drink a straight glass of buttermilk but it is a good addition to baking.

Buttermilk Pancakes
about 15 to 18 pancakes depending on size
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour (if you like a whole wheat pancake replace 1 cup of flour with whole wheat flour)
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3 Tablespoons of vegetable oil or melted butter
2-1/4 cups of buttermilk (you may cut back to 2 cups of buttermilk - I like a thinner pancake)
oil for the pan

Preheat oven to 200F with oven rack in middle of oven and a wire cooling rack set on top of it.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Add the buttermilk, oil and lightly eggs to the flour mixture. Stir until the ingredients just come together. There may be lumps and don't overmix!

Heat a nonstick skillet (I use of square skillet) over medium heat and and oil your pan. Ladle 1/4 cup of batter into the pan cooking 3 at a time. Cook until large bubbles form about 2 minutes flip and cook until golden on other side for about 1-1/2 minutes longer. Spread the pancakes on the rack in the oven keeping warm. Repeat until done adding oil to pan as needed.

Quick Blueberry Sauce
In a heatproof bowl add 1 cup of frozen blueberries with 2 Tablespoons of sugar and cook in microwave until bubbly and slightly thickened. Spritz with lemon juice as desired.

cinnamon rolls

Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients
6 ½ Tablespoons (3.25 ounces) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
5½ (2.75 ounces) Tablespoons softened butter
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon lemon extract or 1 teaspoon grated lemons zest of 1 lemon
3½ cups (16 ounces) unbleached bread or all purpose flour
2 teaspoons of instant yeast also known as rapid rising or fast rising (instant has 25% more living cells per spoonful than active dry yeast)
11/8 to 1 1/4 cups whole milk or buttermilk at room temperature
Cinnamon Sugar Mixture
61/2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
Up to 1 cup of dried fruits if desired
3 Tablespoons very soft butter


Making the dough
Cream together the sugar, salt and butter on medium high speed in a heavy duty mixer with the paddle attachment.

Whip in the egg and lemon extract or zest until smooth.

Add the flour yeast and milk and mix on low speed until the dough forms a ball (you may need extra flour).

Switch to dough hook attachment and mix on medium speed for approximately 10 minutes until the dough is silky and supple, tacky but not sticky.

Rise

Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer dough to oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap and let dough rise for 2 hours or until doubled in size.

Forming the Rolls
Roll the dough with a rolling pin on a lightly floured counter top into a 14 inch by 12 inch rectangle for large rolls or a 18 by 9 inch rectangle for smaller rolls. The dough should be 2/3 inches thick. Don't roll too thin or the the finished rolls will be tough and chewy.
Spread the softened butter across the top of the dough then sprinkle the dough with the cinnamon and sugar mixture.
Roll the dough into a log using the longest part of the rectangle in a jelly roll fashion.
With seam side down cut the rolls
Thicker rolls 8-12 pieces 13/4 inches thick
Smaller rolls 12-16 pieces 1/1/4 inches thick.
Proofing
Line a baking sheet with parchment and place rolls on sheet approximately 1/4 inch apart - close but not touching.
Proof at room temperature for 75-90 minutes under a lint free towel until the pieces have doubled and grown into one another.
You may retard the shaped rolls in the refrigerator for up to 2 days pulling the pans out 3 to 4 hours before baking allowing the rolls to proof.
Bake the Rolls
Preheat oven to 350F with the oven rack in the middle.
Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Cool the rolls for 10 minutes and then streak with a white fondant glaze when the rolls are warm but not hot.
White Fondant Glaze
4 cups of powdered sugar
1 teaspoon of lemon extract
1/2 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice if desired
1/2 cup warm milk

Place the powdered sugar in a large bowl and whisk in the milk until the sugar is dissolved and smooth. Add the extract and juice.

My Sister's Cream of Broccoli Soup

This soup was a staple at my sister's table every Thanksgiving and Christmas. I was able to enjoy it once or twice when I was lucky enough to share Christmas with my family. My sister has moved on from this once-upon-a-time holiday staple but I frequently make it. It is perfect for a light lunch especially if I omit the cream in the recipe. As a note, my father uses this same base recipe for a garlic soup.

Broccoli Soup
1¾ pounds of broccoli cut up
4 Tablespoons of butter or olive oil
1 cup of onion chopped
½ cup of celery finely diced
4 Tablespoons flour
1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
6 cups chicken broth
½ cup of heavy cream-you can omit this and increase your broccoli amount for richness

In a medium saucepan, cook broccoli in ½ cup of simmering water, covered for 15 minute. Cook until soft and done, remove from heat and set aside.
In a large pot melt butter or heat oil over medium heat and add onion and celery until softened. Stir in flour and cook for 2 minutes. Gradually whisk the chicken broth and lemon juice. Add drained broccoli and some of the broccoli water if desired. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 15 minutes and remove from heat and cool slightly. With an immersion blender, food processor or blender puree soup until smooth. If desired, hold back some broccoli floret chunks (I puree the entire soup).
Return to pot if using a counter puree method and add the cream. Cook until hot without boiling.