I'm always surprised....

It's so funny! I'm always surprised by what the cooking classes choose to be their favorite dish of the night. This month it was the Sunrise Pancakes, both nights. Who would have thought that pancakes would come in ahead of fresh cinnamon rolls, bagels, crazy good bread, biscuits..... need I go on?

Well, I can only say that this is my favorite pancake recipe. It fact, it's the only recipe I use. If you want blueberry pancakes, you could easily add blueberries, just remember to toss your fresh berries in a little flour first, it keeps them from sinking to the bottom and from sticking to each other.

After all the time I spent trying to make sure you had all the recipes, don't you know that I forgot Suzy's Cinnamon Rolls and, you got it, Sunrise Pancakes. As promised, here are the recipes.

Sunrise Pancakes - yields 8

1 C. all purpose flour 2 Tbl. sugar 1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. salt

2 eggs, slightly beaten 1/2 C. yogurt 1/2 C. water

2 Tbl. butter, melted 1 tsp. vanilla

Mix all dry ingredients together. Mix all wet ingredients together and combine. Making sure not to beat the batter. Combine batter just till the dry ingredients are incorporated. This is best done by "folding" the dry and liquid ingredients together. If you want a lighter batter, which was how the pancakes were prepared for the class, separate the egg whites and whip to stiff peaks then fold the whites into your batter. Cook on a griddle till golden on both sides and not raw in the middle. DO NOT mash your pancakes! After turning the first time and after the bottom has browned, poke a small hole in the top of the pancake with the spatula to see if there is any raw batter. If there is, allow to cook a little longer.

*I usually 3X this recipe, even for my family. This is one of Fred's favorite recipes and he'd eat it 24/7. I always have leftovers, but they're gone by the end of the day.

On Wednesday night, I used "Key Lime Pie" yogurt in the batter and on Thursday night I used "Pina Colada" yogurt in the batter. This is a great way to use up the yogurt that no one seems to want to eat. If I purchase yogurt for the pancakes, I usually buy Vanilla flavor.

Suzy's Cinnamon Rolls

1 Tbl. yeast 1/2 C. warm water 1 Tbl. sugar

Mix all above in a bowl or measure cup and allow to "proof"

1 C. sugar 2/3 C. shortening

Cream sugar and shortening together, then add:

6 beaten eggs 1 C. mashed potatoes 2 c. milk (or powdered milk)

Mix well. Add:

4 C. flour yeast mixture

Mix well & add:

4 C. flour 1 1/2 tsp. salt

Beat till dough is smooth. This dough will be very sticky! Pour into a well greased bowl, turning dough to coat on all sides, cover with a towel and let rise till doubled (At this point you can place the dough in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and make rolls as desired). Punch dough down and scrape onto a well floured surface (you want enough flour to keep dough from sticking, but not enough to reduce the soft, sticky texture of the dough. Do not knead flour into the dough, just coat the dough so you can roll it. You'll want to treat this dough gently). Roll the dough to a rectangle that's about 1/4 inch thick (you'll probably need to divide the dough in half and roll each half separately). Brush melted butter on dough, sprinkle with (I used brown sugar and cinnamon) sugar and cinnamon. You can add raisins, chocolate chips, nuts (on the Thursday night class, we used lemon drops that had been ground to a fine sugar, in the food processor). If you roll the dough on the "long" side, you'll have smaller rolls, but more; if you roll the dough on the "short" side, you'll have less rolls, but much larger ones - you choose. Slice the rolls about 1/2-1 inch thick (I used my "bench tool", which I recommend to everyone. You should be able to get one from WalMart or from a kitchen store)and place on a well greased cookie sheet. Cover with a towel and let rise till double, about 20-30 min. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 12-15 minutes, turning once half way through. The rolls should be beautifully golden brown. Spread with glaze when slightly cooled, or frosting when nearly room temperature.

Note: I prefer to place the rolls far enough apart on the cookie sheet so all sides of the roll are baking. This dough is so soft that it may not bake all the way if it's over crowded in a pan.

I prepared 1/2 the recipe for the cooking classes (I actually used 5 C. of flour when I made the 1/2 recipe, you may need a little more for the whole recipe, but be careful not to make the dough too stiff. It is a very sticky dough). This makes A LOT of rolls, although, they don't last long.

Tip: Remove the rolls from the pan, or at least loosen them while they're still warm. As the rolls and the pan cools the sugar will set up and the rolls will be difficult to remove from the pan. If this happens, place the pan back in the oven for a few minutes to soften the sugar, then remove the rolls.

Enjoy!

Bagels Anyone? Yes!

I found a recipe for bagels in Fine Cooking and decided that it would be perfect for Cooking Class this month. Bagels are something I've always wanted to make, but have been intimidated by.

Well, no longer.

Bagels are NOT hard, you just need to plan ahead. This is the deal with bagels:

1. You start with a sponge and let it sit for 1-2 hours to ferment. If you leave your sponge longer your bagels will be more airy and less dense - I think it's a matter of preference.

2. You mix your starter with the remaining ingredients and knead for 7 minutes. The dough should be very firm. It will not be sticky, nor will the dough be warm or cold.

3. Shape the dough into balls and allow to rest for 20 minutes, covered with a wet towel. This allows the gluten to relax.

4. After the 20 minutes, shape the dough by poking a hole through the middle of the ball with your thumb, place on a parchment lined cookie sheet & spray with "Pam". Spray the bagels with Pam and cover with plastic wrap, making sure that the bagels have room to rise and that they're fully covered.

5. After 20 min. "water test" the bagels. Fill a bowl with cold water and drop in one of the bagels. If it floats, they're ready to refrigerate. Place in the refrigerator for 8 hours and up to 2 days. This is called "retarding" the dough.

6. Retarding the dough is important. The cold causes the dough to rise very slowly which gives you the dense texture of a bagel. After the 8 hours, the bagels are ready to be cooked and baked.

7. Did you know that bagels are boiled? Fill a large pan with hot water and bring to a boil. Preheat your oven to 500 degrees. Once the water is boiling, add 1 Tbl. of baking soda. Place bagels in the pot, making sure they have room to move around. Don't overcrowd. Boil bagels 1-2 minutes on each side. The longer you boil, the chewier the crust will be. Place boiled bagels on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 6-8 minutes, turn your tray and bake an additional 4-5 minutes. Bagels should be nice golden brown. If you want to top your bagels, sprinkle them with topping after removing from water and before baking. Remove bagels to cooling racks and cool completely. Store in zip-lock bags.

Extra bagels can be frozen for later use. If you don't want to cook and bake all your bagels at once, you can have fresh bagels over several days and bake what you need. One batch of dough makes about 24 medium bagels. If you're not in the mood for A LOT of bagels, I'd cut the recipe in half.

These are variations I made (if you're adding seasoning & ingredients to the dough, add it to the sponge before adding the additional flour):

• White, Chopped green chiles and Parmesan Cheese, topped with grated Parmesan
• White, topped with grated Parmesan and Sesame seeds
• Wheat (2 C. wheat flour instead of white), topped with Cinnamon Sugar
• White, topped with Parmesan cheese and Roasted Chile & Garlic seasoning
• White, Craisins & Pine nuts, topped with white sugar
• White, chopped fresh pepper, Parmesan cheese & Chipotle seasoning, Parmesan on top
• Wheat, added cinnamon, rolled the boiled bagel in cinnamon sugar after boiling *

*This made a GREAT bagel with crunchy cinnamon sugar crust all over, but you need to bake it on a baking sheet that has sides as the sugar turns to syrup. BIG mess in the oven - not good!

I know that this sounds like a lot of work, but if you break it down, you'll find that bagels are VERY user friendly. The 1-2 hour rise time for the sponge gives you a lot of time to do other things. Mixing the initial sponge takes less than 5 minutes. Mixing the dough takes less than 5 minutes, and 7 minutes kneading time. 5 minutes for shaping into balls and 20 minutes of resting time that you can be doing something else. Poke the holes, another 5 minutes and you're off the hook again for about 20 minutes. Then they "retard". You don't have to worry about anything till tomorrow. It takes about 25-40 minutes to boil 24 bagels, depending on how long you boil and 10-15 minutes baking time. Not too bad.

Give them a try, you won't be sorry. Let me know how you do, I'd love to hear.

Here's the recipe:

Sponge:

4 C. unbleached, bread or all purpose flour

1 tsp. instant or quick-rise yeast

2 1/2 C. lukewarm water

Mix all together in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest 1-2 hours.

Dough:

1/2 tsp instant or quick-rise yeast

4 C. flour (more or less as needed to make stiff dough)

1-1 1/2 Tbl. salt

2 tsp. honey

Mix all together with sponge and knead with dough hook for 6-7 minutes till dough is very stiff and firm but still pliable, satiny and smooth.

Shaping & Boiling:

Vegetable oil spray

1 Tbl. baking soda (for boiling bagels)

toppings:

sesame seeds, poppy seeds, kosher salt,

finely chopped onions tossed in a little oil, etc.

If you want to see the full article with pictures, go to www.finecooking.com and type Classic Water Bagels in the search bar.

I've Been Thinking..... it's a dangerous thing.

As I was setting up my display for this month's class, I realized how often I use items that were my mothers or grandmothers. This, in turn, brought to mind a conversation I recently had with a friend about how "aged treasures" are no longer valued today. I'd like to put in a plug for those treasures......

Sharing food with your family and friends is a demonstration of love and the process of preparing recipes will often bring back memories of happy days spent in a kitchen or around a table with a mother, grandmother, friend or relative. It's why we often refer to certain dishes as "comfort food", because the memories bring us warmth and comfort.

As we treasure those memories and recipes, treasure the tools, linens, dishes, etc.... that our ancestors left behind as well. Use them in your life. Share them with family and friends.

Some of those tools may no longer be available, but they definitely had a purpose. Some of the things I have of my Grandmothers, are making a resurgence today, and they're not made nearly as well.

I have a couple tea sets of my Grandmothers. I don't drink coffee or tea, but picture using those dainty little cups and saucers to serve a French Cream or Chocolate Mousse for dessert at a "tea party" with your friends or daughters. How fun would that be?

Those linens that are no longer "pristine" tell a story of use, of families sharing meals and friendship.

Next time you go to your Mother's or Grandmother's home, ask them about the "treasures" they have. Find out the stories behind them. Make them a part of your heritage and share those stories with your children and grandchildren. We don't value anything that we don't understand. Memories are all around us, share them, relive them, preserve them.