Parker House Rolls

I decided to make these Parker House rolls in advance before Thanksgiving so there would be less to do the day of. These rolls were PHENOMENAL and will be on a regular rotation  in our household. I served these rolls with Cinnamon Honey Butter and it was a massive hit!

Parker House Rolls

(Source: Bobby Flay)

1 1/2 cups milk

1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for brushing

1/2 cup sugar

1 package active dry yeast

1/2 cup warm water

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

6 cups all-purpose flour

Place milk in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat, stir in the butter and sugar and let cool. Dissolve yeast in warm water and let sit until foamy. Combine milk mixture, eggs, yeast, salt, and 1/2 of the flour in a mixer with the dough attachment and mix until smooth. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, and stir until a smooth ball forms.

Remove from the bowl and knead by hand on a floured surface for about 5 minutes. Place in greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 60 to 70 minutes. On a floured surface, punch down the dough and shape into desired shapes. Place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Cover again and let rise until doubled, about 30 to 40 minutes.

Preheat the oven 350 degrees F.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and brush with melted butter before serving.

Cinnamon Honey Butter

(Source: Ina Garten)

1/4 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature

3 tablespoons good honey

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Combine the butter, honey, cinnamon, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Serve at room temperature.

Oat Clusters

One thing that absolutely love about boxed cereal are the oat clusters. I mean, who doesn't love picking them out from the Honey Bunches of Oats cereal and just snacking on them??? So when I saw a recipe from Mark Bittman in his cookbook for oat clusters, I HAD to make them right away. You know what? I'm so dang glad I made them because they are SO GOOD. I no longer have to open a new box of cereal for those oat clusters any more! Dr. Sweetpea eats these oats with his morning yogurt parfait with fresh fruit too!

Oat Clusters

(Source: Mark Bittman and Melissa Clark)

6 cups rolled oats

3/4 cup honey or maple syrup (I used honey)

1/4 cup coconut or neutral oil (I used vegetable oil)

1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

Heat oven to 325 and grease two baking sheets or line them with parchment paper. 

Use a food processor to grind 1 1/2 cups of the oats into a flour. In a large bowl, combine the ground oats with the honey, oil, and cinnamon if you're using it, and 1/4 cup water. Stir in the remaining 

4 1/2  cups oats until they're coated and the mixture is sticky; if it looks too dry, stir in a bit more honey. (**Tip: let this mixture sit for 10 minutes before spreading onto baking sheet) Spread the mixture evenly over the prepared baking sheets. 

Bake, stirring occasionally to break the clumps apart and cook them evenly, until the oat clusters are crisp and dry, 35 - 45 minutes. Let cool completely before serving or storing. These will keep in an airtight container for two weeks. 

**So I added the tip of letting this mixture sit for 10 minutes by referencing the Coconut Almond Cluster Granola recipe by Melissa Clark from the NY Times. It lets the oat flour to become fully hydrated and helps to create nice clumps of oats. 

Note for when I make this again: When I make this recipe again in a few weeks, I'm going to to try using my hands and drop oat mixture onto prepared baking sheets in one layer, and pinch together into clumps with my fingers like what Melissa did in her recipe. 

Cranberry Jalapeno Cream Cheese Dip

I first heard about this dip several years ago in a Facebook group that I'm a part of. One member of the group raved about how addicting this dip is and how it was a hit at her holiday party. I saved the recipe but had forgotten all about the dip for many months. Then I started seeing this dip pop up in all the Facebook groups that I'm in. Each time it was posted, everyone said that the dip is addicting. Since I recently bought a big bag of fresh cranberries from Costco for Thanksgiving, I decided to try the recipe myself and OMG am I so disappointed that I took soooooo long to make it. It's  a sweet, tart, spicy, and creamy goodness and I'll admit to eating half of this by myself while standing in the kitchen. Now I fully understand why everyone raves about this appetizer and I know I'll be making this every year during the holiday season!! Dr. Sweetpea was blown away by how good this appetizer was too!

Cranberry Jalapeno Cream Cheese Dip

(Source: www.sparrowsandlily.com)

12 oz fresh, uncooked cranberries

1/4 cup green onion

1-2 fresh jalapeño peppers

2 Tbsp. cilantro (I omitted the cilantro) 

3/4 to 1 Cup sugar (according to taste)

1 Tbsp. lemon juce

1/8 tsp. salt

16 oz. cream cheese (whipped)

Use hand food chopper to chop cranberries. (This process is a bit time consuming, but it is best to not use a food processor to chop these as the cranberries liquify too much.) Chop green onion, jalapeño peppers and cilantro. In a medium-sized bowl, add chopped cranberries, green onion, cilantro and jalapeños. Add sugar, lemon juice and salt on top of cranberry mixture and stir gently until blended.

Cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator overnight. Take cranberry mixture out of the refrigerator and stir all ingredients together. Strain out all liquid using a collander with small holes.

Whip softened cream cheese with hand mixer until smooth (about 2 minutes) and spread cream cheese over bottom of a pie plate or 9x9 dish. Pour cranberry mixture atop cream cheese and keep in refrigerator until ready to serve. Use a spoon to spread over Ritz crackers and enjoy!

**Note: instead of spreading the cranberries on the cream cheese, I just spread some cream cheese on the crackers and topped the off with the cranberries. 

Vanilla Rum Panna Cotta with Salted Caramel

We had a big container of plain vanilla yogurt in our fridge that was about to expire in a few days. I was looking online for recipes where I would be able to use a lot of the yogurt and came across this Vanilla Rum Panna Cotta with Salted Caramel recipe by Ina Garten. Both of us love panna cotta and salted caramel, so it was a no brainer that I'd make the recipe. The recipe was incredibly fast and easy to follow and the end results were just fabulous. Dr. Sweetpea kept telling me that this would be a fabulous recipe to serve when we have guests over. It's definitely another keeper recipe for us! 

Vanilla Rum Panna Cotta with Salted Caramel

(Source: Ina Garten)

2 teaspoons (1 packet) unflavored gelatin

3 cups heavy cream, divided

2 cups plain whole-milk yogurt

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean

3/4 cup sugar

Dark rum, such as Mount Gay

1/2 cup good caramel sauce, such as Fran’s

Fleur de sel

In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin on 3 tablespoons of cold water. Stir and set aside for 10 minutes to allow the gelatin to dissolve

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together 1½ cups of the cream, the yogurt, vanilla extract, and vanilla seeds. Heat the remaining 1½ cups of cream and the sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Off the heat, stir the softened gelatin into the hot cream until dissolved. Pour the hot cream–gelatin mixture into the cream-yogurt mixture and stir in 3 tablespoons of rum. Pour into 8 serving glasses and refrigerate uncovered until cold. When the panna cottas are thoroughly chilled, cover with plastic wrap and allow to chill overnight.

Before serving, heat the caramel sauce with 2 teaspoons of rum in a small bowl in the microwave or a small saucepan set over low heat, just until warm. Spoon a thin layer of warm caramel on each cold panna cotta, sprinkle with fleur de sel, and serve.

Winter Squash Soup

When I made the caramelized butternut squash a few days ago, I halved the recipe and decided I wanted to make a squash soup later in the week. I made Ina Garten's Winter Squash Soup with the unused butternut squash and it was absolutely delightful! The soup hit the spot and was a wonderful dinner for us on a cool evening. 

Winter Squash Soup

(Source: Ina Garten)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon good olive oil

2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)

1 (15 - ounce) can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)

1 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled and cut in chunks

3 cups homemade chicken stock or canned broth

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cup half - and - half

Creme fraiche, grated Gruyere, or croutons

Heat the butter and oil in a heavy - bottomed stockpot, add the onions, and cook over medium - low heat for 10 minutes, or until translucent. Add the pumpkin puree, butternut squash, chicken stock, salt, and pepper. Cover and simmer over medium - low heat for about 20 minutes, until the butternut squash is very tender. Process the mixture through the medium blade of a food mill. Return to the pot, add the half - and - half, and heat slowly. If the soup needs more flavor, add another teaspoon of salt. Serve hot with garnishes, if desired.

Cook's Note: To serve with croutons, remove the crusts from 2 slices of white bread, cut them in 1/2-inch cubes, and saute them in 1 tablespoon of butter until browned. Season with salt and pepper.

Caramelized Butternut Squash

Whenever autumn rolls around, I'm constantly buying squash of every kind. They were super nutritious and delicious! Since I had butternut squash around, I decided to make Ina's roasted squash recipe as a side dish and it was amazing. Dr. Sweetpea usually doesn't like roasted squash, but he ate this up and asked for seconds. It's that good! It'll be a keeper in our household. 

Caramelized Butternut Squash

(Source: Ina Garten)

2 medium butternut squash (4 to 5 pounds total)

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Cut off and discard the ends of each butternut squash. Peel the squash, cut them in half lengthwise, and remove the seeds. Cut the squash into 1 1/4 to 1 1/2-inch cubes and place them on a baking sheet. Add the melted butter, brown sugar, salt, and pepper. With clean hands, toss all the ingredients together and spread in a single layer on the baking sheet. Roast for 45 to 55 minutes, until the squash is tender and the glaze begins to caramelize. While roasting, turn the squash a few times with a spatula, to be sure it browns evenly. Taste for seasonings and serve hot.

Fresh Fig and Ricotta Cake

As you're all aware, I'm a HUGE fan of Ina Garten. She's incredibly classy and all her recipes have always turned out amazing. I recently purchased her new cookbook, Cook like a Pro, and decided that the first recipe that I'd make out of it would be the Fresh Fig and Ricotta Cake. Y'all, this recipe did not disappoint, and Dr. Sweetpea and I devoured the cake in three days. This was my first time working with fresh figs and they were so tasty! 

Fresh Fig and Ricotta Cake

(Source: Ina Garten)

10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup fresh whole milk ricotta, at room temperature

2 tablespoons sour cream

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

8 large (or 12 medium) fresh figs, stems removed, quartered through the stem

1 tablespoon turbinado sugar, such as Sugar in the Raw

Crème fraîche, for serving

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter and flour a 9-inch round springform pan, tapping out the excess flour.

Place the butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula. With the mixer on medium low, add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl and mixing until smooth. Add the ricotta, sour cream, vanilla, and lemon zest and mix until combined. Don’t worry; the ricotta will make it look lumpy.

In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the batter, mixing just until combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Arrange the figs on the cake, cut sides up, in snug but not -overlapping concentric circles. Sprinkle with the turbindo sugar and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the top is lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Allow the cake to cool in the pan on a baking rack for 15 to 20 minutes, transfer to a cake plate, and serve warm with crème fraîche on the side.