Holiday Dinner

We may have not been raised to attend religious services often or at all in my youth, but this never stopped my Mother from making a terrific holiday dinner. Dad brought home ta Ham or Turkey for the day’s celebration from the market in which he worked. Luckily he got the day off to celebrate.

Time off of work was hard to come by in his profession, the last thing he wanted to do was to spend the morning on a church pew. He would much rather be catching up on chores around the house and getting his collection of fishing gear ready for the upcoming season.

Meanwhile my Mother was busy preparing the families favorites. She usually began a few days ahead. What I remember most wasn’t the baked ham along with all of the fixings but what she called “Bunny Bread”. Rarely have I seen her open her copy of Fanny Farmers’ cookbook to double check measurements and directions, somehow she just knew.

Today I find myself recalling these orange scented yeast breads, and have tried a few times to make them for my crew. Never with quite the same results. Perhaps I’m just a bit too nostalgic for high altitude baking. In any case, I have found a recipe that’s pretty close I thought I would share below.

Time to get myself to the market, cut the flowers, set the table and get in the kitchen. Funny, how our fondest memories are focused around sharing time with family, friends and the smells from the kitchen.

Happy Easter.

DOUGH

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 3/4 cup milk
• 4-3/4 to 5-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 envelope Fleischmann's® RapidRise Yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon peel
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated orange peel
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon Spice Islands® Pure Vanilla Extract

GLAZE

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 3 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons orange juice

Combine 3 cups flour, sugar, undissolved yeast, salt, lemon peel and orange peel in large mixer bowl.  Heat butter and milk until very warm (120° to 130°F). Gradually stir into flour mixture. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed of electric mixer, scraping bowl occasionally. Add eggs, vanilla and enough remaining flour to make soft dough. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough until smooth and elastic, about 6 to 8 minutes. Cover; let rise on floured surface for 10 minutes.

 Then form rolls in a simple twist. Cover; let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

 Bake bread in a 350° F oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until surface of the bread is golden brown.

To make Glaze, combine all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Bring mixture to a boil, maintaining a full boil for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Let cool until thickened. Spoon glaze generously over bread.

Heart of the Home

It could have been my favorite meal. Breakfast cooked over a campfire on a chilly morning along the Platte River in Colorado by my father. A simple breakfast. Bacon, eggs, biscuits with sausage gravy and a fresh pot of percolating coffee. To this day, I remember the smells wafting into our tent at 5 in the morning. He was an early riser and the catch of the day wasn’t going to wait.

MY dream Kitchen with a multitude of preparation options

Around the same time, my mother introduced me to Chef James Beards’ writings of roasted beef and his description of tasting perfectly browned peppered layer of fat atop. All the while watching Julia Child and Jacques Pepin splash a bit of wine or another dollop of butter in recipes found on our local PBS station.

The lesson still relevant: use of the freshest ingredients possible, as well as having the right tools in the kitchen for the task at hand. Chef Thomas Keller and host/author Ina Garten also practice this ideal in every aspect in their culinary endeavors.  While hungrily awaiting for the next episode, my eyes often tend to wander towards the details—a baking sheet here, a stovetop there, which I’m sure would make any meal just that much better.

This brings me to my dream kitchen and perhaps yours. Recently, I was fortunate enough to visit with the folks at Thermador. They have been around improving kitchens for quite awhile and I must admit, off my radar. After spending the day at the KBIS2017 presentations in Orlando and during a wonderful lunch, I learned of all the advances in “Culinary Preservation and Preparation” (the wording got me to at first…it was lunch after all). But what I learned was invaluable as a designer and as a Weekend Culinary Entertainer* Coining that phrase for personal future use, watch out Food Network!

Refrigeration in a variety of styles and a sense of purpose: Three zone wine coolers, cooling doors, easy clean and removable storage. Making life easier. 

Here I was reminded of the lesson that my parents taught me years prior, that the true test of an oven and a stovetop was even distribution of heat. In refrigeration, keeping things fresh for as long as possible. Most of us have made a batch of sugar cookies when one section of the oven cooks faster than the other, or retrieving ingredients from the fridge only to find then half frozen or not chilled at all. Frustrating indeed.

Thermador has designed a group of products that addresses all of these problems in a stylish and innovative way.  I encourage you to take advantage and learn more about this company, and perhaps enjoy more of your time in the kitchen. Links and more information are available by clicking the highlighted text or a few of the pictures throughout this post.

Patented Star® Burners offer 56% more coverage with superior flame spread and a reduced cold spot for faster and more even heating across any size pan.

In the meantime, let’s make a few sugar cookies, have a glass of perfectly chilled wine, and think how we can improve, enjoy and simplify our lives starting in the most important room of the home, the kitchen.

Click through for an easy cookie recipe from Martha Stewart