Pepperoni Rolls - a West Virginia treasure

If you have never lived in West Virginia, you might be confused as to what the heck this recipe is for. It's for the yummiest snack ever and the West Virginia state food. They were invented in Fairmont, WV by an Italian immigrant as lunch for coal miners. You are seriously missing out if you've never had one.

I'm not a native West Virginian, but I love to bake and we love to eat these, so after moving to Virginia, I didn't have a lot of choice but to figure out how to make them. They're not only delicious, they don't need refrigeration and so are terrific to take on car trips. I send them with my kids when they have away games. I used to be able to send just a few, but they started sharing and now...well, now, I have to make several dozen for them to share!

There's not REALLY a recipe. It's bread dough wrapped around pepperoni. NOT slices. No. Just no. Pepperoni sticks. It's just not right if you use slices. 

Just try the recipe. If you don't like them, I'm not really sure we can even be friends. Haha!

Pepperoni Rolls (I usually make two batches)
Tweaked from King Arthur Flour and Cooks Illustrated

1/2 large stick (20 oz) pepperoni (see picture on the right)
1 cup water
2 Tbsp pepperoni fat
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
3 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp yeast

First, cut the pepperoni. Cut off the ends, cut off the wrapper, then cut the pepperoni into quarters. You'll have four pieces about 5" long. Cut those in half lengthwise, then in half again. You'll use just two of them for this batch. Then each of those gets cut into quarters, then cut each of those pieces in half. You'll end up with 64 little sticks of pepperoni. Put those pieces into a microwave-safe bowl and cook for about 3 minutes, to render out some fat. Remove, put the pepperoni on a couple layers of paper towels, and use the rendered fat in the dough. You COULD use butter, but I think this tastes better.

I use a bread machine and put all the ingredients (except the pepperoni, of course) into my machine and run the dough cycle. If you'd prefer to do it by hand, mix everything (except the pepperoni) together to make a soft, smooth dough. Let it rise until doubled. 

When it's finished rising (bread machine or not), divide into 16 pieces and flatten into little rectangles about 3"x 4". With the short side facing you, place one piece of pepperoni on the end, roll just enough to cover, add another piece, roll to cover, add another, roll to cover, and add a fourth piece. Roll up the rest of the way, pinch seam shut, and place, seam side down, on a greased baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the dough.

Cover with a clean tea towel to rise at least 45 minutes, or until just about doubled. About 30 minutes into the rise, heat your oven to 375. When rolls look a little puffy and bounce back most of the way when touched gently with your finger, bake for about 18 minutes (rotating halfway through baking) until golden brown and delicious.

Let cool on wire rack and do try to not eat them all at once. 

Indian food - really?

Okay, okay, I know. There's no one out there less Indian than me. But I can read and I have found some really good recipes. This is butter chicken - from TwoSleevers, only tweaked the tiniest bit. Serve this over basmati rice. Yes, it makes a difference. Yes, I know it's more expensive. Go to the ethnic grocer and get a big bag. You'll be eating it SO often now that you know it's so easy. 

Read the whole recipe before you start cooking, as I have ingredients in two separate sections. 

Enjoy!

BUTTER CHICKEN

1 14-oz can tomato puree or crushed tomatoes
6 cloves garlic
grated ginger - the same amount as the garlic
1 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp garam masala (I make my own - see below*)
1 tsp ground cumin
2 lbs chicken thighs (if you use bone-in, remove skin before cooking)

Mix everything but the chicken together in the crockpot. Put the chicken thighs in. Cook for 4-6 hours on high or 8-10 hours on low. I usually (if I'm going to be home) start them on high just to get them going, then turn them down to low. They really do have a better texture if you cook them on low for longer. If you do cook them on high the whole time, you have to test them after 4 hours. They really do get dried out in the crockpot surrounded by all that sauce. I know, weird, but they do.

Remove the chicken from the pot, turn it off, and let it cool for about 30 minutes. Then add

4 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup cream
1 tsp garam masala
chicken (pulled apart or cut - NOT shredded...and don't forget to remove the bones!)

Mix together gently, add salt and pepper to taste, and serve over that basmati rice you cooked. You did cook it, right??

*I make my own garam masala. Pretty sure I got the recipe from Cook's Illustrated.

3 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp ground coriander
1 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp cinnamon

Mix and enjoy.

Corn Muffins, or, What to Serve with Jambalaya

When I was a kid, we ate Jiffy corn muffins. I loved them. Still do, actually. However, I now prefer to make stuff from scratch when possible. Whenever I make jambalaya, these muffins are ALWAYS requested. I'm pretty sure there would be a riot if I didn't have them. They're pretty simple. I've often thought of mixing up the dry ingredients as my own "mix" and just adding the liquid ingredients later, but I forget. Oh well!

Hope you enjoy these as much as my family does!

Corn Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (10 oz)

1 cup fine-ground, whole-grain yellow cornmeal (4½ oz)

1½ teaspoons baking powder 

1 teaspoon baking soda 

½ teaspoon table salt 

2 large eggs 

¾ cup granulated sugar (5 1/4 ounces)

8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), melted

¾ cup sour cream 

½ cup milk 

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray muffin tin with cooking spray.  Whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl to combine; set aside. Whisk eggs in a second bowl until well combined and light-colored, about 20 seconds. Whisk sugar into eggs until thick and homogenous, about 30 seconds; add melted butter in 3 additions, whisking after each addition. Add half the sour cream and half the milk and whisk to combine; whisk in remaining sour cream and milk until combined. Add wet ingredients to dry; mix gently with a rubber spatula until batter is just combined and evenly moistened. Do not over-mix. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Do not level or flatten the surface of mounds.  Bake until light golden brown and skewer inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean, about 18 minutes, rotating muffin tin from front to back halfway through baking time. Cool in tin 5 minutes; invert onto a wire rack, stand upright, cool 5 minutes, and serve warm.

Pocket breads

I discovered this recipe years ago (Cook's Illustrated - of course!) and my family LOVES it. We use it for tuna salad (two batches - one with mayo and one with Miracle Whip to keep everyone happy), egg salad (made the same way), Greek salad (oh my gosh, it's fabulous), and the best of all....GYROS!!!

I hope you try it. It's not too hard. Just make sure there's plenty of flour on each piece.

Baked Puffed Flatbread
Makes eight 6- to 7-inch breads
Make sure you let the pieces of dough rest after forming them into balls and again after rolling them into 4-inch circles; otherwise, they will shrink back and not hold their shape.

1 package dry active yeast (2¼ teaspoons)

1 cup water (warm -- 110 to 115 degrees)

1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra for brushing

2 teaspoons granulated sugar 

¼ cup plain yogurt 

1½ teaspoons table salt, plus extra for sprinkling

½ cup whole wheat flour

2 cups flour, plus additional as needed

In the workbowl of a food processor fitted with stainless steel blade, sprinkle yeast over warm water. Add oil, sugar, and yogurt and pulse to mix, about four 1-second bursts. Add salt, whole wheat flour, and 2 cups bread flour; process until smooth, about 15 seconds, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. Process dough (adding more flour as necessary until dough just pulls completely away from sides of bowl) until soft and satiny, about 30 seconds. Squeeze dough gently with full hand; if dough is sticky, sprinkle with flour and knead just to combine. Place dough in medium bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and place in warm, draft-free spot until dough doubles in size, 30 to 45 minutes. (At this point, dough can be punched down, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerated up to 2 days.)

 Turn dough onto lightly floured work surface and, if sticky, sprinkle very lightly with flour.  Cut into eight pieces.  Roll into balls, let rest 10 mins.  Roll into 4” rounds, let rest.  Roll into 6” rounds and stretch to 7” just before baking.  NOTE:  Be SURE that each bread has flour on it and doesn’t stick at ALL…if it does, it will NOT puff up. 

About 30 minutes prior to cooking, adjust oven rack to lowest position, line rack with pizza stones and heat oven to 500F. Bake dough rounds on preheated pizza stone until bread is puffed and golden brown on bottom, 5 to 6 minutes.  Transfer breads to wire rack to cool for 5 minutes; wrap in clean kitchen towels and serve warm or at room temperature.  If you want to use them for sandwiches, cut in half with a serrated knife.

Being prepared

My father-in-law lived through WWII Germany and the horrendous depression that followed.  He vowed neither he nor his family would EVER be hungry again. He expected everyone in his family to follow Jesus, be able to raise a garden, and keep a stockpile of food on hand at all times.  Every time he came to my house, he would inspect my garden and my food stores, sometimes commenting that one or the other needed to be improved, and always reminding me to seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added unto us.

When everyone started getting worried about food and supplies, I was able to go out and get "fun stuff" - buttermilk and currants for Irish soda bread. Stuff we didn't need, but wanted to have for our St. Patrick's Day celebration.

May I encourage you, after this craziness is over, to start a stockpile?  It doesn't have to be much - just buy an extra one or two things (preferably on sale or clearance) every time you go shopping. It's a wonderful buffer for the unexpectedness of life.

More importantly, I'd also like to encourage you to follow Jesus. When you know the end of the story (Jesus wins!), it is so much easier to relax when the rest of the world is going nuts.

Our world started as a perfect, beautiful place that we humans were to be in charge of (under the rule of God, of course). But, we, being as we are, decided that we could run things a whole lot better than God. We obviously can't - look around. God will only allow this to go on so long. After all, it's His world. So He sent His Son to live the life we could not live (a perfect one) and die the death we could not die (we do NOT want to go to hell). So we have a choice - follow Jesus and live forever with Him in heaven...or not. Make the wise choice. 💗

The Best Banana Bread

I buy bananas when they're REALLY brown. The local grocery store sells bags of them for about a dollar. If I can't get to them before they're rotten, I peel them and freeze them (individually is a bit easier to handle after they're frozen).

This recipe is to make loaves, but I never make it that way. Our family prefers them in muffin form - especially the mini muffins. You can just pop them right into your mouth and there's more of that yummy, crunchy edge!

Best Banana Bread Recipe

¾ cup butter, softened

1½ cups sugar

3 bananas, blackened

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups flour

¾ teaspoon salt

½ cup buttermilk

Cream together butter and sugar.  Add eggs and crushed bananas and combine well.  Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix buttermilk and vanilla. Add one-third of that dry mix to creamed mixture, then one-half of the buttermilk mix. Keep alternating addition, stirring gently to combine.  Pour into greased and floured loaf pan.  Bake at 350F for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  If you use muffin tins, start checking at 15 minutes.

Oatmeal Scones

These scones are delicious - I make them often. The most "famous" time I made them was in Maine, while visiting with family. This particular family does not eat a lot of carbs...except when I'm there...then they eat two, three, or even four of these!  Oops!! 

I'm posting this, even though I might be tempting said family members to make them and eat more!

Oatmeal Scones

Makes 8 Scones

1½ cups rolled oats (4½ oz) or quick oats

¼ cup whole milk 

¼ cup heavy cream 

1 large egg 

1½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour (7½ oz)

1/3 cup granulated sugar (2¼ oz)

2 teaspoons baking powder 

½ teaspoon table salt 

10 tablespoons unsalted butter (cold), cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 tablespoon granulated sugar for sprinkling

 

Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 375F. Spread oats evenly on a baking sheet and toast in oven until fragrant and lightly browned, 7 to 9 minutes; cool on wire rack. (I must be honest - I skip this step ALL the time!)

Increase oven temperature to 450F. Line second baking sheet with parchment paper. When oats are cooled, measure out 2 tablespoons and set aside.  Whisk milk, cream, and egg in a large measuring cup until incorporated; remove 1 tablespoon to small bowl and reserve for glazing.  Pulse flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt in a food processor until combined, about four 1-second pulses. Scatter cold butter evenly over dry ingredients and pulse until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal, twelve to fourteen 1-second pulses. (If you don't have a food processor, cut the butter in with two knives or grate cold butter into the dry ingredients.)

Transfer mixture to medium bowl; stir in cooled oats. Using a rubber spatula, fold in liquid ingredients until large clumps form. Mix dough by hand in bowl until dough forms a cohesive mass.  Dust work surface with half of the reserved oats, turn the dough out onto work surface, and dust top with remaining oats. Gently pat into a 7-inch circle about 1 inch thick. Using a bench scraper or chef’s knife, cut dough into 8 wedges and set on a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Brush surfaces with reserved egg mixture and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar. 

Bake until golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes; cool scones on baking sheet on wire rack 5 minutes, then remove scones to cooling rack and cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Serve.