Thanksgiving & p.s. the recipe for mashed potato dinner rolls

The turkey is thawing,

Mashed potato dinner rolls are rising,

the house is mostly cleaned...

(well, there's still some flour

floating around in the air from all the roll making,

so I may have to dust after all)

Family is heading this direction!

I can hardly wait!!!

Hope your holiday is WONDERFUL!!!

Safe and happy wishes

from me to you.

P.S. here's the requested recipe

for the

old-fashioned

Mashed Potato Dinner Rolls
(makes about 30-36)
1 cup mashed potatoes (cooled)
1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
Mix the above ingredients together in large mixing bowl
(I use my stand mixer for this).
Gradually stir in:
1 cup hot water (this should make the mixture moderately warm to the touch)

In liquid measuring cup:
1/2 cup warm water
2 tsp. *yeast
Stir to dissolve.
(*I purchase bulk yeast, but I think this is one little package)
Add the dissolved yeast to the warm mixture in first bowl.
Mix in 7 to 8 cups of all purpose flour.

Mix well, then knead for 5 minutes.
Place this kneaded bread mass into a large, clean bowl,
cover with a clean tea towel &
move to a warm place to rise for 1 to  1 1/2 hours.

Turn dough onto a floured surface, sprinkle top with flour and roll out to about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick.  Cut into rounds, using an upside-down large plastic cup or a doughnut cutter:

Score** and butter the center of each round. 
Fold each in half at scored mark and place on a baking sheet.

Cover again and place in a warm area,

(mine go sit by the fire)

letting the dough rise the second time - approximately 45 minutes.

Bake at 400 degrees for 9 to 12 minutes. 
They will be golden brown and are very soft and moist.
When cooled, you can brush with melted butter.
You can make these ahead of time, as they freeze well and can be thawed and popped back into a warm oven right before serving time.

**to score:  take a butter knife and push an indentation across the center of each round...not quite cutting through the center of each circle...
the scoring/buttering process is a family thing, as this allows them to have an "opening area" when it's time to make sandwiches, as they don't have to be sliced.

P.P.S.  My sister says: if, when you make these the first time, and they are like hockey pucks clay pigeons, don't give up - try again and they will be great!

mashed potato memories

A Great-Grandma B thought for this time of year....

Mashed Potato Dinner Rolls...

 

Especially

since I've just checked the calendar

where I have written

my orders

for dinner rolls for Thanksgiving...

THE 

Mashed Potato Dinner Rolls...

the recipe from Great Grandma B.

(I know that other families have this same recipe,

and I'd like to hear from you about your mashed potato memories!)

Yes, they really have mashed potatoes in them...

Yes, the are really scrumptious...

I still make them just like Great Grandma B did.

Some flour and butter.  A little sugar, salt and yeast.  A few eggs.

And the mashed potatoes.

Mix, knead, let them rise.

(a single batch of seven grain on the left & a double batch of regular on the right)

About an hour and a half later, roll out and cut into circles. 

Brush on some melted butter, fold in half, and let them rise again, then bake.

It's always amazing to see

family, friends, and neighbors

stop by

just as I am pulling rolls from the oven. 

I have accused Sweetie

of calling around and telling folks

that the rolls are coming out of the oven at a certain time. 

He promises he doesn't. 

(I make him promise on a fresh, hot, out-of-the-oven roll.)

But the peeps still come just at the right time to have a fresh roll!

(these folks might just know my habits

and come the same time every year,

I will have to pay attention to this!

I may just have to make rolls on two days this year

and see if they come both times!!!)

Yep, it's about that time of year - Thanksgiving time!

Another family gathering and all the food that that entails.

A very thankful time of year.

A time to reminisce about family.

Blessings to you and your families...

I'm COOKIN': more meanderings in thread and food

Apron OFF:

Still working towards finishing up all of the quilty commissions here at home and then working at the LQS on black Friday.  (She, Mary, offers 40% off from 8-10, 30% off from 10-11, and 20% off from 11-12, so, basically, it's a "feeding" frenzy---"feeding" in a quilty way, but in the spirit of the season - turkey, etc.!).  And since I am not a black Friday shopper, it's fun to work the other end of the craziness!  Last year, at the end of my shift,  I had rotary-cutting elbow, I'm sure!!!

Anyway, I have a goal of finishing up all the waiting-list quilts to be quilted and have them at the shop for customer pickup at the latest by next Thursday the 3rd of December.  Then I take a week off from commission quilting to get my own seasonal stuff done and no promises are given for anything dropped off after the the first weekend of December!  After that weekend, my answer to new commission quilting requests is: "possible, no promises to be finished before Christmas".  Unless you are a really, really good friend or family member, AND there are dark chocolate bribes!!! 

So, busy around here I think... anyway, it seems to me that I have been productive.  I have meandered with loops, loops and stars, windy circles, puzzle pieces, in and out floral, feathers, OSU sayings and logos, and more that I can't remember.  They are all starting to "meander" together in my mind!!!!  Here are a few quilty pics:

Pink/green/purple:  Penny's first ever quilt! And it's a king!

This lovely purple is again by Billie.

I told you she is prolific!

Imagine this in blues also.  I accidently deleated the blue pic, sorry, Billie!

This brown/blue/cream is by Susan.  I haven't met her, only spoken on the phone, but I think I really like her.  And I know I really love her quilt and color choices.  Now THAT is a whole lotta' half-square triangles!!!

This lovely red/cream/blue is by Joell.  Another fav.  Don't you love the piano key border?

Apron ON:

Today, the day before Thanksgiving, I started early and made mashed potatoes to make my "mashed-potato dinner rolls" which are now mixed,  kneaded and rising in front of the wood stove.  I have pre-cleaned veggies, brined poultry, cut up and seasoned bread for making dressing, and baked a pumpkin pie cake.   I have to wait until the last few possible hours to bake this scrumptious pie/cake so I don't try to sneak a piece.  Like you can sneak a piece from a 9x13 pan...you can tell right away that I have had a piece, or three!  I even have it covered and hidden in my fridge! (It is my new weakness.) (oh, and I may have to re-copy my recipe card - this looks really bad - sorry!)

Apron OFF:

While the rolls are rising, I can quilt another top that I loaded last night!

Apron ON:
For the curious:  mashed-potato dinner rolls is an old, old family recipe that uses actual mashed potatoes in the dough mixture.  So, in our families, no one will take the last couple of servings of mashed potatoes whenever they are served.  This to insure the making of potato rolls!  More often than not, it works!  I am not particularly a bread fan, but these are really good! 
I roll out the dough and cut them into round circles, then slather them with melted butter and fold over so they come out kind of half moon shaped.  They rise for the second time, then bake.  That way, the buttery, pre-folding/baking step allows them to open perfectly for making turkey sandwiches!   I mixed up a triple batch - that makes about 100 dinner rolls. 

In the last third, I added a great organic whole grain cereal mix:  cracked wheat, steel cut oats, barley grits, buckwheat grits, wheat bran, corn grits and millet.  It is good cooked up as a hot cereal, it's great in mashed-potato rolls!
 That triple batch should be enough for my family dinner and a couple of orders, but not many left-overs though.  I may mix up some more on Saturday for Sunday's dinner.  We'll see.

And, as you can see from this picture:
The dough has risen, so time to get back to work and make up some rolls!  (7-grain on left, regular on right)

Back to work!  Did you just hear that whip crack?  I am such a slave driver!!! 
Apron ON:

You can tell from this pic that it might be time to wash the apron!!!  

Happy Wednesday!!!