A Massive Number of Gooey Cinnamon Rolls

This was one of those projects that started out as a great idea and turned into chaos...but it did turn out!

As a community service activity for work, he had to bring breakfast for over 50 school children one Friday back in November. (Yes, it has taken this long to get over the drama of the butter and dough being everywhere to be able to write about it :) )

She thought it would be brilliant to make cinnamon rolls. What child does not love gooey fresh cinnamon rolls? He was not arriving home from his business trip until late Thursday night, meaning she was on her own to make dozens of rolls.

Because this was for a work event, she thought she would test out the recipe. She divided the recipe (normally makes 50 rolls) in half and got going.

First problem - she killed the yeast (or now she is thinking perhaps her yeast was not "active" dry yeast...)

She kept the dough but also started again...now she had made an entire batch for just testing!

This test batch ended up making over 75 cinnamon rolls - small rolls - but still many many more than she could eat.

The second batch of rolls were better than the first but she was not fully satisfied.She started again, hoping to make ones good enough to serve.

In the end she ended up with over 75 decent, but not great cinnamon rolls. Some did not rise, some did, but all tasted amazing (and the kids ate them up in a heartbeat!) The kitchen was a total disaster area, melted butter, flour, and cinnamon were all over her and the floor.

We are posting this recipe because we believe if you are careful and do not kill the yeast (note to self: Get a thermometer!) these can turn into amazing cinnamon rolls (just read the reviews!) and even if they don't look beautiful (like hers) they still taste great:

40-50 rolls (more if small):

Dough:

1 quart milk
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
2 packages dry yeast (4 1/2 tsp)
9 cups flour
1 heaping tsp baking powder
1 scant tsp baking soda
1 Tbs salt
 
Filling:

2 cups butter, melted
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup ground cinnamon

Icing: 

8 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups powdered sugar
1 Tbs milk

Dough:

Heat the milk, oil and sugar over medium. Remove from the heat once it is about to boil and let it cool to warm (really wait!). Add the yeast and let sit or at least one minute to make sure the yeast is alive.

Add 8 cups of flour, stir until just combined and then set aside in a warm place (cover with a clean towel) for one hour.

After the hour is up, add the baking powder, soda, salt, and remaining 1 cup of flour. Mix.

~You can now use the dough right away or keep it in the fridge for up to three days. You may want to chill the dough for about an hour to make it easier to roll out.~

To assemble the rolls:



Split the dough in two. Keep the half you are not using in the fridge while working with the other half.

Roll the dough out on a floured surface into a large rectangle (about 30 by 10 inches). The dough should be very thin.


 

Pour one cup of melted butter onto the dough and spread evenly. Mix the cinnamon and sugar and use one half of the mixture on the dough. Again spread evenly (this makes a mess, beware!). You want it to be gooey!

Roll the dough (longways) and pinch the seam together. Cut the roll into 1/2 inch slices. Place a small amount of melted butter on a foil-lined baking sheet. Lay the rolls on the sheet.

Let sit (covered) on the counter for at least 20 minutes before baking. During this time you can roll the second half of the dough and preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C).

Bake 15 to 18 minutes or until lightly browned. Do not let them get overly brown.

While the rolls are cooking you can prepare the icing. 


Icing: (this was not from the recipe listed below, instead she used a different/easier icing)

Just mix everything listed under icing (cream cheese, butter, vanilla, powdered sugar, and milk) until smooth.

Spread over the rolls while they are still warm (makes it easier!)

The cinnamon roll recipe is from Ree Drummond (The Pioneer Woman on Food Network), the icing is from MomsWhoThink.com.

Tuesday Tales: Daily Food of a Consultant

A new year started and he got a new job with a consulting company traveling around in Germany and Europe.

Consulting? What does this mean for a food blog? Well, he has to travel a lot, sleep in "fancy" hotels and eat tasty, weird or sometimes horrible food from lots of different places. Further, adventures connected to the food acquisition every day might be worth some comments and will hopefully entertain you in the future.
Look forward to stories about eating the best "Woscht" in town in Berlin (slang for sausage) , drinking a "Kölsch" (beer) in Cologne or just have some "Käsespätzle" in Stuttgart (see our blog).
Everyday will bring new food sights and interesting thoughts (if good or bad will be the surprise). Be entertained, interested and follow us. He will upload his daily food weekly and let you know how it was.

On Tuesday our friends were over to celebrate the new year and we had some very tasty Single Malt Scotch Whisky from 1972. Well, I did not pay the bottle (thankfully) and so it was a very good replacement for a meal on New Year's (very early) night/morning. We also had lots of Raclette (traditional German New Year's Eve meal) but due to the reason that it was not 2013 yet, I am not allowed to use it :P
On the next picture below you can see a good old German "Eintopf". Basically everything you find in a kitchen (potato, carrots, onions and herbs) mixed together and cooked. Together with a Bockwurst a pretty decent meal at the customer's canteen I work for right now (for about 3 € really mjummy).
Next is a so-called potato pizza. At first I did not expect this but it tasted really great. We went to a Best Western hotel and enclosed was a potato restaurant only serving food with potato ingredients. So tada: potato with vegetables, crusty cheese and mushrooms a delicious but also pretty pricy dinner for a fancy made potatoe.
The following day was a long work day. I wanted some chinese food but, because I am in a hotel outside of Cologne right now, the Chinese food took about an hour to get to me. Well the salad was disappointing (iceberg lettuce - there is a reason why Jamie Oliver shoots iceberg lettuce! - its just water in a harder form...)  but the stir fry was really good. I ordered the Wan Tans only to get over the magical border of 15 Euros (you had to order that much, otherwise they would not deliver so far out of Cologne).
The next two meals were selfmade. We made some typical American breakfast for dinner (11 o'clock on a Sunday night ;) and the noodles will be in the blog soon as a recipe. :). Lets see what the coming week brings. More food from weird places with even more entertaining background stories, I hope :).

Mix-Up Monday: Define Your "Bubble"

Personal Space - USA (lonerwolf.com)

Personal space is the natural amount of space between people when talking or standing in a group. Often times people will talk about their "bubble" or the space around them they need to feel comfortable. Each person is unique in how much space they need. Distance also depends on who the person is being spoken to/standing with (stranger, friend, lover) and what culture the person is from. On average, researchers say that people from crowded Eastern countries (e.g., Japan, China) feel more comfortable standing close to each other than people from more open-spaced Western cultures (e.g., USA, Australia).

Although Germany and the USA are both similar culturally Western countries, there is sometimes a noticeable difference between people's acceptable amount of personal space (or bubble size).

In everyday life, Germans and Americans seem to like the same amount of personal space. Some researchers say that Germans in business relations actually like about six inches more between them than Americans. She would argue that she has experienced the opposite, especially if in an educational setting with teachers or professors. She used to be bothered by how close people stood while talking to her when she first came to Germany, but now she does not really notice it. Perhaps that is because of where she is living now, she has gotten used to it, or really there is no big difference in spacing preferences.

We think everyone has had that awkward conversation with someone who stands too close. It typically goes something like this:

Person 1: Takes one step back
Person 2: Takes one step forward
Person 1 Takes two steps back
Person 2: Takes two steps forward
Person 1: Takes one step back and hits the wall - oh crap.
Person 2: Takes one step forward

omassoud.free.fr

Of course there is nothing wrong with being either person in this conversation (although if someone is trying to run away from you try to keep yourself from stepping closer!). The thing is people do not even realize what they are doing. They have been culturally trained that conversations should be done from a certain distance, a distance that might feel too close to the other person.

There is, however, one giant expectation to the similarities between Germans and Americans when it comes to person space. LINES!

Anyone who enjoys their personal space will notice the lack of if when standing in line in Germany. People stand extremely close to each other and often times their arms will be right up against your back. To her it feels like they are trying to push her to go faster, even though she is standing in line and has nowhere to go. She has never done it (although she has been very tempted to!) but she has heard of other Americans who tell the person behind them to go ahead because they cannot take someone right on their back. It really can drive you crazy!

She doesn't know if she will ever get used to it. One thing is for sure. She will make sure he is not a close line stander next time we are in the USA :). 

~He just wants to point out that he is not a crazy German who stands on top of others in line and that it drives him crazy too!~

Creamy Avacado Pasta Sauce

She is a true California girl when it comes to avocados. She is a firm believer that they can be eaten for any meal and in any form. He does not share this love for avocados, so when she found this recipe she thought it was best to try it when he was away. She only made a single serving, but listed below is the full original recipe.

Used dried parsley and still came out tasty

Serves 2-3:

Spaghetti or pasta of choice
1 avocado
1/2 lemon
2 Tbs olive oil
2 garlic cloves
1 bunch parsley (or other herb of choice)
Salt and pepper

Cook the pasta according to directions. It is really up to you how much each person can eat.

While the pasta cooks, place the garlic, olive oil, and lemon juice into a food processor (or use a hand mixer). Blend until smooth. Add the pitted (and peeled) avocado, herbs, and salt. Blend again until smooth.

 
When the pasta is finished, drain and place in a bowl. Add the sauce and mix so pasta is completely covered. Garnish with salt, pepper, and lemon zest.

Serve immediately - because of the avocado, this recipe is not good for reheating.

This recipe was taken from That's So Michelle

Puffed Apple Pancake

First the name of this recipe caught our attention, then the fact that it was submitted by someone from her home town. We didn't like the ratio of batter to apples so listed below is our version of the recipe listed on epicurious.





1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1 1/2 Tbs sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/3 cup flour
2 Tbs butter
2 apples (peeled, cored, and thinly sliced)
1 1/2 Tbs brown sugar
Powdered sugar (optional)

Preheat the oven to 425 F (220 C).

Whisk the milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Add the flour and continue to whisk until smooth.

Place the butter in a baking dish (we used a 13 x 9 inch one) and place it in the oven. Let bake until the butter melts. Remove from the oven, lay the apples out in the dish and return to the oven. Cook for about 10 minutes or until the apples begin to soften and the butter begins to brown along the edges.


Once again remove the dish from the oven. Pour the batter over the apples and sprinkle the brown sugar on top. Place back in the oven for about 20 minutes.

Serve warm with powdered sugar over the top. We ate this for a breakfast/brunch but it would also work as a snack or dessert.

Chicken Bites: Chick-Fil-A Style

Chick-Fil-A is a fast food restaurant found throughout the USA. Neither of us have ever had their chicken bites, but we have had a chicken sandwich from there and can say that this recipe perfects the taste that is so unique to Chick-Fil-A. Don't let the ingredients scare you off. These chicken bites are juicy, flavorful, and addictive!

Two servings:

2 large chicken breasts
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup pickle juice (Better believe it!!!)
1 egg
1 1/4 cup flour
2 Tbs powdered sugar (!!!yes, we know. Whaaat?!?!)
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 cup oil for frying

Whisk the egg, milk, and pickle juice together. Pour into a bowl or bag.

Cut the chicken breasts into small bite size pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the egg mixture. Refrigerate for 2-4 hours.
~We refrigerated ours for 1 1/2 hours and it was great. We are not big believers that longer is always better...it seems to us that after 30-45 minutes nothing comes from longer marinating times, but maybe we are just impatient...~

Once you're ready to continue, combine the flour, powdered sugar, salt, and pepper in a large ziplock bag. Remove the chicken from the marinade and add to the bag. Shake so that the chicken is coated completely.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high. If you want, you can make this chicken in two batches. If you choose to do this, heat up only half of the oil the first time.


Once the oil is hot, cook the chicken for about 3-4 minutes on each side. The chicken should be a nice golden brown and cooked through before it is removed and placed on a paper towel-lined plate.

Serve with your choice of sides. We went for mashed potatoes and green beans. We bet french fries would also be tasty.

 

We got this recipe from Iowa Girl Eats who suggests making a honey mustard dipping sauce to serve as a side. We made our own type of honey mustard by mixing mayonnaise, mustard, garlic salt, and pepper.

Mix-Up Monday: New Years

Sorry! We got so wrapped up with New Year's celebrations yesterday we forgot to post.

We welcomed the new year in on the bank of the Main river, right in the heart of Frankfurt. Germany takes New Year's Eve seriously, and although the excitement for the new year is the same in the USA and Germany, how people celebrate is very different from anything she experienced growing up.

Germany loves fireworks. For the three days before New Year's Eve, fireworks are sold in supermarkets and other stores. People buy, buy, buy. Fireworks, in this sense, include everything from small poppers and sparklers to larger rockets that fly into the night and burst, just like in a professional firework show.

Where she grew up in California, fireworks were banned. This is certainly not true for the entire USA, but for everywhere she has lived. Cities often put on their own professional shows (or people head to larger cities like SF to watch the fireworks there), but individuals cannot purchase or use fireworks. The town directly next to her town did allow the selling/use of fireworks, but compared to the fireworks sold in the Germany, these were quite small.

This year the sky above the river Main was lit up, just like the sky over all German towns on New Year's Eve. The first fireworks were set off more than an hour before midnight and the rockets continued, numbering hundreds at once at midnight, until almost one in the morning. We joined the fun with our own celebrations (meter-long sparklers for the girls and rockets for the guys).

Unfortunately, we were too busy celebrating to get any good pictures. Here is a picture right from where we were last night taken by Andreas Arnold for the Frankfurter Rundschau.  

Andreas Arnold - Frankfurter Rundschau

We hope you enjoyed welcoming the new year in from wherever in the world you were and we wish you a very happy and prosperous 2013!