Well, we flipped another page this week and if you weren’t in the scurry mode before, it might be time to get there! Seriously friends, in the next 2-3 weeks we have a great deal of planning to organize. The menu for Thanksgiving. The décor for the holidays, updates and changes. Gifts and wrapping, in no time we will feel the push if we don’t get started in early November. Cookie doughs can be made now and frozen for later baking. That’s one of my favorite things to do for the holidays. It’s wonderful to have friends over and pull a gallon Ziploc bag out of the freezer and bake a couple dozen cookies.
Another nice make ahead for the next two months will be your dinner rolls. Old-fashioned potato rolls have a very moist flavor and you just can’t beat them for any dinner presentation. They can be made in advance, punched down, made into balls and quickly frozen for later. Same thing with your cinnamon rolls. If you set them out at bedtime they will be ready to bake first thing in the morning.
Don’t forget to grab some honey for these rolls. I just purchased a fresh pint of local honey, and I can’t believe how fast it is being devoured here on the home front. Everyone is asking for hot tea and honey. Speaking of hot tea, I was digging in the tea cabinet tonight and found a box of ‘fall’ tea from Trader Joe’s.
It was even decaffeinated. If you drop in a Trader Joe’s I highly recommend a box of this gem, absolutely delicious.
Homemade noodles are another holiday dish that can be made ahead of time and frozen. I’ve got a friend in Kansas that I’m thinking of mailing a batch to this year. You just can’t beat homemade noodles poured over mashed potatoes. (OK, it’s sort of a Kansas thing!)
There were turkeys tonight at my local Walmart store. I’m saying this because of all the ‘chatter’ about there being a turkey shortage this year. I was tempted, but passed. I’ve got a smoked turkey in our ‘big’ meat freezer that needs to be enjoyed very soon too.
Part of enjoying the big Thanksgiving dinner is the planning that goes into the meal ahead of time. This way the host can sit back and enjoy visiting and relaxing too. Well, I hope I haven’t scared too many of you with how far behind you/we are as we look at the old calendar. It will keep us on our toes, that’s for sure.
These next two weeks in November are two of my favorite autumn weeks. I was reading last week, in the Missouri kids ‘Explorer’ magazine, how they call this time of autumn the ‘grey’ fall. Go forth and do great things. Simply yours, The Covered Dish. www.thecovereddish.com
Potato Refrigerator Rolls
Yields 3-4 dozen dinner rolls
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water, (105 – 115 degrees)
1 cup milk, warm if using dough immediately
1 cup unseasoned mashed potatoes, no skins
1 large egg
2 egg yolks
1/3 cup honey
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
6 tablespoons cold chopped butter
6-6 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Mix yeast into warm water, stirring to dissolve totally. Allow to set while combining milk, potatoes, eggs and honey. Use a whisk to blend smoothly. Add yeast mixture. In a mixer bowl combine the salt and 3 cups of the flour, blend. Add ice cold butter and cut into the flour. Add the liquid ingredients and mix well. Gradually add the remaining 3 cups of flour. Remember to hold back a bit of flour until you monitor the dough, then add any remaining. The dough should work up the dough hook showing you that it is kneaded and ready to refrigerate.
Allow dough to set at least overnight, which will enhance the flavor outcome.
Pinch dough off as needed to make rolls. Be sure to punch the dough down and work the dough in your hands, redistributing the gluten. This will assist in a nice lift in the rolls. Bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes depending upon the number of rolls you are baking. The tops should develop a nice brown color tone. Spray with butter flavored vegetable spray after they’ve been removed from the oven. Of course, you can also brush with butter. The dough holds in the refrigerator 5-6 days. Yields 3-4 dozen hot rolls.
