Hot Rolls

These Hot Rolls are another delicious bread recipe from Mom. They are easy to make, but do require some planning because the dough needs to be refrigerated overnight and, once shaped, the rolls need four hours to rise. But do not let the required advanced planning stop you from giving these rolls a try. Like all homemade breads, the wonderful smell of rising and baking bread will fill you home, making it hard not to eat one of these rolls the moment they are done baking.

Mom's recipe calls for lard. I used butter instead. I have nothing against lard; I just don't keep lard around. I suppose crisco or margarine could also work. Mom's recipe also called for the rolls to be baked at 450 for 20 minutes. I nearly burned the rolls about 15 minutes into the baking time. So, I would recommend 15 to 20 minutes at 375.

Hot Rolls 

• 6 Tbsp. butter
• 3/8 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1 package yeast
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 1 egg, unbeaten
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 3 1/2 cup flour

Cream butter, sugar, and salt. Dissolve yeast in warm water (about 115 degrees). Add to the butter mixture the boiling water, egg, cold water and dissolved yeast. Add in flour and blend. Refrigerate dough overnight. 

Grease muffin tins. Make up shape of cloverleaf rolls by taking about a tablespoon of dough rolled into ball, then placing 3 balls in each muffin slot in the tin. Let stand covered for about four hours. Bake at 375 for 15 to 20 minutes. Allow to cool. Enjoy!

Spam Loaf

Yes, that title is correct. This recipe features spam, and, not the kind that clutters your inbox. I remember having spam as a kid, such as this spam loaf or spam sandwiches. Nowadays, I don't often eat spam, except for spam musubi, which is teriyaki grilled spam on rice and wrapped in seaweed. If you have never tried spam musubi, give it a try. I think it is delicious. Apparently, it is easy to find in Hawaii or from my favorite Hawaiian place, Aloha Eats, in Lincoln Park in Chicago. Or, you could give this spam loaf recipe a try.

This spam loaf is assembled from two ingredients: spam and mozzarella. And, just like Mom's meat loaf, this dish is covered in ketchup. Recently, Mom, Megan and I visited my Godparents, Jim and Eileen O'Brien. Eileen recalled how when we were kids, we would put ketchup on everything. I guess that is how Mom got us to eat things we might otherwise refuse. The ketchup does give this dish a nice flavor.

Spam Loaf 

• One can spam
• Block of Mozzarella cheese
• Ketchup

Slice the spam. Slice the mozzarella cheese in a size similar to the spam slices. Alternate placing the spam slices and the cheese slices into a mini-loaf pan, until pan is filled. Top the loaf with ketchup to cover the entire loaf. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Allow to cool before removing from the pan. Enjoy!

Frosted Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamon rolls, fresh out of the oven, are hard to beat. When I was a kid, I did not like cinnamon all that much, so I am not sure that I appreciated these rolls when Mom made them. Now that I have matured, I love cinnamon. These cinnamon rolls are so delicious; it was hard to only eat one when they were fresh out of the oven.

Don't avoid this recipe because it requires the use of yeast. With a little practice, yeast is easy to work with and worth the results. One key is to use the right temperature of liquid. Mom's recipe simply states to use lukewarm water to proof the yeast. Mom never used a thermometer and it always worked for her. I prefer to use a thermometer to make sure the water is about 100 degrees. Proofing yeast means to make sure the yeast is active before adding it to the dough by placing the yeast in warm liquid with a touch of sugar should "wake up" the yeast and it will start to foam, which is the proof that the yeast is active.

Frosted Cinnamon Rolls 

• 1 package yeast
• 1/4 cup lukewarm water
• 1 cup milk, scalded
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 4-5 cups flour

Topping

• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup sugar 
• 1 tbsp. cinnamon
• 1-2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2-4 tbsp. water

Dissolve yeast in water with a bit of sugar until foam appears. In a bowl, combine milk, butter, sugar and salt; cool to lukewarm. Add yeast, vanilla and eggs. Beat in 2 cups flour. Work in 2 more cups flour until soft dough forms. Knead on floured surface, adding in additional flour, until smooth and elastic. Place in a greased bowl; cover and let rise until double in size. 

Turn out onto a well-floured surface. Divide in half. Form each half into a long roll. Cut into 12 pieces. Stretch each piece and twist into a rope about 1/2 inch in diameter. Coil dough starting at the center and working out. Dip the top of each roll into melted butter, then the sugar mixed with cinnamon. Place on a buttered baking sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled in size. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Cool.

For the frosting, mix the powdered sugar, vanilla and water together until spreadable. Spread or drizzle the frosting on each roll. Enjoy!

Burgers

Mom regularly made burgers. They are easy to make and popular among us kids. The recipe itself is basic, with just a few ingredients. I think the Worcestershire sauce adds a great flavor. But feel free to leave it out, or substitute with another sauce. The ground beef is classic, but ground turkey could be good too. Other seasonings could easily be added, based on preference. In other words, there is no one way to make burgers, and many options could lead to great results. The recipe below makes four good sized burgers. The nice thing about making your own burgers is that it is easy to adjust the size of the burgers to make mini-burgers, jumbo burgers, or any size. Because the burgers will become smaller with cooking, make the burgers slightly bigger than the buns you plan to use.

Any type of burger bun can be used, but look for something that it a bit sturdy to keep it all together. I am partial to pretzel bread buns and English muffins. Any topping can be used, put on whatever floats your boat. I like cheese and carmelized onions.

Burgers 

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1-2 tablespoons minced onion
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• salt and pepper to taste
• Buns
• Toppings

In a bowl, blend together all the ingredients. Form into four round patties. Place on a baking sheet covered with foil. Place on a high rack under the oven broiler for 8 to 10 minutes per side. Serve on buns with your favorite toppings. Enjoy!

Apple Cake

Mom fondly remembers making this apple cake. I did not remember it, until I made it. The lovely smell of apple, cinnamon and nutmeg brought back this cake to my memory. For Megan, it took just one bite to remember this cake. The cake is sweet, but not overwhelming. It is an excellent treat on a nice fall day when apples are in season.

Apple Cake tastes a bit like apple pie, but is much easier to make. Most of the ingredients are staple ingredients that will be sitting around your kitchen. The cake itself is about half cake batter and half apples. Any type of apple will do. I used Golden Early apples from my farmer's market. Also, I did not include nuts, but Mom's recipe calls for walnuts, but any nut could work. Mom's recipe says to frost the cake with cream cheese frosting, but Mom never did use frosting, and this cake does not need any frosting. In fact the top of the cake had just a bit of caramelizing from the apples and sugar in the cake that added a great taste from which frosting would distract.

Apple Cake 

• 2 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. soda
• 2 tsps. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 4 cups peeled and diced apples
• 1 cup chopped walnuts, optional

Beat the eggs until light and fluffy. Add sugar, oil and vanilla. Add flour, soda, cinnamon and nutmeg gradually. Blend well. Stir in the apples and nuts. Pour into greased 13x9 pan. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Allow to cool. Enjoy!

Grandma Holmes's Zucchini Bread

I found this recipe in the collection of recipes that Aunt Paula had. In late summer and early fall, zucchini is plentiful at all the local farmer's markets, so I thought this would be a good time to make it. MDS does not remember his Grandma making this recipe, but that has never stopped me before.

This zucchini bread has a unique addition: crushed pineapple. The result is a very moist zucchini bread that has an extra sweet taste on account of the pineapple. I highly recommend this recipe. I did not add the optional nuts and raisins, but I am sure the addition of nuts and raisins would be delicious.

Grandma Holmes's Zucchini Bread 

• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup oil
• 2 cups grated zucchini, drained
• 1 20 oz. can crushed pineapple, drained
• 3 cups flour
• 2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup raisins (optional)
• 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Blend together the eggs, sugar, oil, zucchini, and pineapple. Add in the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix well. If desired, add in raisins and nuts. Grease two 9x5 pans. Fill with batter. Bake at 350 for 75 minutes or until done. Allow to cool. Enjoy!

Grandma's Orange Cloud Jello

Growing up, and, even still, jello is a common feature at family parties. As Mom says, the kids love it. Jello is famously a "kid food." These days, Mom is usually talking about her grandkids, but I think most of my siblings still eat jello when Mom makes it.

This jello salad recipe comes from Grandma and features the addition of actual fruit. I do remember Grandma making this jello, often for a summertime family party. But in my memory, Grandma's version was fluffier. Nevertheless, this jello was tasty, especially with the small pieces of mandarin orange mixed in.

Grandma's Orange Cloud Jello 

• 1 package orange jello
• 1 can mandarin orange segments
• 1 container cool whip

Drain the mandarin orange, reserving the juice to be part of the cold liquid in the jello. Prepare the jello according to the package direction with the reserved juice for part of the cold water. Allow the jello to cool for about an hour in the refrigerator so that it is cool, but not set. Use a form to mash up the orange segments. Mix the orange and cool whip into the jello. Refrigerate for at least a few hours or until needed. Enjoy!