Hamentaschen Drawing

February 8th, 2010
(Courtesy of Kosher.com)

(Courtesy of Kosher.com)

 
Purim is almost upon us, and the nice folks at Kosher.com have offered to send a tin of gourmet Hamentaschen to one of my blog readers or Twitter followers.
 
I highly recommend the holiday of Purim to those of you who are unfamiliar with it. It may well be the most joyous holiday in the Jewish calendar.
 
It celebrates one of the relatively few heroines in the Bible—Queen Esther of Persia. Here’s a brief rundown of her story:
 
A young Jewish girl in the fourth century B.C.E., Esther won a beauty pageant held by King Ahasuerus (a.k.a. Xerxes), who was looking for a new wife. He had executed the previous one in a fit of pique. He replaced her with Esther.
 
Esther’s cousin and former guardian, Mordecai, warned her not to reveal to the king that she was Jewish. Living in exile in Persia, the Jews were often subjected to anti-Semitism.
 
The king’s evil counselor, Haman, took offense when Mordecai refused to bow down to him and arranged to have all the Jews in the country killed. Esther went to the king and revealed her identity. This act took great courage, given the fate of her predecessor. Esther pulled it off, however.
 
In the end, the horrible Haman was hanged at the gallows he had erected for Mordecai. Esther and the Jewish people were given permission to defend themselves against their enemies. Jews in Persia held a HUGE party to celebrate their brave, beautiful queen and their enhanced status.
 
To commemorate Esther’s resourcefulness Jewish people party on Purim. It’s a time for dressing up in costumes and playing pranks. It’s also a time for giving to the needy and for exchanging gifts of food. And it’s a time for getting drunk—or at least for seeing the world from a new, youthful perspective. 
 
"Esther" by John Everett Millais (Courtesy of the Tate Online)

"Esther" by John Everett Millais (Courtesy of the Tate Online)

Hamentaschen are a sweet Purim treat. I’ve loved them all my life. They rank somewhere between a cookie and a small cake in bakeries. They are triangular (some say to mimic the shape of nasty Haman’s tricorn hat). And they’re enhanced with poppy seed or fruit filling.

As you can see from the photo at the top of this post, Hamentaschen are occasionally filled with and/or covered with chocolate in our chocoholic culture!
 
I’ll be posting a traditional Hamentaschen recipe soon. Meanwhile, I encourage you to enter the drawing from Kosher.com. Here’s what you have to do:
 
Leave a comment on this blog or post a tweet from now through this coming Friday, February 12. I’ll cut off entries at midnight EST.
 
The comment or tweet should contain two pieces of information.
 
First, it should tell me what YOUR favorite food holiday—religious or non-religious—is.
 
Second, it should provide a link to the Kosher.com web site. Find something on the site that intrigues you—a recipe, a product (they have tasty foods available year round, not just for Purim!), a piece of information about a Jewish holiday.
 
If you choose to tweet rather than post a comment here, please send a tweet to me (remember, my Twitter name is LaTinque) so I won’t miss your contribution!
 
Next Monday, February 15, I will randomly select a winner from the comments and tweets. Kosher.com will send that lucky person the tin of Hamentaschen. It should arrive in plenty of time to help you usher in Purim on February 28.
 
As they said of Levy’s rye bread, you don’t have to be Jewish to love Hamentaschen!
 
While you’re thinking about your comment and/or tweet, you might like to try this recipe from Kosher.com’s Chef Jamie Geller.
 
Jamie has provided several recipes that enable readers to consume alcohol during Purim without getting drunk. She calls them her “saucy” selections. This soup will enable you to celebrate this holiday without going overboard.
 
I look forward to reading your comments……
Jamie's Soup (Courtesy of Kosher.com)

Jamie's Soup (Courtesy of Kosher.com)

 
 
Kosher Italian Bean Soup
(Courtesy of Kosher.com and Jamie Geller)
 
Ingredients:
 
1 medium onion, quartered
6 cups water
3 cups Imagine Organic No-Chicken (or Vegetable) Broth
3/4 cup dry red wine
1 (14.5-ounce) can chopped tomatoes
1 (15-ounce) can white beans, drained
1 (15-ounce) can red kidney beans, drained
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained
10 baby carrots
10 baby zucchini
1 frozen crushed garlic cube
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon coarse black pepper
 
Instructions:
 
Place all ingredients in a 6-quart stockpot. Cover and bring to a boil.
 
Reduce the soup to a simmer and cook it uncovered for 18 to 20 minutes.
 
Ladle into bowls and serve. Serves 8. 
 
Jamie Geller (Courtesy of Kosher.com)

Jamie Geller (Courtesy of Kosher.com)

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Posted in Soups and Stews | 5 Comments »

Slightly Spicy Super Popcorn

February 5th, 2010
From left to right: Jackson, Michael, and Benjamin at the stove

From left to right: Jackson, Michael, and Benjamin at the stove

 
I’m getting ready for Game Day.
 
I’m not a football person; I’ve never actually understood the appeal of this particular sport. I get tennis. I get baseball. I get hockey. I even get golf (a good excuse for walking). I especially get bridge. But guys running up and down the field in those huge pads and jumping on each other…?
 
Nevertheless, as a lover of popular culture I view the NFL’s big display every year. I can’t resist the spectacle of it all—the halftime show, the brand-new ads, the excited if broke fans (the prices on those tickets are scary!).
 
I even watch most of the game itself although I try not to listen to the “experts” as they blather on and on about it.
 
I don’t plan a huge menu for Super Bowl Sunday, but I do like to make something special in honor of this annual sports fest. I originally thought of making nachos for Sunday. I love nachos: they’re salty and fatty and satisfying and versatile (you can put just about anything you have in the house into them!).
 
After looking at the elegant, creative nachos in Wednesday’s Washington Post, however, I abandoned the nacho plan. I didn’t need the shame: my nachos were going to be pedestrian in contrast. And actually my family didn’t need the calories.
 
Instead I decided to spice up a little popcorn. I love popcorn almost as much as I love nachos. It’s flavorful. It’s cheap. And it can be made with relatively little fat (although I draw the line at air popping; the kernels need SOME fat).
 
My nephew Michael had a snow day from school on Wednesday so I enlisted him and his friends Benjamin and Jackson to help pop the corn.
 
Popcorn is a great project for kids as long as they are careful (which our boys were) and adults are supervising. (I know you can’t see us in the pictures, but there were three of us in the room!)
 
I decided to work with Indian spices. The first batch of popcorn we tried went a little overboard in the spice department: we threw in cumin, turmeric, garam masala, curry powder, paprika, and red pepper flakes as well as salt.
 
Michael ate one handful and went running through the house shouting “Water! Water!” The other two boys just kept their distance and laughed.
 
I tried it myself and found it spicy (although not overly so) and a little too busy in terms of flavors.
 
The second batch used the combination of flavors below. Its subcontinental flavor was subtle rather than “in your face”—perfect for young (or timid) football fans. It should complement rather than overwhelm any other munchies we consume as we watch the Saints and the Colts battle it out.
 
Enjoy the popcorn—and the halftime show—and the commercials. If you must, even enjoy the game!
 
spicy popcorn web
 
Tinky’s Indian Corn
 
Here are a few hints before I start:
 
Check with your guests about allergies before you make your popcorn. Peanut oil is ideal for popping the corn, but canola will do if someone has a peanut allergy.
 
Popcorn pops best in a cheap, not-too-thick pan. Put away the Le Creuset and the All-Clad if you’re lucky enough to have them and get out an old aluminum pot. By the time the fancy pots heat up the popcorn will burn. A wok with a lid works very nicely.
 
The lid should be on your pot (so the popcorn doesn’t pop right out and hit you) but the pot should have a little room to breathe. Keep the lid slightly ajar so that steam can escape. Place one hand on the lid as you shake the pot with the other hand so the lid will stay in position.
 
To make your own popcorn salt (I got this hint from watching Alton Brown: thanks, Mr. Brown!) put kosher salt in a small food processor and pulse it 10 to 12 times.
 
Ingredients:
 
enough peanut or canola oil to line the bottom of your pot (3 to 4 tablespoons)
1/2 teaspoon popcorn salt (a tiny bit more if you must)
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 cup popping corn
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
 
Instructions:
 
Place the oil, the salt, the cumin seeds, and 1 kernel of popcorn in your pot and stir to combine. Put the pot over fairly high heat (see above remark about the lid) and start moving the pot gently back and forth over the burner.
 
When the initial popcorn kernel pops add the remaining popcorn, the turmeric, and the curry powder. Stir to combine and return the pot to the heat. Continue shaking. In a little while you will be rewarded with the sound of popping corn.
 
Listen carefully. (This was the hardest part of the whole recipe for the boys, who have the enthusiasm of youth and like to talk loudly through most activities.)
 
When the popping subsides enough so that you hear a pop only every few seconds remove the pot from the heat and pour the popcorn into a bowl.
 
Serve the popcorn immediately or cool the popcorn and then store it in a sealed plastic bag for up to a week.
 
Makes just under 2 quarts.
 
BY THE WAY, if you’re looking for a few more Super Bowl ideas, here are a few suitable posts:
 
Mexican Chicken Pizza
 
Apple-Sage Cheese Spread
 
BOLTs (in honor of the COLTs)
 
Red Beans & Rice (in honor of the Saints)
 
 
(Courtesy of ebay--I can't afford the darn things myself!)

(Courtesy of ebay--I can't afford the darn things myself!)

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Posted in Appetizers | 2 Comments »

Popovers and a Story for Groundhog Day

February 2nd, 2010

The Problem web

 
We have made it to winter’s midpoint! Poised between the winter solstice and the vernal equinox, February 2 is Candlemas. This ancient holiday celebrates the longer and brighter hours of daylight we now notice and enjoy.
 
Traditional foods for Candlemas usually contain grain of some sort, in celebration of the stirrings of crops deep beneath the still frozen ground. These foods are also often round and golden to mimic the sun.
 
Last night my family and I enjoyed a winter treat that nicely embodies those criteria—popovers. SOMEWHERE I have my grandmother’s recipe for cheese popovers; I recall that she gently folded 1/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese into her popovers. We had these at Christmas, and they were lovely.
 
I couldn’t find that recipe this week so instead I used the basic popover formula shared by most cookbooks I have on my shelf, a proportion of 1 cup of of milk and 1 of flour to 2 eggs.
 
Instead of folding the cheese in, I tried sprinkling a bit of cheddar on top of the popover batter. Alas, it fell in a bit, making little holes in most of my popovers. They were still awfully tasty, however, so I wasn’t upset.
 
The recipe appears below. Before we get to it, however, here is a story that celebrates another name for February 2, Groundhog Day. As you know, on this day the groundhog is alleged to wake up from hibernation and peer out of its den to look for its shadow.
 
If the shadow is visible (that is, if the day is sunny), winter will last another six weeks. If not, spring will come early.
 
Where I live in Massachusetts we are ALWAYS guaranteed another six weeks of winter (at least!) on February 2. The holiday retains its appeal, however, and my nephew Michael certainly enjoyed writing about it.
 
He also enjoyed eating the popovers.
 
eatpopweb
 
THE PROBLEM
by Michael Weisblat
 
This is a story of how two groundhogs get mad at each other, fight each other, and fix their problem.
 
One day in a hole two groundhogs are so peaceful and happy. Their names are Michael and Collin.
 
Collin said, “It’s almost Groundhog Day. Who will go up?”
 
Michael answered, “Me. I want to go up!”
 
Collin said, “No, I want to go up!”
 
They both started to argue about who would go first. Then Michael had an idea. “Let’s make the hole of our house wider. Then we could pop out at the same time.”
 
So that’s what they did. They lived happily ever after.
 
THE END
 
P.S. They did not see their shadow.
 
Whether or not you see your shadow today, I hope you enjoy this recipe. Happy Groundhog Day (and Candlemas)………
 
popoversweb
 
Cheese Popovers
 
Ingredients:
 
1 cup milk at room temperature
2 eggs at room temperature
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground pepper to taste
1/4 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese (use a little more if you wish, but don’t overdo!)
 
Instructions:
 
In a bowl vigorously whisk together the milk, eggs, and melted butter. Stir in the flour, salt, and pepper. If you wish to add the cheese now, do so gently. Let the mixture sit for 1/2 hour.
 
While the batter is resting preheat the oven to 450 degrees and lightly butter the insides of 9 muffin tins. When the oven has preheated place the tins on a cookie sheet and put them in the oven for a minute or two to preheat.
 
Take the sheet out and quickly fill the muffin tins with the batter. If you have not yet added the cheese, put a small amount in the center of each muffin tin. If you are using a set of 12 muffin tins, be sure to pour a little water in the empty tins to keep them from burning.
 
Put the filled muffin tins back in the oven and bake the popovers for 10 minutes. Turn the oven down to 350 degrees and bake the popovers until they are brown and firm and nicely puffed up—15 to 20 minutes.
 
Do NOT open the oven door to look at the popovers until 15 minutes have passed—unless of course you smell something burning horribly! (This should NOT happen unless your oven thermostat is way off.) If you do, your popovers won’t pop over.
 
Remove the popovers from the oven and serve immediately. Makes 9 popovers.
 
Cheesy Popovers

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January Tomato Soup

January 31st, 2010
My neighbor Jim enjoyed the January Tomato Soup.

My neighbor Jim enjoyed his January Tomato Soup.

 
National Soup Month is about to end—so here’s a quick soup recipe to warm your house and your body.
 
Like the Campbell company, I have always considered tomato soup one of the mainstays of an American larder.
 
camp
 
The first known published recipe for tomato soup appeared in The Appledore Cook Book, an 1872 work by Maria Parloa (1843-1909).
 
An early supporter of home economics, Parloa lectured at the Boston Cooking School and ran versions of her own academy, Miss Parloa’s School of Cookery, in both Boston and New York.
 
She wrote regularly for the Ladies’ Home Journal. She also served as a spokeswoman for the Baker Chocolate Company and contributed to its recipe books.
 
bakchobook2
 
The charming blog Maria Parloa describes Parloa’s teaching, which she called late in her life “a magnificent work for any young woman to take up.”
 
The Appledore Cook Book was Parloa’s first book and stemmed from her work as a pastry cook on the Appledore Island summer resort in Maine. Most sources I have found on the internet call her soup a “tomato chowder.”
 
I called the public library in Bethel, Connecticut, for more information. Parloa spent the last few years of her life in Bethel and left money to establish a library there. According to the library web site the town proudly houses copies of her works in its local-history collection.
 
I asked one of the reference librarians to read me the recipe for tomato chowder. I was told that Parloa’s creation was not in fact a “tomato chowder” but rather a “tomato soup.” (So much for research on the internet!) The librarian read it to me:
 
Tomato Soup
 
Peel and slice tomatoes enough to fill a two-quart basin; put them into the soup-kettle with six quarts of water and two pounds of beef; boil three hours; season with pepper, salt, and a spoonful of butter. Strain, and serve with toasted bread.
 
I may try this recipe in the summer when I have fresh tomatoes (although two quarts of tomatoes would be A LOT of tomatoes!). Meanwhile, I recently made a much quicker soup taking advantage of canned tomatoes.
 
Here is that simple recipe. It makes a versatile soup; if you have other veggies and/or herbs in the house, throw them in. Next time I’m trying a few carrots plus some cilantro for garnish.
 
Tinky's tomato soupeb
 
January Tomato Soup
 
Ingredients:
 
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 bell pepper, coarsely chopped
2 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
2 cups canned tomatoes
2 cups salsa (the ingredients and heat are your choice)
2 cups chicken stock and 2 cups water (or 4 cups vegetable stock)
a splash or two of cream, milk, and/or half and half (optional)
grated cheese (optional)
 
Instructions:
 
Combine the onion, pepper, celery, tomatoes, salsa, and stock (or water or whatever) in a Dutch oven.
 
Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover it, reduce the heat, and simmer for half an hour. Allow the soup to cool for a few minutes; then puree it in batches in a blender. Add a little cream and/or cheese at the table if you like. Serves 4 to 6.
 
(Courtesy of the blog "Maria Parloa")

(Courtesy of the blog "Maria Parloa")

 

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Jody’s Homely Oatmeal Cookies

January 29th, 2010

Jody's cookiesweb

 
Last month I announced the beginning of my monthly “Twelve Cookies of Christmas” series and asked for cookie submissions from readers.
 
Jody Cothey of Hawley, Massachusetts (my hometown!), sent in this month’s “Two Turtle Doves” recipe, which she calls Havrekaker (I have also seen it spelled “Havrekakor.”)
 
The recipe is Norwegian. Jody first found it in a small book from the 1940s called A Grandmother for Christmas. She has been making the cookies since she was about 13.
 
Jody describes these oatmeal clumps as “homely but yummy.” They are indeed yummy, and they’re homely in both senses of the world: they’re a little plain, and they speak of home.
 
Jody’s home is Tregellys Fiber Farm. It’s on the other side of town from the Casa Tinky and looks as though it’s in a different country.
 
The hills outside my door are small and cozy; the ones outside Jody and her husband Ed’s home are dramatic—more like the Andes or the Himalayas than our humble Berkshires.
 
The Cotheys raise exotic (mostly) fiber-producing animals and have an abiding interest in India, Nepal, and Tibet. Ed weaves lovely rugs and blankets from the fleece. The pair sell his handiwork as well as fair-trade international handicrafts in a shop called Tregellys World in nearby Shelburne Falls.
 
When Jody isn’t taking care of yaks, Icelandic sheep, or Bactrian camels she writes poetry under her maiden name, Pamela Stewart. Her new book of poems, Ghost Farm, is due out later this year from Pleasure Boat Studio.
 
I don’t know how she finds time to bake, but I’m glad she does. It helps that these cookies are very, very easy. They hold together beautifully.
 
Jody says, “This is a fairly stiff mixture so have a strong wooden spoon and an adequate bowl, especially if doubling the recipe.” Ed, who is a big fan of the cookies, adds that they freeze well. (We didn’t have any left over to freeze!)
A Bactrian Camel (Courtesy of Tregellys Fiber Farm)

A Bactrian Camel on a Hawley Hill (Courtesy of Tregellys Fiber Farm)

  
Havrekaker
 
Ingredients:
 
1 cup (2 sticks) sweet butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 pinch salt
2 cups raw oatmeal
2 cups flour
 
Instructions:
 
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the egg, followed by the vanilla, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the oatmeal and flour; combine thoroughly.
 
Drop or scoop cookies of the desired size onto greased cookie sheets. Ideally, you will have about 2 dozen cookies, but if you want them bigger or smaller, go right ahead.
 
Just remember that bigger cookies will take a little longer to bake, and smaller ones may take a little less time. Jody says, “Mine are small…. usually cookie size is personal, like bra size.”
 
Bake the cookies until they are firm and begin to get brown around the edges, about 15 minutes. Makes about 24 cookies.
 
oatmealweb

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Posted in Cookies and Bars, Oatmeal, The Twelve Cookies of Christmas | 6 Comments »

I’m Honored

January 27th, 2010

Kreativ Blogger Award2

 
Bloggers love a little recognition. So I was thrilled yesterday to learn that Mattenylou of the charming blog On Larch Lane has given me the Kreativ Blogger Award. Thanks, Mattenylou!
 
This award is designed to share news of fun blogs. Each recipient is asked to post seven interesting things about herself (or himself, of course) and to pass the award on to seven other bloggers.
 
Mattenylou very sweetly wrote to me saying that if I didn’t have time to post seven things about myself she would understand. Naturally, I responded that for an egotist like me the problem would be finding ONLY seven things to write about!
 
Things about Tinky (they may be of interest only to me, but here they are!):
 
1. Let’s start with guilty pleasures: I read category fiction. This means I love mysteries and even the occasional romance novel. (I have also been known to TiVo “Ghost Whisperer” on television; I can’t figure out why, but it’s there in my queue every week.)
 
2. I have had crushes on a number of movie stars, including the following (not in order): Matthew Broderick, Fred Astaire, and Walter Pidgeon. Also Walter Cronkite (maybe there’s something about the name Walter?)
 
3. There are days on which I would kill for a truffle.
 
4. I talk to my pets constantly. I am certain that they talk back.
 
5. When I’m really frazzled I take a walk in the woods.
 
6. I love my friends and my family. I wish more of them played bridge with me, however; I haven’t played bridge in years! And it’s my favorite team sport.
 
7. I would love to be better organized. Also rich and famous, but better organized actually comes first!
 
Seven of My Favorite Blogs
 
These were really hard to narrow down. I read and enjoy a LOT of blogs.
 
1. Commonweeder, which muses year round on gardens and community.
 
2. Food & Think from the Smithsonian, which mixes science, food, culture, and fun.
 
3. Walking Off the Big Apple, the thinking woman’s (and man’s) guide to New York.
 
4. History Hoydens, in which historical-romance writers talk about their research and their writing with wit and passion.
 
5. Sugar Apple, which blends Southern American and island cuisines to maximize color and flavor.
 
6. How Does Your Garden Grow, which concentrates on local eating and doable recipes in my native New England.
 
7. Today at Mary’s Farm, in which journalist Edie Clark shares insightful essays on country life.
 
Please take a look at them—and, if you like, leave a comment to tell me about some of YOUR favorite blogs. I’m always looking for new reading material.
 
Before I go I have to post a recipe since National Oatmeal Month is almost over and I HAVEN’T POSTED A SINGLE AVENACEOUS RECIPE this January!
 
This recipe comes from Jody Cothey. I’ll tell you more about her in my next post, which will feature another of her favorite foods.
 
For now I’ll just let you know that she and her husband Edward own Tregellys Fiber Farm in my hometown of Hawley, Massachusetts. They have a longstanding interest in Tibetan and Nepalese people and culture.
 
The Cotheys learned to make this oatmeal dish from Nepalese friends and eat it frequently at this time of year. In Nepal it’s sweetened with honey, but in Massachusetts the Cotheys (and I!) tweak it with a little maple syrup.
 
If you like bananas and oatmeal, try this combination. It is surprisingly silky in taste and texture.
 
Porridgeweb
 
Nepalese Porridge
 
Ingredients:
 
1 cup milk
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1 pinch salt
2/3 banana, cut into small pieces
maple syrup to taste
 
Instructions:
 
In a small saucepan combine the milk, oats, salt, and banana pieces. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the porridge reaches the consistency you like (for me this is about five minutes).
 
Serve with maple syrup. Serves 1 to 2, depending on appetite.
 
por2web

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Life’s Better with Butter!

January 25th, 2010
(Courtesy of the New York Public Library)

(Courtesy of the New York Public Library)

 
I didn’t grow up eating Parker House rolls. Indeed, I’m not sure I even saw one until last week when, encouraged by Elizabeth at New England Bloggers, I attempted to make them. My attempt wasn’t perfect—my rolls ended up a little crowded in their pans!—but the end product WAS delicious.
 
Elizabeth suggested the rolls as a quintessentially New England food. They are certainly steeped in history. They’re also steeped in butter.
 
Now known as the Omni Parker House, the Parker House is the oldest continuously operating hotel in the United States. This Boston landmark was founded in 1855 by Harvey Parker, a restaurateur who wanted to expand into overnight trade.
 
The Parker House’s visitors were a who’s who of 19th and 20th century America. Its illustrious Saturday Club met on a weekend afternoon once a month at the hotel beginning in 1855.
 
Members of this intellectual society included novelist William Dean Howells, naturalist Henry David Thoreau, poet John Greenleaf Whittier, historian Francis Parkman, and other luminaries.
 
When in town English novelist Charles Dickens was a guest member; he performed his first American reading of A Christmas Carol to the group. In 1867 he wrote in a letter home
 
I dine today with Longfellow, Emerson, Holmes, and Agassiz. Longfellow was here yesterday. Perfectly white in hair and beard, but a remarkably handsome and notable-looking man.
Charles Dickens (Courtesy of the Library of Congress)

Charles Dickens (Courtesy of the Library of Congress)

 
Other notable guests included John Wilkes Booth, who came to Boston to watch his brother Edwin perform at the Boston Theater in April 1865 and was observed practicing with his pistol at a nearby shooting gallery; Boston mayor James Michael Curley, the inspiration for the novel The Last Hurrah; more Kennedys than you could fit into a chapel; Bill Clinton; and three of my favorite actresses–Judy Garland, Ann-Margret, and Sarah Bernhardt.
 
Rather bizarrely, the Parker House employed two noted revolutionaries in their youths, Ho Chi Minh and Malcolm X.
 
All these people had to be fed, and the elegant Parker House was known for feeding them well. Its kitchen staff invented Boston cream pie, the official dessert of the state of Massachusetts despite the opinion of many that pudding of some sort would be a more appropriate choice.
 
The Parker House was an early proponent of lemon meringue pie. It was also the place in which the term “scrod” was coined.
 
And of course it was and is the home of Parker House rolls, invented early on in the hotel’s existence (the Parker House doesn’t seem to have an exact date) by a German baker named Ward who was employed there.
 
The Parker House roll’s signature is a fold in the middle which gives this small yeast bread its special texture.
 
In a quick search of cookbooks and the internet I found many recipes for Parker House rolls. They don’t all have as much butter as the formula below. It came from the Omni Parker House web site, however, so it reeks of authenticity as well as butter.
 
Of course, I changed it a tiny bit—but not much, I promise!
 
Would I could steal its echoes! You should find
Such store of vanished pleasures brought to mind:
Such feasts! The laughs of many a jocund hour
That shook the mortar from King George’s Tower.
Such guests! What famous names its record boasts,
Whose owners wander in the mob of ghosts!
Such stories! Every beam and plank is filled
With juicy wit the joyous talkers spilled………
 
Oliver Wendell Holmes, “At the Saturday Club” (1884)
 
You may visit Elizabeth’s blog, “Thoughts from an Evil Overlord,” to see a full list of posts in the New England Bloggers’ Anniversary Carnival.
 
Oliver Wendell Holmes (Courtesy of the Library of Congress)

Oliver Wendell Holmes (Courtesy of the Library of Congress)

 
Parker House Rolls
 
Ingredients:
 
6 cups flour (approximately)
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 packets yeast (regular “active dry,” not instant)
1 cup milk
1 cup water
1 cup (2 sticks) sweet butter
1 egg
 
Instructions:
 
In a large bowl that will work with your electric mixer whisk together 2-1/2 cups flour, the sugar, the salt, and the yeast.
 
In a small saucepan heat the milk, the water, and 1 stick of the butter until the mixture is the temperature of hot tap water (120 to 130 degrees); your finger should be able to go into it, but it should feel hot. The butter may not be completely melted.
 
With the mixer at low speed, slowly pour the liquid into the flour mixture. Add the egg and increase the speed to medium. Beat the mixture for 2 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl as you go along. Beat in 3/4 to 1 cup more flour, enough to make a thick batter. Beat for another 2 minutes.
 
Turn off the mixer and use a wooden spoon to stir in enough additional flour to make a dough that you can grab as a ball—about 2-1/2 cups.
 
Move the dough to a floured surface and knead it for 10 minutes, adding flour a little at a time as needed. Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a greased large bowl, turning the dough over so that all sides have touched the grease.
 
Cover the dough with a damp towel and let it rise in a warm place until it doubles in bulk, 1-1/2 to 2 hours. (The Parker House recommends that you place it in a spot that is 80 to 85 degrees, which may be hard at this time of year; just do your best!) The dough is ready for the next step when two fingers pressed into it leave a dent.
 
Punch down the dough gently by pushing down the center with your fist; then push the edges of the dough into the center. Turn the dough onto a floured surface, and knead it lightly to shape it into a smooth ball. Cover the ball with your bowl and let it rest for 15 minutes.
 
Melt the remaining stick of butter and pour it into a large roasting pan (17-1/4 inches by 11-1/2 inches) or divide it between 2 smaller pans. Make sure the butter covers the entire bottom of the pan(s).
 
On a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin roll out the dough until it is 1/2 inch thick. With a floured biscuit cutter cut the dough into circles.
 
The Parker House recommends 2-3/4-inch circles. My biscuit cutter was missing so I used a 2-inch jar top. I still didn’t have as many rolls as the Parker House says its bakers make; maybe my rolling skills were to blame!
 
Holding each dough circle by the edge, dip both sides in the butter; then fold each circle in half and place it in the pan. Knead the dough trimmings together and cut more rolls out of them.
 
Cover the pan(s) with a damp dish towel and let the rolls rise until they double again; this will take 40 minutes to an hour. Toward the end of the rising preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
 
Bake the rolls for 15 to 18 minutes, until they are brown on top. Remove them from the oven and move them to a rack to dry out a little until you are ready to serve them. If you don’t plan to serve the rolls right away, be sure to warm them again before serving.
 
Makes between 30 and 40 rolls, depending on your rolling and cutting skills. (The Parker House says 42; I got about 26.)
 
Parker House Rolls web

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Posted in Breads, Muffins, and Scones | 9 Comments »

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