by jphilo | Sep 23, 2020 | Recipes
During our years in Harding County, South Dakota, I added 2 cook books to what was a meager collection. The first was the Camp Crook Centennial Cook Book. which I purchased after it came out in 1982. The second, the Better Homes and Gardens All-Time Favorites that was published in 1979, was a gift from my mother-in-law Elsie Philo. Anyone who knew Elsie for more than ten minutes knows that she didn’t like to cook. At all. However she knew I loved to cook, so I received her gift with heartfelt gratitude.
Many of the recipes were on the fancy side, requiring either ingredients small grocery stores didn’t carry or preparation time beyond my limited supply as a country school teacher and mother to a toddler with significant medical needs. But I have used the basic sweet dough recipe found on page 380 for almost 40 years, and it’s the reason for the cook book’s worn cover. This past weekend, I made caramel rolls using the basic sweet roll recipe as I have always done on one fall Saturday or another as the weather turns cool.
I made 2 double batches of the recipe below and baked them in pans of 12 rolls each. Our freezer now holds 7 foil-wrapped packages and our collective stomachs (Hiram, our daughter, our-son-in-law, the toddler, and mine. Our grandson has his own gluten-free version.) hold the contents of 1 dozen. Here’s the recipe updated to be dairy-free and for kneading by a mixer with a dough hook, something not available in what my grandchildren refer to as “the olden days.”
Basic Sweet Roll Dough
3 1/2 to 4 cups unbleached flour (I used 2/3s whole wheat bread flour)
1 package active dry yeast
1 cup water for dairy free
1/8 cup sugar
1/4 cup lard
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
In large mixer bowl, combine 2 cups of flour and the yeast. In saucepan, heat water, sugar, lard, and salt until mixture is warm (just begins steaming) and lard is melted. Add to flour in the mixing bowl. Add the eggs.
Beat on low speed of electric mixer for 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl constantly. Beat 3 minutes at high speed. Using dough hook on mixer, stir in as much remaining flour as possible. Continue mixing until dough is smooth and elastic and comes away from the bowl’s side to form a ball on the dough hook (6 to 8 minutes). Remove from the bowl and shape into a ball.
Place ball of dough in lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease surface. Cover. Let rise in a warm place until double (45–60 minutes). Punch dough down. Turn out onto lightly floured surface. Continue as directed below.
Caramel Rolls
Basic Sweet Roll Dough
3 tablespoons Earth Balance buttery vegan sticks, melted
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter (Earth Balance or coconut oil for dairy free)
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
Combine 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup Earth Balance and corn syrup in a saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly until shortening is melted and mixture is blended. Distribute mixture evenly in two 9×1 1/2 round or two 8×8 square pans or one 9 x 13 cake pan.
Roll sweet dough into a 24×16 inch rectangle. Brush with melted Earth Balance. Combine 2 tablespoons brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle mixture over dough. Starting from long side, roll up dough jelly-roll style. Seal seam. Slice into 24 rolls.
Place rolls, cut side down, in prepared baking pans. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double (about 30 minutes). Bake at 375° for 18–20 minutes. Cool about 30 seconds. Invert onto racks covered with foil and remove pans. Makes 24 rolls.
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by jphilo | Nov 13, 2013 | Recipes
The past week and a half have been chock full of grandma duty and other family fun. So much fun, blogging is on the back burner. Therefore, for the next few days Gravel Road will reprise popular posts from the past. Today’s post first appeared on October 3,, 2012.
Turkey hash is one of the few recipes handed down to our family by Hiram’s mom, Elsie Philo. She was, by her own admission, a reluctant cook. Part of that reluctance may have stemmed from learning to cook in the territory of Alaska in the 1950s–on a wood stove, with limited provisions, while raising three very active little boys, and teaching school.
Fresh milk was hard to come by, even though her husband was a dairy farmer, and she added canned evaporated milk to almost every main dish. Turkey hash was no exception, and for years I made it according to her recipe. Not too long ago, I finally worked up the nerve to try it with almond milk. To my surprise, it tasted delicious. It even received Hiram’s coveted seal of approval. So here’s the non-dairy version (dairy ingredients are in parentheses) of the ultimate Philo comfort food, turkey hash.
Elsie Philo’s Turkey Hash
1/4 cup margarine (1/4 cup butter)
5–6 medium potatoes, peeled, washed, and sliced in thin rounds
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 cups cooked turkey, chopped
1 1/2 cups unflavored, unsweetened almond milk (1 large can evaporated milk)
1/4 cup flour (omit for dairy version)
Set a large frying pan over medium heat. Add margarine and melt.
Put sliced potatoes in the pan. Cover and cook for 5–10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in onions and cover again. Cook for 5–10 minutes more, stirring occasionally and adjusting heat to avoid burning, until potatoes are soft. Stir in turkey. Cover and cook for 5 more minutes, until turkey is warmed through.
Sprinkle a few tablespoons of the flour on top of the meat and vegetable mixture. Stir until flour is absorbed. Repeat until all flour is absorbed. Pour 1/3 cup of almond milk and stir well. Repeat until the milk is gone. Continue cooking until the hash begins to bubble and the milk thickens.
Salt and pepper to taste at the table.
by jphilo | Dec 26, 2012 | Recipes
The Christmas baking frenzy was short-lived at our house. It lasted from after lunch until just before supper. Once the flour dust cleared, 12 dozen caramel rolls lay cooling on wire racks. Shortly thereafter, 10 dozen caramel rolls were wrapped in foil and waiting to be delivered to neighbors and church staff members. 1 dozen went into our freezer, and the remaining dozen were dessert that night and breakfast the next morning.
Below is the sweet roll recipe I’ve used for decades. It’s from the 1979 Better Homes and Gardens All-Time Favorite Recipes cookbook given to me by Elsie Philo, my mother-in-law. This Christmas, I made 3 double batches (I almost always double it), and the final double batch was dairy free. (The dairy free substitutions are in parentheses.)
These rolls take some time to make. When the kids were little, we made them whenever school was called off because of snow. Sweet memories, indeed!
Basic Sweet Roll Dough
3 1/2 to 4 cups unbleached flour (I used half whole wheat bread flour)
1 package active dry yeast
1 cup milk (1 cup water for dairy free)
1/8 cup sugar
1/4 cup shortening (use lard rather than butter for dairy free)
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
In large mixer bowl, combine 2 cups of flour and the yeast. In saucepan, heat milk, sugar, shortening, and salt until mixture is warm (just begins steaming) and shortening is melted. Add to flour in the mixing bowl. Add the eggs.
Beat on low speed of electric mixer for 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl constantly. Beat 3 minutes at high speed. Using dough hook on mixer, stir in as much remaining flour as possible. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough. Continue kneading until dough is smooth and elastic (8 to 10 minutes). Shape into a ball.
Place ball of dough in lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease surface. Cover. Let rise in a warm place until double (45–60 minutes). Punch dough down. Turn out onto lightly floured surface. Continue as directed below.
Caramel-Pecan Rolls
Basic Sweet Roll Doug
3 tablespoons butter, melted (margarine for dairy free)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter (Earth Balance or coconut oil for dairy free)
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Combine 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup butter or margarine and corn syrup in a saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly until shortening is melted and mixture is blended. Distribute mixture evenly in two 9×1 1/2 round or two 8×8 square pans or one 9 x 13 cake pan. Sprinkle with chopped pecans.
Roll sweet dough into a 24×16 inch rectangle. Brush with melted butter or butter substitute. Combine 2 tablespoons brown sugar and cinnamon over dough. Starting from long side, roll up dough jelly-roll style. Seal seam. Slice into 24 rolls.
Place rolls, cut side down, in prepared baking pans. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double (about 30 minutes). Bake at 375° for 18–20 minutes. Cool about 30 seconds. Invert onto racks covered with foil and remove pans. Makes 24 rolls.
by jphilo | Oct 3, 2012 | Recipes
Turkey hash is one of the few recipes handed down to our family by Hiram’s mom, Elsie Philo. She was, by her own admission, a reluctant cook. Part of that reluctance may have stemmed from learning to cook in the territory of Alaska in the 1950s–on a wood stove, with limited provisions, while raising three very active little boys, and teaching school.
Fresh milk was hard to come by, even though her husband was a dairy farmer, and she added canned evaporated milk to almost every main dish. Turkey hash was no exception, and for years I made it according to her recipe. Not too long ago, I finally worked up the nerve to try it with almond milk. To my surprise, it tasted delicious. It even received Hiram’s coveted seal of approval. So here’s the non-dairy version (dairy ingredients are in parentheses) of the ultimate Philo comfort food, turkey hash.
Elsie Philo’s Turkey Hash
1/4 cup margarine (1/4 cup butter)
5–6 medium potatoes, peeled, washed, and sliced in thin rounds
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 cups cooked turkey, chopped
1 1/2 cups unflavored, unsweetened almond milk (1 large can evaporated milk)
1/4 cup flour (omit for dairy version)
Set a large frying pan over medium heat. Add margarine and melt.
Put sliced potatoes in the pan. Cover and cook for 5–10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in onions and cover again. Cook for 5–10 minutes more, stirring occasionally and adjusting heat to avoid burning, until potatoes are soft. Stir in turkey. Cover and cook for 5 more minutes, until turkey is warmed through.
Sprinkle a few tablespoons of the flour on top of the meat and vegetable mixture. Stir until flour is absorbed. Repeat until all flour is absorbed. Pour 1/3 cup of almond milk and stir well. Repeat until the milk is gone. Continue cooking until the hash begins to bubble and the milk thickens.
Salt and pepper to taste at the table.
by jphilo | Nov 30, 2011 | Recipes
I can’t believe today’s recipe hasn’t been posted here before. In fact, In fact when my daughter called and asked how to make cheeseburger chowder, I told her to look on the website.
“I already did,” she said. “It’s not there.”
“Let me check,” I said.
“It’s not there,” she said again. She was right. The recipe for one of our all time fave meals was not there, a condition which must be rectified.
So here it is, the recipe for cheeseburger chowder which comes from Better Homes and Garden’s All Time Favorite Recipes, copyright 1979. (Hiram’s mom, Elsie, gave it to me for Christmas when we still lived in South Dakota.) I stick pretty close to the original recipe, though lately I’ve been using 1/2 pound of hamburger instead of a pound, and usually add more onions and celery.
Cheeseburger Chowder
1/2 pound ground beef
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed (2 cups)
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons chopped green or sweet pepper
1 tablespoon instant beef bouillon granules (or 1 beef bouillon cube or 1 tablespoon beef soup base)
2 1/2 cups milk
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
Brown beef in 3 quart saucepan. Drain off excess fat. Stir in vegetables, bouillon and 1 1/2 cup water. Cover and cook until vegetables are tender, about 15-20 minutes.
Blend 1/2 cup milk with the flour. Pour remaining 2 cups of milk into saucepan with cooked vegetables and meat. Add milk-flour mixture. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Add cheese and heat until cheese is just melted. Makes 6 – 8 servings.
