Honey Oat Rolls - My New Favorite!

I recently became a fan of the blog Salad in a Jar and have been tempted by many of the recipes I've found there. One in particular caught my eye, Honey Oatmeal Dinner Rolls, and I decided they would be perfect for a church dinner for sixty this past Sunday. I upped the ingredients to accommodate the larger quantity, and I only made one substitution, (based on my fondness for these Soft Yogurt Rolls from the blog of What A Dish!) and that was yogurt for the liquid.

The aroma of these rolls is intoxicating, the crust has just a light crunch, the interior is pillow soft and perfect for a pat of butter, and the flavor is slightly sweet with the satisfying taste of oats. I think they are my new favorite! Please look at Paula's beautiful photos of the rolls, as she sprinkled oatmeal on the tops of hers, which makes for a gorgeous presentation, and she fashioned them into much more attractive shapes!

I love that Paula is not afraid to use shortening in her recipes. There are many bloggers out there that have Fear of Shortening, and although I understand their health concerns, I feel that shortening has received quite the bad rap! I prefer shortening in my pie crusts; I have tried substituting butter, and when I do my crust lacks flakiness and lightness. Although I love the rich aroma and deep flavor that butter imparts, I occasionally combine it with shortening in cake recipes for the fluffiness (how's that for a technical term?) and moistness that shortening brings to the final product. And I recently used margarine combined with shortening (I can hear your collective gasps of horror) for a cake, because it was an old recipe from my childhood, and I wanted that old-fashioned taste. I received more compliments on that cake than any I've made in months!

(Climbing down from my soapbox) feel free to substitute butter for the one tablespoon of shortening in the following recipe.

Honey Oat Rolls
Adapted from Salad in a Jar
Makes 16

1 tablespoon yeast
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup yogurt, room temperature
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon shortening
1 large egg
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup quick oats

Melt together butter and shortening, set aside to cool slightly. Place warm water and honey in bowl of stand mixer; add yeast and let sit for a few minutes. Add room temperature yogurt and melted butter/shortening mixture. While mixing on low speed, add egg. Whisk together salt, flour, and oats; add to mixture in bowl and mix until well blended. Using dough hook, knead mixture for about 3-5 minutes, only adding flour if mixture looks too wet. Place in greased bowl and let rise until doubled.

Turn dough out onto floured surface and divide evenly into preferred roll shapes. (I had to generously flour my hands, because the dough was slightly wet. Let rise until nearly double.) Preheat oven to 350 (I baked at 375) and bake for approximately 10-12 minutes, or until golden.

Test Kitchen - White Chocolate Fruit Tarts

I've had this recipe saved in my bookmarks for a long time, and when I wanted to make a light, summery dessert involving fresh fruit for a church dinner I was catering, I decided to give it a try. It is from the blog of What A Dish!, and her rapt description of the "melt in your mouth" crust persuaded me to try it instead of a regular pie crust. I made mini tarts and topped with fresh blueberries, strawberries, and kiwi.

The crust recipe, originally intended to make a 12 inch crust, made 12 tart shells and 8 cupcake sized shells for me. They were easy, looked enticing, and tasted delicious--a real winner in my book! The recipe below is with my adaptations, and the original may be found here.

White Chocolate Fruit Tarts
by What A Dish! originally from Recipezaar.com

3/4 cup salted butter, softened
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1 (6 ounce) package white chocolate squares, chunked
1/4 cup whole milk
1 (8 ounce) package Neufchâtel cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Assorted fruit

Heat oven to 300°F. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Blend in flour. Press mixture into bottom and up sides of mini tart pans or cupcake pans (I used both). Prick bottoms a few times to prevent crust from puffing up. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until just lightly brown. Cool completely.

Carefully melt white chocolate bars and milk in microwave. Cool slightly. Beat cheese and vanilla, then gradually add white chocolate. When crust is cool, pour melted chocolate/cheese mixture into shells, dividing evenly about 2/3 full. Cover with plastic wrap and chill until ready to serve--at least 3 hours. Place fruit on top and serve.

Test Kitchen: Crabcakes

At my house, there is an ongoing friendly battle between testing new recipes for my catering business and making the old favorite standbys for my family. My daughter is a great cook and willing participant in trying new things, so after debating various menus yesterday, we decided to go to Sam's to purchase fresh shrimp to make shrimp cakes as a variation of crabcakes, which are one of my husband's favorite dishes. Sam's had only frozen shrimp, so we decided to substitute lump blue crab meat instead and make crabcakes.

We found an interesting version called Green Chile Crabcakes with Tomatillo Salsa in one of my favorite cookbooks, Pastry Queen by Rebecca Rather. We adapted it to the palates of the whole family by leaving out the jalapeno and green chiles and served it with homemade tartar sauce. They were delicious!--light and crispy with tender bites of sweet crab. We decided that next time we will go ahead and add the jalapeno for a bit more spiciness.

Crabcakes
Adapted from Pastry Queen's Green Chile Crabcakes with Tomatillo Salsa

1 pound lump crabmeat, cleaned
1/4 cup red bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Juice of lime
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 cups panko breadcrumbs, divided
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons olive oil

Combine crabmeat, bell pepper, garlic, lime juice, cilantro, eggs, 2 cups of breadcrumbs, mayonnaise, salt, and pepper in large bowl. Mix lightly with hands and form into eight 3-inch patties. Chill for one hour.
Pour remaining 1 cup breadcrumbs into shallow bowl or paper towel. Coat patties in crumbs. Melt butter and olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add crab cakes and cook for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until surface is golden brown and crispy. Serve immediately.

I made a couple of mini crabcakes and placed them on my salad--YUM!

Test Kitchen: Fish Taco Salad

After seeing LadyJayPee's beautiful photo of Mango Salsa and her referenced recipe from Sugar, I purchased a mango just for the purpose of making that mouth-watering concoction. The minute I finished mixing the ingredients, I sampled the salsa on a Tostito, and it was everything I hoped it would be--tangy with lime juice, sweet from the mango and a nice, crisp punch of flavor from the cilantro and jalapenos.

I sauteed tilapia filets seasoned with Penzey's Smoky 4/S Salt to experiment with a salad in development for my catering menu.

I added diced red peppers and a dash of my favorite "lite" bottled dressing.

This made a delicious salad, but it became magnificent when I spooned it into a corn tortilla.

I could happily eat this every day of my life!

Here is the recipe with my minor adaptations:

Fish Taco Salad with Mango Salsa
adapted from Eating, Etc.
and Everything Nice by Sugar and Spice

1 peeled and diced ripe mango, with juices
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions
juice of one lime
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons chopped pickled jalapenos

Mix together & set aside. Assemble your favorite green salad and add grilled, sauteed, or fried fish. Spoon on mango salsa and shredded cheese, and dress lightly with your choice of salad dressing. Toss and serve immediately. Heaven!

Test Kitchen

One of the most enjoyable aspects of my business is testing new recipes. In developing menus for catering, much of my inspiration comes from other bloggers' recipes. The finished product must not only be delicious and addictive but also be visually appealing and sound irresistible in its description on my menu. I like new twists on old favorites, and so I tested three appetizer recipes this weekend, with my family serving as the "Chopped" judging panel.

Shelby from The Lives and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch has featured recipes from Blogchef, and since my daughter was craving avocados this week, Blogchef's Guacamole Bruschetta was the perfect experiment.

Adding the fresh taste of cilantro to the usual guacamole ingredients and the twist of serving it on crispy french bread made this a definite addition to my catering menu. One avocado-hating panelist abstained from trying this one, but the other two liked it, and I thought it was a winner. My daughter felt it was a touch too tart, so I might adjust the ingredient proportions a bit. I loved it "as is" and finished it off for breakfast this morning (a really good sign!)

My family loves deviled eggs, and when I saw Deviled Egg Spread on The Cutting Edge of Ordinary, I decided to try it in hollowed out new potatoes. This is a good recipe, but there were major deviled egg purists on the Chopped panel. Reaction varied from "I prefer deviled eggs" to another eating it with a spoon. This one might make it onto my menu but with some tweaks to make it more attractive and piquant.

The final recipe presented to the panel was a very simple, easy-to-prepare recipe from The Food Addicts called Man Dip. With the addition of cream cheese as an alternative to the usual Velveeta, this finished product was deemed "OK" by the panel and sadly will not become a part of the catering menu.

My thanks to the Chopped panel--my husband, my Mom, and my daughter--for patiently trying new recipes when they honestly like the old ones much better.