Pumpkin-Shaped Dinner Rolls – Your Guests Will Blow Their Gourds

The holidays are almost here, which means “show-off” baking season is almost here, and these pumpkin-shaped dinner rolls are just the thing to impress your guests, and more importantly, drive your culinary rivals mad with envy. Sure these take about 20 minutes longer to make than your already perfectly fine dinner rolls, but that’s nothing when you consider all the compliments that will be coming your way.

This very Instagram-friendly roll is the perfect thing to bring to that holiday gathering, and can be made using your favorite dinner roll recipe. The key here is well-oiled string, and being careful not to tie it too tightly. If the string gets embedded too deeply into the dough, it will tear the roll when you try to remove it, and there’s nothing that stops something from being cute, quite like a jagged tear.

By the way, if you don’t feel like tying all those knots, you can try and do this with one long piece of string, winding it around the dough ball, as you turn it, but I find that method harder, and less successful. Faster yes, but not as visually appealing once baked.

If you do a video search for this type of roll, you’ll also see people simply cutting slashes around the outside, which sort of works, but it just doesn’t come out as adorable. But, regardless of which roll recipe, or shaping method you use, I really do hope you give these pumpkin-shaped dinner rolls a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 12 “Pumpkin” Dinner Rolls:
(be sure to save a few tablespoons of dough for the stems)

1 cup warm milk

1 package dry active yeast

1 or 2 tablespoons honey

4 tablespoons melted butter

3 cups flour, plus more for kneading

1 teaspoon fine salt

kitchen string

vegetable oil for strings

- Bake at 375 F. for 20-25 minutes

- Feel free to give these an egg wash before baking if you want a shinier look.

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Yorkshire Pudding – Don’t Call it a Popover

If you’re going to be slightly underwhelmed by the dry-aged Prime Rib you waited 42 days to roast and eat, you might as well whip up some Yorkshire puddings with the rendered fat, to help make up for it. That’s the classic fat in which to make these puffy pastries, and while any high-temp oil will work, there’s nothing quite like actual beef drippings, and without it, you’re just eating a popover.

Of course, every time I make these, I can’t help but wish I could experience them in their original form. As legend has it, these were cooked in a pan of fat, situated at the bottom of a hearth, underneath a large piece of roasting beef. The smoky heat from the fire, along with all the other goodness dripping into the pan from the meat, must have made for quite the memorable treat. Which is a good thing, since for most of the people hanging out around the roast, that’s all they probably got to eat.

If you happen to make the larger ones, using a popover pan, you’ll need to cook them at 375 F. for a little longer time. Maybe 10 minutes more at least, but don’t go by time. We basically want these as browned and puffy as possible, so leave them in as long as you feel is safe. No matter how big you make these, or what you fill the leftover ones with, I really hope you give them a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 12 small or 6 large Yorkshire Puddings:

4 large eggs

1 teaspoon kosher salt

7/8 cup all-purpose flour (almost a cup)

1 cup whole milk

about 3/4 cup melted beef fat
- heat oil at 400 F. for 10-15 minutes, then fill and bake for 25 minutes more, or until browned and fully puffed. If doing the larger ones in a popover pan, bake at 375 F. for about 7-10 minutes longer.

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Crispy “Everything” Flatbread – “Everything” and Everything

These crispy “everything” flatbread crackers aren’t just called “everything” because they’re inspired by the “everything bagel,” but also because they’re everything you’d want in a flatbread. They’re savory, and interesting enough to eat by themselves, but also pair perfectly with countless dips, any cheese plate, and of course, anything you’d schmear on a bagel.

I played it safe with the powders, but I’m tempted to try this with freshly minced garlic and onions, which would get us even closer to their round inspiration. I’ll tweet a photo if it works, but even with the dried stuff, it was really close. By the way, garlic/onion powder, and granulated garlic/onion is the same thing, just ground to a different fineness, and they’re interchangeable. Just make sure they’re made with pure garlic and onion, and not a bunch of salt.

This easy technique will work with pretty much any seeds and flavorings, so I encourage you to go nuts customizing the recipe. Just don’t forget to flip your dough over before baking, so that your flatbread edges curl up the right way. For a more rustic look, you can bake these uncut, and then once cooled, snap them into irregular shards, which is also a great look. Either way, I really hope you give these crispy “everything” flatbreads a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for about 48 Crispy “Everything” Flatbreads:

3/4 cup spouted spelt or whole wheat flour

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt (or 1/2 teaspoon fine salt)

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

pinch cayenne

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, or to taste

1/4 teaspoon onion powder, or to taste

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup hot water, or more as needed

poppy seeds and sesame seeds as needed

- Bake at 375F. for about 20 minutes, or until golden-brown and crispy.

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Lemon Poppy Seed Scone with Fresh Strawberry Glaze – These Passed the Test…Will You?

Certain things just go together, like lemon and poppy seeds, or gorgeous, freshly baked scones and a fancy brunch, which is why, with Mother’s Day coming up, the timing for these may be perfect. And yes, I was kidding about the poppy seeds affecting your Mom’s drug test, although if there are issues, I believe my joke disclaimer in the intro shields me from any liability.

The method for making these scones is very simple, but can be a little scary for a novice baker, since the dough starts off in such rough shape, but if you’re able to wrestle it all together on the table, verses mixing into a dough ball in the bowl, you’ll be rewarded with a much more tender scone. Having said that, even a slightly tough lemon poppy seed scone is a great thing to eat, so don’t stress either way.

Once again I’m using self-rising flour, and hope you do the same. It just works better for these recipes, and every serious baker should have some in their pantry. If you want to make your own, for every cup of regular all-purpose flour, just sift in a teaspoon and a half of baking powder, and a half teaspoon of fine salt. But regardless of which flour you use, or how you glaze these, I really do hope you give them a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 8 Lemon Poppy Seed Scones

2 3/4 cups self-rising flour (see note in blog post above)

1 stick (4 ounces) very cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

2 tablespoons poppy seeds

1/2 cup white sugar

grated lemon zest from one lemon

1 large beaten egg

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/3 to 1/2 cup whole milk or as needed

- Bake at 375 F. for about 25 minutes

For the Strawberry Glaze:

3 or 4 strawberries, cut in quarters, and then finely mashed

enough powdered sugar to make a thick spreadable glaze

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Lamb Borek and the Secret of Sogginess

Lamb borek is stunning to look at, and even more enjoyable to eat, which is all thanks to, believe it or not, intentionally soggy dough. This is something I didn’t grasp the first time I made it, and I just brushed melted butter between the layers, hoping for something really crispy, and flaky, which in Phylloland is standard operating procedure. However, since my dough was not made flexible by the egg/yogurt/butter wash we used here, it basically exploded in like seven spots when I tried to roll it up. Lesson learned.

Besides moisturizing the phyllo, this magic mixture also adds flavor, thanks to the tangy yogurt; and the melted butter helps create a fairly crispy exterior as well. So, while we don’t want to fully saturate the sheets, a light brushing really does wonders. If you use a 9 or 10 inch round pan like I did, three rolls should work out nicely, but this technique will work no matter what you bake it on. You can also skip the spiral effect, and keep them straight, or bend them into any other shape.

You’ll need a package of phyllo that provides at least 12 decent sheets, and I really hope yours is better than the tragic box I bought. However, as bad as mine was, it still worked out quite nicely, so I’m not exactly sure why I’m complaining. Anyway, whether you make the recipe as listed, or tweak the filling to your tastes, I really do hope you give this lamb borek recipe a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 6 large portions:

(for one 9-10 inch round baking dish)

1 package frozen phyllo (filo) dough

2 teaspoons sesame seeds for the top, optional

For the lamb filling (you’ll have some leftover):

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, diced

2 pounds ground lamb

2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste

4 cloves minced garlic

2 tablespoons currants

3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1 1/2 cups tomato sauce

1/4 cup water

For the egg/yogurt/butter wash:

1 large egg

3 tablespoons Greek yogurt

2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoon melted butter

For the yogurt sauce:

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

2 tablespoons very finely sliced mint leaves

lemon juice to taste

1 crushed garlic clove, optional

enough water to achieve desired texture

pinch of salt and cayenne

- Bake at 400 F. for 35-40 minutes, or until browned and crisp.

Note: Save any extra phyllo, since the filling recipe above makes extra, and you can fold up some smaller, triangular boreks if you want.

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Khachapuri – Georgia (Cheese Bread) On My Mind

There’s no way to prove that corporate pizza chain restaurants got the idea for stuffing their crusts with cheese from Khachapuri, but that’s definitely the story I’m going with. 

Nevertheless, this Georgian cheese bread is such an amazing treat, it’s probably only a matter of time before these things are being delivered all over the country, right along side the usual pizza, garlic knots, and chicken wings.

While they do take a little bit of finesse to pull off at home, the dough is very simple, and the pay off is well worth the effort. You can obviously customize the cheese blend, but I strongly suggest that feta be part of the equation. The stretchy mozzarella, and creamy Jack are nice, but they’re not the most flavorful cheeses ever, which is why the sharper bite the feta brings works so well.

Besides working with the wet, sticky dough, the only real challenge here is not over cooking your eggs. In fact, I have it on good authority that some folks don’t even place these back in the oven after the eggs are introduced, but rather just stir the raw egg into the molten hot, cheesy center, and “cook” it that way. That’s up to you, but the point is, we want…we need, a runny yolk here. Anyway, since you can’t get this delivered quite yet, I really do hope you give these gorgeous Khachapuri a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 2 Khachapuri:

For the dough:

1/2 cup warm milk

1/3 cup warm water

1 package dry active yeast (2 teaspoons)

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons olive oil

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus about 1/4 to 1/2 cup extra for final kneading

1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (3/4 teaspoon fine salt)

For the cheese blend:

4 ounces mozzarella cheese

4 ounces Monterey Jack cheese

8 ounces feta cheese

For the rest:

1 tablespoon butter, cut in 4 slices

2 large eggs

sea salt for the top

cayenne, optional

- Bake at 475 F. for 15 minutes, fill with egg, and bake another 3 or 4 minutes, until the egg is almost, but not quite set.

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Garlic Naan – Now, 100% Tandoor-Free

Naan bread, especially this easy to make garlic naan, is the real reason Indian restaurants give you so much extra sauce when you order a curry. I mean, sure, the basmati rice helps, but good luck getting all that goodness off your plate using a fork.

Besides being near lots of great curries, the other advantage the restaurant naan enjoys is being cooked in the intense heat of the tandoor oven. However, we can pull off a pretty good version at home by using a smoking hot cast iron skillet. By the way, it shouldn’t literally be smoking, since we cook these without any oil in the skillet, but the key to this whole operation is waiting for the pan to get up to the proper temperature.

In fact, done correctly, the blistered bubbles will be charred to a lovely golden-black, so be brave. I’m working on the creamy cashew chicken curry seen herein, and hope to post that next, but in the meantime, I really hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 6 Garlic Naan:

1/2 cup warm water

1 teaspoon sugar

1 package dry active yeast

1/4 cup plain yogurt

about 2 cups bread flour, plus more as needed
1 teaspoon kosher salt (or 1/2 tsp fine salt)

1 tablespoon garlic butter

- Cook in a very hot, dry cast iron skillet for 2 to 3 minutes per side

For the Garlic Butter:

1/2 cup melted butter

4 cloves finely minced garlic

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Brazilian Cheese Bread (Pao de Queijo) – Fast, Fun, and Inadvertently Gluten-Free

Brazilian cheese bread is very easy to make, and features a chewy, cheesy, bready center, encased in a beautiful, thin, pastry crust. It also happens to be gluten-free, thanks to it being root-rich. These are made using tapioca flour, which not only makes them grain-free, but is also responsible for their very unique texture.

Tapioca flour is pretty easy to find these days, and I get mine from a guy named Bob, who runs a mill, but if your local market doesn’t carry it, I recommend finding some online. There are lots of fun recipes you can make in addition to these, like homemade tapioca pearls for bubble tea, just to give one enticing example.

As I mentioned in the video, you can easily adjust the thickness of your dough by adding another splash of milk, or more tapioca flour depending on what you're into. Some folks swear by a thinner batter, which they bake in muffin tins, but to me those come out too much like popovers, and don’t have the same chewy, cheesy center.

Happily, Brazilian cheese bread ingredients are fairly inexpensive, which means you can play around with a few batches, and see for yourself. No matter what you end up with, I really do hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 24 Brazilian Cheese Breads:

(Please note, I only made half a batch)

 2 1/4 cups tapioca flour, plus more as needed to adjust texture

1/2 cup lightly flavored olive oil and/or vegetable oil

2/3 cup milk

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 ounces freshly grated mozzarella (about 1/2 cup)

2 ounces freshly and finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano* (about a cup unpacked)

2 large beaten eggs

pinch of cayenne

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Cast Iron Cornbread – Frugal Fabulous

What to bring to a cookout is always a tough call. Ribs or brisket would be great, but they’re not cheap, and take hours to prepare. On the other end of the spectrum, you could just bring a bag of chips, but that’s kind of weak sauce.

In fact, that’s probably worse that literally bringing a weak sauce, which is why this easy-to-make cast iron cornbread is such a great option. This stuff is very inexpensive to make, but that’ll be the last thing anyone will be thinking about as they eat, and if everything goes according to plan, you’ll be asked to bring it to the next gathering. Sure, every once in a while it would be nice to show up with a pulled pork shoulder, but hey, you’re the cornbread guy or gal, and that’s just your thing.

Above and beyond how much extra beer money this recipe will afford you, it’s also very adaptable. You can add things like hot peppers, cheese, and fresh corn, as well as adjust the texture to your particular tastes. I use a lot of buttermilk, since I don’t care for a super-dry, crumbly cornbread, but if you do, simply reduce the amount to one cup. You can also use plain milk for this, but I really do like the tang of the buttermilk.

As far as the butter amount goes, I’d usually use four tablespoon for the batter, and maybe only one or two for the pan, but this time I decided to melt the whole stick. It was borderline too much, so maybe keep that in mind if you don’t want it too rich, but as with all these recipes, I’ll let you experiment and figure things out. Either way, I hope you give this easy, and affordable cornbread a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 8-10 Portions:

1/2 cup melted unsalted butter, divided (half for batter, half for pan)

1 cup cornmeal

1/2 teaspoon fine salt

pinch of cayenne

3 tablespoons honey, or to taste

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups buttermilk (or less for a drier texture)

1 cup self-rising flour*

- Bake at 400 F. for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

*To make your own you self-rising flour, sift together 1 cup of all-purpose flour, with 2 teaspoons baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon fine salt.

Summer Tomato Tart – Better Than a Nude Beach

One of these days Michele and I will travel to the south of France, where we’ll make it a point to eat this amazing tomato tart at least once a day. It’s going to be hot, since we’ll have to go in the middle of summer, so we can enjoy the best possible tomatoes, but that’s fine, as long as they don’t run out of chilled rosé.

While beautiful in its own way, this tart doesn’t necessarily look like it’s going to be one of the most delicious things ever, but then you bite into the crispy, buttery crust, which is the perfect delivery system for the tangy Dijon, and sweet, caramelized tomatoes, and you’re like, yeah, that guy was right.

By the way, if you want to learn some really good French swear words, call this a “French pizza” in front of a French chef. They don’t quite agree with the analogy. However, there is one common denominator. Both can be ruined with too much topping. Just like we don’t want to overload a thin-crust pizza with a ton of sauce and cheese, we need to be restrained with this as well.

One layer of tomato is plenty, since more than that will make for a too wet tart, which means your pastry will not stay crispy. Besides that, there’s not much that can go wrong, unless you use subpar tomatoes. But, since we’re right in the middle of peak season that shouldn’t be a problem, so I really do hope you give this tomato tart a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

enough puff pastry to make your shell

enough extra-strong Dijon mustard to sauce the inside

enough sliced tomatoes to fill the tart with a single layer

salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

several big pinches of Herbes de Provence (or an Italian herb blend if you can’t find)

extra-virgin olive oil, as needed

freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, as needed

fresh chopped herbs to garnish

- Pre-bake tart shell for about 10 minutes at 400 F.

- Let cool about 10-15 minutes, then fill and bake at 400 F. for about 25-30 minutes, or until pastry is well-browned and crisp.

Steamed Barbecue Pork Buns (Char Siu Bao) – Sweet, Steamy Memories

In younger, leaner times, I’d often rely on the delicious, inexpensive calorie bomb that is the steamed barbecue pork bun. They were twice the size, and for a few bucks you could get very full…for about 30 minutes, and then you were starving again. Nothing a Mission-style burrito couldn’t fix.

Anyway, the filling was chopped Chinese-style barbecue pork mixed with some kind of mysterious, gelatinous red sauce, which was significantly sweeter than what I’m doing here. 

That’s probably why they don’t seem to come out quite the same as I remember. I probably need a lot more sugar, as well as copious amounts of MSG. Having said that, I was pretty pleased with my insides, but as usual I encourage you to freestyle. 

Here’s a link to a fairly classic pork bun filling recipe, in case you want something slightly more authentic, and since it looks just like the stuff I mentioned above, I might give it a try next time. But, regardless what you fill yours with, I really do hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 12 Steamed Barbecue Pork Buns (Char Siu Bao):

For the dough:

3/4 cups warm water

1 1/2 teaspoons dry active yeast

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

1 1/2 teaspoon white sugar

2 cups *self-rising flour

For the filling (this made more than I needed):

2 cups chopped Chinese-style barbecue pork, or other barbecued pork product

1/4 cup finely sliced green onions

2 teaspoons sesame oil

1/4 cup hoisin sauce, or as needed

salt (soy sauce) and cayenne to taste

2 teaspoons white sugar, optional

*If you don't have self-rising flour, you can use 2 cups all-purpose flour sifted with 3 teaspoons baking powder and 1 teaspoon fine table salt.

Whole Chicken Pie – Finally, a Great Pie with Bones

There’s a restaurant up the street that serves a whole chicken wrapped in brioche, and ever since I saw it, I’ve wanted to do that video. I’ve never actually had it, since it’s $100, and you have to order it a day in advance. I love chicken, but I think I’ll save my hundred dollar bills for more sensible things, like lighting Cuban cigars.

Anyway, I was planning on doing a bread-wrapped bird, when I saw a photo for what looked like a pie crust wrapped chicken. Suddenly, I remembered doing something similar in culinary school, except they made us call the pie dough, “pate brisee,” for some reason, but same idea. That’s when plans changed, and the brioche went bye bye.

When bread’s used, you usually have to peel the soft, flabby skin off before enjoying the meat, but that’s not as big an issue here. Pie crust doesn’t insulate nearly as well, and so the skin gets cooked more thoroughly. This was very noticeable on the breasts, where the skin and crust fused together into some sort of marvelous hybrid. The thicker skin around the thighs didn’t render out quite as well, but even if you do pull off the skin, the meat is moist, tender, and very flavorful.

If you use a 3 1/2 pound chicken for this, then the roasting/resting time should work out, but if your bird is larger, you’ll have to add more time, and should probably use a thermometer to check your work. By the way, this is a technique video, and everything from the stuffing, to the pan sauce ingredients should be adapted to your tastes, but no matter what you use, I really do hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

*This was inspired by the chicken photo from this article about Chef Barbara Lynch.
Ingredients for One Whole Chicken Pie:

1 whole chicken, between 3 1/4 and 3 1/2 pounds

kosher salt as needed

1 recipe buttercrust pastry dough (this was just barely enough)

1 egg beaten with 2 teaspoon of water

For the veggie stuffing:

1/2 yellow onion, small dice

1 small carrot, small dice

1/2 rib celery, small dice

1 to 2 tablespoons minced rosemary or other fresh herb

kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, and cayenne to taste

2 teaspoons olive oil

For the sauce (this is for 4 portions, I only made 2):

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 cup veggies from inside chicken (pull out while chicken rests, but replace the crust)

salt to taste

2/3 cup white or rose wine

1/3 cup pan drippings and/or splash of stock

4 tablespoons cold butter cut in cubes

Note: This is a rich butter sauce, but a gravy, so you only get a few tablespoons

Grain-Free Butter Bread – Going Full Keto

I've always wanted to try making one of these grain-free loaves, and since I've received tons of food wishes for it, I decided to finally give it a go. I very slightly adapted this recipe from one I found at Keto Connect, where they call it the “Best Keto Bread.” Since I basically stole their recipe, I decided not to take their name too, and went with the hopefully appetizing sounding, grain-free butter bread.

Here is the link to the original recipe, and I welcome you to check it out, since they give a lot of tips, as well as other variations, but I did change the technique somewhat. They used a food processor to mix in all the egg whites, whereas I finished by folding. Not sure how big a difference it makes, but I do like to occasionally use a few things I learned in culinary school.

While I really did enjoy this, and it was much more bread-like than I had anticipated, please be sure to manage your expectations appropriately. Without wheat flour and yeast, it’s impossible to get a true bread taste and texture, but if you’re off carbs, and have been dreaming about a nice slice of buttered toast with your eggs, this is well worth a try.

It has a subtle egginess, and faint almond flavor, but overall it’s relatively neutral, and the texture is reminiscent of an extra moist, and spongy white bread. If you wanted to run with my strawberry shortcake idea, you could add a spoon of sugar to the batter, and you’d just be some whipped cream away from a pretty decent, low-carb treat. Either way, I really do hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for one loaf:

1 1/2 cup fine ground almond flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon fine salt

1/4 cup melted butter

6 large egg yolks

6 large egg whites

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

- Bake at 375 F. for about 30 minutes