Home Cooking With Trisha Yearwood: Stories and Recipes to Share With Family and Friends (4 page)
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Authors: Trisha Yearwood
Tags: #food.cookbooks
Butter the bottoms of four 9-inch round pans.
In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water. In a separate bowl, add the vegetable shortening and sugar to the boiling water. Set this mixture aside to cool slightly. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs and mix with the flour and salt. Add the dissolved yeast and the vegetable shortening–sugar mixture to the flour mixture. Mix until thoroughly combined. Cover the dough in the bowl with a clean towel and let it rise for 2 hours.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a 19 × 14-inch rectangle and sprinkle with some of the cinnamon sugar. Slice 1 stick of butter into small pieces and dot all over the cinnamon sugar. Roll up the dough like a jellyroll and cut into 1-inch slices, using a heavy cotton thread or floss. Place the rolls in the prepared pans, cover, and allow them to rise for 2 hours.
Near the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F. While the oven preheats, melt the remaining stick of butter and add the milk and confectioners’ sugar, mixing until smooth. Bake the rolls for 13 to 15 minutes, or until very light brown. Drizzle the icing over the rolls while they’re hot.
FROM GWEN:
Make your own cinnamon sugar by mixing 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon with ½ cup granulated sugar.
I always say that I am not really a “sweets” person. The truth is I am more of a sweets snob. I like desserts, but only if they’re homemade. One of my weaknesses, though, is doughnuts. I could live at Krispy Kreme and be happy. They give you a little hat to wear, they let you watch the doughnuts coming off the line, they smother them with glaze, and then they give you one, right off the assembly line. I immediately buy at least a dozen. These beignets are a little taste of Krispy Kreme heaven at home. All you need is a small baker’s hat!
MAKES 5 DOZEN BEIGNETS
¼ ounce (1 package) active dry yeast
1½ cups warm water (105°F)
½ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup evaporated milk
7 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
¼ cup vegetable shortening, such as Crisco
8 cups peanut oil
Confectioners’ sugar for sprinkling
In the bowl of an electric mixer, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water. Stir to dissolve. Add the sugar, salt, eggs, and milk. Beat until blended. Add 4 cups of the flour by big spoonfuls. Beat until smooth. Add the shortening, and then beat in the remaining 3 cups flour. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 3 hours.
In a large electric fryer, preheat the oil to 360°F.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a ⅛-inch thickness. Cut the dough into 2½-inch squares. Deep-fry each square in the hot oil for 2 to 3 minutes, or until lightly browned on each side. Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle heavily with confectioners’ sugar.
FROM GWEN:
Deep-fry in batches of about 12 at a time.
FROM BETH:
Depending on the size of your electric fryer, it may take more or less than 8 cups of oil. Just pour the oil as deep as you can into your fryer.
As I recall, we didn’t do a lot of snacking in my family when I was growing up.
Breakfast was either something on the fly or a big weekend bonanza. Lunch was from the school lunchroom. The lunch ladies at Piedmont Academy, where I went to school from first through twelfth grades, were amazing cooks, so lunch was always worth waiting for. Most children today aren’t that jazzed about eating in their school cafeterias, but we had it made. Even the hamburgers were handmade right there in the school kitchen!
As an adult, I find myself making more dips and appetizers, sometimes in place of a meal. We have our friends and their children over on most weekends, and of course for special occasions like the World Series or the Super Bowl. Sometimes I’ll make an entrée or Garth will grill steaks, and we’ll ask them to bring sides—but more often than not, I’ll say, “Let’s just have snacks for everybody!” These snacks and appetizers are some of our must-haves.
salsa
I love fresh vegetables—especially in the summer. We always had a garden at home, and there just isn’t anything quite like a homegrown tomato. This recipe pairs corn with garden-fresh tomatoes, jalapeño peppers, and cilantro. The resulting salsa is mouth-wateringly good and very easy to make. I serve it at summer birthday parties and on Super Bowl Sunday.
SERVES 20
1 15-ounce can yellow corn, drained
1 15-ounce can white corn, drained
1 4-ounce can chopped green chiles, drained
1 2½-ounce can sliced black olives, drained
4 green onions, minced
2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and chopped
3 tablespoons white vinegar
⅓ cup olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro
Tortilla chips, for dipping
Mix the corn, chiles, olives, onions, tomatoes, jalapeños, vinegar, oil, and salt in a medium bowl and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Just before serving, add the cilantro. Serve with your favorite tortilla chips.
Substitute Fritos Scoops for plain tortilla chips. More salsa per bite!
salsa
Who says you need tomatoes to make salsa?
Phyllis Pritchett of Martin, Tennessee, shared this recipe for a delicious summer salsa made with watermelon! This seemingly odd mix of ingredients makes an amazing appetizer. Add any fruit you like. I add diced mango sometimes for color and flavor.
MAKES 3 CUPS
1½ teaspoons lime zest (from about 1 lime)
¼ cup fresh lime juice (from about 3 limes)
1 tablespoon sugar
¾ teaspoon pepper
3 cups seeded and finely chopped watermelon
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
1 small red onion, finely chopped
8 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
½ teaspoon garlic salt
Tortilla or pita chips
Stir together the lime zest, lime juice, sugar, and pepper. Add the watermelon, cucumber, jalapeño, onion, and basil and toss gently. Chill the salsa until ready to serve and add the garlic salt just before serving. Serve with tortilla chips or pita chips.
I like it spicy, so I use 2 jalapeños instead of 1!
cheese dip
Cheese seems to be a staple in many southern dishes. I was on tour a few years ago and had a show in Charleston. When I got to my hotel room, the staff had left me a lovely basket of goodies. Usually, amenities baskets are full of things like fruit and candy. This basket was accompanied by a tray of homemade cheese dip and crackers. It was perfect for this Georgia gal!
SERVES 10
½ cup mayonnaise
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese (about 4 ounces)
½ cup grated Monterey Jack cheese (about 2 ounces)
2 green onions, finely chopped
Dash of cayenne pepper
8 Ritz or butter crackers, crushed
8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
In a medium bowl, mix the mayonnaise, cream cheese, Cheddar cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, green onions, and cayenne pepper. Transfer the mixture to a shallow baking dish, such as a 9-inch pie pan. Top the mixture with the cracker crumbs and bake for 15 minutes, or until heated through. Remove the pan from the oven and top with the bacon. Serve immediately with corn chips, crackers, or bagel chips.
corn dip
I made this dip recently for “Girls’ Night In.” Every now and then a group of my girlfriends and I get together and watch our favorite television show, or watch chick flicks—insert your favorite movie here. My favorite tearjerker chick flicks are
Steel Magnolias, Return to Me,
and
Message in a Bottle.
We keep this dip warming in a slow cooker and snack on it all evening. Corn chips make this dip divine!