By Pam “Gates” Johnson
Soft Dinner Rolls
My daughter-in-law Sarah loves these rolls. I make them for her every few weeks.
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 tbsp soft butter
- 1 egg
- 3¼ cups bread flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1½ packages dry yeast (about 3 tbsp)
Instructions
In warm mixing bowl, mix water, yeast, and sugar and let set about 5 minutes until yeast blooms. Scraping down sides, add egg and butter and mix well. Mix flour and salt and add to the bowl. Knead with a dough hook for several minutes until all flour is incorporated and dough is smooth.
Remove from bowl and hand-knead a few times, then put in greased bowl, cover in plastic wrap and a towel and proof in a warm place until at least double in size, about one hour. Remove from bowl, punch down and knead a few times.
Grease 9×13” or larger baking pan. Cut dough into about 1.3-ounce pieces, roll in the palm of your hand and place in the baking pan. I use a scraper to make sure rolls are the same size.
Let rise in warm place until rolls are double in size.
Bake at 375 degrees for 14-15 minutes, until tops are brown. Remove and brush with butter.
Baked Ham with Maple Syrup
Henry’s new favorite. My family loves this and it is so easy to make. One time, I made this ham and served macaroni and cheese as a side instead of potato salad. Jake and Paul sat quietly, looking at the table, then they both said “You can’t have ham without potato salad. Mom, what were you thinking?” I learned my lesson.
Ingredients
- Ham (I really like the boneless half-hams from Costco)
- Plain old fake maple syrup
Instructions
Get your baking dish and a good amount of tin foil. Put the ham in the foil and drench it with maple syrup. Seal it up tight, put in preheated 350-degree oven and bake it for 15 minutes per pound. Since this ham is already cooked, you just have to heat it through.
Unwrap the foil. Put it back in the oven to caramelize a bit.
Slice up the ham, and stand back if you are eating with my family. They love this with fresh, homemade rolls, and the required potato salad.
Roast Turkey
Ingredients
- 12-14 pound fresh turkey
- 2 sticks butter, softened
- Salt, pepper, and whatever herbs tickle your fancy
Instructions
Let turkey rest on counter for one hour while you get everything together. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove strange parts inside the bird (save!), then rinse bird thoroughly and pat dry.
Rub butter all over; you can even lift up breast skin and put butter and seasonings between the skin and meat. Season liberally. Make sure the seasonings stick to the butter.
Now, here is the optional, may I say controversial, part: Do you stuff the turkey with dressing or no? My mom always stuffed the bird. My family prefers the dressing from the bird because it is moister and more flavorful. I will include my mom’s dressing (or stuffing) recipe, and you can decide for yourself. Side note: I have been doing it this way for 50 years and have not sickened or killed anyone yet.
Place turkey on roasting rack (in a roasting pan) breast side up. Put it in preheated oven and roast for approximately 15 minutes per pound, until thigh, breast and stuffing reach 175 degrees.
Melt remaining butter and baste turkey every 20 minutes or so, or until you run out of butter, then baste with pan drippings. This will give you the great crisp skin and brown color.
In the meantime, take the turkey neck, gizzard, and heart, but not the liver and put in a saucepan with large chunks of carrot, celery, and onion. Cover with water, bring to a boil and let simmer while the turkey cooks. I often get one or two turkey wings and throw them in the pot. This makes excellent gravy stock when mixed with pan drippings.
Check temp in a few different places in thigh. When it reaches 175 degrees (stuffing should be 165 degrees), remove from oven, tent with foil, and let rest for 20 minutes before serving.
Stuffing
If you want to go the stuffing route, here is how my mom made it:
Ingredients
- 2 packages seasoned stuffing mix (I prefer Franz) … depending on how big your bird is and how much your family likes stuffing
- 1 pound bacon
- One medium-large white or sweet onion, chopped
- 4 or 5 celery stalks, chopped
- 1 box chicken stock
Instructions
Cut bacon into ½” pieces and sauté with chopped celery and onions, until bacon is cooked but not crisp.
Dump dry stuffing mix into large bowl, add bacon mixture (add the grease, too) and add chicken broth until all pieces are moist but not soggy. Any leftover chicken broth goes into the gravy stock pot.
When stuffing is well-mixed and moist, loosely spoon into turkey cavities and secure with skewers or string.
Leftover stuffing goes into a small baking dish, covered with foil, and baked for about half an hour until it reaches 165 degrees.
