| THE HEALTHY PLATE: Hearty, healthy, and yummy, maple-pumpkin dinner ...
Warm, fresh rolls improve nearly any meal, which can make it awfully tempting to grab some at the grocer.That is, until you look at the label and see all the mysterious, unpronounceable ingredients.Fortunately, baking dinner rolls at home doesn't have to be a chore. And besides knowing every ingredient that goes into the dough, you also get the joy of filling your home with the aroma of freshly baked bread.This recipe for maple-pumpkin dinner rolls is easily prepared in any moderate to large food processor, though you also can make the dough in a stand mixer with a dough hook or by hand.The rolls bake up moist and tender, though the recipes calls for minimal added fat. Canned, unseasoned pumpkin puree adds plenty of moisture, along with autumnal flavor and beautiful color.Maple syrup, rather than refined sugars, gives the rolls a delicate, earthy sweetness.
Cooking calendar: Food events
TUSCAN FARMHOUSE COOKING: Prepare and cook a menu reminiscent of an Italian country dinner. 6:30-9 p.m. next Thu. $39. Registration required. Black Hawk Middle School, 1540 Deerwood Dr., Eagan. 651-423-7920. www.district196.org/ce. BAKING YEASTED BREADS: A hands-on class led by Jeff Sherman includes recipes for hot cross buns, poppyseed and jam hamentashen, Italian Easter cheese bread and more. 11 a.m.-2 p.m. March 1. $55. Registration required. Let's Cook, 330 E. Hennepin Av., Mpls. 612-623-9700. www.letscook.cc. EASY ENTERTAINING - SPRING CELEBRATION BRUNCH: Learn how to make food ahead of time for your brunch, including blueberry muffins, Mediterranean strata, ham and leek quiche, asparagus with orange vinaigrette and more. 1-4 p.m. March 1. $65. Cooks of Crocus Hill, W. 50th St., Edina.
Happy Nowruz: Cooking with Children to Celebrate the Persian New Year
Nowruz--the Persian New Year--is one of the world's great festivals, a full month of activities celebrating the earth, the arrival of spring, and the rebirth of nature. Most of all, it is a festival for families. Children and adults alike can share in preparing special meals, decorating the house, and performing the many ceremonies that welcome the New Year. This book is a guide to customs thousands of years old yet as vital as ever--enjoyable for families no matter where they live or what their beliefs. Happy Nowruz offers twenty-five fun, easy, and innovative Nowruz recipes, with lots of photos to show you what to do. This is an ideal guide for parents, teachers, and kids--age six and older--to know more about the origins of Nowruz and to get everyone involved in preparing for the arrival of spring by:
baking Haji Firuz cookies germinating seeds in eggshells coloring eggs making a Nowruz garland jumping over fires setting the Haft-sinn (seven-s) holiday table planting narcissus and hyacinth bulbs selecting and buying goldfish banging spoons for trick-or-treating cooking the Nowruz dinner enjoying the Outdoor Thirteen picnic
Each book is shrinkwrapped with a stainless steel cookie cutter in the shape of the herald of the New Year--Haji Firuz--for making and decorating Haji Firuz Gingerbread Cookies.
Ask a Splendid Table: Switching pan size is no piece of cake
Q How do you substitute cake pans? The pear gingerbread recipe I want to do calls for a 9-inch-square pan. I've got an 8-inch-square and two 9-inch-round layer-cake pans. Can I switch to one of these? A Switching pan sizes in baking is tricky because baking times and temperatures are based on the kind of cake, how much batter is in the pan and how dense it is. Toying with time and temperatures in nearly every kind of cake is asking for trouble. That said, there are exceptions. For instance, when you are doing recipes like brownies -- where how the cake rises isn't the issue, but, rather, how moist or not moist it becomes in baking -- you can get away with switching pans. This guide should help and following it is my take on a pear gingerbread that will work in your 8-inch-square pan.
Comfort Food for Those Cold Winter Days
Coming inside from a cold, wet, wintry day and smelling a pot of simmering stew, flaky pastry on chicken pie, or a hearty macaroni and cheese casserole will bring a smile to almost everyone. One-dish meals are especially handy if you are short of time and still want a well-balanced meal for the family. Most of the ingredients are cooked together, so serving and cleanup are at a minimum. When making these recipes, think ahead and make extra for the next day, or freeze leftovers that can be used at a later date. The following recipes are easy to make and absolutely delicious. If you're not a fan of dumplings in your beef stew, make a batch of baking powder biscuits or have thick slices of multigrain bread as an alternative. If you're wanting something other than pastry on the chicken pot pie, put a layer of creamy mashed potatoes on top and brown in the oven.
From farm to table
Sweet treats » 'Puttering gourmet' raises the bar » Sharing her love of food » Baking's always in season » Smidgen of Southern » Eager to entertain » Open heart, open door » Cookie comrades » Wheaton dad sings, sells, cooks » Wheaton woman went organic » Cook keeps mealtime exciting » Cook adds meat to mother's Friday recipes » Once fussy, now a foodie » 89-year-old cook blended work, family More from Laura Bianchi .
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