Rolling in Dough

Cinnamon Rolls - Comfort Food Compliments of the Daring Bakers

  I can't be too busy. It stresses me out. I need a certain amount of home time to putter about, bake and regroup. But life doesn't always share my affection for doing nothing and work forces me out into the world. Last weekend was our semi-annual trade show. Three long "fun" filled days that begin with pallet jacks and lugging boxes and conclude with high heels and schmoozing clients. I work in the hair industry so this is a wonderful opportunity for people watching, as there is something about a hair show that combines the freaky, the unusually dressed and the people who apparently don't own mirrors into one venue. As I drug myself home late Sunday evening, I imagined my Monday, a day that would be spent sleeping late, hanging with Lovie and indulging in September's Daring Bakers Challenge - Cinnamon Rolls/Sticky Buns. Comfort food. Just the thing to rejuvenate my lagging spirit and tired body.

I poured a steaming, spicy cup of Chai Tea and put in a Mozart CD. There is something about kneading bread dough to classical music that makes me feel wholly in the moment - I can hardly think of a better  way to spend the afternoon. This was good because I was feeling a little fuzzy - not quite firing on all cylinders. I set out my first round Mise-en-place, and started the dough. Easy enough - it is a lovely consistency, sweet, soft, satiny and firm, a joy to work with. As I set the dough to rise, I contemplated my plan of attack. The recipe has both a Cinnamon roll and a Sticky Bun variation - I was going to take on the Sticky Buns. I don't usually like Sticky Buns, they always seem blah and tasteless, like someone just dumped something sweet over dough that always seems too dry and stuck a few raisins to it like flies. But I'm always up for trying something new - maybe this would be the recipe that would change my mind forever about Sticky Buns. Plus, it has a Caramel layer - a challenge! Just what I need on this day after the Fall show when I can't quite even remember my name.

Have you ever heard that the first lesson of cooking is that you are supposed to read all the way through the recipe before you get started? In the future when I am starting a new recipe, I think I shall actually do this, because when I got to the part of the recipe where the Caramel layer is made, it called for corn syrup. Guess what is not in my baking cabinet? The recipe did allow for the use of cane or gold syrup in place of the corn syrup, but since I appeared to be missing this very basic cooking ingredient, what are the odds that I was going to find a forgotten bottle of cane syrup in the recesses of my cupboard? Not to mention the raisins. I have a five year old - aren't raisins mandatory eating for five year olds? Apparently not in my kitchen. I did locate 6 petrified figs from last Christmas that I was going to use to make Sugarplums, but decided that they were not going to work as a substitution. So I guess I was going to make Cinnamon Rolls instead, which is really no problem, since I and everyone else here loves them. I rolled them up, set them to rise, popped them in the oven and reveled in the delicious aroma of cinnamon and bread that was filling my kitchen.

As I iced the rolls, I thought about how lucky I was to be baking Cinnamon Rolls, they really are the most perfect comfort food, but I really will have to try Sticky Buns one of these days. As I licked the last bits of icing out of the pan, I wondered what the next challenge would be. I can hardly wait!

Be sure to check out all of the Daring Bakers Cinnamon Roll/Sticky Bun creations at the many wonderful and daring baking blogs listed in the blogroll on the sidebar. You will amazed at how different each of rolls turns out - all delicious and mouth watering and unique in their own way.         

Big Chili Cookoff

Sunday, we drove to the small mountain town of Evergreen to attend "Big Chili", a cook-off benefiting the local fire department. As a lover of the green, I had been planning a pilgrimage to a chili cook-off this year. The largest is in Hatch, New Mexico, the epicenter of chile pepper production. A small town of 2,000 people, Hatch manages to attract 30,000 people to its annual love fest. But Hatch is a 9 hour drive from here, and Evergreen is only a half hour away. Smaller event, but I couldn't argue with the commute.

We paid our $12 and got arm bands that allowed us to join the throng and eat all of the chili we could put away. There were over 50 different kinds, all competing to be named best in show. Apparently, the sky was the limit for ingredients and personality, because I saw chili in forms I had never imagined. Most booths offered up the red - chili con carne, meat, chile powder and spices - true chili is never made with beans, and the green - the spicy stew generally made with pork and sometimes with tomatoes that causes me to wax poetically. But the variations were amazing. No two tasted the same. I was surprised how mild most of the chilis were. I only found one that was spicy, but it about melted my taste buds, so that was enough. There were tons of unusual ingredients, including chocolate, peanuts, cinnamon and elk meat. A few of the chiles were truly fantastic and nearly brought tears to my eyes - recipe please!

In addition to the award for best chili, the participants were competing for a showmanship award. Each booth had a theme, from MASH units offering up Gangrene Green Chili to an early Christmas table serving Santa Red and Grinch Green. But one group had made a bold decision. Elk and chicken chili was not their style, that would have been way too tame for them. They were serving Phat Rat Red, and that was not just the name, their chili was really made with rats. They had decorated their booth with photos of the process, from singeing off the hair and cutting off the heads, feet and tails to the overnight marinade in chiles and vinegar, and a huge rat trap with a mechanical heaving and gasping rat caught in it. They were drawing a lot of attention. Tasters of the Rat Red seemed to come in three varieties - the disbelieving, "Yeah, sure it has rats in it - it tastes great!", the grossed out, and the brave, usually one person in each group that was willing to try it while their friends watched with wide eyes and gaping mouths. 

We had a great time. It was a beautiful day in the mountains, everyone was in a good mood, they were pouring nice microbrewery beer and the whole town had turned out for the event. And as we rode the shuttle bus back to our car, I reflected on the day - I tried tons of fantastic chile and had tasted lots of new things. I was grateful for the thoughtful booths that were handing out Tums to wash down the myriad chilis. I had to wonder why there isn't a chile cook-off here in Denver.....    

The Sweet Aroma of Roasting Chiles

Fall has finally arrived and even if the the definite chill in the morning air didn't give it away, the smell emanating from my neighborhood would tell you what season it is. In Northwest Denver, the corners are dotted with chile stands, roasting up the goods. For about $22 per bushel, you can tote home your very own cache of hot roasted chiles. For the uninitiated among you, I'll run through the routine.

• Get in line and look over the chile selection.
• Pretend to know the difference between the Anchos and the Big Jims. Remember the basic rule of thumb that the smaller the chile, the hotter the spice. Make your chile choice based on the level of heat that your tastebuds can handle. 
• Try to guess how many batches of chile you will be making in the upcoming year, because you will be buying for the whole year.
• Pay the cashier and join the Peanut Gallery to wait while your chiles are roasted.
• The roasters will gather your chiles and dump them into the cooker (which looks like a bingo drum).  They lock the door, strike the flint and proceed to roast your chiles to a searing, nearly black crisp, while bits of dried chile peel blow around in a warm breeze spicy enough to make your eyes water.
• When the chiles have been roasted into submission, they are dumped into a large garbage bag and tied with a knot.
• Pack this sweltering package into your car and drive home with the windows open. Do not make any other stops that would require the chiles to spend more time than necessary in the car or you will be enjoying this aroma for the next six weeks. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it can be kind of awkward at a business meeting when you notice your colleagues sniffing the air around you.
• When you arrive at home, don some latex gloves and pack the chiles, 8 or 10 at a time, into quart sized freezer bags.
• Be sure to leave out at least one package to cook with this evening. Make something fabulous - you will be hungry after breathing in the delicious aroma of chiles all afternoon.   

We have done this many different ways and have learned much through the years. The first year we bought all super hot chiles and made it all into Green Chile Stew that day. A day long process that was tasty, but so fiery hot that we had to dilute our stew with about 8 parts of water to even be able to taste it. Also, that first year we learned about gloves. We didn't wear any and ended up soaking our hands in milk in a desperate attempt to cool the capasin burn penetrating thousands of tiny cuts I didn't know I had. Another year found us trying to peel all of the chiles on bagging day. This was a brilliant idea on the surface, but five hours into the process, I decided that peeling the chiles as I used them wasn't such a bad idea. And while I do have friends that buy all of their chiles in the fall, but leave them unroasted, choosing instead to use the grill to roast and peel them as they use them, I've decided against this method. I have tried this with green peppers and the peels are nearly impossible to remove. I'm fine with letting the guy on the corner tackle the roasting for me.   

While we waited for our chiles, a man struck up a conversation with my mom. He had picked out some chiles of his own and had joined the waiting throng. He was asking what kind of dishes you could use chiles in. While Mom explained the finer points of chile cooking, I pondered what would have motivated someone with no chile experience to pull over and buy some. I'm glad he did - chile is a great thing to discover!

For some ideas, check out my previous posts under the Fun with Green Chile category or just let your imagination run wild. Anything made with Green Chile is a great meal - you'll be hooked!