The Ultimate Cinnamon Roll Recipe

After some hit and miss plus lots of trial and error for the past 3 years, I finally found the most wonderful recipe for cinnamon roll ever in this planet! I have tried foodnetwork's recipes via Alton Brown's version and Paula's. But each turned out to be hard rock after a few hours or so baking. Definitely, a disappointment for me. However, this one from www.about.com is so far, the best!

Since I had no milk at home or shortening, I altered the ingredients with SOUR CREAM and OLIVE OIL.

For the SOUR CREAM, I used 3/4 cup water and 1/3 cup sour cream, mixed them together then I placed the small bowl at the microwave for 30 seconds. I didn't scald it. For added softness and volume, I used BREAD FLOUR instead of all purpose flour.

I like this recipe because it asked the baker to use a cake pan and not the typical cookie pan or the glass pan (pyrex) that burns the bottom of the bread what with all the sugar in it, that happens. But not with this recipe! Also, instead of using BUTTER to rub on the pan, I used the oil in spray can made purposely for this use.With the round cakem it kept the moisture in the bread during the process of baking. The height of the surrounding surface does the magic. If you are familiar with baking, seamless cookie pan is meant to bake crunchy cookies and those with minor seam are for chewy type of cookies.

The enormous drizzle of BROWN SUGAR and CINNAMON which was up to the baker to use made the bread quite tasty, delicious and really yummy! I poured thick layers of the two and it's great! Not dry or lacking in them.

I took this photo right after I got the roll from the oven so there was no frosting yet as it was super hot at that time. But you can see how good it looks right here! Immediately, after the photo shot, husband and I started cutting a piece each for us and I must say, this is really THE ULTIMATE RECIPE to try on!

The frosting is simple to do, not too sweet or watery nor it is too thick to enjoy! And it is even more economical. I used SOUR CREAM for this. The recipe asked for MILK or CREAM. My other recipes called for CREAM CHEESE which I think has a lot more calories and is more costly than sour cream or am I in denial? Here is the photo. Click it to enlarge!

Joanne says that she got this recipe from her aunt at a bridal shower in 1959. She says that the rolls freeze wonderfully and can be reheated in the microwave. Her other hint is that she also uses the dough as a refrigerator dough and bakes the rolls the next day.

ULTIMATE CINNAMON ROLL WITH VANILLA FROSTING

Cook Time: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS:
1-1/2 packages (about 3-1/4 teaspoons) dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1/2 cup shortening
1/3 cup sugar
1-1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 egg
4 to 5 cups sifted flour
melted butter
brown sugar
cinnamon
raisins (optional)

FROSTING:
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
milk or cream (2 to 4 tablespoons)

PREPARATION:
1. Add the warm water to the yeast and soak 10 minutes.
2. Scald milk; pour over the shortening. Add sugar and salt and cool to tepid. Add the dissolved yeast and beaten egg. Add 4 cups flour adding one at a time beating after each addition.

Dough should be soft yet firm enough to handle. Knead on floured board until elastic and smooth. Avoid too much flour. Turn dough into well oiled bowl. Let rise for 1-1/2 hours.

3. Press dough down and divide into workable size. Roll dough out into a rectangle. Cover with melted butter. Layer with a generous thick layer* of brown sugar. Sprinkle on cinnamon* as desired. If you like raisins, layer on a layer of raisins. Roll up jellyroll fashion.

4. Using a scissors or a piece of string, cut off slices about 1 to 1-1/2 inches thick. Place slices in an 8 or 9 inch round greased cake pan. Place one slice in the middle and other slices around it. Press rolls down to even out and fill pan. Let rise until rolls fill the pan generously...about another hour.

5. Bake in a 350 degree F oven about 15 - 20 minutes. If rolls get too brown, cover with a piece of tine foil until the end of baking. Do not over bake rolls.

6. Remove immediately from pan by inverting onto a plate and then tip over onto another plate to right the rolls.

FOR THE FROSTING:
1. In a medium bowl, place sugar, butter and vanilla. Then stir in enough milk or cream to reach a thick, hardly-able to stir consistency.

2. Spread over warm rolls as soon as they are placed on a plate to let the frosting melt and run into the rolls.

* I was pretty generous with both the brown sugar and cinnamon. I ended up with about a 1/2 inch layer of brown sugar completely covered with cinnamon. -Recipe
By Carroll Pellegrinelli, About.com as sent by Joanne K.

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Joanne K. says that she got this recipe from her aunt at a bridal shower in 1959. She says that the rolls freeze wonderfully and can be reheated in the microwave. Her other hint is that she also uses the dough as a refrigerator dough and bakes the rolls the next day.

Shorty

With the soothing breeze gracing through our haven, husband and I were watching Oprah at noontime today when the phone started ringing. We were in bed enjoying the quiet moment in our surroundings. When the phone rang, I noticed how familiar the ring tone is. When I answered, a sexy angel-sounding lady was on the other end of the line saying, "HELLO, DARLIN.'"

It was JOSIE, calling all the way from Irvine, CA where she lives. She was in her office on a lunch break. She and I were classmates in high school and occasionally, would email each other as needed. Today was quite a surprise!

Josie and I had a brief time speaking on the phone but as always, she has this oozing energy and cool quality that is so refreshing like spark of icy cold pinacolada on a hot summer night. Thanks, JOSIE, your call was one hell of a surprise that never fails to amuse me!

LITTLE KATIE

*KATIE* (left), as she was photographed with a classmate, appeared in this billboard of SCHOLASTIC PUBLICATION when they had a book fair at her school @ ST. PAUL PASIG in the Philippines last March 2008. Nobody knew she was a model for Scholastic Publiction until her sister YSSA saw the billboard with her sister pictured in it. Ayayay! For this spread, KATIE's talent fee was three pieces of books from the international publication. Can you imagine that? She had it all PRO BONO. Santa Banana!
~~~~~
Last Sunday, husband and I were still at Holiday Inn in Houston, Texas because of the program we attended relative to writing and public speaking. Anyhow, it began Friday evening last week and ended after lunch this week (Monday). During our breaktime, I checked out my voice mail and text messages. Realizing I had just received a text message from my brother who is in the country with his family (two daughters and wife), I was excited to read what's up and about with them. He informed me then that they are now in California. In his short note he indicated that his younger daughter KATIE, who turned six last December, thought she was short changed by her dad. Why? Well, at the time when my brother's family was in New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Pennsylvania- the weather had been great he said. His two kids, YSSA and KATIE loved the weather and the different places they visited. Both adore New York he said, because they like city life and the energy big cities like New York brings in. They enjoyed the rides in the subway, not that they really like it, but the thrill of going up and down the escalator was fun for them. Also, they enjoyed Central Park and the Museum of Natural History. All seemed okay until they travelled to the West Coast. Things changed. Touching down in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, the temperature went up in L.A. and SAN DIEGO area. It was muggy as in the tropics. Once in the homestead of their hosts, KATIE got annoyed, somewhat and asked her dad,

"ARE WE REALLY IN AMERICA, DAD? HOW COME IT IS SO HOT HERE? I THINK WE ARE IN MANILA! I DON'T LIKE IT!"

Poor Katie. She had enough of the heat in Manila! It was funny the way she thought about everything from her perspective as a child. (Now, isn't she smart to notice the similarities in terms of the weather?) She is just six and very articulate! I spoke to her on the phone for a couple of minutes then she was silent. Suddenly, a burst of noise came by from her computer game, screaming on my phone. Yikes! Her older sister YSSA said that KATIE has been so engrossed playing Nitendo. Everyone, in effect, was teasing Katie that she might ended up having lazy/cross eyes because of too much techno game stuff she has been up to! But that didn't help. She went on and on and just said, "Bye..." in a high pitched tone.

YSSA on the other hand, seemed to be acclimatizing better than her sister. She sounded at ease and cool. Her voice timbre had become deeper (this is typical of women in our family). Initially, I thought she sounded like her mom but after a while longer, it dawned on me that she just sounded like the rest of my younger sisters. So far, our connection altogether was good. I was able to speak with my sister-in-law as well.

Husband and I were driving by the freeway from the airport when I made the call. We were on our way home.

All four of them have yet another week to explore Southern California then their vacation is over. This whole trip should be an enriching experience for these two girls who are indeed very fortunate to travel this early in their life. I didn't start jetsetting until I was in my 30s. And it was initially in the Far East and not the continental USA!

*YSSA*, during one of her family outings last March

Agnes, Visiting North Beach

My friend for all seasons, AGNES, came by two weeks ago and slept over at my place. I met her at the BLOOMINGDALE's concierge where I waited for her for a short while. She got off from the BART station which was convenient as it was connected right into the doors of the mall. From BLOOMINGDALE's, we took the bus that brought us to Washington Square, then- we walked. Shortly, we were home.

Agnes is a funny lady who travels to the USA at least every other year since I met her to visit her daughter in San Jose. Back in Manila, I knew her four years ago when she and I worked together in the academic milieu. Agnes was one of the few people who visited me early on when I first arrived here in the USA, just on my first week after I got married. All through the years that passed, she was able to track me down from the suburbs to the city of San Francisco.

Her visit was interesting. We did stuff together like young girls do. Talk, giggle, eat and catch up with time. At home, she was amused with my culinary expertise. I prepped a variety of cuisine to pamper her during her visit. The one that she enjoyed most was watching me bake a French baguette. It was like magic for it seemed to fascinate her infinitely at that moment.

Though very short her visit with me, it was okay since she left with a happy heart. Likewise, I felt great for she had enliven me again during that little time she spent with me. It's interesting on how positive people could leave an indelible memory. She is one of those that could perk up a gray day. That's way she is loved by many.

Thanks, Agnes for passing by. It was good while it last! Come and visit again next time :-)

Fashionista

This is my cousin GIGI (on the right in white shirt) whom I have not seen since 1981. I didn't know she lives in Menlo Park, just South of San Francisco. She called me and suggested we meet. I told her., "Fine. Come over. I don't drive. This is the only thing I cannot do as I freak out on the wheels." She said, "I'd come over, cousin- no problem!" Our cousin GRACE from New York gave her my phone number and that was how it all started our re-connection as relatives.

Three weeks ago on a good day, she drove down my neighborhood and we had lunch at my favorite cafe in North Beach called, "CALZONE'S." It was a warm reunion for us despite the fact that we were not really close since we moved in different directions. Now much older, she wanted to keep the connection open between us since she said we are the only close relatives left here in this part of the globe. "We might as well have relationship since most of our older relatives are either sick or have passed away."

Gigi was a fashion model in the Philippines in the lates '80s and early '90s. After I have been involved in international education, I didn't hear much about her whereabout since I started to move around the globe with my work. So I had no idea she relocated here in the West Coast.

Today, she has a 17-year old daughter named Gabrielle. Gigi works for a real estate company and travels on the side. Ciao!

Our Beloved Father Chuck

Click photos to enlarge*

We were back at the airport here in SFO last night to catch up with an old friend of mine since the early 90s. He was having a layover for 4 hours and was coming at 7:30 PM for a connecting trip from Taipei to Wisconsin. We left our flat early and had dinner at Tuktuk Café in Northbeach. Thereafter, we drove to the airport and parked at the hourly parking which turned out to be costly. We arrived there before 7 PM and left the airport at 10 PM. Our bill was just a few cents’ short of twenty bucks. Now tell me, am I cheap?

We waited at the SFO International Airport at extension G for Father Chuck, a Redemptorist priest, to show up. After 30 minutes, he called me up in my cell phone and said his luggage was the last one to manifest at the carousel. Poor boy. I said, “It’s ok. Don’t stress out. We’ll wait for you or if it is getting to be complex, you need not come out. We'll just speak on the phone. This is good enough. Meanwhile, check-in your luggage at the American Airlines counter.” Then, off- the silence speared in.

While seated momentarily, I watched people who were in Exit G. Husband sat down quietly beside me while glued reading his paperback. I was seated but not reading. Near the entrance door of the airport where the influx is, I enjoyed looking at people zooming in and out of the area. To note, many of them are obese or overweight. In this country where everything comes in a bulk, even the obese do. Because many items are affordable and since a lot of stuff sold is mostly in large volume, people tend to max whatever they are paying for, food for instance. Compulsive eating makes gluttons out of men. What normally is served on the plate for one in America could easily feed two people in other nations. People could share a meal here if they want. Overweight people has become a major problem in this country since this involves taking care of their health care, body image issues, financing, etc. Anyhow, after a while...

Another call came through my phone. This time Father Chuck was explaining where he would be and where we could find him easily. Not to inconvenient him, I handed the phone to LITTLE BOY since he is more adept with places and location. Am not left brained and has difficulties with geography. I stayed on the background and just listened to what I was hearing from my end. Husband and Father Chuck chatted and decided on which terminal we must meet. Seconds later, we went up the escalator one floor higher, took the air train and landed in Terminal 3 where the domestic airport is connected to.

The long walk seemed forever when suddenly, I saw the humongous logo of American Airlines beaming at me.

“There! American Airlines!”

I screamed in excitement. I looked around then husband said,

“I think that is him!”

True enough, I saw Father Chuck from a distance~ waiting for our arrival~ waving, smiling and then laughing his usual self in clear stacatto rhythm. Finally, we were there face to face with him.

He hugged me so tightly. I thought his chest would crash every bone in my body! He was teary eyed (sigh) just like me. After a few minutes I introduced husband to him. Soon enough, we were walking towards the escalator. We went up to the Subway Café on the Third Floor. Once seated, I excused myself and went to the basement (to proceed to the rest room). What a long marathon it came to be. And after a while, I was done with my business. I dashed to where I left the two gentelemn. At Subway, we tried to update each other about the gap we missed since our last email. Together, we shared stories and did a summation of what transpired within the span of 12 years in our life. 12 years!!! Doing so made that moment to seem like a short revelry. In two hours we spoke of many things and recorded our remarkable meeting meeting in photographs. We smiled and hugged again. Then, it was time to say goodbye. Our reunion was short and sweet. Brief as it is, it has a strong impact on our friendship. It was wonderful though how short it has been.

Spring Time in San Francisco- FERRY BUILDING SCENES

French Herb Baguette

I baked these breads- French Baguette with Herb and Altrusca tonight. This French baguette has Italian spice, melted butter and lots of garlic. For the first time, I added corn starch wash in them. Sadly, they made the bread to burn easily. Personally, I didn't like it as it didn't really make the crust to be crispy but just shiny and dark. It does not have the crustiness of the Italian bread. After discovering the beauty and taste of Italian bread, I refuse to bake any other kind of artisan bread except Italian ones. Can you blame me?

Pane Altrusca

As I have mentioned before, Italian breads are quite tasty but it is one of the most difficult breads to bake. You must have the endurance, tolerance, patience, interest, skills and enthusiasm to enjoy making it. Otherwise, this is not the right kind of bread for you to bake! This ALTRUSCA bread ("pane" in ITALIAN-pronounced as PAH-NE) uses SEMOLINA FLOUR apart from the bread flour, water and salt. Typical of IL FORNEIO recipes, this recipe uses BIGA, cold water and warm water. This has an ivory color bread inside and has soft texture inside the crusty rustic bread that is dark in color outside. It's delicious!

Sfilatino (Italian Baguette)

This is a delicious recipe from Il Forneio Book. It uses no oil or sugar so I classify this as a health food. It's very crusty and crispy. Italian breads are far more tasty than French or Spanish breads. Since the proofing time of SFILATINO is 4 hours and baking time is another half hour, the taste developed quite well. Three days before I baked it, I made the BIGA, a.k.a. sponge. Here are the photos taken in progression. Enjoy! I bought a triplet baguette pan at SUR LA TABLE. It is perfect for this thin baguette a'la Italiana.