A Slightly OCD Recipe Collection

When I read recipes in a magazine or cookbook I get a good feeling about the food-- almost as if I had actually made the dish in question and it was as glorious as the description and picture appear.  I think a lot of other people feel the same way-- hence the popularity of cookbooks and cooking magazines.  Let's face it, I bet most of us don't prepare even a quarter of the recipes we so assiduously snip, scan, pin or peruse.  But we could make that delicious Coconut-Macademia Shrimp if we wanted to, and it would certainly be as mouth-wateringly crispy and golden brown as the picture illustrates.  Who cares if it calls for things I never have on hand.  Things like white pepper, macadamia nuts and wheat beer.  I actually do own panko crumbs and peanut oil so that's probably close enough.

Of course I also have lots of recipes that I use on a regular basis.  I keep them in a binder that has seen better days.

 At one time I used a recipe card file but later typed a lot of them into the computer.  Alas, I had never completed any one recipe system.  With a newly-married daughter clamoring for "all" my recipes, I've decided that THE TIME HAS COME...  I am industriously reformatting the recipes that are already on the computer and typing up all those other oft-used gems still languishing on 3 x 5 cards or even in their original clipped-from-a-magazine form.  It's not taking me quite forever.  But almost.  I'm through appetizers (easy, I don't have many of those), breads, cookies, brownies, cakes, pies, cheesecakes and other desserts, salads, and vegetables.  The large category of "Main Dishes" has yet to be addressed.  This grouping includes wondrous taste treats such as Mom's Slippery Pot Pie, Betty Crocker's Meatloaf (from my 1983 bridal shower gift cookbook), and Teriyaki Shish Kebabs from an old Taste of Home magazine.

The idea here is to make a copy of my entire treasure-trove of recipes for my two daughters and my daughter-in-law (if she wants a copy of all her mother-in-law's recipes-- no pressure though, haha!)-- as well as a New and Improved binder for myself.  I remember that after my maternal grandmother died it was therapeutic for me to be able to go through all her recipes and remember the thousands of culinary delights that came from her kitchen decade after decade.  My girls are just getting a head start on my recipes while I'm still here.

I actually put together a little cookbook of Grandma's recipes for family members.  It was in the early days of personal computers.  Don't scorn my efforts at personal publishing!

I'll be excited to have all my recipes uniformly displayed in a brand spankin' new hot pink binder.  (I admit to being a bit OCD.  I do like standardized formatting even for my personal cookbook).

Because a blog post such as this would be ridiculous without an actual recipe, I'm including a newish fave, "French Bread Rolls to Die For."  Yes, that's what it's called.  I got the recipe from my favorite online recipe site, Allrecipes.com and adapted it somewhat to suit me.  This is my go-to recipe for dinner rolls and even homemade sandwich buns when I'm feeling especially Suzy Homemaker-ish.  You might want to go to the original Allrecipes version for better instructions if needed.

FRENCH BREAD ROLLS TO DIE FOR

Quantities of ingredients are included for an original recipe and also for a recipe and a half because everybody will want "one more roll" once they've tasted these.

1 ½ recipe      Single recipe

2 ¼ c               1 ½ cups warm water

3 ¼ tsp           1 packet (2 ¼ tsp) active dry yeast

3 Tbsp            2 tablespoons white sugar

3 Tbsp            2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 ½ tsp           1 teaspoon salt

6 c                   4 cups bread flour (can replace some of 4 c flour with 1/3 c oatmeal and 1 c                                                   whole wheat flour)

In a large bowl, stir together warm water, yeast, and sugar. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. To the yeast mixture, add the oil, salt, and 2 cups flour. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. (About 6 mins with dough hook on mixer). Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat. Cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Deflate the dough, and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 16 equal pieces, and form into round balls. Place on lightly greased baking sheets at least 2 inches apart. Cover the rolls with a damp cloth, and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Brush rolls with egg white/water mixture before baking.  Bake for 18 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

If you don't know how to make yeast bread or think it's too complicated, well, you're just missing out.  Try it-- the ingredients aren't expensive, so if you mess up it's no big deal.  It's so worth it.

So good.

Tell me, how/where do you store your recipe collection?