Lazy Man's Cinnamon Rolls

Before you ask, no, there IS no ‘lazy man’. Just me and O2, a lazy Sunday morning and little motivation for spending 3 hours waiting for yeast cinnamon rolls to be completed. Not that they’re not totally worth the effort. If you have some time to spare, here’s a great recipe.

We did have another fabulous dinner Saturday night with G & C. More to come on that.

Meanwhile… On those days when O2 and I are in the mood for something sweet for breakfast (or breakfast at all, for that matter), this is my quick version of a cinnamon roll. It’s about a 20 minute project, start to finish, and bake time gives me just long enough to dash over and pick up my morning joe and Sunday paper.

See? Not all good things require an entire morning to prepare.

Quick Cinnamon Rolls

1 ¾ cup flour
2 Tbs baking powder
2 Tbs sugar
½ tsp salt
1 stick (8 Tbs) cold butter
¾ cup buttermilk

2 Tbs softened butter
2 Tbs brown sugar
1 Tbs sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg

4 oz cream cheese, softened
2 Tbs powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbs milk

Heat oven to 400º. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Cut butter into small chunks and add to the bowl. Cut butter into flour with a pastry cutter until butter chunks are about the size of small peas. Add buttermilk and stir just until combined.

Turn mixture out onto a floured surface. Knead lightly 2 or 3 times until it comes together, then roll out into a rectangle, about 12” x 6” (roughly). Dough should be about 1/4” thick.

Spread the softened butter over entire surface of the dough, then sprinkle evenly with the sugars and spices. Beginning with one of the long sides, tightly roll up the dough and crimp to seal edges.

Cut log into 1 1/2” pieces and place on a cookie sheet, cut side up. Bake in preheated oven for 12 - 15 minutes, or just until browned.

While the rolls cool, combine the cream cheese and powdered sugar in a small bowl. Slowly incorporate vanilla and milk, adding more milk if necessary until mixture is of the desired consistency. Spread on warm cinnamon rolls.

Joes, Cornbread and an Old Friend

When I went to the store over the weekend to buy a small container of buttermilk for the crème fraîche I was making, I discovered that all they had on hand were the large containers (Hmm… what does that work out to volume-wise? A quart?). So typical.

Anyway, I obviously ended up with way more buttermilk than I needed, but I figured I’d find a way to make use of it. And since I was also trying to clean the fridge out in preparation for another Dinner o’ the Month with Carley, I came up with a jalapeno and cheese cornbread. My search also yielded a bag of hash browns, which I fried with some onions and fresh spinach. And although chili sounded really good, I decided to go for a quicker sloppy Joes kind of a thing.

And while I can’t remember having a similar menu combo growing up, the meal did bring back memories of childhood, growing up on the farm (no one that knows me now would ever believe I lived on an actual farm). And as fate is often such a tricky thing, lo and behold, sometime after eating this meal and reminiscing over my time in Arkansas, I was contacted by my college roommate, who I had kind of lost track of.

So, while I feel like I should have polished the silverware and made a better showing, meal-wise, here’s to you, Mary.

Mary, by the way, was the one that got me interested in theater, mostly by yanking me by the feet kicking and screaming into the auditorium of the theater at our little college. Got hooked from there and have been ever since.

Thus the name of the blog.

Someone pointed out to me that they haven’t really found the ‘Shakespeare’ in ‘Measuring Spoons and Shakespeare’, and I guess my response is that ‘Measuring Spoons and Various Playwrights from Different Eras Being Represented by Different Theaters During Various Seasons’ just sounded, well… STUPID.

My plan for the blog was to combine two of my loves... cooking and theater.  Unfortunately, life has a way of intervening, and I haven't been able to do a whole lot, theater-wise, for a while.  Hopefully that will change.

I had also thought to post all of the local theater happenings, but until there are more than 5 people who regularly read this, it seems like an awful lot of extra effort for naught.

Anyway, back to the Joes…

Sloppy Joes

1 lb ground beef
1 - 2 Tbs olive oil
½ onion (preferably sweet), diced
1 green pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbs apple cider vinegar
3 Tbs brown sugar
3 Tbs ketchup
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
3 Tbs Hickory Smoked BBQ sauce
1 heaping Tbs mustard
1 tsp dried thyme
½ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the diced peppers and onion and sauté until onions begin to color, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté another minute or two. Crumble the ground beef over the cooked onion mixture and allow to brown, breaking up any large pieces.

Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium low and allow to cook for about 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

Cheddar Jalapeno Cornbread

1 stick butter, melted
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely diced
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Heat oven to 375º and grease an 8” square baking pan. Combine the melted butter, sugar, eggs and buttermilk in a large mixing bowl. Whisk thoroughly to combine. Add the cornmeal, flour baking soda and salt and mix together until the dry ingredients are just combined. Stir in jalapeno and cheese.

Pour mixture into prepared baking pan. Bake in the center of the oven until the cornbread is brown on top and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 - 35 minutes.