Holidays and Cooking & Recipes - #51

I really enjoyed this exercise, since I love to cook, and I am always looking up new recipes. I found a wonderful recipe for cinnamon rolls on the bakespace.com website. The original recipe is for 12 servings and I converted it to 24 servings using the Recipe Ingredient Conversion Calculator's website. Here are my findings:

CINNAMON ROLLS

· 1 cup milk
· 1/4 cup butter
· 1 (.25 ounce) package instant yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
· 1/4 cup granulated sugar
· 1 egg, room temperature, slightly beaten
· 3 1/4 to 3 1/2 cups flour (I use bread flour, but you can use all purpose)
· 1/2 teaspoon salt
· 1 cup brown sugar, packed
· 1 tablespoon cinnamon
· 1/2 cup butter, softened
· 1/2 cup pecans (optional)

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat the milk, 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup sugar in a small saucepan until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat. Let cool until temperature is about 110 degrees F (like bathwater warm).
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine milk mixture with yeast, egg, and 2 cups of the flour and the salt; beat well. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has just pulled together, turn it onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes. (Alternately, just use the dough hook on your mixer and let the mixer knead the dough for about five minutes)
3. Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with a clean damp towel. Allow dough to rise until double, about 1 hour. In the mean time, in a small bowl, mix together the softened butter, brown sugar and cinnamon.
4. Roll out the dough into a 12X9 inch rectangle (I like to do this on my Silpat). Spread the dough with the cinnamon/sugar mixture. Sprinkle with pecans if desired. Roll up the dough and pinch seam to seal. Cut into 12 equal sized pieces and place into a greased 9X13 inch pan. Cover and let rise until doubled.
5. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until browned. Remove from oven and frost while warm.

************************************************************************************
24 servings conversion:

2 cups milk
1/2 cup butter
1 tablespoon + 1 1/2 teaspoons yeast
1/2 cup granulated sugar
7 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups brown sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 cup butter
1 cup pecans
2 eggs

Global Nation - Potluck #50

I visited Igougo and planned my dream vacation to Venice, Italy. I chose to stay at the Hotel Abbazia, because it had a 5* member rating and it is 1 minute away from the Grand Canal, where I will be taking a breathtaking gondola ride across the many canals Venice has to offer. The gondola driver will enlighten me with the history of the city and pinpoint important buildings. I know I will be very comfortable, since many reviewers stated that the gondolas had very plush seats. After my gondola ride, I will visit Piazza San Marco in St. Mark's Square, to go on a heavy shopping spree and enjoy a nice cup of cappuccino at one of the many cafes. All of this walking around and shopping will get me very hungry, so I will stop by the Pizzeria Marciana, located behind St. Mark's Square, to indulge on a slice of pizza and some spaghetti. I want to taste the difference between Americanized Italian food and the real Italian food, I'm sure I will be very surprised by the difference in taste! In the late afternoon, I will walk away the pounds at the Gallerie dell Accademia, which is an art gallery best known for its pre-1800's art in Venice. Then, I will grab dinner at Iguana (a Mexican restaurant), just to see what the Italian's interpretation of Mexican food is. Possibly similar to Tex-Mex food? I shall see on my visit. I can just imagine meatball tacos being served on the menu!

Love of Languages - Potluck #49

I browsed through the language sites and I registered for Livemocha. The site asked me what language I currently know and what language I am trying to learn. I chose Italian, because I love the Italian culture and I want to be able to speak the language. I enrolled in the Italian 101 course and it basically displayed a few words and pictures of those words. I was then quizzed on matching the words to the pictures and learning how to write those words correctly. The site also allows you to ask another member (who speaks the language that you are trying to learn) a question. I did not like the site, Mangolanguages, because there were too many slides and the training was at a very slow speed. I am a very impatient person and I like to go through things very quickly and not at a slow speed. Too many slides saying the same word over and over again. For work purposes, I can always brush up on my Spanish when translating documents, and visit Livemocha.