

The last couple days have been a flurry of baking and cooking. I made turkey stock, oyster cornbread stuffing, 2 pie crusts, pecan pie, sweet potato rolls and prepped noodles and shrimp for Daniel’s alfredo as well as making some fresh cranberry sauce. The pumpkin pie is from Fine Cooking 95, the crust from FC 101 and the pecan pie from FC 101 minus the coffee and toffee. I’ve been making the cranberry sauce since the early 90’s and it originated in Southern Living Magazine. The sweet potato rolls are something I tried after we moved out to Westford so they are sort of new and originated in Cooking Light Magazine.
Spice Cranberry Sauce
4 cups fresh cranberries
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 pinch ground ginger
Wash cranberries and drain; set aside.
Combine remaining ingredients in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Add cranberries; boil 7 minutes or until cranberry skins pop. Reduce heat, and simmer mixture 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Remove mixture from heat, and allow to cool. Transfer to a lidded container and chill until ready to serve.
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 teaspoon honey
1 cup skim milk, 100 to 110 degrees F.
1 cup sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed
3 tablespoons melted butter, divided
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
5 cups bread flour, divided
Dissolve yeast and honey in milk in a large bowl; let stand 10 minutes. Add sweet potatoes, 1 tablespoon butter, salt, and egg, stirring mixture with a whisk. Add 4 1/2 cups flour; stir until a soft dough forms. Knead dough in the bowl until smooth and elastic. Add enough of remaining flour to prevent sticking. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise 45 minutes or until doubled in size. Punch dough down. Cover and let rest 5 minutes.
Divide dough into 20 equal portions. Shape each portion into knot and place on nonstick sheet pan. Brush rolls with melted butter. Cover with a cloth and let rise 30 minutes or until doubled in size. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Uncover rolls. Bake at 400 degrees F. for 8 minutes. Rotate pans; bake an additional 7 minutes or until rolls are golden brown. (If you are making these ahead take them out when they *just* begin to brown. Freeze until the day you need them, then thaw and reheat at 400 F until lightly browned.)