Shamrocks AKA Cloverleaf Dinner Rolls

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I know. I know. It's a stretch, but I needed a batch of bake once-serve twice rolls that could be served for dinner on St. Patrick's Day as well as Easter Sunday. While doing research for an earlier post on Edna Lewis, I came across the recipe she used to make old-fashioned cloverleaf rolls. The recipe belonged to her mother and I knew immediately that I wanted to try it. The rolls shown in the photograph above were made using her recipe, and, while I'm sharing it with you today, I'm also going to direct you to an easier version that was developed by her partner, Scott Peacock. You can find his recipe here, and if you'd like to see a video of the rolls being made you might want to view this link. I'm suggesting an alternate recipe because Edna's rolls, which use a starter that must sit for a day before using, are made with a sticky dough that is difficult to work with. Scott's version is quite straight forward and much easier to handle. Both recipes are similar in taste, though the use of a potato starter and lard put hers a notch above his in terms of flavor. If you are an experienced hand at bread baking, or are a patient beginner, use her recipe. If you want something that's easy to execute, use his. Both recipes tend to produce sticky doughs but the amount of extra flour you will need is easier to control in Scott's version. Under the best of circumstances, the dough in both recipes will remain tacky, so don't be alarmed. As long as the dough doesn't stick to your fingers you'll be fine. The good news is that these rolls require no kneading, and once they are baked they freeze beautifully. Those of you who try these will be happy campers. Here is Edna's recipe.

Cloverleaf Dinner Rolls...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Edna Lewis and Food and Wine Magazine

Ingredients:
1 medium baking potato ( 1/2 pound), peeled and cut into 1-inch dice
3 cups water
5-1/2 cups plus 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 envelope active dry yeast
1 cup milk, scalded and cooled
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
4 tablespoons lard or solid vegetable shortening, melted and cooled
1 tablespoon salt

Directions:
1) In a medium saucepan, cover potato with water and bring to a boil. Cook until potato is just beginning to fall apart, about 15 minutes. Drain potato, reserving 1 cup of cooking liquid. Pass potato through a ricer into a large bowl. Add reserved potato water and let cool slightly. Stir in 6 tablespoons of flour, sugar and yeast. Cover bowl with a kitchen towel and let stand overnight in a draft-free place.
2) Uncover starter; it should be foamy and have a slightly fermented aroma. Add milk, eggs and 2-1/2 cups of flour and stir until incorporated. Stir in 1 tablespoon of butter, 2 tablespoons of lard and salt. Add remaining 3 cups of flour, 1 cup at a time, and stir vigorously to form a silky, slightly soft dough that pulls away from the bowl as you stir, about 8 minutes. It will still be tacky but will not stick to your hands.
3) Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise until doubled in bulk, about 1-1/2 hours.
4) Gently deflate dough by turning it in bowl several times. Cover bowl and let dough rise again until doubled, about 40 minutes.
5) In a small bowl, combine remaining 6 tablespoons of melted butter and 2 tablespoons of melted lard. Punch down dough and divide it into 5 equal pieces. Cut 1 piece of dough into 18 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball; dip balls in melted butter and lard and place 3 balls in each cup of a muffin pan. Continue to form rolls, working with 1 large piece of dough at a time. Brush tops of the rolls with the butter and lard and set aside in a draft-free spot until risen just beyond the rims of the muffin cups, about 1 1/2 hours.
6) Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Bake rolls in the lower and middle thirds of oven for 15 minutes. Remove rolls from oven and brush liberally with butter and lard. Return rolls to the oven and bake for 5 to 6 minutes longer, or until golden all over. Serve warm or at room temperature. Yield: 2-1/2 dozen cloverleaf rolls.

Cook's Note: To make ahead, prepare dough through step 4. Gently punch down and refrigerate, covered, overnight. Bring to room temperature and proceed with recipe.








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Scott Peacock, Southern Corn Bread and Corn Bread-Pecan Dressing

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Just last week we explored the life of Edna Lewis, a woman many believe to be responsible for the revival and preservation of Southern cooking. Her story is a compelling piece of Americana but lurking in the background of that tale lies another that begs to be told. In the early 1990's, Miss Lewis met Scott Peacock, a troubled young chef who suffered from fierce bouts of clinical depression. Drawn by their shared love of the South and Southern cooking, this old woman and this young, gay white man forged an unusual friendship. Together they harnessed memories, techniques and recipes and combined them in the book, The Gift of Southern Cooking. They became known as the Odd Couple of Southern Cooking. There was nothing kinky here. She wished to pass on what she knew and he was an avid listener who was willing to soak up all she had to pass along. Over time they became family to each other. In the early days of their friendship she helped him through bouts of depression and kept him focused. As she aged and became fragile, he became her caretaker. She lived with him for years and died at the age of 89 in his home. Scott first met Edna when he was in his early 20's working as a chef for the governor of Georgia. They met at a food festival where he helped her make pies, and, in the course of conversation, shared with her his love of Southern cooking. She invited him to visit her in Brooklyn and there convinced him to shelve his plans for foreign study, urging him to stay in-country and document the food he already knew and loved. As corny as it sounds, he writes from the heart, and when they worked together he added balance to her memories and opinions and was able to combine her cooking instincts with his own. He was the heart, she was the soul of their collaboration. In 2007, Scott was named Best Chef in the Southeast by the James Beard Foundation. These days he is working on a memoir that will include his time with Edna and, in a separate project, documenting the food memories of other octogenarians in the South. If you have about 20 minutes you might want to link to this touching video. I've chosen a simple recipe for corn bread and corn bread-pecan dressing to highlight his cooking style. It made this damn Yankee smile. I think you'll like it, too





Corn Bread-Pecan Dressing...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Scott Peacock via Chef Recipes Made Easy

Ingredients:
Southern corn bread (see below)
3 cups pecan halves (11 ounces)
8 thick slices of slab bacon
1 stick plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (5 ounces), 4 tablespoons melted
3 cups coarsely chopped onions
3 cups coarsely chopped celery
3 large shallots, minced
1-1/2 tablespoons rubbed sage
1 tablespoon dried thyme
6 large eggs, beaten
1-3/4 cups chicken stock or canned low-sodium broth
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:
1) Break corn bread into large pieces, scatter on a baking sheet and let dry overnight. 2) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. On a rimmed baking sheet, toast pecans for about 10 minutes, or until nicely browned and fragrant. Transfer to a plate to cool. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F.
3) In a large skillet, cook bacon in 6 tablespoons of butter until very crisp, about 10 minutes; reserve the bacon for another use (I recommend BLT's). Add onions, celery, shallots, sage and thyme to skillet and cook over low heat until vegetables are tender, about 25 minutes.
4) Tear corn bread into 1 1/2-inch pieces and place in a large bowl. Top with cooked vegetable mixture and pecans and toss well. Stir in melted butter, eggs and 1 cup of the chicken stock. Season with 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper and mix well.
5) Butter a large shallow baking dish and add corn bread dressing. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and baste dressing with 6 tablespoons of remaining stock. Bake for 10 minutes longer, then baste with remaining 6 tablespoons of stock. Bake for 20 minutes longer, or until golden brown on top and heated through. Yield: 12 servings.




Southern Corn Bread...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Scott Peacock via Chef Recipes Made Easy

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 cups white cornmeal, preferably stone ground
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups buttermilk
4 large eggs, beaten

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Put butter in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet and melt the butter in oven.
2) Meanwhile, mix cornmeal with cream of tartar, salt and baking soda in a large bowl. Add buttermilk and eggs and stir to blend.
3) Remove skillet from oven and swirl to coat with butter. Pour melted butter into e batter and stir just until incorporated. Scrape batter into hot skillet and bake for about 35 minutes, or until crusty around edges and springy to touch. Invert corn bread onto a rack and let cool completely. Yield: 1 10-inch cake.