Happiness Is A Warm Bun

freshly grated cinnamon taste, and oh so fragrant

a real honey of a bun, so caramelly, buttery and utterly delicious

I borrowed the title for this post from my cookbook SHE CAME IN THROUGH THE KITCHEN WINDOW: Recipes Inspired By The Beatles And Their Music, which is of course from John Lennon's Happiness is a Warm Gun. People my age would know that. I KNOW, it's corny and lame but I don't care, I need a title for this post! ;-)

I made one batch of sweet roll dough, one half for cinnamon rolls and the other half for honey buns, sweet, sweet yummmy buns. I used this cinnamon mill which is really fragrant and the taste is excellent. It's sooo good.

Sweet Roll Dough
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
½ cup very hot water
½ cup very hot milk
1 egg, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
¼ cup soft butter
3½ to 4 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt

• In a bowl combine water and milk, heat in the microwave oven for 1 minute, add 2 cups flour, sugar and egg. Beat for 1 minute, then add yeast. Beat for 1 minute. Add the salt and the rest of the flour and beat for 2 minutes. Transfer dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes. Form into a ball and put in a greased bowl, turn dough so that greased side is on top. Cover tightly with cling wrap and let rise for 1½ hours. Punch dough down, divide in half. Return the other half in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap while shaping the first half.
  

Cinnamon Rolls
filling
¼ cup sugar
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons soft butter
glaze
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

• Combine sugar and ground cinnamon, set aside. Roll dough into a 12 x 9 inch rectangle, spread the soft butter, sprinkle with the sugar mixture. From the longer side, roll tightly, pinching edges. Slice into 8 pieces, arrange in a buttered 9-inch round pan. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise for 40 minutes. Bake in a 375°F oven for 30 minutes. Glaze: Combine ingredients until smooth. Drizzle over baked cinnamon rolls.
  Freshly grated cinnamon taste, and oh so fragrant

Honey Buns
glaze
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons soft butter
2 tablspoons honey.
filling
2 tablespoons soft butter
2 tablespoons chopped nuts
2 tablespoons honey

• Combine ingredients for glaze. Divide among 6 extra large muffin pans, set aside. Combine the filling ingredients, set aside. Divide dough into 6 pieces, flatten into a 6 x 3 inch rectangle, spread filling in the middle, roll up tightly, pinching edges, then form into a circle. Place circles on top of honey mixture. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise for 40 minutes. Bake in a 375°F oven for 30 minutes. Invert pan onto a container, leave for 1 minute. Remove pan, scraping all the caramel onto the honey buns.

♫ Happiness is a warm, yes it is, bu-u-un! ♫

Movie Rating

My rating of 26 movies on dvd I've seen this year:

5 stars
Stranger Than Fiction
The Fallen Idol
The Prestige
The Science of Sleep
Kamikaze Girls
Éloge de l'amour
Fulltime Killer

4 stars
Night at the Museum
The Pursuit of Happyness
Casino Royale
Youth of the Beast
Unknown
Borat
Hollywoodland
The Virgin Spring
The Idiot
The Descent
Sleepless Town
The Final Cut

3 stars
The Last King of Scotland
Lost & Found

2 stars
Children of Men
The Illusionist

1 star
The Departed
l'enfant

-1
Copying Beethoven

Copying Beethoven is one of the lousiest movies I've ever seen, not worth a second of my time. It ranks among the worst and most stupid movies of all time, IMHO, which include Signs (Mel Gibson) and Minority Report (Tom Cruise).

All Vegetable Russian Salad

Russian salad, which was popular in the Philippines in the 80s, is supposed to have cooked ham, diced chicken, tongue, etc. I got this all vegetable version from my mother-in-law who used to serve it on New Year's Eve maybe to have a balanced dinner menu which is usually loaded with all sorts of meat and poultry dishes.

Russian Salad

2 apples, peeled, diced and mixed with a little mayonnaise
2 cups cubed cooked potatoes
2 cups cubed cooked carrots
1 cup thinly sliced celery
1 cup raisins
¼ cup shredded cabbage
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cups cubed cooked and chilled beets mixed with ¼ cup mayonnaise
2 cups mayonnaise
iceberg lettuce cups

• Mix potatoes, carrots, celery, apples, cabbage, raisins, salt and sugar, chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Add mayonnaise, mix well. Add beets, mix gently. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 4 hours. Serve in lettuce cups, if desired.

this salad pairs well with meatloaf, fried embutido, roast chicken, or pork chops.

pork chops stewed with peaches and barbecue sauce

Vietnamese Curried Pork Hocks

I love Vietnamese food although I seldom prepare them as there are many excellent but inexpensive Vietnamese restaurants in my area. I bought pork hocks that I intended to make into paksiw or humba but made Vietnamese pork hocks with lemongrass instead. The dish is so delicious specially with Japanese short grain rice.

Curried Pork Hocks
2 pounds pork hocks
2 lemongrass stalks
1 cup roasted peanuts
4 tablespoon sugar or palm sugar
2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon garam masala
pepper
water

• Cut 2 inches off the tops of the lemongrass, chop or cut in half. Put pork and lemongrass in a medium saucepan, add water to cover, heat to boiling, skimming top. Turn heat to low, cover and let simmer for 1 ½ hours. Add peanuts, sugar, garam masala, salt and pepper. Cook for a further 30 minutes or until sauce has thickened.

pork hocks, sauteed cabbage, and steamed short grain rice

iced coffee drink is a must when having Vietnamese style dinner

To make iced coffee: Combine 1 can sweetened condensed milk, 2 cups low fat milk, and 2 cups strong brewed coffee. Chill in the refrigerator. Serve with ice cubes or if you prefer frappuccino, put in blender with ice cubes and blend (frappuccino setting) until frothy.

Vietnamese sweet iced coffee: In a tall glass put 2 T sweetened condensed milk, add 5 ice cubes, pour brewed coffee, stir until mixed.