Comfort all rolled up.

It comes out of the oven piping hot; slightly crusty on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside.  Tear it in half and spread it with butter, jam, honey or a combination; melting in your mouth, and finger licking good.  No, it's not the Colonel's fried chicken...it's the Crescent Roll.  This versatile little piece of rolled bread is more than just a side for mopping up gravy; it's the base for a sandwich, snack or dessert.

Before the dough wedge is rolled into its crescent form, fillings can be placed inside, then roll it all up, bake and enjoy.  For a dessert, try spreading Nutella, brown sugar and cinnamon, or peanut butter; press shavings or chips of chocolate, butterscotch or vanilla; after baking, sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Then there is the classic hot dog roll, and the dough can be cut up small enough to use Little Smokies to make snacks or party eats. Press shredded cheese into the dough before rolling; or diced onions. However, thinly sliced meats can be used to make a crescent roll "wrap"; making the classic sandwich a little less boring.

When making crescent rolls, think about the possibilities and you'll find yourself making double batches of this dough.

Crescent Rolls

Ingredients:
2 (.25 oz) packages active dry yeast
¾ cup warm water (about 110F)
½ cup sugar
1 tsp salt
2 eggs, beaten
½ cup butter flavored shortening
4 cups flour
¼ cup butter, melted

Preparation:
In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water; add sugar; yeast will be ready to use when it begins a bubbling foam.

In a large bowl, beat together yeast mixture, salt, eggs, shortening and 2 cups of flour until smooth. Gradually add in remaining flour; mix until smooth; remove to a floured board and knead dough for 5 minutes. Cover with a clean linen towel and let rise until doubles in size; about 2 hours.

Punch down dough; divide in half and roll out each half to a 12 inch circle; cut into wedges depending on size desired (10-12). Starting from widest side, roll up dough to the point and place on baking sheet (nonstick or sprayed with nonstick baking spray); point side down. Cover with towel again and let rise for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 400F. Brush melted butter over rolls; bake for 10-15 minutes; until golden brown.

Makes 10-12 rolls.

Mary Cokenour
May 6, 2003

Wet and cold once again.

After a beautiful weekend of near 70 temperatures, our Monday started off with a mixture of thunder, rain and hail...welcome to Monticello, Utah.  Come May 18th, we'll have been living here for two years, and still can't get over the weird weather patterns.  As some of the townsfolk tell us, it's not unusual to be wearing winter coats and seeing snow well into June; and for a warmup, we just have to take a drive into Moab.  One thing I can honestly say, the weather here keeps you on your toes.

Anyway, between the birthday party on Saturday and going out for Mothers' Day, I was able to get a favorite meal cooked up, Chicken Parmigiana.  Acutally, my favorite is Veal Parmigiana, but the price of veal is so outrageous!!!  This is an easy dish to make though, and using Homemade Pasta Sauce insures it's a meal to savor over. Whether you add a side of pasta, or make a sandwich; it's a meal you won't forget, and one you'll crave in the future.

Chicken Parmigiana

Ingredients:

Canola or Peanut oil

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

1 egg, beaten

1 cup Italian style dried bread crumbs

4 slices provolone cheese

1 (8 oz) package shredded Italian cheese mix

4 cups homemade pasta sauce

Preparation:

In a large skillet, pour in oil to reach 2 inches; heat on medium-high heat.  While oil is heating, prepare chicken for frying; trim away any excess fat or ligaments, dip into beaten egg and lightly coat with bread crumbs.  Oil is ready when a drop of water sizzles in skillet; carefully place breaded chicken in skillet.  Fry each side for 3 minutes; drain on paper towels; chicken will not be thoroughly cooked through.

Preheat oven to 350F.  Spray a 2 qt baking dish with nonstick spray and spread 1 cup of sauce over bottom.  Place fried chicken into dish; sprinkle 2 Tbsp of cheese mix over each and cover with a slice of provolone.  Pour remaining sauce over the chicken, sprinkle remaining cheese mix over all; cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes.  Remove from oven, remove foil and let rest for 5 minutes before serving with favorite pasta; or place on toasted Italian bread to make a sandwich.

Makes 4 servings.

Mary Cokenour

May 5, 1982

Happy Birthday Kaiya!!!

Yesterday we celebrated the 14th birthday of Kaiya, my friend Heidi's daughter, down at Fattboyz Grillin. It was a small gathering of family, parental friends and Kaiya's friends; and everyone had a good time talking, eating and just enjoying the afternoon together. Kaiya is a lovely young lady, and the happiness and pride she gives her mom was quite evident upon Heidi's face. Kudos go to Heidi's hubby Sean too for being a good stepdad, keeping all the little kids corralled, and the lighting of the birthday candles without setting the place on fire.

Our meal at Fattboyz consisted of a barbeque sandwich with two sides, and soft drink; all awesome as per usual.  Heidi and I both made cakes for the occasion, and everyone seemed quite pleased with them.  I have to admit that the cake I made was from scratch, and it actually gave me nightmares for several nights in a row.  I plotzed over screwing it all up, but everyone seemed to enjoy it, so I must have done well. 

The cake was huge, and it was compared to one of the Red Rock formations in our area.  It consisted of three tiers, two single layers and one double layer; chocolate pudding sat in the middle of the bottom double layer and single middle layer; a layer of mini-marshmallows sat between the middle and top layers.  There were two types of frosting, first a vanilla buttercream, and after refrigerating the cake, I covered it with a vanilla whipped cream frosting.  Sprinkled cocoa powder went over the tops and sides; a sprinkle of chopped Andes candies and a few Oreo cream cookies finished off the topping.  Roy made a banner which I attached with wooden skewers.

So, Happy Birthday Kaiya, may you have many, many, many more, and always be happy and healthy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here's the cake and frosting recipe, but for the vanilla frosting, I used vanilla powder instead of the cocoa powder.

Chocolate Cake with Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:

Cake Batter:

1 ½ cups flour

3 Tbsp baking cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

1 cup sugar

2 tsp chocolate syrup

¾ cup milk

¾ cup melted butter

2 eggs

Frosting:

12 Tbsp butter, softened

3 cups confectioner’s sugar

½ cup baking cocoa powder

2 tsp vanilla extract

4 Tbsp room temperature milk

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350F.  Cut out two circles of parchment paper that fit within two 8” cake pans; spray cake pans with nonstick baking spray; line bottom with paper circles.

In a large bowl, sift flour and mix in cocoa, baking powder and sugar.  In second bowl, beat together syrup, milk, butter and eggs; do not get mixture frothy by over beating.  Pour wet ingredients into bowl of dry ingredients; mix on medium speed till smooth.  Pour half of batter into each cake pan.

Bake for 35-40 minutes; until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out cleanly.  Let cakes cool before flipping out of pans; remove parchment paper before frosting cakes.

While cakes are baking, make the frosting; cream together the butter and sugar; add cocoa, vanilla extract and milk; mix until smooth, but do not over mix.  Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow to firm up; frost cakes after they have cooled.  There will be enough frosting to frost the tops and sides of both cakes; stack cakes on top of one another; total height should be about 3 inches with frosting.

Makes 12 servings.

Mary Cokenour

Moab Brewery is a Hit or Miss.

Moab Brewery

686 S. Main
Moab, UT, 84532

(435) 259-6333

Website: http://www.themoabbrewery.com/

Last night was the third time we have tried the Moab Brewery, and while the first two times were a hit, this night was a real miss. Now while the wait staff have always been friendly; and the greeters too, but last night the very young woman seemed to have the attitude that she was doing us a favor by allowing us to eat there.

The bar area, called the Tavern, was crowded and noisy; and we opted to sit in one of the few booths they have. The main area of the Brewery is open with tables; and photographs of the Red Rock formations in Moab adorn the walls; piped in music was classic 70’s rock.

The first time we ever went, we shared the Texas Pit Smoked Combo which is a sampling of smoked ribs, chicken and tri-tip; served with BBQ sauce, salad, bread, coleslaw and fries or onion rings. It was great and we didn’t leave a thing on the plates but the bones.

Second time there, Roy went for the Texas Pit Smoked Tri-tip, but I tried the Brewery's Fish Tacos; three crispy corn tortillas with beer-battered Cod, veggies and jicama; served with veggie chili, rice and salsa. The fish tacos were fantastic, so was the veggie chili, but I could do without the rice and salsa; they just didn’t add a thing to the meal itself. The jicama was crisp and really added to the flavor of the fish tacos though.

Last night we tried the Beer Cheese Soup which was out of this world, and wished we had gotten a bowl to share instead of a cup. It was not too thick, and definitely not clumpy like cheese soups can be sometimes; and the beer flavor was evident, but not overpowering. The Crab and Artichoke Dip was more of a spread than a dip; very thick, but you could make out the crab (not imitation) and the artichokes. However, the pita bread wedges were cold, not grilled or toasted at all; and they fell apart when you tried to dip; spreading the dip with a knife worked out much better.

Main meals were the Jack Daniels Burger which was a simple burger with fries, and nothing to write home about; the BBQ sauce had a nice smoky flavor though. I had the Gyro Wrap and was pretty disappointed with it. The thing is huge, I’ll give you that, but it was so packed with mixed greens, you hardly noticed the meat, diced tomatoes and cucumbers; the dressing was a vinaigrette instead of the traditional Tzatziki sauce. The wrap was a cold tortilla that fell apart as you tried to hold and eat it. Oh yeah, there was feta cheese somewhere in the wrap, but so little that I barely tasted it. Basically, I would have been much happier with a Greek Salad with extra dressing and feta cheese. The fries and onions rings were a bit on the soggy side, and you could taste the oil.

Roy did try the Black Raven Stout which he said was dark, smooth, hoppy and overall a very good brew. I stuck with unsweetened iced tea which the waitress kept filled.

Now we were smart enough to stop and get some of the Gelato they sell at a little counter near the main door. We tried the Nutty Milk and Honey…absolutely one of the most wonderful desserts we have ever, ever had. You don’t have to have a meal at the Moab Brewery to be able to purchase the Gelato; however, you will get a 15% discount if you show your restaurant receipt. After a long day of adventuring in Moab, and you want something cold and soothing; go for the Gelato, you won’t regret it.

All in all, we’ll be going back to the Moab Brewery; we won’t let one not-so-great meal spoil it for us.

Mary Cokenour

~~~~~~~~~~~

June 11, 2011 Update Review

Even though the last time we were there was a miss; we went back last night and it was a real hit!!! Our server, Tony, was a true sweetheart; kept my hubby's dinner warm when he had to run out and do an emergency errand. The Spicy Teriyaki Wings were awesome; and the Jack Daniels BBQ Chicken sandwich was outstanding.

Great job all around!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cinco de Mayo

Today is not Independence Day for Mexico; that actually occurred on September 15, 1810 when Mexico told Spain to go "stick it"; just like the United States told England.

France decided it wanted to invade Mexico and were told, "I don't think so!"; and that is what today is about. I'm putting things in a plain and simple prespective, since so many other blogs and websites will be posting about this celebration.

This is my little tribute to Mexican culture, so Happy Cinco de Mayo, and don't forget to whoop it up!

Tamale Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients:

4 bell peppers (red, yellow, orange or green) – tall and wide

1 ½ lbs lean ground beef
1 (8 oz) package cornbread mix
½ cup whole kernel corn
½ cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
2 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp cumin
1 cup salsa
½ cup milk
1 Tbsp salt
1 cup water

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400F. Cut tops off of peppers; remove stems; remove pith and seeds from inside peppers. Either keep tops to place on top of stuffed peppers, or dice up and add to filling.

In a large mixing bowl; combine ground beef, cornbread mix, corn, beans, chili powder, cumin, salsa and milk. Stuff each pepper, leaving ¼” space from top.

Place the stuffed peppers inside a round baking dish; they should be able to stand, and hold each other, upright. Combine salt with water and pour into bottom of dish, but not over the tops of the peppers; cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 40 minutes; uncover and bake additional 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Makes 4 servings.

Mary Cokenour

Think Hot Sides for a Barbequed Meal

As the weather gets warmer, barbeques and smokers come rolling out; and so do the recipe books. However, one of the mistakes, well I think it's one, is that cold side dishes are always being served. Potato and macaroni salads, cold cole slaw; ok, maybe baked beans make a showing, but not always.

Well lets put a twist in them old knickers and consider some hot sides for those hot burgers, brats and ribs. First we're gonna turn cold cold slaw upside down, and heat it up a bit.

Hot Slaw

Ingredients:
1 small head white cabbage shredded
1 small head red cabbage shredded
3 carrots cleaned and grated
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup water
2 cups sweet onion relish (jarred or homemade)

Preparation:
In large skillet, on medium heat, mix together the cabbage and carrots, but do not let the vegetables get limp or burned; approximately 5 minutes on heat. Add the brown sugar, water and relish; mix thoroughly, remove from heat and serve.

Makes 8 servings.

If you can't find the jarred sweet onion relish, than try my
Sweet Onion Relish recipe .

Now this second recipe is one I learned about when living in New York; the majority of folks, in the areas I lived in, were either of Italian or Hebrew descent. My mom had sent me to a daycamp, managed by some wonderful Jewish people, and when we had sandwich day for lunch, "Noodle Kugel" was served as a hot side. It was sweet and savory, and oh so delicious.

Noodle Kugel with Raisins

Ingredients:
1 (16 oz) package wide egg noodles, cooked and drained.
½ cup sugar
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon plus ½ tsp
1 Tbsp nutmeg
½ tsp salt
½ cup raisins
½ cup butter; cut into small pieces and divided in half

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 2 qt round casserole dish with nonstick spray.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the noodles with sugar, 1 Tbsp cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, raisins and ¼ cup of cut up butter. Spoon mixture into casserole dish; sprinkle ½ tsp cinnamon and other ¼ cup of cut up butter over top.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes; serve hot.

Makes 6-8 servings.

Mary Cokenour
April 14, 1985

The Best little Diner in Moab.

Moab Diner and Ice Cream Shoppe

189 S. Main
Moab, UT, 84532

(435)259-4006
Fax: (435) 259-0198

Website: http://www.moabdiner.com/

The Moab Diner is just that, a diner, nothing overly fancy or pretentious; just a nice, little place where locals and tourists can enjoy a good meal. The wait staff is friendly, always making sure your coffee cup is full; prices are reasonable, and the menu has something for everyone,

We enjoy the breakfasts, and the Sweetwater Skillet smothered in their own green chile sauce is out of this world; the omelets are packed and the pancakes are fluffy.

Kokopelli Chicken is a specialty - Spanish seasonings on grilled chicken breast, smothered in cheese and the green chile sauce. Have I mentioned how good their green chile sauce is; I'm not kidding about that. This dish is available for lunch and dinner.

There is a small ice cream shoppe at the front counter; and if you're going picnicking, hiking or just sight seeing, a boxed lunch can be packed up for you.

If you're looking for simple and delicious, try out the Moab Diner.

Mary Cokenour