Best Florek Rolls

This recipe is from a friend, Angel Florek, who lived in our ward while we were in podiatry school. Angel made these rolls along with a curried chicken salad for a friend's baby shower and I seriously thought she bought the rolls somewhere from a bakery. I was stunned to find out she had made them from scratch! They are sweet & remind me of hawaiian bread or milk-and-honey rolls. They are great as sandwich rolls (like for pulled pork or curried chicken salad!) or stand alone (like for Thanksgiving!). Love these!

-------------------------

2 Tbsp dry yeast
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 C. warm water

1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 C sugar
1/2 shortening
1 C hot milk
4.5 C flour, divided
2 eggs

In a small bowl, combine yeast, 1 Tbsp sugar, and warm water and set aside for 5 minutes or until bubbly. In a stand mixer bowl combine salt, 1/2 C sugar, and shortening. Mix on low with the whisk attachment until combined then add the hot milk, mixing slowly so as not to spill. Once incorporated, add 2 cups of flour. Then add the yeast mixture and mix well. Then add eggs.

Replace the whisk attachment with the dough hook and add remaining 2.5 cups of flour. Mix on high for 5 minutes. Remove the hook and set aside for 15 minutes to allow rising.

Flour the counter and divide the dough into 3 equal parts. Roll out each piece into a circle and cut it into 8 pieces, like a pie. Place rolls on a cookie sheet.

For quick rise: set oven to 170 then turn off. Place rolls in the off-but-warm oven for 30 minutes.

Bake at 400 for 9 minutes. Watch the first batch CLOSELY so they don't burn. Times can vary by oven anywhere from 7-10 minutes.

Ratatouille

***My wonderful friend Severine Germer from France made this traditional dish for us and I practically licked the bowl clean afterwards. This recipe is great the day its prepared, but as the flavors are given time to meld together, the leftovers are almost better the next day! That's saying something from a girl who isn't all the fond of leftovers! I also love her little quips throughout the recipe, it really shows her personality & why I think she's so fun!***

RATATOUILLE

(because you can't call yourself French if you don't know how to make this -or at the very least know about it-). This dish comes from the South of France and is very tasty with almost no fat. I usually make it with rice and sausages.

Ingredients:
-2 small yellow onions, cut "julienne" (you cut it in half and then in half again and take the inside slices apart)
-1 medium eggplant: cut in half lengthwise and then in thin slices. Put some in a strainer, add salt, then more + salt and so on in layers. This will take the bitterness out of the eggplant. Leave for 30 min and then pat the eggplants slices with paper towel to absorb the "juice."
-4 medium zucchinis, small slices
-about 5-7 medium tomatoes.
-1 Tbsp herbs de Provence
-olive oil
-1/2 stick of butter if you're not on Weight Watchers. It's not absolutely necessary though, I rarely use butter in ratatouille except to brown the onions.

Now that you've done all the slicing/getting ready, it's super easy and you can almost feel like you're in a Pixar movie:

1. Warm a big pot on the stove with a bit of butter, add onions when hot. Brown for about 5 mins, making sure they don't burn (it's been known to happen even to yours truly)

2. If need be, add some olive oil and then the eggplant, cook for 3-4 more mins.

3. Add zucchinis, plus a glass of water and cover. While it cooks, I usually cut the tomatoes in 8 and add them when I'm done. Add salt to taste and herbs. Add butter if you like.

4. Let simmer on low for one hour, adding some water if needed.

5. If too watery, uncover while simmering.