Herb-Swirled Rolls

We had these with the Meatballs and ABCs recipe that I just posted. These start with frozen bread dough, which I think is a good idea. Some people (Tiffany) would say that these are not, then, homemade. But, I disagree, since I am making them AT HOME. So there. There is a nice picture in the magazine accompanying the recipe, which makes them look very nice. Needless to say mine did not really look like that. It's from the Nov/Dec '09 Simple & Delicious.

Herb-Swirled Rolls
1 loaf (1 lb) frozen bread dough, thawed
3 tbsp butter, melted
2 tbsp minced chives
2 tbsp dried parsley flakes
1/2 tsp dill weed or dried thyme
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 egg
2 tbsp water
sesame and/or poppy seeds

On a floured surface, roll dough into a 14x12 inch rectangle; brush with butter. Sprinkle with chives, parsley, dill, salt, and pepper. Roll up, jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seam to seal. Cut into 12 slices. Place cut side down in greased muffin cups. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. Combine egg and water; brush over tops. Sprinkle with seeds (I did half poppy and half sesame. Open sesame, that is). Bake @ 375 for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to wire rack to cool.

So these tasted good but it was kind of different having all those seasonings in there. I'm not used to having that stuff in my bread, I guess. They had a good flavor. Nathan wouldn't eat one. I knew Emma would fight me so I gave her one that had been on the end of the jelly-roll thing so it didn't have too much of the seasoning on it, and she ate it. Sam loved his and offered to eat Emma's too. Steve was wolfing down his food and rushing off to class so I didn't have time to analyze his reaction to the meal like I usually do. Unless he didn't like it and pretended to be rushing so I could not interrogate him on his thoughts about it. Hmmmmm. Anyway I'm still thinking about whether to save this one. I'll see what Steve thought and decide from there.

I've been thinking that one of the reasons I liked these two recipes is because they used a lot of the spices I already have and I didn't have to buy anything except the pasta and beef broth for the soup. If you guys don't have all the stuff, don't worry. When I started doing New Recipe Night it seemed like I was buying a different spice every week. But now I have a full spice cupboard (which I love the smell of when I open) and only have to buy a few a year, when I run out of one I use a lot of. So if you like a recipe, don't skip it for the sake of a spice you don't have. Also don't leave the spice out, because spice can add flavor that makes it easier to leave out stuff like salt that they (the sage medical professionals) say we should be eating less of. Just buy the spice and hang on to it. The McCormick marketing people will tell you some bunk about spices only lasting like 6 months before you have to replace them, but they are lying. My mom has spices that are perfectly fine that have been around a LONG time. They just want you to buy more. The bay leaves I used in the soup recipe tonight, I know I have had for literally 3-5 years. They still smelled good when I opened the bottle and still gave a good flavor, were not brittle and did not break up in the soup. This little tip might not apply to all of you guys, those of you who have been cooking longer (and better) than me or whatever, but if you are just starting out, or just starting to cook more seriously, like I was 5 years ago when we started New Recipe Night, then that might be something for you to think about. To slowly build up your spice collection, I mean. I have gone from having like 5 spices, which were garlic salt, garlic powder, pepper, etc, to having a cupboard that smells deeeelightful when I open it with stuff in there ranging from spices I use all the time to stuff I use once a year. But I like having all that on hand so I can be more flexible about cooking.