Fond memories

It may not come as a surprise, but I associate wonderful food with wonderful memories. Most family traditions that I cherish revolve around food -- sugar cookies on Valentine's Day, Ham and yummy potatoes for Easter, BBQ anything for the 4th of July, Turkey with homemade rolls for Thanksgiving and bread sticks for Christmas Eve. (My dad makes the most unbelievable bread sticks!)

But it also extends to happy family memories outside of the holidays. I remember food from various vacations like the Chocolate Moose from the Anaheim Marriott, the strawberry pie from Marie Calendars on Maui, hamburgers from Fat Boys on Maui, fajitas from Houston, Chocolate Raspberry cake from Truffles in Jacksonville, and on and on and on.

A few years ago, a friend explained that his mom only made blueberry muffins on for General Conference weekend. (General Conference is when Mormons don't have regular Sunday meetings, but instead watch 8-10 hours of special programs on TV or cable so that we can listen to the church leaders from Salt Lake give talks.) Since hearing about the idea, I've been making cinnamon rolls almost every conference. YUM! It's actually become a sensory memory for me now.

But, I've come across a few recipes on a blog that I'm now haunting, and I plan to spice up the menu a bit. It will be a mix of old and new together. This is what we'll be eating:

Saturday Morning: Apple Cake

Saturday Night: Wild Rice Soup & Challah

Sunday Morning: Cinnamon Rolls

Sunday Night: Challah French Toast

YUM! If you're out and about and want to stop in, we'll share with you! If you're not local, I've shared my recipe's below. The recipe's from the blog are linked above.

A note on the soup -- this is a hearty soup -- we make a big batch and freeze lots so that we can have it whenever the mood strikes.

Wild Rice Soup
By Darcy Patch
INGREDIENTS:
1 large Onion
2 Carrots
3 Celery Stalks
½ cup Butter
2/3 cups Flour
6 cups Water
2 TBSP McCormick chicken base (or 4 Bullion Cubes)
2 pkgs Rice-A-Roni Long Grain and Wild Rice
5 Chicken breasts (cooked and cubed)
2 cups Half and Half
½ Tsp. Salt
½ Tsp. Pepper
DIRECTIONS:
Chop vegetables and place in large soup pot. Melt butter and sauté vegetables until tender.
Add flour and stir until vegetables are coated. Slowly add water and stir vigorously until flour dissolves. Prepare Rice-A-Roni as directed on box, then add to the soup.
Add the remaining ingredients and simmer on low until well blended, usually about 1 hour.

Cinnamon Rolls
By Darcy Patch

INGREDIENTS:

1 pkg active dry yeast
¾ cup warm water
4 cups flour
¼ cup sugar
1 ½ tsp salt
½ cup milk, scalded
¼ cup butter
1 egg

DIRECTIONS:

Dissolve yeast in ¼ cup warm water. Add 2 cups flour, sugar, salt, milk, butter egg and remaining water; beat on medium for 2 minutes. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Knead until smooth -- until about 6-8 minutes. Place in greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled.

Roll out, brush with butter, spread cinnamon and brown sugar over the dough until covered. Roll. Cut slices and place in greased pan. Let rise until doubled again.

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

Top with Cream Cheese Frosting:

Cream Cheese Frosting

INGREDIENTS:

1 pkg Cream cheese at room temperature
1 stick butter at room temperature
3 - 4 cups Powdered sugar
2 TBSP Vanilla

DIRECTIONS:

Mix cream cheese and butter thoroughly.

Add confectioners sugar a bit at a time and blend as you add it. Add the vanilla.

Blend the frosting until smooth and fluffy.

Here's Caramel sauce for topping the apple cake if you so choose:

Caramel sauce
INGREDIENTS:

½ Cup brown sugar
½ Cup white sugar
½ cup cream
1 Tbl flour
1/2 Cup butter
1 tsp vanilla

DIRECTIONS:

Bring to a boil all together except for vanilla. Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Take off of heat and add vanilla. Stir. Serve warm.

I hope you go all make something yummy this weekend!