Grown-Up Fruit Punch

This is turned out to be so much more than I expected. Not sure what else to say about it except to describe the occasion of its making. First note : It's completely up to you if you add alcohol - it doesn't suffer with or without it. I forgot the seltzer, and didn't notice, so that's optional as well. I made this for a thanksgiving party - I wanted to provide a drink for those both those who enjoyed a good strong beverage and for those who were abstaining. But I didn't want the abstainer to feel like they were abstaining. Enjoy this cool and remarkably complex libation.

Sunday's Best of the Rest

Grandma Neumann's Orange Rolls

Photo by Mozart's Nose

Serves up a sugar and butter coma for 4-5,  makes approx. 9 small rolls.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Mix ~
2 cups flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp salt

Add 2 T cold butter, cut into pea size pieces
Add 1 cup milk and mix with a fork until well combined. Form a ball of dough and place on a floured surface, knead, then roll out to half inch thickness.  Sprinkle with ~ more pea sized pieces of cold butter (approx. 2T), liberal amounts of sugar and rind from three large oranges.
Melt 4 T butter.

Photo by Mozart's Nose

Roll up dough into a jelly roll and cut into nine pieces. Place in 8x8 brownie pan (glass is best, only because its easier to see the sides brown while cooking). Liberally sprinkle tops of each roll with sugar. With a pastry brush liberally swipe sides, in between each roll and pour any remaining over the tops.  Sprinkle rind from one orange on top.

Bake for 12-15 min. until slightly browned along sides and on tops of rolls. Also a fork should come out clean.

Enjoyed best with yet more cold butter and a fork. And make sure to scrape up the "goo" from the bottom of the pan.  This something you will fight over, like the pepperoni or sausage pieces that fell off into the pizza box.

Disclaimer: All cholesterol medicines should be taken thirty minutes prior to consumption.

Photo by Mozart's Nose

A Requested 'Sunday's Best of the Rest'

My mother in law was wondering if I might have some simply flavored appetizers and such that would be appropriate for a dinner with a close friend. The meal needs to be free of red meat influence, but rich in homey delight. Here's what I'm thinking so far ~

Candied Walnuts
Herbed Jam with Lemon
Bean Spread

Baked Artichokes
Baked Carrots with Creme Fraiche
Arugula Salad with Ricotta Salata and Dried Cranberries in a Dijon Vinaigrette
Thomas Keller's Roasted Chicken

Macerated Oranges and Candied Ginger

~Recipe Fits~

~Oranges and Olives as a Chutney~
Oranges
Olives
Horseradish
Caramelized Red Onion

Want to add a fresh, green taste also - would cilantro work?

Oranges with Olives

At Chez Panisse on the 6th, I had an starting course called 'Martin's blood oranges with green olives and watercress, and marash pepper'. It was very good - one thing that Alice Waters cooking does well is incorporating different textures as well as palate flavors, i.e. bitter, sweet, salty, and sour. In theory,this app had it all - olives for salty, oranges met both the sweet and sour taste bud requirements, and watercress a slight bitterness. I say in theory, only because while the potential was there for everyone to see, the putting together of it all was far from balanced. The water cress was a little too mild (maybe it needed more pepper to boost its own slight peppery flavor) and there weren't enough olives to counter the sweet sour of the blood oranges. But I LOVED the idea, so I am trying to work out my own version.

Could I use a premade olive tapenade and just plain oranges? What about bitterness...?