The Top Floor Flat

Over the weekend, Ann and I accomplished something huge.  It took a great deal of time, effort, creative thought and, in some cases, danger.  That’s right, we finally hung the paintings that Ann bought ages ago and we’d kept wrapped up in a corner because we didn’t know where to put them.

You might scoff but this is truly a daunting task.  Have you ever tried to place small pictures in a wide expanse of white wall? It’s quite difficult.  We finally decided on placing the two smaller ones in the hall, where there was a small part of the wall that jutted out and didn’t feel like an ocean of whiteness swallowing our her little paintings.  The longer, taller one ended up in the living room where the lamp and bookshelf made a convenient frame.  I absolutely love the paintings Ann had picked out and am so excited they’re finally on the walls.

In celebration, and as a host gift for the people with whom I was having dinner the next night, I decided to try my hand at cinnamon rolls again as the last batch hadn’t turned out quite as well as I had hope and I was pretty sure it was because I had failed to let the dough rise properly.  I used a different recipe, found through SuperCook.com (where you can enter in the ingredients you have and they suggest recipes):

1/2 ounce dried yeast (2 envelopes) 1/2 cup warm water 3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons milk 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 3/4 cup granulated sugar 1 large egg 1 teaspoon salt

4 to 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 cup light brown sugar 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon 3/4 cup raisins (optional) 2 cups confectioners? sugar 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

And the instructions:

1. Combine the yeast and warm water and set aside for 10 minutes.
2. Warm 3/4 cup of the milk in the microwave. In a large bowl, combine 4 tablespoons of the melted butter and the warm milk. Using an electric mixer with a dough hook at low speed, or a wooden spoon, slowly stir the dissolved yeast into the butter and milk. Add 1/2 cup of the granulated sugar, the egg and the salt, and mix until combined. Add 4 cups of the flour, 1/2 cup at a time; mix until smooth. If the dough is sticky, add up to 1/2 cup of flour.
3. Knead the dough on a floured surface for 5 minutes, place in a medium bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
4. Stir together the brown sugar, the remaining 1/4 cup of granulated sugar and the cinnamon. On a floured surface, roll out the dough to form a 12-x-24-inch rectangle. Brush the remaining 3 tablespoons of melted butter over the dough, and sprinkle the brown sugar mixture on top. Scatter the raisins over the dough.
5. Starting with a long side, roll the dough up into a log, jelly-roll style, then cut with dental floss or a sharp knife into generous 1-inch slices. Place in 3 greased 9-inch round cake pans (about 7 rolls per pan). Let the rolls rise for 45 minutes.
6. Preheat the oven to 350°. Bake the rolls, uncovered, until crusty and golden on top, about 25 minutes.
7. Stir together the confectioners? sugar, vanilla and the remaining 3 tablespoons of milk until smooth. Drizzle over the rolls and serve.

They ended up absolutely wonderfully this time, as far as I could tell, and although at home our family doesn’t normally do them with raisins, I thought it was a nice touch.  I kind of forgot to take pictures along the way but here are a few pictures of the final stages: