I wanted to start off by thanking all those who commented on the last post with words of encouragement, support and love. It has been difficult lately as the atmosphere every where is one of uncertainty. Violence, hate and suspicion are running rampant and I have to say, it makes me quite sad and afraid.
For the first time ever, I fear the scarf I wear on my head may bring harm to my children. They do not look foreign, my girls and my son are all fair skinned. I wonder if they are treated differently once they see I am their mother? They haven’t mentioned any negative incidents and I pray they don’t encounter any hateful actions towards them.
I have never been worried about my scarf because it has never mattered before. I have, maybe in total, encountered about 4 negative attitudes and comments about my appearance. Even after 9/11, when other Muslim women were taking off their scarves, I decided to put mine on. People asked me back then, “Aren’t you afraid?” I answered “no” because what happened then didn’t represent me or my faith. I wore my scarf proudly.
What’s happening now doesn’t represent me or my faith either, but the atmosphere is different this time. I still wear my scarf proudly but at the back of my mind, there is this nervousness for my children.
What happened at the restaurant last week was definitely a wake up call; a nasty reminder of the reality these days.
However, I will say again, I haven’t encountered anything else other than that one incident. My experience with coworkers, clients and regular people I encounter day to day, has been nothing but supportive and encouraging. I like to concentrate on these people; the ones who make an effort to smile and make conversation.
Last week, a snow fall that was predicted as “just a few inches” dumped close to a foot of snow. I was woken up at 5:30 am with my cell phone buzzing and upon answering it, found out it was the school district issuing a Snow Day. Through the sleepiness, I pull the curtain aside and see something short of a blizzard! Snow was coming down hard, swirling in all directions in a frenzy. I was really happy that I didn’t have to get up and drive kids to school in that snow storm. My husband ended up staying home too since it would’ve taken him 2 hours to get to work. The roads were bad, the motorways were piled high with snow and the snow plows were not effective.
He and I worked side by side from home sitting at the dining table. It was really nice to have him home unexpectedly. Of course, Snow Day meant that all the kids were off from school so they all went off to hang with friends. Trace and I decided to get some lunch at our local Pho place. Went down a treat with the cold weather.
The snow makes everything so festive; like gingerbread houses with a dusting of powdered sugar. Though ours was more than a dusting! One of these evenings we headed to the Denver Botanic Gardens for their Blossoms of Light festival. They decorate almost all their trees and shrubs with LED lights; SO, so beautiful. A cup of hot cocoa in one hand and a bag of roasted nuts in the other, we were quite cosy and mesmerised by the lights glittering on the trees. The cold air was invigorating and the hands did get a nip, but it was worth the little bit of cold to enjoy such a beautiful sight.
These rolls are fantastic. They are a big favourite at my class demos, and one of my most requested recipes. I haven’t had a chance to post them until now. I have made these with different cheeses and fillings. Usually, I serve these as the appetiser with sides from the olive bar or a fresh salsa. The guests enjoy these with a glass of wine before the class begins. I am always asked for the recipe and I have promised it to many wonderful folks and finally have a chance to post it.
These rolls are amazing out of a steam convection oven. If you’ve thought about getting one, my recommendation, GET ONE! They are simply great for many, many things but especially for breads.
Some variations: Piquillo Pepper and Asadero Cheese (this one is a favourite), Cheddar and Pickled Jalapeños, Roasted Red Peppers and Mozzarella, the combinations are endless. They are incredibly easy to make as well.
Rating
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 12
- 4 cups all purpose or bread flour
- 2 teaspoons yeast
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 ½ cups warm water
- Filling:
- 12oz/340g jar grilled Piquillo peppers
- 10.5 oz/300g goat's cheese
- 2 teaspoons parsley, chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter for brushing (optional)
- Mix the flour, yeast,salt and sugar in a bowl of a mixer.
- Attach the dough hook to the mixer and run through the mixture to aerate a little.
- Add 1 cup of warm water and mix on low.
- If the mixture looks too dry, add more water a little at a time.
- You may use all the water and need a bit more, or you may not use all the water.
- I used exactly 1 ½ cups but Colorado is dry so our flour runs dry as well.
- If you live in a humid place, you may need less.
- Just gauge the consistency; you want a nice soft, pliable dough, not sticky or dry.
- After the dough has kneaded into a ball, drop it on the counter and hand knead for a couple of minutes.
- Knead the dough into a nice smooth ball and place in a greased bowl to proof in a warm area of your kitchen.
- This will take about an hour at high altitude or 1 ½ -2 hours at sea level.
- While the dough is proofing, prepare the filling.
- From the jar, chop about the 8-10 peppers into small dice.
- How fine you want the peppers is up to you, but I don't keep the pieces too large.
- Smaller bites of the Piquillo pepper helps to roll better and your get more per bite.
- I used 10 peppers but you could use more, or less.
- Grease a 9" x 13" pan, a cake pan works great, you need something with sides.
- I have used a 10" round ceramic quiche/tart pan with 1.5" sides before as well with good results.
- Once the dough has doubled in size, turn it out onto a clean counter.
- Knead a couple of times to slowly deflate.
- Roll the dough out into a rectangle of 11" x 15" (the size of a ½ sheet tray)
- Sprinkle the chopped Piquillo peppers evenly over the rolled out dough.
- Drop crumbles of creamy goat's cheese evenly over the peppers.
- Sprinkle the parsley and drizzle the olive oil over the filling.
- Slowly lift up the long side of the dough and begin to roll up like a Swiss roll.
- Slowly roll the dough up evenly and making sure all the filling is tucked inside.
- When you get to the end, pinch the edge of the dough together in a long seam.
- Carefully cut the dough roll in half using a serrated knife.
- Cut out six pieces from each half to make total of 12 rolls.
- You can make bigger rolls by cutting in 6 or even 4.
- Carefully place the rolls into the greased pan, leaving a little space between them.
- Keep in a warm corner to rise a second time, about 20 minutes.
- Once they have puffed up a little and are touching each other, they are ready to bake.
- While the rolls are rising, preheat the oven to:
- Conventional oven : 375F
- Convection oven : 350F
- Steam Convection oven : 350F
- For a conventional oven or a convection oven, place a small cake pan filled with ice cubes on the bottom rack.
- Place the rolls on the rack above the ice cube pan.
- Bake the rolls:
- Conventional oven : 40 minutes
- Convection oven: 30 minutes
- Steam convection: 30-35 minutes
- Check to see if they are brown, if they are to your liking, remove and cool on a rack.
- If you'd like them a little more brown, add a couple more minutes.
- The filling will make a difference in the time as well.
- This filling isn't too wet, so it took 40 minutes to brown nicely.
- Different cheeses and other wet fillings will add to the time.
- Just add time in increments until browned and also done in the centre.
**JennAir Steam oven: Use Steam Convection mode and manual entry, set the temperature to 350F, steam level to medium and time for 30 minutes.
**Wolf Steam Oven: Use Auto Steam Bake for bread and set temp at 350F
I would like to end by wishing all my readers and friends very happy holidays, a Merry Christmas and an amazing New Year. I am thankful for your support of this blog and me. I am also very thankful for your friendship and hope that it will only grow stronger in the coming year. Wishing you all the very best this holiday season, filled with much joy, happiness and prosperity from my family to yours.
Nazneen
Beautiful post Nazneen. It’s been awhile since I’ve been here and your blog looks wonderful. I’ve subscribed by email instead of trying to read through feedly so I can keep up better. Your site looks gorgeous, who did it for you. And, pinning these cheese rolls.
I am still wondering why people would get frightened by a scarf on your head (I can only see your lovely smile Nazneen). I understand how hard it can be for you to think of your children being mistreated.
I think about mine, half French, half Egyptian and I am scared sometime when I see much racism around.
At the same time, there are very good people too, people who make the difference. And only these people need our love and attention.
These rolls look delicious. Maybe the perfect recipe for New Year Eve! Will see..And will let you know if I try!
Thank you. Have a blessed end of year 2015. Take good care of yourself and know you are loved by many.
marie Mahshi & Marshmallow recently posted..Parenting…
The rolls look delicious! I have to try making them! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thank you for a beautiful and inspiring post, Nazneen.
The Goat cheese rolls look amazing.
Wishing you and your family a happy and joyful New Year!
Daniela recently posted..Chicken Liver Parfait – A French Classic For The Hoilday Season
Thank you my dear Daniela. I hope you are well, Happy New Year to you!
I’m so very glad that most people you’ve encountered have seen YOU and not just your scarf, and treated you with kindness and respect. XO Wishing you continued safety and much happiness with your loves.
Krista recently posted..A Gift of Adventure and A Plum Pudding
Thank you so much my dear Krista. Wishing you a lovely New Year filled with health and happiness. xx
So sorry I spelt your name wrong!
Hotly Spiced recently posted..Santa Photo, 2015
Thanks so much for the Christmas wishes, Nazneen. I’m sorry I haven’t been visiting your blog – I have subscribed but haven’t been receiving email notifications of new posts (I know you’re having some technical challenges). There is no such thing as a ‘snow day’ in Oz! The images from the lights festival are beautiful – what a pretty time of year. Excellent rolls Nazeen – I’m always impressed with your cooking skills. I hope you and your family have a wonderful time celebrating the season xx
Hotly Spiced recently posted..Santa Photo, 2015
Thank you for dropping by Charlie! Ive had some issues lately but hopefully they’ll be fixed soon. I’m glad you were able to find this post 🙂
Just found your blog and love it — these rolls are so unusual, and like like Sugar et al said, my mouth watered just reading the name of the recipe!
sue|theviewfromgreatisland recently posted..The Top Ten Posts of 2015
Thank you so much Sue, I’m so glad you dropped by and left a comment. I’m glad to have found yours as well. Look forward to getting to know you.xx
This is a very nice recipe for sure, I’ll make sure to try it soon. Pinned.
The world is going crazy or should I say people are going crazy.. I’ve not encountered any bad incidents YET, and I do hope that I will not, at least not in front of my kids, I do not want them to hold a grudge of the society they live in which will then make them vulnerable to such twisted ideas when they get older.
Happy holidays to you my dear, I hope the coming year will be better and hold only happiness for all of us.
Amira recently posted..Halabessa (spicy hummus drink)
Thank you my dear Amira, the world is indeed crazy. It’s hard with kids but I do teach mine to be safe but always to be kind to people regardless. It’s just hard. Hope you are well.
The title itself made my mouth water (no exaggeration), especially since I haven’t had these things in two weeks now. Then looking at them I feel like going in search of goats’s cheese. What a lovely picture of the two of you Nazneen! No need to thank anyone. Just be yourself! That’s not easy but you always do it with a smile. That says it all. Do hell with the people who are so petty in their thoughts.
PS: I wish I was shoveling snow in Colorado but I am content at the moment with the basic cold around me in India. I’ll have an extra Biriyani on your behalf to beat the cold:-)
Sugar et al. recently posted..Vanilla Peppermint Cupcakes
Thank you, Sonali! Ahh, so you’re in the Motherland 🙂 Hope you’re having fun and not eating too much biryani!
No snow here yet. In fact, it’s going to be in the 60s tomorrow! Hard to believe. Lovely, flavorful recipe — my kind of dish! Hope your holidays are terrific!
John@Kitchen Riffs recently posted..Chocolate Almond Sesame Bars
Thanks John! These are quite delicious! And wow, has the weather been warm this winter!
Looks delicious and I have all the ingredients on hand except the jar of Piquillo peppers. These would be great for appetizers! Can’t wait to try them.
Thanks Mona. Hope you like them.
I know what you feel my dear. I love your spirit and stay strong always. I will be reading your previous post but I almost know what it is.
I love these rolls and savory rolls are my fave anytime.
Cheers to a calm, peaceful and loving 2016. Thanks for always being there and all the encouraging words.
Hugs and Happy Holidays to you and your beautiful family my friend.
xoxo
Thank you my dear Asha. Its just the fact of life these days…nothing I can really do than just be myself. Thanks for your support as always. xx
Wow! These savory rolls look quite scrumptious, Nazneen! Love to see you and your husband picture with the lights on the background. I imagine how beautiful this time of the year must be in Colorado.
I hope I can see you again one of these days in SA. Sending our love to you and your family. Take care!
Thank Denise! The wether is gorgeous right now and with the snow and the lights, its lovely everywhere. I will let you know when/if we are headed down South 🙂
Your rolls sound perfect to serve with cocktails when having a party. Looking at them, I can see why they would be popular in your cooking classes. I hope you have a wonderful new year with your family.
Karen (Back Road Journal) recently posted..Joy To The World
Thank you Karen! Wishing you and your hubby all the best as well. xx
mmm goat cheese…these rolls look sensational!
Have a wonderful holiday season, Nazneen.
Angie@Angie’s Recipes recently posted..White Hot Chocolate Almond Snowballs
Thanks Angie! Wishing you all the best as well!!
It always tickles me when I read your recipes that you take into consideration the altitude – something that would never be a problem for me here on the 20th floor 🙂 Here’s to a more tolerant and peaceful 2016 for us all
yeah…you may laugh about it but let me tell you how difficult it was for me too bake anything when I first moved here from sea level! It is such a science and it boggles my mind. No two things will ever turn out the same. Even rice was a huge problem until I managed to figure out how to do it. Wishing you all the best for a wonderful 2016, Nancy! xx