Thanksgiving Pre-game

We're 4 days out but I had to get started on a couple of Thanksgiving necessities.

Cloverleaf Dinner Rolls
from Veggietable


These will be on my Thanksgiving dinner table, but for now they're in my freezer.

• 1 package dry yeast (or about 2 1/2 t.)
• 3 T warm water
• 1 c. warm milk
• 4 T (60 g.) softened butter + extra for brushing on top
  
• 3 T sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 t. salt
• 3 1/2 c. flour
  
• drizzle of oil

Stir yeast and warm water together and let stand for 5 minutes. Use a hand mixer (low speed) to combine with milk, 4 T of butter, sugar, egg and salt. Slowly add in 2 cups of the flour and beat for 1 minute, then slowly continue to add the remaining flour. Turn out onto floured surface and knead for 10 minutes. Roll into a ball and place in a large oiled bowl, turning to coat all of the dough with a little oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour in a warm spot. Punch the dough and knead back to the original size. Cover and let rise in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.


Divide into 36 pieces and roll into balls (slice in half, cut each half into 3 pieces, and cut each third into 6 pieces). At this point you can freeze until Thanksgiving! I went ahead and made a few to see how they would turn out.


Grease a muffin pan and add 3 dough balls to each cup. Cover loosely and let rise for an hour. Brush with a bit of melted butter. Bake at 375F, 190C for 20-25 minutes, until lightly browned.

Vegetable Stock

Since stocks are necessary for most thanksgiving recipes, and it doesn't come in a can here, I went ahead and made about 6 cups. While celery is usually used, along with a variety of veggies, I didn't have any so here's what mine included today:

• Half an onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Herbs (a sprig of thyme, a few leaves of rosemary, and a little floppy basil)
  
• 1 old carrot, scrubbed
• 10 asparagus stems (the ends that aren't suitable for eating)
• 1 old zucchini
• 3 leaves of not-so-crisp lettuce
  
• 2 t. sea salt and a few shakes of pepper
  

In case you just think I'm gross, I'm encouraging you to use up any old veggies--there's no need to buy brand new vegetables for this. Use whatever you've got on hand. Dried herbs are fine too. Saute the onion, garlic, and herbs in a drizzle of veg oil for a few minutes then stir in the roughly chopped veggies. Add 8 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer for about 40 minutes and then strain. I believe that this freezes well but I think it will be just fine in the fridge for a few days too.