il recipe y lei (recipe for y'all)

I have decided that every now and again I will post relevant recipes. In light of the past Thanksgiving Holiday and the Christmas Season now upon us- I will impart two recipes direct from Feel the Love Studios, which adorn my family's table every year for both Holidays. Hope you adore them both.

POTATO ROLLS

**THIS IS A RODMAN FAMILY RECIPE!

375 degrees

-2 1/2 tsp. of active dry yeast dissolved in 1 1/2 c. of lukewarm water

-2/3 c. of unsalted butter

-2/3 c. sugar

-2 eggs

-1 c. of warm and mashed potatoes

-1 tsp. of salt

-6-7 c. of flour

1. Mix the wet ingredients first

2. Add in flour and mix- my preferred method is diving in with my hands

3. Continue to knead dough and add flour until you have a nice smooth round ball of dough

4. Place dough in a buttered bowl and cover- let rise for a couple of hours or until noticeably different in size

5. Roll the dough into lovely little round balls and place on a buttered sheet pan

6. Let rise again until double in size- or nice and puffy

7. Bake for 15-20 minutes (golden brown on top)

**OPTIONAL STEP/TIP: After Step 4- You can refrigerate the dough over night. Then when you are ready to bake just continue with Step-5

CRANBERRY SAUCE

- fresh or frozen cranberries

- sugar

- orange juice

**This recipe does not have measurements but I will throw out a few hints as how to gauge

1. In a pot place as many cranberries as you would like sauce

2. Turn on heat to a medium- medium/high heat

3. Pour in orange juice- just enough to barely cover the cranberries

4. Add sugar- you have to go by taste- but to give you an idea for about 6 cups of cranberries I add 1/2 cup or maybe a little more of sugar

5. Cook until the cranberries begin to pop, and the orange juice cooks off

6. You can remove the cranberries from the heat when the sauce has thickened

7. Let cool for a little while- then place in a dish or bowl of your liking. You can serve this warm or cold. It lasts at least a week in your refrigerator.

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...giving Thanks

Let it be known-Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday- because the focus of this day revolves around two of my most favorite things 1) Family and 2) Food! I happen to be particularly lucky because I not only love my family but I like them, too. and the majority of them happen to be pretty dang good cooks- so its a win- win by my account!

I guess this is my proclamation-making it known that I am damn blessed. I have siblings that give me hell and love all at the same time, friends that offer support equal to the air I breathe, incredible parents that gave all of us 5-Rods the best gift ever (in addition to life)- love, work ethic and self-confidence, delightful grandparents that make/made us feel special always, and a huge network of aunts, uncles and cousins- and step-siblings, and significant-others- that make things sparkle.

A couple of years ago I heard a very interesting report on NPR, stating that after your immediate needs are met; ie: food, shelter, clothing- the amount of wealth above meeting these basic needs is of no relevance to ones happiness. I mention this to make no moral or political statement- because I love things and fine things nonetheless probably more than anyone- its more or less interesting to me- because I have thought about this from time to time- and mirrored it to my own life situations and have found it to be so true. A little nugget for you to ponder perhaps.