Recipe Weekend: Whitney Miller's New Southern Table My Favorite Family Recipes with a Modern Twist By Whitney Miller

Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this book, free of charge, via Book Look Blogging Program,  for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it

And now for a book from one of our favorite chefs:

Synopsis:

MasterChef  winner Whitney Miller shares her favorite family recipes with her own unique flair, making them lighter and infusing them with global flavors.

Following her great-grandmothers' examples of creatively stretching meals during the Great Depression, Whitney Miller transforms recipes from her Southern roots, preserving flavors of traditional family dishes while offering the excitement of her own special touches. She offers a taste of her family table with dishes like Southern Horchata, PB&J Chicken Satay, Dehydrated Okra Chips, Sweet Corn Grit Tamales, Peach Bread Pudding with Sweet Tea Rum Sauce, and much more. Using new techniques and cooking methods, Miller reimagines classic recipes and experiments with flavors from around the world, inspired by her travels since winning 

Review:

Miss Grace ADORES Whitney because she is from 'just over the state line' from us, and is proof, that anybody can make it, even if they are from the backwoods! LOL So she grabbed this book the minute it came in and disappeared with it and some post its, to check off her favorite recipes. She came back with a yellow flagged book and an empty pad of post its! Seriously! 

Whitney's style is to take her traditional family recipes and lighten them a bit, while still keeping the flavor and texture, by adding new ingredients, that are not far off from normal. What this means is that her family recipes still TASTE almost the same. Like how you take your Mama's favorite casserole recipe and it may be pretty close, but just not 100% the same, as you spice with a lighter/heavier hand, etc. So the book contains lots of traditional Southern fare like pot roast, potato salad, ribs, cream corn and apple hand pies. But Whitney has also taken foods that she has eaten elsewhere, like Smore's Scones, and worked out a recipe that is pretty close, but has a Southern twist to it. The result are recipes that are just TOO delicious for words!

If you love cooking, or are looking for the perfect cookbook for holiday gifting, THIS is the book to pick! Add it to a gift basket of Southern food items, and you have the perfect hostess gift as well! We highly recommend it, so don't miss this one!

Recipe:

This recipe for Cinnamon Rolls is pure in its simplicity. It takes next to no time make up the dough and prepare the roll,s and you could make them the night before, and cook for breakfast the following am. They would be super for holiday morning breakfasts, including Nov 1st, when we're all tired from falling back out clocks!

Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients:

Rolls

- 2 cups self-rising flour plus more for dusting 

- 1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 

(Whitney uses California Olive Ranch’s Arbosana) 

- 3/4 cup whole milk 

- 1/3 cup light brown sugar 

- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

- 1/3 cup chopped pecans 

Glaze 

- 3 Tablespoons confectioner’s sugar

 - 1 Tablespoon whole milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease 9 sections of a muffin tin with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.

2. Sift 2 cups of the flour into a medium bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour. Pour ¼ cup olive oil in the well and then add a few tablespoons of the milk. Using one hand, carefully stir the liquid mixture while incorporating more flour and gradually adding more milk. Once wet dough begins to form, use a folding technique to incorporate the rest of the flour and milk. The dough should be sticky. Be careful to not overwork the dough.

3. Transfer the dough to a floured surface. Using floured hands, gently press the dough out into a rectangle about 1/4-inch thick. Brush one tablespoon of the olive over the dough.

4. In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup brown sugar with 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Sprinkle evenly over the dough. (You can spice up the rolls by adding cranberries or raisins, before rolling it up. ) Starting at one of the long sides, roll the dough into a cylinder. Cut the cylinder into 9 equal pieces. 

5.  In a small bowl, combine the rest of the brown sugar and cinnamon. Stir in the chopped pecans. Divide the mixture evenly among the 9 muffin tin sections. 

6. Lightly press each piece of dough on top of the pecan mixture in the muffin tin.
7. Bake for 18 minutes or until lightly golden brown. 

8. Meanwhile, prepare the glaze. Combine the confectioner’s sugar and milk until smooth. 

9. Let cinnamon rolls cool for 5 minutes. Then drizzle the glaze over the cinnamon rolls and then transfer to a serving platter. Serve warm.

ENJOY!

About the Author

Whitney Miller , winner at twenty-two of MasterChef , has been featured across the globe in Southern cuisine cooking promotions and as a judge in food competitions, including the 2013 World Food Championship. Her recipes and articles have appeared in People, Women’s Health, Masterchef, Clean Eating, and Cooking Light magazines, and her cooking demonstrations have been featured in the MasterChef app. She lives in Plant City, Florida. Check out her website for more info!