Meringue and chocolate pudding pie

I modified this from my sister-in-law's pie, which she labeled "Jean Green Chocolate Pie".

Blind bake a standard pie crust:  20 minutes with pie weights, followed by 15 minutes without, at 375 F.

In a large sauce pan, melt butter over low heat, then whisk in:

1. 1 stick (1/2 c) butter, melted
2. 4 egg yolks (whites reserved)

Next whisk in dry ingredients to get a thick batter:

1. 8 3/4 oz sugar (1 1/4 c)
2. 1 1/8 oz flour (1/4 c)
3. 1 oz unsweetened cocoa powder (1/3 c)
4. dash of salt

Slowly whisk in milk to get smooth mixture:

1. 1 1/4 c milk
2. 1 t vanilla extract

In stand mixer, whisk to soft peaks (or just shy of):

1. 4 reserved egg whites
2. 1/4 t cream of tartar

Meanwhile, cover and bring to boil in saucepan:

1. 9 oz sugar (1 1/4 c)
2. 2 oz water (1/4 c)
3. pinch of salt

With mixer running slowly, pour boiling sugar syrup into egg whites.  Increase speed to high and whip until cooled.  Put custard into pie crust, top with Italian meringue.  Serve chilled.

Chinese chicken

The best home versions of General Tso's Chicken and Orange Chicken that I've had come from Serious Eats.  However, I usually want to skip the frying and just have the sauce on plain chicken breasts.

General Tso's sauce

Saute until soft but not browned:

1. 2 t peanut or canola oil
2. 2 t minced garlic (2 cloves)
3. 2 t minced ginger (1" piece)
4. 2 t minced scallion, white parts (1 scallion)
5. 1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes

Whisk together, then add to pan and cook until thickened:

1. 3 T dark soy sauce
2. 2 T Shaoxing wine or dry Sherry
3. 2 T rice vinegar
4. 3 T chicken stock (or 1/2 t Better Than Bullion + 3 T water)
5. 4 T sugar
6. 1 t sesame oil
7. 1 T cornstarch

Orange sauce

Saute until soft but not browned:

1. 2 t peanut or canola oil
2. 2 t minced garlic (2 cloves)
3. 2 t minced ginger (1" piece)
4. 2 t minced scallion, white parts (1 scallion)
5. 1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes

Whisk together, then add to pan and cook until thickened:

1. 1 T dark soy sauce
2. 2 T Shaoxing wine or dry Sherry
3. 2 T rice vinegar
4. 3 T chicken stock (or 1/2 t Better Than Bullion + 3 T water)
5. 4 T sugar
6. 1 t sesame oil
7. 2 t zest and 1/4 c juice from one orange
8. 4 strips dried orange peel*
9. 1 T cornstarch

* Orange peel can be dried at 225 F, being carefully not to let it darken/burn.

Potato cinnamon rolls

This is my current favorite cinnamon roll recipe, adapted from "Jailhouse potato-cinnamon rolls" in Pastry Queen by Rebecca Rather.  I've added an overnight rise inspired by Alton Brown, cut the recipe in half so it fits in a mixer, and found I need more flour (and more baking time) than Rather claims.  The recipe still feeds an army (16 good-sized rolls), but it can be doubled with big enough bowls.  (Use 3 whole eggs instead of 2 eggs and 2 yolks.)

Start by peeling, cubing,  and boiling one medium russet potato for ~15 minutes in unsalted water.  Save the water and let it cool to ~110 F (or add a little ice to speed it on its way).  Mash 8 oz of potato in the stand mixer using the beater or whisk.  Now, you can combine the other ingredients directly in the mixer using the whisk:

1. 8 oz (1 c) mashed russet potato
2. 1.5 c potato water, cooled to <110 f="" li="">
3. 4 t (0.5 oz) rapid-rise or bread-machine yeast
4. 2 5/8 oz (3/8 c) sugar
5. 1 stick (1/2 c) butter, melted
6. 1 egg plus 1 yolk
7. 1 t salt

Whisk well to combine, then use the dough hook to mix in flour just until the dough comes together:

1. 30 oz (~6 c) unbleached all-purpose flour

Let dough rise, covered, until doubled, about 1 hour.  (It will fill the mixer bowl to the top.)
For the filling, use either

1. 2 c brown sugar
2. 1 T cinnamon
3. 2 c toasted pecans (optional)

or

1. 2 c granulated sugar
2. 1 T orange zest (from one orange)

Divide the dough in half, and roll each half out into a large rectangle.  Brush each half with

1. 2-3 T melted butter

Top each dough half with half the filling, roll it up, and slice into 8 rolls (16 total).  We typically arrange these as a Christmas tree shape on a half sheet pan (rows of 1, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1).  You could also put them in a 9x13 pan (5 rows of 3, cut one less roll) or two smaller pans.  Refrigerate overnight;  rolls will rise slowly.  Alternately, freeze rolls and wrap well;  thaw overnight in the refrigerator.

Remove rolls from refrigerator and preheat oven to 375 F.  (Set rolls over a pan of hot water if they need to rise more, although they will expand significantly in the oven.)  Bake rolls until dough is set in the centermost rolls, about 35-40 minutes in the Christmas tree configuration.  I think the dough in the middle needs to reach 175-180 F or so to set -- in the Christmas tree configuration, the rolls on the edges are deeply browned by this point.  Next time I might try a somewhat lower temperature for a longer time, or tenting the top with foil.  Baking time in a high-sided pan is likely to be quite different, but might result in more uniform rolls.

Cinnamon rolls should be frosted with

1. 4 3/4 oz (1 1/4 c) powdered sugar
2. 2 T buttermilk (or milk)
3. 1/4 t vanilla extract

Orange rolls should be frosted with

1. 4 3/4 oz (1 1/4 c) powdered sugar
2. 2 T fresh-squeezed orange juice (from one orange)
3. 1 T orange zest (from one orange)

I've tried using orange extract to amp up the orange flavor of these rolls, but the alcohol gave it an unpleasant taste.  I'm considering a mixed citrus version (lime?  grapefruit?) next year.