Posted by DesMoines Register, IA on August 20, 2008 at 16:30:32:
Rolls RISE to State Fair gold
By TOM PERRY • tperry@dmreg.com • August 20, 2008
Sarah Michaelsen cherishes pre-school memories that bring her back to her mother's kitchen.
"I was just a little kid, maybe 3 or 4 years old, sitting on the counter, helping mom put on the cinnamon and sugar," she said.
Roughly a quarter-century later, Michaelsen, 28, is still into cinnamon and sugar. She has her own kitchen now, where she spent about four hours last week making cinnamon rolls that earned her a second blue ribbon in the Tone's Cinnamon Roll Contest at the Iowa State Fair.
The accomplishment - two championships in two tries in the contest - would result in a proud moment for any home cook, let alone one who is younger than most cast-iron skillets.
Michaelsen, who teaches art at Waukee High School and lives in Ankeny with her husband and their two young sons, said she found her second competition more stressful than her first in 2005.
"I didn't think my rolls were as good this time," she said.
It is not an anomaly for someone in her 20s to win a State Fair cooking competition, said Nancy Macklin of Tone's Spices, coordinator of the cinnamon roll event for the past 12 years.
"You will see younger adults who get hooked on the contest bug," she said. "But most competitors do skew toward the over-40 demographic."
Michaelsen won her first State Fair blue ribbon for caramel cinnamon rolls in 2005. It was another somewhat rare accomplishment - winning the cinnamon roll contest as a first-time entrant.
She was delighted with the $3,000 prize, believed to be the nation's largest State Fair baking competition cash award. But after sitting out two years, she entered again.
"I really didn't think I could ever win it again," Michaelsen said.
She not only won again for her cinnamon rolls but also won blue ribbons in three other categories. She made a loaf of bread, an appetizer and a noodle dish that all won.
The appetizer was a scratch creation, Irish Reuben Egg Rolls, a dish that features corned beef, potatoes and the cabbage in a bagged coleslaw mix.
Michaelson followed recipes for both her cinnamon roll entries. This summer's inspiration came from a cookbook published a few years ago by the United Methodist Church in Jefferson, where she grew up.
When Michaelsen attacks a baking project, she arms herself with wisdom from her mother, Marianne Carlson.
"When I was growing up, my mom was the best cook in Jefferson," she said.
Mother's two key baking tips: Use good quality ingredients and make sure it is kneaded long enough.
That would be seven minutes at a minimum, Michaelsen said.
"That may not seem like a long time, but when you're kneading dough it can really feel like a long time."
An artist who has been commissioned to paint portraits, Michaelsen said one of her favorite kitchen tasks is decorating cakes.
"I feel like I can be a little artsy," she said.
Despite her success in 2005 and years of positive cooking experiences, Michaelsen was skeptical about the rolls she brought to this year's contest.
"I didn't think they'd make the cut," she said, referring to the preliminary process that winnowed 138 entries down to five finalists.
"Once they made the cut, though, I though, 'Wow, I could actually, maybe win again.' "
Michaelsen's cinnamon rolls edged the competition because of their light texture and classic flavor, said chef Robert Anderson, program director at Des Moines Community College's Iowa Culinary Institute and one of this year's judges.
"For rolls that were light, they had very nice taste," he said.
When asked what went right, Michaelsen said she could only speculate.
"I think I must have a good dew on my dough," she said. "I didn't add too much flour. I didn't overbake it.
"It turned out well."
Winning this particular cinnamon roll contest is a significant achievement for a home cook of any age, in Anderson's view.
The fact that the competition takes place in Iowa - where there is "unique mania for cinnamon rolls," as the New York Times once observed - gives finalists superstar status, he said.
Michaelsen isn't ready to put herself in an elite class. She does not practice or train in the kitchen.
"I do make them at home," she said of cinnamon rolls. "I'll make them for different special occasions or when the family is bugging me to make them. That's maybe three or four times a year."'
Sarah Michaelsen’s Cinnamon Rolls
3/4 cup butter
2 teaspoons salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup mashed potatoes, made from 2–3 baking potatoes
1 cup hot potato water
1 cup hot water
2 packages active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
2 eggs
7-8 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
11/2 tablespoons Tone’s cinnamon
FROSTING:
3 cups powdered sugar
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 tablespoons milk
Combine butter, salt, sugar, and hot water, mashed potatoes, and hot potato water, into a bowl and stir until the butter melts.
In a separate bowl, combine the yeast with the warm water and allow time to activate. Add yeast mixture to the potato water mixture and stir. Next, add flour to the water mixture, one cup at a time, stirring after each cup, until a soft dough forms.
Turn out onto a floured surface and start kneading until smooth, about seven minutes. Place dough into a greased bowl, turning to grease all sides. Cover, and let rise until double, about 1 hour.
Roll dough into a long rectangle and spread softened butter over top. Combine cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle over top of dough. Roll up jelly-roll style, long way, and cut into about 24 equal pieces. Place rolls into two, 9x13-inch pans. Cover and let rise until double, about 30 minutes. Bake in a 350-degree oven until golden brown, about 25-30 minutes.
Let rolls cool for about 10 minutes. Combine frosting ingredients and spread over rolls.
Sarah’s Irish ReubenEgg Rolls
I package egg roll wraps
1 package coleslaw mix, seasoned with salt and pepper (optional)
2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
1/2 pound corned beef
1 cup chopped red onion
1 (pound) bag Simply Potatoes, diced with onion
Thousand Island dressing for dipping
Shred the corned beef by hand into inch pieces, and place in a bowl.
Moisten edges of egg roll wraps with water, then place about 1–2 tablespoons (depending on the size of the egg roll) of each of the following: coleslaw mix, Swiss cheese, corned beef, red onion, and Simply Potatoes onto the center (diagonally).
Roll up and deep fat fry at 375 degrees until golden brown, 2–4 minutes.
Serve with a favorite Thousand Island dressing.
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