Foodies on Food: Tania Stenzel

Jen Betterley
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Published on: November 23, 2011

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Tania StenzelTania Stenzel

Claim to Foodie Fame: Stay-at-home mom and food blogger (Love Big Bake Often) who likes to cook and bake the best she can for her family. Cooking from scratch and filling her family with goodness and love. Love being the most important ingredient in every recipe.

Quote: ... I would happily die eating a delicious meal of roast leg of lamb, homemade mint jelly, garlic roast potatoes, and green beans with toasted almonds. Just perfect.

What is your earliest memory of cooking? I can remember being very little and helping my mother make cookies for Christmas. My mother always made a selection of cookies to share with family and friends; shortbread trees and bells with sprinkles, chocolate and coconut macaroons, and the most delicious rum balls. I was always included in the assembly line for the rum balls. Mom would scoop and roll, I would roll in the chocolate sprinkles and place in the containers where they would rest in the fridge for weeks to "cure." They were the best rum balls I have ever eaten, hands down.

What is your idea of comfort food?
Comfort food for me is warm, rich dishes that have taken all day to cook — thick rich beef stew, the roast that has spent all day in its Dutch oven until it falls apart with the gentle poke of a fork, and the creamy lasagna that was layered with love and patience. Typical Sunday dinners for me are what I consider to be comfort food.

Food or meal you would happily die eating, or, what is your last meal and testament?
I can remember planning my yearly visits home from Seoul (where I was teaching English), and my mother letting me know that she had picked up a leg of lamb for my first meal home. That is definitely what I would happily die eating, a delicious meal of roast leg of lamb, homemade mint jelly, garlic roast potatoes, and green beans with toasted almonds. Just perfect.

How did your family honor food traditions in your household?
Birthdays were big in our family for celebrating food traditions. The birthday person was always able to pick what they wanted for “their” meal. And, of course, what kind of cake they wanted. Being able to chose your favorite meal and cake was special to me.

Who first taught you how to cook?
My mother taught me how to cook. I can remember watching her cook and picking up tips and techniques from her — the biggest being learning how to time cooking so that everything was done at the same time (the hardest technique of all!). She let me do the grocery shopping too, to help teach me what food cost. I would be dropped off with the list, a calculator, and an envelope of money. When I was old enough there would be one night a week that it would be my responsibility to cook dinner; this gave me a chance to experiment with recipes.

Who do you credit with inspiring in you a love of food and cooking?
I have always had a love of good food, I like to eat, but I would have to say that my love of cooking for others is what inspires me to make good food. I like to see smiles on the faces of those I feed when they take the first bite. Watching my boys try something for the first time, or dig into one of their favorites is what inspires me to be in the kitchen. My family, my husband and sons, are who I credit for inspiring me to cook and bake.

Share an example of one of your family food traditions.
Christmas is my favorite time of year to be in the kitchen, all the cookies, treats, and delicious dinners put a warmth in my heart. Christmas morning has to be my favorite. We as a family have a tradition of a lazy breakfast of warm cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate, served in between opening presents.

What is your favorite dish or meal to cook?
Does pie count as a dish? I love making pie. I have recently discovered the joy of the patience that making a good pie crust takes, and making a delicious pie for my family. The smell of a warm cinnamon and brown sugar apple pie wafting through the house, the golden shade of a beautifully baked crust… It really takes all your senses to enjoy food.

If you could invite anyone to your holiday dinner living, dead, or imaginary who would it be?
This is an easy and yet difficult question for me. I would give anything to have my stepfather, Herb, at our table for Thanksgiving dinner. He passed away when Jakob was just eight-months old and of course never got to meet Aiden. I wish he had had a chance to get to know them, to be a part of their lives, and to teach them all the things that he had planned. I know that he would be proud of the family that Jason and I have created, the life we live, and enjoy the food I can now make.


Cinammon rollsTania Stenzel's Perfect Cinnamon Rolls
I love this recipe for cinnamon rolls because you do most of the work the day/night before so when you wake up in the morning there isn’t that long wait for the dough to rise. Hot, delicious cinnamon rolls in an hour after you awake. Perfect.

Ingredients:

Dough:
4 egg yolks
1 whole egg
1/4 cup white sugar
6 Tbsp. melted unsalted butter
6 ounces buttermilk
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 package instant dry yeast
1 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
Vegetable oil or cooking spray

Filling:
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 Tbsp. melted unsalted butter

Directions:

Dough:
In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together egg yolks, egg, sugar, butter, and buttermilk. Add to the bowl about 2 cups of the flour and the yeast and salt. Whisk until combined. Switch whisk attachment for dough hook. Add another cup of flour and knead on low for approx. 5 minutes. Now check the dough, it should feel soft and moist, not sticky. Add more flour if necessary to reach desired consistency. Knead on low for about 5 more minutes or until the dough no longer sticks to the side of the bowl.

Remove dough from the bowl and knead briefly on a floured surface. Lightly oil a large bowl. Transfer the dough to the bowl, turn dough over to oil all sides. Cover and let double in size – approx 2 hours.

Filling:
Mix together brown sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl until well incorporated. Set aside until ready to use.

Assembly:
Butter a 9x13 glass baking dish. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out into an 18x12 rectangle. Brush the dough with the 2 tbsp melted butter. Sprinkle the filling over the dough, leaving a border on the long edge. Roll the dough into a tight cylinder. Slice the cylinder into 12 equal slices. Arrange the slices in the buttered dish. Cover the dish tightly with saran wrap and store in the fridge overnight.

Next day:
Take the dish with the cinnamon rolls out of the fridge and put in the oven (turned off!). Place a pan filled with boiling water on the rack beneath the cinnamon rolls. Close the oven door and let the rolls rise for 30 minutes. Rolls should look puffy. Remove rolls and pan of water and preheat oven to 350 deg. When the oven is ready, place the rolls on the middle rack and bake for approx 30 min. – rolls should be golden brown. Set dish on a rack to cool

Frosting:
Cream together 1/3 cup of cream cheese, 3 tbsp heavy cream, and approx 2 cups of powdered sugar until smooth. Spread frosting over slightly cooled cinnamon rolls and serve warm. Enjoy!

** Too make them extra decadent add crumbled bacon on top, drizzle with salted caramel sauce, or sprinkle with candied pecans

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