Tonsil Cake

Thanksgiving 2007 ~ 11.23.07

When I was in third grade I had my tonsils out. I was a picky eater to begin with but couple that with a surgery and I was a pickle to feed. I refused to eat most things until my grandma brought over a bunt pound cake with a citrus glaze. From that time on, our family called this "Tonsil Cake".

Tonsil Cake (Thrifty Buttermilk Pound Cake)

3 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
4 unbeaten eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp lemon extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Cream the butter and sugar. Add eggs, buttermilk and extracts. Blend well. Add flour mixture a little bit at a time until well blended. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Grandma's Potato Refrigerator Dough

This is my ultimate, all time favorite bread recipe. It came from my Grandma and she makes these rolls for every holiday. There were a few years when I was younger that I would only eat jellied cranberry sauce and these rolls for Thanksgiving. Grandma does it right and lets it sit in the fridge for a few days but I'm impatient and bake them the same day. While it still tastes good, it tastes better when it's left to ferment for a couple of days.

Potato Refrigerator Dough

1 pkg. dry active yeast
1 ½ cups warm water (105 to 155 degrees)
2/3 cup sugar
1 ½ tsp salt
2/3 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 cup lukewarm mashed potatoes
7 to 7 ½ cups flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in sugar, salt, shortening, eggs, potatoes, and 4 cups of the flour. Beat until smooth. Mix in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle. Turn dough onto lightly floured board; knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place in greased bowl; turn greased side up. Cover bowl tightly; refrigerate at least 8 hours or until ready to use. (Dough can be kept up to 5 days covered in refrigerator at 45 degrees or below. Keep covered). Punch down dough; divide into 4 parts. Use ¼ of dough in each of the variations. Let rise for 1 ½ hours before baking. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Bake rolls 15 to 25 minutes.