Potato Bread Croissants

These Potato Bread Croissants feature an easy, make-ahead dough that can be used for dinner rolls, hamburger and hot dog buns, and sandwich bread. The bread is tender, airy and delicious.

1 cup prepared mashed potatoes, unsalted
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm (110˚F, 45˚C) water
2/3 cup turbinado (raw sugar)
2/3 cup shortening (or 3/4 cup softened butter)
2 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
6 cups all purpose flour
melted butter

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Let stand until foamy - usually about 10 minutes.

2. Add potatoes, turbinado, shortening, eggs, salt, and half of the flour. Mix well. Gradually stir in remaining flour until dough pulls from the side of the bowl. Knead briefly by hand, or use the dough hook on your mixer to knead it. This dough is quite sticky at this stage, so machine kneading is much easier and keeps the dough tender by not adding more flour.

3. Oil a large bowl. Place dough in the bowl and turn it to coat it in oil. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to 3 days. The dough will rise in the refrigerator.

4. Remove dough from the refrigerator and punch down. Divide in half. For croissants, divide again and roll out each into a large round - about 8-12 inches. Cut with a pizza cutter into 8 wedges. Roll each triangle form the outer edge in and curve into a crescent. Place on lightly greased baking sheets, cover, and let rise for one hour in a warm place.

5. Bake in a preheated 400˚F (205˚C) oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Brush with melted butter as they come out of the oven, if desired. Yield: about 32 croissants.

This recipe can also be used to make 2 loaves of bread, 16 hamburger buns, or 16-20 large hot dog buns. You can also shape into about 5 dozen dinner rolls and bake in a 9x13 pans. Wheat flour can be substituted for up to half of the flour without changing the texture too much.

These are a family favorite! I have to watch the LaPella guys or they will sneak away with croissants all day long. We enjoy them for breakfast, serve sandwiches on them at lunch, and mop our plates with them at dinner.

Easy Favorite Winter Dinner

Cool weather has finally come to the Appalachians. To celebrate turning the heat on, I made a pot of my favorite soup, Pasta e Fagioli. This soup is hearty and filling plus it is done in under 30 minutes, but it tastes and smells like you slaved all day on it.

I don't do a lot of measuring, so if this makes you uncomfortable, I'm sorry, but this soup is pretty forgiving. Don't worry and just go with the flow. If you get a little more of this or less of that don't worry. It will work out. The secret to this recipe is olive oil and lots of it!

Pasta e Fagioli
Olive oil
½ - 1 pound of cubed ham
2 cans of Great Northern White Beans or Cannelini
1 can of Italian diced tomatoes, drained
1-2 cloves chopped garlic
I small onion diced
1 quart of chicken stock
1-2 cups small pasta (small shells, etc)

Heat a large soup pot to medium. Add a liberal coating of olive oil. Lightly brown your ham. Add onions and garlic and sauté until tender. Add in one quart of chicken stock. Add in one can of beans, drained, and one can with the juice. Add drained tomatoes. Stir and bring to a boil. When the soup is at a rapid boil, add in your pasta and cook until al dente.

Serve in bowls, drizzled with olive oil and topped with parmesan cheese. With a chunk of crusty bread to mop of the liquid, it is a great meal.

While the onions are cooking, you can add in diced carrots and celery, but we don't always have it on hand and it adds to the cooking time.

If you wanted to do a vegetarian version, you could sub vegetable stock for chicken stock and take out the ham, but you would have to add salt to make up for the ham. I would definitely add in the carrots and celery to round out the soup in a vegetarian version.

Enjoy!