Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Happy Birthday Pink Parsley - Blueberry Sweet Rolls - and a Giveaway!


I can't believe that my little blog is already a year old!  So is it called a birthday or a blogiversary?  Either way, I'm celebrating!  I thought about making a special dessert for the occasion, but then I thought about what I want on my birthday - and that's a good breakfast!  So I figured I'd do the same for my blog.

I found these blueberry sweet rolls on Tastespotting, and I knew I had to make them.  I started them Friday night, then got up bright and early Saturday so we could take them to our tennis match that morning.  I always think of cinnamon rolls as being a cold-weather treat, but the addition of blueberries make these particular sweet rolls perfect for summer.  The dough is a rich brioche, then cinnamon, sugar, and flour are sprinkled on along with the blueberries.  They are baked, then finished with a vanilla glaze that puts them right over the top.  So perfect.  I made a few small changes to the recipe, mostly with the technique, and I'm writing my version below.

By the way, do you like the candle?  I had Joey pick it up at the grocery store, and the cashier asked if someone special was turning one.  He tried to explain that my website was... I don't really think she got it, and he was a little embarrassed, haha.


Now, on to the giveaway!  I feel like part of what defines my blog is my love of southern cooking.  The Lee Brothers really exemplify what I stand for and love:  fresh ingredients, simple preparations, outstanding flavor.  So since The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook is my current favorite cookbook, As far as I'm concerned, its the Bible of southern cuisine.  I could spend hours reading through this, and I pretty much want to make every single recipe.  And I'll be giving away a copy to one lucky reader!  How about that?  My blog turns one and gives you a gift!  To enter, leave a comment telling me your favorite southern dish.  If you haven't ever had southern food, then tell me a southern dish you'd love to try.  The giveaway is open until Sunday, June 13th at 11:59 pm EST.  I'll choose one winner at random.


I hope you've enjoyed reading my blog over the past year, and I look forward to bringing you many more years of tasty recipes!

And now, something I've been waiting to do for a whole year!!
One year ago:  Anniversary Dinner - Salmon on Puff Pastry and Champagne Risotto


Blueberry Sweet Rolls
adapted from Food Blogga
  • 2 packets instant yeast
  • 1/2 cup warm water (110-115 degrees F)
  • 3/4 cup warm milk (110-115 degrees F)
  • 1 cup melted butter
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, or more, as needed
  • 1 Tablespoon melted butter, for brushing
Blueberry Filling:
  • 1 pint fresh blueberries, rinsed and picked over
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon flour
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
Vanilla Icing
  • 1 cup confectioners' sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • a few Tablespoons milk
 Combine the yeast, milk, water, butter, and eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Add the sugar, salt, vanilla, and flour, and mix to combine.  Switch to the dough hook, and knead for several minutes, or until the dough starts to come together, but is still very sticky, adding flour as necessary (I think I kneaded it for close to 10 minutes).  Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow to come to cool room temperature.  It will be very hard, but will soften as it warms up.  Roll out on a well-floured surface into a 12-10 inch rectangle.  Brush with melted butter.  Combine the sugar, cinnamon, and flour in a small bowl, and sprinkle over the dough.  Scatter the blueberries on top, and press into the dough.  Roll up long-ways, tucking in any blueberries that escape.  Use a dough scraper or a sharp knife to cut into 8-10 rolls.  Line them in a well-greased square baking dish.

Preheat oven to 350.  Cover the dish with a clean kitchen towel, and allow the rolls to rise for another 45 minutes to 1 hour.  Bake 40-45 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center roll comes out clean.  Place the dish on a wire rack to cool.

To make the glaze, whisk the confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract, and milk together until smooth, but not too thin.  It should coat the back of a spoon.  Drizzle over rolls, and allow the glaze to harden before serving.


89 comments:

Kelly Pearce said...

I love Shrimp and Grits! Happy Birthday to your blog, I love all the recipes!

Dunne' said...

That's easy....Shrimp & Grits! Although I've become a sucker for sweet tea and BBQ too since I've moved down here!

Happy Birthday Pink Parsley and congrats Josie!

Tracy said...

It's a tie between fried green tomatoes and mac and cheese!

Love your blog - congrats on 1 year!

aria said...

Happy Blog Birthday!

Shrimp & Grits is one of my faves.

Nic said...

I don't think I've ever had REAL Southern food (I live in Minnesota). I'd love to try: grits, fried green tomatoes/okra & ham biscuits.

Daniela said...

I'd love to try anything southern! I don't believe I've ever had anything and would love to try!

Rachel J. said...

Fried Chicken- hands down!
Happy Blog Birthday- and wishes for many more.

Unknown said...

Happy Birthbloggerday! I have really enjoyed following your blog and making several yummy recipes that you've posted. I look forward to many more!

As for food, I haven't really had true Southern food. I'm taking a vacation there this summer (Columbia, SC) and I am really looking forward to some real Southern cooking. I am a big fan of Jambalaya, collard greens and okra.

Unknown said...

Happy Birthday! I can't believe it's only been a year!!! I love big flaky biscuits.

Rebecca said...

Happy Blogiversary!! Cheers to another fabulous year! (Love the candle, so tell Joey it was worth the embarrassment at the store)!

I've never had shrimp and grits - would love to try! I am always on the search for a good gumbo recipe or mac 'n cheese!

Amy said...

Gumbo! I could easily eat seconds when it comes to a good gumbo!

Anonymous said...

i never had true southern food, but one i want to try is catfish or grits...
happy blogiversary

nicole said...

Happy Blogiversary!!! I would have to say a tie between mac and cheese and a muffaletta sandwich!

Catherine said...

I don't get to eat much southern food, but I LOVE the real buttery, flakey biscuits I can only get in the south. I wish I had one right now!!

Jen said...

Happy Blogaversary - Birthday Josie! I love your blog. As for Southern food -- I think my absolute favorite would have to be cheese grits. My husband's cousin's mom has a super secret recipe that she uses with some sort of sharp white cheddar that is just divine. I'm still trying to get the recipe out of her.

Jenny McClamroch said...

Definitely mac and cheese! Although, who can pass up a glass of SWEET tea! :)

Stephanie said...

Happy blog birthday! Here's to many more :)

I love fried chicken!

Jessie @ simplysifted said...

Happy Blogiversary! I would have to say Mac and Cheese. Or fried pickles. Or maybe biscuits made with Lily flour. I love southern food.

Kasie said...

I adore biscuts and gravy. I can't make gravy to save my life, so it's always a real treat whens someone makes it for me.

Happy Blog Birthday!!! I love your recipes :)

Christi said...

mmmmm Fried Okra!

Hannah said...

Happy Blogiversary! I loooove good southern fried chicken. Yum!

Unknown said...

Oh there are way too many foods that are southern that I love! My all time favorite is fried green tomatoes though! Happy Blogiversary!!

Amy said...

I love fried chicken!

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday Pink Parsley! Josie, you've done such an amazing job with this blog - I can't believe you've only been blogging for one year. Look forward to another year filled with deliciousness and inspiration :) Also, love the candle story. Too cute.

And my favorite Southern food is tomato pie...followed closely by peach ice cream.

Again, congratulations on a successful first year of blogging!

Unknown said...

I love Down East barbecue, sweet tea, grits, biscuits, and sweet potato casserole (pretty much any Southern food, really!).

Unknown said...

Please don't laugh when I say CHicken Bisuits from McDonalds! HA, happy 1 year anniversary!

Jan said...

I LOVE sweet potato soufflé! YUM!

Susi's Kochen und Backen said...

Happy Blogiversary! I'm fairly new to your blog but love it :o) I'm not sure I had a lot of true southern foods since I grew up in Germany but if I had to choose I would have to go with biscuits and gravy!

Anonymous said...

After a Spring trip to New Orleans I have fallen in love with that type of "Southern Cooking". Some of my favorites were Shrimp Creole and Po Boys!
Thank you!
Sarah
seavila26@yahoo.com

kmarkners said...

My favorite southern dish is banana pudding. I love it! I could eat it everyday!

Amanda Guzman said...

Congrats, Josie! I love my grandmother's banana pudding and her homemade biscuits. Not sure if they are considered southern, but she was pretty much as southern as they come. Also, even though its not really a "dish"...gotta love Sweet Tea!

Kira said...

Happy Blogaversary! I think my current favorite southern dish might be grits and greens. Good thing because I have a ton of kale to use up.

Joanne said...

Congrats on one year! What an accomplishment. I love your blog!

I saw those bluberry cinnamon buns on tastespotting as well and swooned. Yours look fabulous.

My favorite southern dish - pulled pork. All the way.

Anonymous said...

banana pudding or cheese grits! favorites at different times of the day!

Tristi said...

Definitely jambalaya!

Courtney Peacock said...

That's a tie between turnip greens and shrimp & grits!

Lauren W said...

ooohhhh.......what an awesome giveaway!

my favorite southern dish is seafood gumbo! YUM!

Kelly said...

I love your blog so far - keep the great recipes coming!
So many southern foods to choose from, so I think I need to give you one from each category!
Side Dish - fried okra
Main Dish - Red Beans & Rice (which we've always had as a main dish with lots of ham in it in our family!)
Dessert - Peach Cobbler (warm with vanilla ice cream of course!)

Jessica Arnoldy said...

Oh man, how can i pick one dish?? I'm going to have to give my favorite multi-course southern meal...fried green tomatoes to start, fried chicken, collard greens, black eyed peas, and fried okra for the main dish, and peach cobbler a la mode for dessert...all washed down with sweet tea of course!

congrats on one year! still love reading your blog!

Unknown said...

Both my parents grew up on farms in Georgia..so I had Southern food all the time..lucky me. My favorite meal is a big pot of collard greens made with a ham hock..and a big old piece of cornbread.

Erin said...

I love your blog! My favorite southern dish is mustard based BBQ, especially when paired with hash, coleslaw, potato salad, and the other traditional southern sides!

chocolatine said...

i like the "one year ago" :-) southern food... right now, it's fried chicken!

Anonymous said...

My mom is a southern cook, so almost all of my favorite foods are traditional southern dishes. One of my top favorites is fried green tomatoes! Happy one year aniversary! Teresa
TRigell at aol dot com

Carina said...

Fried Catfish.

Anonymous said...

Chicken fried steak... I've tried to make it at home with disastrous results.
Happy Blog-iversary!

Jen@Twenty-Something and Starving said...

Happy Blogiversary! That's so exciting! And I'm from the northeast but I absolutely adore biscuits and gravy... and hush puppies! Oh gosh they're so tasty :)

djwhiley said...

Does Chick-Fil-A count? I'm a transplanted Jersey girl and their chicken sandwiches have made my move completely worth it. Happy Blog-Birthday!

melissa said...

Ohh, that's a tough one! I'd have to say southern BBQ. But I also love a good Kentucky Hot Brown.

themilkmanswife said...

Happy Blogiversary, Josie! I adore you blog. Keep up the great work! :)

I'm a Midwest girl and haven't spent much time down south at all. I haven't had many of the southern staples...all the more reason why I'd love to get my hands on this cookbook! Out of what I have sampled, my favorite is probably good BBQ...Carolina style, please! :)

Deborah said...

This G.R.I.T.S. (gal raised in the South) has a clear cut favorite...good ole corn puddin! Fresh roasted corn, bacon, eggs, milk etc...custardy..mmmmmmmmmmm so good!

Congrats Pink Parsley on one year...

Prepared
Including
Nutricious
Knowledge.

Particularly
And
Readily
Savored and
Loved
Everywhere.
Yes!!!!!!

Sarah said...

Shrimp and grits!

Beth said...

Wow - how funny...I have been eying that cookbook on Amazon all day!

Anyway, being born in South Georgia, I love southern food. Fried chicken and friend porkchops, collard greens, biscuit and gravy, grits, fried green tomatoes...the list goes on and on! But, probably one of my most favorite favorites is boiled peanuts! Mmmm...

Nanita said...

Hummingbird Cake!

Anonymous said...

This southern girl loves pimento cheese!

Suzy Q said...

Definitely grits!

Tia said...

Wow, they look so wonderful. happy 1st blog-day! i wonder if these would work with strawberries.

Ellen said...

My favorites: My Granny's crawfish stew, gumbo with deer sausage in it, fried okra, biscuits,...the list goes on. But def. the crawfish stew as number one!

And these buns look amazing. I think I will make them for my next friend's birthday!

Yen said...

I've never had true Southern food before, but Grits is what I want!

Desiree said...

I love fried okra and corn nuggets.

Fried Green Tomatoes have always been something I'm curious about trying!

Nikki said...

I have been wanting this cookbook & I love your blog! Its one of my favorites. Congrats on 1 year! When I was younger I would say chicken fried steak. I think my favorite Southern thing is bread pudding.

Barbara Palermo said...

Happy Birthday to your blog, I love all the recipes!
I've never had true Southern food before, but one i want to try is Shrimp and Grits!
Love from Italy!
Barbara
ricettebarbare at gmail dot com

Gitte said...

Happy Blogiversary!
I would like to taste Grits again. I tried it a long time ago and I didn't like it, but I would like to give it another shot. Maybe this time....
Love your blog!

K.M. said...

Chicken and andouille gumbo!

Mother Mayhem said...

Very hard to pick (thanks to time spent living in Charleston, SC - the home of amazing Lowcountry cooking). But I'll go with she-crab soup!

Anonymous said...

I'm a midwestern gal, so I don't know that I've had much Southern food - unless you count fried chicken, collard greens (don't know if they were "southern style", and pie. I would love to try jambalaya. There's a place near here called Buzzard Billy's that features Cajun food; they have a great appetizer called Buzzard Eggs: Bacon-wrapped chicken stuffed with sliced
jalapenos and Pepper Jack cheese, served with Ranch dressing. Yum!

chloeseydel said...

i'm from new orleans, so getting fried green tomatoes with remoulade sauce at jazz fest is the quintessential southern dish for me. either that, or my mom's barbequed shrimp. yum!

TC said...

whoo-hoo! congrats!

favorite southern dish? fried okra. :9

ashley said...

ok a few things:
(1) my hubby would die of embarassment if i sent him to the store for a '1' candle and had to explain about my blog. i can just imagine the stare from the clerk.
(2) is it sad that i'm not positive if i have this cookbook?? lol. cookbook addiction much?! i'm pretty sure i have a way older one of theirs. i think.
(3) happy birthday
(4) my fave southern dish is probably chicken fried steak maybe? i have a really hard time picking favorites :-)

Sarah from 20somethingcupcakes said...

Congrats! What a milestone. I love the candle story. People who aren't in the blog world definitely don't get it. And I have to say, my favorite Southern dish must be good ole' mac 'n cheese! xxSAS

Tucker said...

Shad Roe

cessc said...

sweet potato pie or crab boil!

donnaleebe said...

Shrimp and grits are the best use of grits ever and I love me some grits.

Happy Birthday

Emily O said...

I have too many favorites to list...Sausage gravy and biscuits, buttermilk fried chicken, My Pop's BBQ pulled Pork, squash casserole, black eye peas, collards, fried green tomatoes, pea salad, creamed corn (the real way, not the can), chess pie. YUM YUM YUM. COngrats Josie on the 1st year Blog-iversary, here's to many many more!

Mellybrown said...

This is the very first time I've come to your blog and I get to enter a giveaway! Fun! I love me a good cornbread. Now to check out the rest of your recipes!

J said...

I would have to go with fried chicken or biscuits and gravy. Although, I don't have the most extensive background in southern cooking. Always a chance to experiment with more!

Patty said...

I just recently found your blog and love it. I keep calling my daughter into the room to show her the beautiful food I want to try to make! I've never had southern food but would love to try biscuits and barbeque.

Miryam said...

Never tried seafood gumbo. I am a big seafood girl so that would be my favorite. I have search for some recipes and they all sound wonderful. Have not ventured to try it myself, maybe some day :-)

Cori said...

buttermilk pie is my new southern favorite

Hunner said...

My favorite southern food is fried chicken and macaroni and cheese.

UrMomCooks said...

Prob biscuits...with local honey... First had it on a trip to Georgia when I was a kid... been eating it ever since!

Unknown said...

Happy birthday Pink Parsley! I can see Joey trying to explain that one, haha! My favorite dish is Pot roast with mashed potatoes.

Cookie said...

My favorite southern dish is fried chicken with biscuits and gravy!

Miss M.J. Ma'am said...

Happy Birthday!!
My faves are hushpuppies,and fried chicken!

Jamie said...

I don't know if it counts as a dish, but boiled peanuts with sweet tea and homemade ice cream .

Karla said...

I had jumbalya (sorry, the spelling of that is off!) last year in North Carolina...I have it on my "To-Make" list, once I find a great recipe. Suppose the Lee Brothers have one??!

Sue said...

Let's see...just one?? Well, I love beignets. nothing else like them. but there's also jambalaya, gumbo, crawfish bread, my mother in law's sausage balls, crawfish etoufee, creamed spinach...I should probably stop now!!!

Michelle said...

Happy Blogiversary!

FRIED GREEN TOMATOES!

Jessica said...

Happy Blogiversary Josie! You have done amazingly well for a year! And I love your candle for your blog! Too fun!

My favorite southern dish is either a big crawfish boil or fried green tomatoes! Oh boy!

Anonymous said...

I'm embarassed to say I have never had Southern food... I've had a sheletered life :-). But it seems like it's comforting and warm and welcoming, like family, and I would like to learn more about it.
I would love to try making fried chicken. Simple I know, but I've never made it. Also BBQ ribs!

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