Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Road Trip and Pepperoni Rolls!!!

As most of you know we spent last week, the girls spring break, in the Pittsburgh area of Pennsylvania. T’s Dad has colorectal cancer, and has been in treatment for about a year now. Please go and get checked. It’s really a simple procedure and could save your life! A colonoscopy is recommended (by the American Cancer Society) for men and women after the age of 50 unless there is a history in your family. I simple screening could have saved this tragedy! BTW...T's Dad is only 60! Anyway off my soap box…

We went up to help lighten the load a little bit and just spend a bit of time with the family. It was a great trip. We got to see and pet some cows, build a bonfire and roast marshmallows, eat at Primanti Bros. (not once but twice!!!), play outside on a beautiful spring day, watch a blizzard come through and then build snowmen and have a snow ball fight, go for a walk through the woods that T. grew up hunting in looking for morel mushrooms (finding nothing but ticks, egad!), and sharing a bunch of wonderful meals with family that we very rarely get to see. How can that not be good?

PA trip 003
Fudge the Cow. Last year the girls bottle fed him. This year he followed us through the field like a puppy!

PA trip 011

Grandma and the Grandkids watching the bonfire. This was a beautiful day. The next day it snowed!!!

PA trip 017
Roasting Marshmallows!!!

Snow 012
Snow Angels for Peter of Kalofagas

Snow 019
Blizzard!!!

PA trip 021
Snowman, this was the small one. The big one was the next day after it had snowed a lot more!

PA trip 032
A man and his girl…These are the same woods that T. grew up hunting in. It was a real joy for him to show them to the girls!

PA trip 033
And the dogs came along!!!

pepperoni rolls and primanti bros. 001
Lunch from Primanti Bros. The perfect meal of efficiency! A pastrami sandwich with French Fries and coleslaw on white bread! Why mess with sides when you can have it all together!

So this is really what this post is about…Pepperoni Rolls. One of the things that we always do when we are faced with a long drive is to plan food for the trip. We do not eat fast food so it makes us feel really bad when we have nothing to eat on a road trip but burgers and fries. We always pack sandwiches but this time T. wanted to try something different and was it ever good! I had never really heard of these before and I guess they are a regional thing from West Virginia and Pennsylvania are. He made them with a great dough recipe using the bread machine and then stuffed them with mozzarella cheese and ground up pepperoni. These are shelf stable and left us full and satisfied during a very, very long drive to PA!!!

pepperoni rolls and primanti bros. 005
Pepperoni Rolls

1 recipe for your favorite baguettes or the recipe we used for the bread machine follows!

From The Bread Lover’s Bread Machine Cookbook

1 1/2 cups water
3 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp gluten with vitamin C
1 3/4 tsp salt

2 1/2 tsp SAF yeast or 1 Tbsp bread machine yeast

Directions:

  • Place all the ingredients in the pan according to the manufacturer’s instructions (mine has the liquid first, then all dry with yeast last in a well)
  • Program for the dough cycle and press start.
  • The dough ball will be sticky. Do not add more flour at this point.

Pepperoni Rolls

Dough – see above
mozzarella cheese, grated
pepperoni, shredded using a food processor or sliced

  • When the dough is done it’s cycle, remove from pan and separate into 8 individual dough balls.
  • Punch down the dough and shape into 8 rectangles.
  • Fill the dough with cheese and pepperoni
  • Roll up the dough rectangles tucking in the ends as you go.
  • Place seem side down on a greased baking sheet and bake in a preheated 450 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until nicely browned.
Serve immediately or these can seriously be left a room temperature and eaten as is. They are also great served with a plate of spaghetti and sauce!!!


I am submitting this to BYOB (Bake Your Own Bread) hosted by Sandy of At the Baker's Bench. This is a great challenge to get you baking more of your own baked goods. Better for you and cheaper in the process!

As Always…

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

15 comments:

Lori said...

So sorry about the circumstances of your trip, but glad to hear you were able to spend time with family. My husband's family is from that area and I love Primanti Brothers! The Pepperoni rolls sound so great!

Thistlemoon said...

I agree with Lori, I am sorry for the reason behind your visit, but it looks like you had a great time visiting with family and eating good food! Love that you had a bonfire and walked in the woods - two of my most favorite activities EVER.

muddywaters said...

Thanks for getting on your soapbox. I'm one of those people who needs to be reminded that routine physicals are essential.

Thanks for sharing the pepperoni roll recipe. I'm intrigued with this snack.

This summer I'm going to visit Bristol, TN., and I'm thinking about driving north to West Virginia to sample pepperoni rolls.

Thanks.

glamah16 said...

They remind me of Stromboli. My uncle and a aunt were diagonsed with this cancer over the past few years, so I need to get checked for sure. I love all that land. What a drive with the dogs, and kids! Super woman.

Elle said...

I'm glad you had a great trip, Judy! It's always great to see family. And your advice is so important, too.

The pepperoni rolls look so good!

Melissa said...

I'm not a fan of pepperoni, so I sort of stopped with the french fry sandwich. YES PLEASE.

And awww snow angels. *Sniff* Memories of my childhood in New England. Thanks for sharing all the photos of the family.

Bob said...

Sorry to hear about T's dad, but I'm glad you had a good time. That pepperoni bread looks great! I did a similar thing with bacon a while ago.

Kat said...

I love Pittsburgh. That is where my grands are and I go atleast a couple of times a year. I am looking forward to my next visit so I can go to Primanti Bros.
Good advice on the Colonoscopy. Hope your FIL does OK.

Liz said...

Oh Primanti...I want to like their sandwiches so much but somehow I can not support the inclusion of french fries on a sandwich (or in a salad for that matter - what is it with Pittsburgh?).

But, they have the most delicious pizzas.

(and as someone who lost an uncle to the same cancer - I second the getting checked. My uncle was only 52.)

Maris said...

Loving these photos! My family lives in PA too but they didn't get that snowstorm! Odd. I guess it's a big state :)

It sounds like you had a perfect family vacation but I bet you're happy to be back in your flip-flops, I would be!

Peter M said...

I loooove the pepperoni rolls...I wish I had stuff like that as a kid.

Now, I commend your girls for doing the snow angels...they get rewards when they return to TO. I want to see T and yourself get down next into the snow next year!

s. stockwell said...

Hello from Santa Barbara. I remember the road trip experience well. You have made the best of it!!! Love your pictures. cool blog. best, s

lisaiscooking said...

Sounds like you had a nice weekend. The rolls look incredible! They're like a tighter, bigger calzone, and I love calzones!

Laura said...

Wow those pepperoni rolls look fabulous....I need to make those very soon.

Di said...

Mmm, great idea! I'll have to give the rolls a try. I'll probably sub salami for the pepperoni in at least some of them, since not everyone here (i.e. me) is a pepperoni lover. =)