The perfect Thanksgiving turkey

Okay, I only got a few pics but I was generally trying to manhandle the turkey instead of take photos at the time, so here is my secret to the perfect turkey.

Phase One: The unwrapping
I had a 9lb Lil Butterball turkey (for 3 people it was perfect). I defrosted it for 3 days, then the night before, I unwrapped it (in the sink), and pulled the neck out of the main cavity. I found a packet of the giblets in the BACK of the turkey, it wasn't in the main cavity, then I rinsed it once and patted it with paper towels.

Phase Two: The "dry brine" or, The salting
I plopped it breast side down on a cookie sheet with a lip, then sprinkled kosher salt all over, plus some very finely ground Himalayan salt (I had previously ground it up in a coffee grinder, so it was very, very fine). I rubbed it into the bird, all over the skin and in all the crevices. Then I flipped it right side up and did the same thing. I then took a sprig of dried rosemary and a few small sprigs of thyme and tucked them into the main cavity. Then I covered the whole cookie sheet with plastic wrap and stuck it in the fridge.

Phase Three: Morning of
The next day (Thanksgiving) around 11am, I pulled out the turkey and rinsed off the excess salt, pulling out the rosemary and thyme also. NOTE: if you do the salting, it IS best to do it for 2-3 days instead of the night before, but I didn't plan right. I rinsed salt off the cookie sheet and plopped the bird back on it, dried it with paper towels, and then prepared my dry rub.

Before the dry rub, I preheated my oven to 325 degrees.

Phase Four: Dry rub
So I did an interesting mix of herbs for my dry rub. It was kind of just by feel. First, I took a mortar and pestle and put in a small handful of dried rosemary, some whole cloves and allspice, some thyme leaves, and dried pieces of orange peel. I didn't grind them completely to a powder, but I did break up all the whole cloves and allspice and generally blend them up a bit. I then mixed this with a delicious seasoning packet that I got in my Love With Food box last month: All Purpose Salt Seasoning Blend by Whole Spice. This seasoning packet is quite flavorful and a bit like a high-end Lowry's seasoning salt, but uses a bit less salt, in my opinion. The packet was 1oz and I mixed it all with the spices I used. I probably would have been fine with a little less though, and I have saved the remainder to use for roasted potatoes later. So I rubbed this mix all over my turkey, bottom first, then the top (like I did with the salt). I did not rub it underneath the skin, however. I am close enough to a vegetarian as it is, I couldn't go that far as to pull the skin up. Then, I put a WHOLE stick of unsalted butter inside the main cavity.

Phase Five: Roasting pan prep
I would recommend getting a real roasting pan with a rack to let the turkey sit raised up from the bottom of the pan. I'm a cheapskate though, so I had one of those single-use pans. I took several lengths of foil and rolled them together to make a large donut shape, probably about the same size as a bratwurst or something. Then I formed a circle and set it in the middle. I set the turkey on it breast side up and slid it into the oven.

Phase Five: Cooking additions
About half an hour in, after the dry rub had started to kind of cook in a little bit (I was "winging it"), I pulled out the turkey and liberally spooned and drizzled rosemary-infused olive oil all over the turkey. I also stuck a meat thermometer into the thigh (I think? I kind of just stuck it into the thick part of the body next to the wings.) Then I placed foil over the whole of the roasting pan and put it back in for another 90 minutes. Then I pulled it out quickly and drizzled more olive oil on. I also removed the foil. It took about another 70-75 minutes after that and then the turkey registered over 165 in all the areas I checked with the instant-read thermometer.

Phase Six: Let it sit
We pulled the turkey out and then let it sit for about 20-25 minutes.

And that was it! We cut it up and the breast meat was the most flavorful, moist delicious thing I have ever eaten. We had forgotten to make the turkey gravy, but we didn't even need it. We hardly needed salt and pepper. We just ate it plain, it was so good! All in all, it took about 3:15 hours to actually cook. For a 9lb turkey, that may seem like a long time, but we just cooked it slow and low at 325 degrees and I'll absolutely do it again.

Cleaning and painting old kitchen and bathroom handles or knobs

My kitchen cabinets are old. Really old. Like, falling apart old In a previous post, I discussed how I used shelf paper to try and fix them up a bit. Then, one night, I grabbed a handle to open one of the cabinets and felt a gritty, nasty texture under my fingertips. I removed the handle to clean it with a sponge and was disgusted to find that the backside, which was solid black, was actually a brassy gold color once the black was scrubbed off. It was really, really gross.

I wanted to get all-new handles, but these cabinets are old enough that the handle screws are spaced 2.75" apart, while handles nowadays are 3". Either I could find handles spaced 2.75" apart, which is nearly impossible without paying way more than normal or using handles from equally-old cabinetry, or I could drill new holes in the cabinets, which is not only unattractive, but also not an option as I am renting. Plus, handles can be pricey to begin with and I had 16 to replace. So I decided to just clean up the current handles and repaint them.

First was the cleaning period. I looked up a lot of stuff on the internet and found that a lot of people use tarnish remover, with varying, sometimes disastrous results. I didn't want to go to the store, and I didn't want to risk ruining these handles altogether, so I decided to take a different route.

I mixed lemon juice and baking soda in a 2:1 solution (start with 2 tablespoons lemon juice to 1 tablespoon baking soda), and used both a rag and a kitchen sponge, dipping them in the solution and just using elbow grease to scrub scrub scrub. I'll warn you now, this method takes a long time.

I decided to also do my bathroom handles, and after some scrubbing (and only after scrubbing, the year was absolutely not present before scrubbing), I found that the knobs had a year of 1960 on them. Geez.

Once the knobs and handles were reasonably well-scrubbed (an evaluation that got more lax as time went on), it was time to paint. 

I got a can of gold Ace Metallic Spray Paint from the hardware store (I had a $10 off coupon to Ace Hardware in my USPS change of address kit, which was awesome). I didn't want to change the coloring too drastically so I just opted for a chrome-y gold. I wish it had been a bit more chrome-y than it ended up being though. I might have gone with something brighter and different if I hadn't been tired when I was at the store.

The spray paint was awesome. It was almost like magic. I'd do a quick spray, and all of a sudden, all of the handles were bright gold!

The paint said it was dry to the touch after one hour, and ready to go after 24 hours. I waited the full 24 hours before flipping each side over to spray a new coat.

Aren't they pretty? I did install a few handles, but the paint did not feel ready for strong gripping even after 48 hours, so I'll wait a few more days. The last thing I need is for the paint to get fingerprints on it while I'm trying to screw them on. But overall, I'm quite pleased with the project, and at least now I won't be getting 50 years' worth of grime and dirt on me whenever I touch them.

End of an era: Repurposed vintage hanging ceiling light

If you've followed my previous blog posts, you'll know that my new place has almost no overhead lighting in any of the rooms. I found a hanging plug-in lamp on Craigslist last month for $15 and decided to reinvent it. It is definitely a neat space-age vintage piece, but it had unattractive 70s orange and puke green colors going on. Actually, my family lived in a house when I was younger that had a lovely carpet in this color scheme.

Anyway, my general go-to colors are turquoise and orange (or variations, such as coral and teal) so I decided to use translucent glass paint (like stained glass paint) to paint a turquoise blue over the green plastic discs. BUT, that was a failure because the paint was too thin to cover up the green. So I dug out my standard acrylic paints and just painted the discs opaque orange and turquoise. I finished it with a high-gloss spray to keep the paint from chipping. It turned out quite nicely. Here's a finished picture (I started this project before the blog, so I have few in-progress pictures)

My next issue was what to do about the chain. It was a white crackly color, probably chipped and scratched from years of use. I really wanted to get a new chain, but (shock) hanging chain lamps are not common now, and replacement chains are either very expensive, too short, or even uglier than the current chain. So one night I decided to just paint the chain. It was impossible to remove it from the intertwined cord without it being a major production, so I painted the chain while still on the cord. Note that you really do need good-quality glossy paint for this. Mine was still the cheap stuff, so I painted a few feet (using a thin paint brush), then sprayed it down with the gloss, then painted a few more feet, and sprayed it down. It took a few days and it's not a quality job, but I just wanted this lamp off my living room floor. As you can see, it's not perfect:

Finally, I had to figure out how to hang it. I couldn't find any studs on my ceiling (long story) and the lamp weighed about 8 pounds, making it too heavy for basic screw hooks (which are generally rated for up to 5 pounds), so I got a large ceiling hook and toggle bolt rated for up to 15 pounds. It required drilling a 1/2" hole in my ceiling, so I'll be filling that one with putty before I move again. The hook was also an unattractive, basic Walmart issue, so I painted it bright orange to contrast with the cord. I used two smaller screw hooks to hold the chain and painted those as well. 

Then, I hung it up!

I love how colorful it is and I like the colored chain especially. The opaque discs do seem to limit the lighting a bit, which is fine for the ambience of a bedroom, but I may remove the discs altogether in a few months. We'll see. Thanks for reading!

DIY jewelry holder for the eclectic, colorful person

I made this jewelry holder nearly a year ago when I realized I had a little wall space but no table space, and lots of jewelry. The nice thing about this is that you can customize it for your needs. I used handles for earrings, dowels for bracelets, and knobs for necklaces. So for instance, if you don't have bracelets, you can skip the dowels, etc You might also want to simplify things and either leave the board unpainted or just use one or two colors.

Supplies:
1. Two equally-sized pieces of wood from the hardware store (mine are 3/4" thick, 3.5" wide, and 24" long. Just random pieces of wood that I pointed to and the employee cut them for me).
2. Assorted drawer knobs and handles, and/or wall hooks (I started by looking at Home Depot and Hobby Lobby's selections, but they were expensive, so I stopped by the local Habitat for Humanity ReStore and found a whole bunch of different sizes and varieties for a quarter or two apiece)
3. 1/4" wooden dowels (I found mine in the Walmart kid's craft section.)
4. Acrylic craft paint (Don't be afraid to get decent quality stuff. You want glossy, not chalky or matte, or you'll be doing coats and recoats all day. I used cheapo 69 cent stuff and wished I had spent a bit more on the glossy paints)
5. High-gloss acrylic spray/sealant

Equipment: Power drill with assorted drill bits up to 1/4" and screwdriver bit; Paint or sponge brushes; screws and fasteners for all knobs and handles; sturdy wood screws, two for each piece of wood; sandpaper.

Process:
Basically, I sanded down the boards and painted them. I actually used sample pints of house paint from the hardware store. They were about $4 each, but I probably would have been fine just using the tubes of craft paint, it didn't take much to paint the boards.

I then cut the wooden dowels in half (get a saw if you have it. It's just easier) and smoothed and rounded the edges with sandpaper

Then, I washed all of the knobs/handles and painted all of them, plus the dowels. If you're like me, you'll want everything to be a different color. I ended up alternating the colors of the knobs, handles, and dowels so I had about one for each color.



Because I used cheap paint and I didn't want it to chip off every time I removed a necklace, I sprayed all of the components with a high-gloss acrylic spray. If you have never used this type of spray, take a few days with it. Spray down one side and let it sit for a day before turning the knob/handle over to spray the other side. Even if it FEELS dry after an hour or two, it still takes a day to harden completely, and WILL meld itself right up against the surface you turned it over on if you did it too soon. Do not try to skip this time process or else you'll have a mess.

This was my first time using my new power drill, so I'll share a few tips. If you're experienced with with a drill, you can skip this section.
1. Don't just dive in with the biggest drill bit and try to drill a hole in the virgin wood. It's going to heat up the bit and the wood and basically destroy the bit if you run it too long.
2. For the wooden dowels: Make a small hole with a tiny drill bit, then gradually increase the size of the drill bit up to the 1/4" bit.
3. For the knobs and handles with screws: Again, make a hole with the tiny bit, but then you can usually use the screw with a screwdriver bit and drill it in from the back. If the screw is flat and not pointed, then use the same method as the wooden dowels, stopping when the hole is big enough for the screw to go through. Because you'll put the screw in through the back and then twist the knob on from the front, you don't need to worry if the screw hole is bigger than the screw itself.
4. Have an old cloth handy and wipe the wood off the drill bit every time it goes through the wood. This is vital to keep your bit from overheating. A bit of oil will usually come off the bit, so make sure it's an old rag or cloth, not your clothing or carpet.
5. Safety, safety, safety. Please read the instruction manual for your drill before using. Wear eye protection and always make sure your drill is in the locked position when not in use.

Once all of the holes have been drilled and the knobs/handles have been attached and the dowels have been shoved into their holes, it's time to install your jewelry holder! I used a level to make sure my boards were straight, then just drilled two screws through either side of the board and drilled them into the wall. Took about ten seconds.

When I moved, I just unscrewed the boards and laid them flat in a shallow box with all the jewelry still on. In the new place, I screwed them in their new location and except for a few pairs of earrings, everything stayed in place!

Let me know how your attempt turns out!

Five End of Summer Reading Recommendations

Maybe I'm just a book nerd, but over the years I've noticed a pattern in my reading habits. During the school year, I tend to read very light "chick lit" types of books that I can just pick up and set down without getting too sucked in. When summer starts, I'll move to more engaging romance or fiction novels that usually keep me up at night. But as summer winds down and I start getting antsy for school to start again, I start looking for slightly deeper, "educational" type books, such as historical fiction and memoirs. I still like to be entertained, so I rarely make it all the way to straight nonfiction or the like, but I definitely go out of my way to find books that will teach me something about another culture, time period, or lifestyle. I found all of these books as digital borrows through the local library. Here are five books that I read recently and highly recommend:

The Midwife of Hope River: A Novel of an American Midwife
by Patricia Harman
Review: Set in the beginning of the Depression era, this novel follows a young, liberal  midwife in Appalachia with a shrouded past. Written by a longtime midwife, this book is excellent for anyone who wants to learn more about the art of childbirth (and you'll find it CAN be an art) and/or life of the everyman during the onslaught of the Depression. It also discusses the anarchist trends of the 1920s, which isn't much discussed in the history books. Perhaps it is geared more towards women, but it is primarily written as a historical novel, not as romance, despite the presence of a story arc involving romance. The mysterious past subplot bears little impact on the story, but it doesn't necessarily detract from it either, and provides an interesting element. Overall, the book is enjoyable and not a time waster. It is a little slow to start, but once I got about a third of the way through, I was hooked.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
by Sherman Alexie
Review: This book is a semi-autobiographical novel based on Alexie's upbringing on the Spokane Indian Reservation. As a disclaimer, I am from the Spokane area and am Native, so I'm familiar with the Spokane rez. This was nevertheless a fascinating book for me because it is so blunt about Native struggles, such as alcoholism, poverty, and poor education on Indian reservations. It follows a high school boy who decides to transfer from his dead end high school on the rez to a high school in a nearby white town, which makes him a pariah on the rez, but ultimately opens the way to a better life than what his parents have. It is supposedly written for youth ages, but I enjoyed it and I recommend it for everyone, Native or not.

Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape
By Jenna Miscavige-Hill
Review: For those who are curious about the Scientology religion/cult/group, this is an excellent book to scare you away from it. It was written by the niece of the current leader of scientology, but it is most interesting because she was raised in Scientology from birth. It is alarming to learn about these secret and hidden Scientology lifestyles because they are so contrary with what "normal" life is to most of us. For instance, at age 6, Jenna was sent to a special camp/compound with other children of Scientology leaders to essentially be raised as a miniature adult and manual laborer. Her entire worldview was based on the beliefs taught by L. Ron Hubbard, a science-fiction writer, and it wasn't until she was an adult in a forbidden relationship that she began to truly question the oddness of her life. She is now an outspoken opponent of Scientology, and most of her family members have left the religion as well. A fascinating book for anyone who wants to know more about life inside Scientology.

Dreams of Joy
by Lisa See
Review: A next-generation sequel to See's novel Shanghai Girls, it is a standalone book featuring a young woman (daughter of one of the sisters in Shanghai Girls) who leaves her life in Chinatown, Los Angeles, to newly Communist China in an effort to find her biological father. Her mother follows her to China and experiences her own rebirth in her home country while trying to find her daughter and bring her home. Covering a three-year period, the point of view shifts between mother in Shanghai and daughter in one of the countryside communes during Mao Zedong's Great Leap Forward, an ill-designed economic expansion attempt that led to the largest famine in history. It is engaging and well-researched by an author known for her novels set in Chinese culture. If you are a stickler for continuity, you might want to start with Shanghai Girls, but I was most interested in the perspective of life in Communist China, so Dreams of Joy was my start point.

Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea
by Barbara Demick
Review: The most nonfiction book of any in this list, journalist Barbara Demick interviewed and shared their stories of six North Koreans who grew up and lived in the most closed-off country in the world. She tells the stories within a chronological format, shifting between subjects as necessary to tell the everyday experiences of North Koreans during the dictatorship's rise to power and shifts in control. It can be a little slow at times, particularly when Demick diverges to convey historical context before starting into a subject's story, but ultimately it is an eye-opening glimpse of life from the perspective of former North Koreans who have since defected and left the country. I also recommend watching National Geographic: Inside North Korea, a documentary (currently on Netflix Instant) that features secret footage taken by a journalist crew posing as assistants for an eye surgeon volunteering his time to perform eye surgeries on a thousand people in ten days. One thing is for sure, there's nothing communal about North Korea's political structure except the exaggerated difference between the haves and the have-nots.

Himalayan Salt Soap Bars

I made a luxurious-looking batch of Himalayan salt soap bars last night. Soap with salt in it may seem counterintuitive, but it actually makes a fantastic bar of soap. Salt bars draw toxins out and help the skin absorb moisture better, while providing a bit of exfoliation and adding minerals to the skin. They also look like smooth, chiseled marble, making for an excellent gift idea.

This is actually the third time I've attempting salt bars. My recipe is a high-quality one, using 80% coconut oil, and a balance of castor oil for moisture and avocado oil for creaminess, with finely ground Himalayan salt and a light Awapuhi Seaberry fragrance (from Nature's Garden Candles). You can use regular sea salt, but I love Himalayan salt for the gentle pink coloring. The first two times, I didn't get the soap out of the mold quickly enough, and it crumbled when I tried to cut into individual bars:

So I crumbled both batches completely and saved the crumbles in a sealed bag, because nothing here at Sage & Savvy goes to waste. I used these crumbles for half of the oil weight in last night's soap, AND, instead of trying to cut these salt bars, I used individual-cavity molds. In my previous attempts, I didn't have enough individual molds for it to be an option, but I have since built up my stock. (Soap making is kind of an expensive craft..)

So in a month, these bars will be ready for you (and me, because I'll definitely be claiming one of these for myself):

Just call me Jane of All Trades

I'm feeling pretty special this afternoon. I finally achieved the elusive goal of lighting in my living room. My new living room has a tall vaulted ceiling and no lighting whatsoever. It does, however, have two plugs connected to a light switch, with the idea being that I can plug in a lamp or whatever and turn it on when I walk in the door. But seriously, who wants a LAMP in the middle of their living room floor? So I had been plotting for a while to put up some lighting. Enter track lighting. Now I know, track lighting is so 90s, but I needed some lighting that I could mount on the wall and plug in, and also provide plenty of lighting for the whole room, not just focused lighting. Pretty much every wall/ceiling mounted light out there is only intended for hardwiring. But, because I'm super woman, I started researching track lighting. Here is a bit of what I learned:

1) Most track lighting in the US is one of three types: "H" track, "J" track, or "L" track. H tracks are the most common nowadays, but it's always risky to just pick up some random lights and hope they match with a random track.

2) H track lighting has two metal strips on one side and one metal strip on the other. So when you're looking at the light itself, it will have two metal connectors on one side, and one connector on the other side. When you put the light onto the track, MAKE SURE IT'S GOING IN THE RIGHT WAY, two connector side to two-metal strip side.

3) Installing track lighting that plugs in is actually way easy once you figure out that it's easy. The hard part is really figuring that out, because people don't really use the plug-in option for track lights. Or if they do, they're too embarrassed to blog about it. I don't care though, because I DID IT MYSELF!! All you need are: a track section, the plug kit that plugs into one end of the track section, lamps, and lightbulbs. The trick is making sure it all connects. This is why Home Depot has a million track lighting kits, and very few individually-sold components. Because I'm cheap, I managed to cobble everything together on my own for less than the cost of the kit, but generally, it will be a lot less stress to just buy the kit.

I want to brag, so I'll tell you where I got everything:
Craigslist - (7) lamps, Lithonia LTC WRFM Par 30 (I think these are discontinued and probably only sold to contractors, because I found very little information online). An older guy was selling these for $15! Seven lamps for $15?? I couldn't pass it up. These would probably sell for $15 each, normally. They were even still in the original boxes. This is what I started with, so I had to work my way backward to make sure everything matched. I ended up using only three lamps though, so the other four will just go into storage "just in case."

Ultimate consignment - (3) Par 30 halogen flood lightbulbs, $1.33 each. These were ridiculously cheap, at the local step-above-thrift place in Mesa. Also brand new in the box, these things go for a minimum of about $10 each, so I seriously scored. Notice the Par 30 is the same as the lamps.

Home Depot - 4' track section and plug kit. After trying in vain to find a track section for cheap on Craigslist or any of the discount hardware stores in town, I finally broke down and bought it at Home Depot. Of course, because my luck is what it is, the store I went to was the only one in the valley that was sold out of the white tracks. I really wanted to get this up though, and I knew I'd lose momentum if I didn't buy this RIGHT NOW, so I got the black track section. It was $10 for the track section and $10.50 for the plug kit.

Total: $30.92 plus tax. (and $3 for cord clips)

So, onto the pictures:

Assembling everything:

The wall.

When I was measuring where to drill, I measured the full length, then subtracted the 36" between the two drill holes in the track section, and divided the remainder in half. The remainder was what I measured from the end of the wall in, for the first drill hole. Then I measured 36" from that hole for the second one. If that didn't make sense, comment and I'll scan in my drawing/diagram.

Track section. Can you see how one side has two copper strips and the other has just one? That means it's an H track and your lamps should similarly match.

The part of the plug kit that plugs into the end of the section. The end cap has a little screw that you just unscrew and remove. The plug will be white side up, and metal side down (against the wall/ceiling), so make sure the track section end you use matches up. I at first unscrewed the wrong side because the side with the two copper strips didn't match up with the plug kit.

It's up! This CAN be done with one, awesome person, but trust me, it's a lot easier with two people. You definitely need a drill. The track section came with toggle bolts for mounting to the ceiling and anchors and screws for mounting to the wall. I had to google "how to use a screw and anchor" to figure out how it worked though because the instructions didn't cover that. Yay google.

So it's not the prettiest thing out there, but I could really care less. Light is light.

I did, however, need a way to keep the cord against the wall on its way down to the outlet. so I grabbed these cord clips for $3. 

Naturally though, it couldn't all go smoothly. I ended up about two feet from the outlet, go figure, so I grabbed an extension cord. I'll try to find a shorter, less conspicuous one later, but I was too eager to see my creation.

I attached the lamps. As noted above, make sure you're aligning them with the correct side of the track. You put the light in and twist it a quarter turn clockwise. You can see the beginnings of tacking the cord down. I still have a few to tack down though (my arms got tired so no pic of the as-yet unfinished section yet). Don't the lamps look fabulous though? They're kind of an industrial look because they only have a wire frame, instead of a full cup surrounding the lightbulb.

And presenting...(cue hallelujah chorus please...)

They work!!!!!!

If you are a single woman and you think you can't do basic hardware/repair projects (and/or the handyman doesn't think you can do it)...you absolutely can. Just study, study study. I'll be the first to admit I couldn't have done this project without the internet. But we have it, and you can do it!

I wanted cinnamon rolls...

Yesterday, my project was cinnamon rolls. It was kind of spontaneous, because I really wanted the cinnamon rolls from IKEA, but it was 5am and IKEA was closed. I found a recipe from another blog (HERE) and decided to try it out.

(I had preceded this with a marathon kitchen cleanup, so I had my laptop playing Gilmore Girls on top of the cinnamon toast crunch cereal box. Don't mock, you all do it.)

I got the yeast at Costco for about $4.50, which is the best deal out there. And the shelf-stable whole milk of previous posts returned (from the fridge).

I hate using bare counters to knead my dough, so I laid down parchment paper. I often use wax paper, but my current roll was buried in a box.

My hands were covered in dough and butter so I didn't get a picture, but the recipe recommends for a square of 14x8" to be measured and cut. This was crap. I had indeed cut it (with a pizza cutter!), and I ended up with a lot of dough left, and the 8" was fine, but I like having one extra layer in the rolls. If I were to do it over, I would skip the "measuring" and cutting, and just roll the dough as square and rectangular as I can. But I will probably test out another recipe next time. This one called for melted butter to be spread on the dough, then a cinnamon/sugar mix to be sprinkled over it, but I feel like there's a richer way to do it. It felt a little thin once the rolls were baked.

To cut the rolls, I used baker's twine, which I always have lots of because I use it for packaging. But floss works just fine if you have that. Don't bother with a knife to try and cut a cinnamon roll loaf, it will be a disaster. Any type of string, even yarn, is better than a knife!

The recipe told me to place eleven equally-sized rolls into a round pan. Well, I ended up with nine rolls, and I still had extra dough from when I had cut the 14x8 size, so I quickly mashed up and rolled out the remaining dough and made more rolls. I ended up fitting it all into the cake pan, but because it was early in the morning, I forgot: Pack the rolls LOOSELY in the pan, so they have room to rise!

I even had a small cake pan (I make two-layered cakes) that I could have put some rolls in, but I didn't think about it. So when my rolls rose, they kind of fell back into themselves. They tasted fine when I baked them, and still tasted rather fluffy, but the rolls were small, so it just wasn't the same as storebought rolls.

Verdict: I have some improvements to make in the next round. This recipe is very good for cinnamon roll newbies, but having made cinnamon rolls before, I know there's a more sophisticated recipe out there.