This month is flying by, and I have 3 more days to get you a few more blogs. Yikes. Anyway, let's talk about my favorite thing, food. The Appalachian Mountains served to isolate groups of people from each other for a long time, and that is the main reason our unique culture was born. The mountain dwellers grew up in a place all their own with very little outside influence before the days of internet, TV, and even radios. Our ancestors created a world and culture all their own, and just like with any culture, food is a major component. Some readers may ask themselves, what exactly is considered Appalachian food? I would say ramps, venison, beans and cornbread, and my favorite, pepperoni rolls. Apparently they're hard to find outside of West Virginia. The rest of the world is missing out on the Holy Grail of snack foods, and since my readers now span all four corners of the earth, I decided to let them in on the secret. I hesitate to call this recipe my own, since I'm sure other people have made them this way, but I got the idea to do this just by looking at what I had in my pantry.
Let's get cooking. (The list of ingredients and recipe will be posted at the bottom of the page).
I started by spraying some muffin tins with cooking spray. I used frozen yeast rolls, shredded cheese, and sliced pepperoni.
I put two rolls in each cup of the muffin tin, covered them in plastic cling wrap, and allowed them to rise for 2-3 hours. Depending on the temperature, they may rise faster or slower, so check them a few times.
They should look like buttcheeks when they're ready.
Next, you just spread the rolls and stuff some cheese and pepperoni into the opening. You can also add other fillings like mushrooms, black olives, or banana peppers. Today I did half pepperoni and cheese, and half with banana peppers. Close the "pocket" in the two rolls by pinching the dough together. Bake them at 375 F for 20 minutes.
The final step is optional, but I don't think these pepperoni rolls are complete without honey butter. I smear it all over them when they're piping hot out of the oven.
The final step is to try to resist eating ten of them at once. I hope you try this and like the results!
Ingredients:
Frozen yeast dinner rolls
Sliced pepperoni
Shredded cheese (any kind)
Banana peppers (optional)
Honey butter (optional)
Recipe:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 375 F.
2. Put two of the frozen rolls into each cup of a greased muffin tin, cover with cling wrap, and let them rise for 2-3 hours.
3. Stuff the rolls with cheese, pepperoni, and any other fillings you choose.
4. Pinch the rolls closed.
5. Bake for 20 minutes.
6. Glaze with honey butter (optional).
7. Enjoy!
Do you have an Appalachian recipe you'd like to share? Do you have a favorite cultural dish? What's your favorite food? I'd love to hear about it at mountainbloodwv@gmail.com or on Facebook, MountainBlood WV. Thanks for reading!
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