Join Betsy Becker, wife, mother, and owner of Salt Bakery, as she shares inspirational ideas for hospitality from supporting her husband's work through hosting open invitation crew dinners to organizing a lively summer block party and serving up delectable Sunday charcuterie boards. Betsy discusses ways to bless every guest who enters our homes including loving them through little things and how to make welcoming guests achievable and appealing. Stay tuned for her favorite must-have kitchen items! We're so glad you're here!
Pulled BBQ Pork
Serve with:
Hamburger buns
Carolina Cole Slaw Recipe | Epicurious BBQ sauce Mayonnaise Salted butter Chips
Drink Ideas: Chocolate milk
Soda Iced tea Lemonade
Breakfast for Dinner:
Betsy's Cinnamon Rolls:
I’m told these freeze beautifully, though I haven’t tried it. For first thing in the morning rolls, I prefer to make them up the night before, put them in the jelly roll pan, and then wrap and refrigerate overnight. I then set them on top of the stove as the oven heats up in the morning and they’re ready to bake when the oven is hot!
Ingredients:
3 cups warm (115°) water
⅔ cup sugar
1 ½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons yeast
2 eggs, beaten
⅔ cup shortening
1 teaspoon vanilla
7-8 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup butter, plus extra for greasing pan
½ cup sugar
~ ¼ cup cinnamon
Sea salt
Icing:
Powdered sugar
Milk
Directions:
1. Combine warm water, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a KitchenAid. Add yeast and stir until dissolved.
2. Add eggs, shortening, vanilla and stir. Add enough flour to make a soft dough (7-8 cups).
3. Mix until smooth dough forms, and the dough pulls together (I use the dough hook at this point). Knead it a couple of times on a floured surface, and pull together into a beautiful pile of smooth dough.
4. Put a little oil in a large bowl, and drop the dough in, smooshing it to lightly coat the dough in the oil, and turn it over. Cover with a tea towel, and let rise until doubled (I don’t time it, but my guess is somewhere around 40 minutes).
5. Grease a jelly roll pan liberally with butter (it just helps keep them from seeming dry). Punch the dough down, and divide into two pieces. Roll each piece out into a rectangle about 12×16 inches. Smear with a light coating of soft butter (about ¼ cup per roll), sprinkle with sugar (somewhere in the neighborhood of ¼ cup per roll), and then dust it up with cinnamon (not too thick, and not too thin). Roll up the rectangles, and pinch the seam shut. Cut each roll into twelve slices. Lay them on the greased jelly roll pan, and pat lightly to get a uniform height and spread them together a bit. At this point I also like to sprinkle just a little sea salt over them all - enhances the flavor beyond simple sweetness. Cover and let rise slightly while the oven pre-heats to 375 degrees.
6. Pop them in the oven and bake for 20 -25 minutes or until perfect.
7. While they are still mildly warm, but not hot, drizzle with a thick mix of powdered sugar and milk.
Breakfast Casserole
Men really like this one. It serves 6 hungry men.
I often use this for Women's prayer breakfast, but use less bacon, or a few bits of pre-cooked sausage, or ham instead of the bacon. Other ingredients such as mushroom stem and pieces, bits of chopped green pepper, bits of chopped sweet red pepper, bits of chopped onion, or bits of sliced olives may be added for variations of taste and/or color in the breakfast casserole.
Ingredients:
4 slices of bread, cut into about 1-inch squares
1 pound of bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces and fried until done but not crispy
¾ cup grated Swiss or mozzarella cheese
¾ cup grated cheddar cheese
9 large eggs
3 cups milk
1 ½ teaspoon dry mustard
1 ½ teaspoon salt
Directions:
1. Cover the bottom of a 9x13 inch greased or buttered cake pan with 4 slices of bread, cut into about 1-inch squares.
2. Sprinkle the following over the bread: 1 pound of bacon which has been cut into one-inch pieces and fried until done but not crispy (Drain off the bacon grease into a metal or heat-proof glass container; not plastic.) and cheeses.
3. Beat last 4 ingredients well and pour over the top of the bread, bacon, and cheese.
4. Cover pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, remove plastic wrap.
5. Bake, uncovered, at 350°F for about 45 minutes until done in the center. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting and serving.
Bonus idea perfect for kids:
Tater Tot Nachos - Just bake up a bag of tater tots according to package instructions and then top like nachos! Great for throwing into individual to-go containers and taking to kids’ sporting events.
Sunday Snack Board Must Haves:
Cosmic Crisp Apple
2 types of cheese (we like sharp cheddar, good gruyere, Brush Creek Creamery labneh, Boursin, and Fromager d’Affinois)
Charcuterie (soppressata is my favorite)
Olives
Pickles
Bread/crackers
Wine for the adults, and a fun drink for the kids (New York Seltzers, ginger beer, bottled root beer, Milo’s sweet tea, etc.)
Dessert
Recommended items:
This is perfect for two 6-foot tables end to end!