As a chef, an enthusiastic baker, a maker of ice creams, and now, finally, a painter, I find it impossible to not drool over the paintings of Wayne Thiebaud. You see, Thiebaud is well known for his paintings of pies and cakes, even ice cream cones and hot dogs, all lined up in tidy rows. He spent time working in the food industry as a young man in Long Beach, California. He worked at a small café named Mile High and Red Hot, where "Mile High" was ice cream and "Red Hot" was a hot dog. In 1961, Thiebaud's food paintings—images of cakes, pies, candy, gumball machines, and deli counters painted with thick paint in bright colors, with amazing shadows—were exhibited in New York. They were a big hit! Though some scholars called Thiebaud a Pop artist (think Andy Warhol and the Campbell’s soup can) because he painted popular consumer goods, but Thiebaud said he painted them out of nostalgia; they reminded him of his boyhood and the best of America.

WayneThiebaud was born in Mesa, Arizona in 1920. Today, in his 91st year, Thiebaud is still painting. This makes me think that the paintings of food that I want to tackle, mostly to hang in my own kitchen, might not be such a crazy idea after all. I do have one question…..is it possible to paint a row of cakes before you eat them?

As much as I love cakes and pies, I really want to paint breads . Big crusty, golden brown loaves. I will cut one slice from one loaf and smother it in butter! Oh my! I just remembered my Buttery Dinner Rolls! That's it....now I am fired up!

Light the oven!

Buttery DinnerRolls
1 cup milk


1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened, plus more for sheets
2 eggs
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading and shaping (3 1/2 to 4)

1. Microwave milk, uncovered, until warm (90° to 105°), about 20 seconds at full power. Put in the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir in yeast, salt, and sugar. Let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes.

2.Attach dough hook and, with mixer on low, stir in butter and 1 egg. Add flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until a stiff dough forms and pulls away from inside of bowl. Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap and let sit until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours. Meanwhile, butter 2 large baking sheets and set aside.


3.Punch down dough and turn it onto a floured surface. Knead a few times, adding more flour if necessary to keep dough from sticking. Divide dough into 24 pieces. Working with 1 piece at a time (keep other pieces covered), roll into a 10-in. rope. Coil rope into a flat spiral or twist into a pretzel shape, pinching ends in place. Put shaped rolls on buttered baking sheets. Cover and let sit until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°.


4. In a small bowl, beat remaining egg with 2 tbsp. water. Brush rolls with egg wash and bake until brown, about 20 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking time to ensure even baking. Cool on wire racks. Serve warm or at room temperature.


Variations:
..Seed Rolls: After brushing rolls with egg wash in step 4, sprinkle them with 1 tbsp. poppy seeds, sesame seeds, or onion seeds.
..Cheese Rolls: Add 1 1/2 cups freshly shredded cheddar or gruyère cheese to the dough with the butter and egg in step 2. Sprinkle rolls with additional cheese before baking, if you like.
..Herb Rolls: Add 3 tbsp. minced fresh herbs-such as oregano, rosemary, thyme, or basil-to the dough with the butter and egg in step two.
 ..Saffron Rolls: Add 1/2 tsp. saffron threads to the milk in step 1.