Photo: Buddy Lahl and his wife Juanita with his Hall of Fame Award presented at the Kansas City Restaurant Association Inaugural Ball in January.
Support Your Local Restaurants
By D’Ann Dreiling
“Eat Out Often” is the slogan for the Missouri Restaurant Association. It has a familiar ring to Buddy Lahl, recently inducted into the Missouri Restaurant Hall of Fame. Alas, times have changed. The slogan now should be “Support Your Local Restaurants”. Those restaurants that have managed to stay afloat are depending heavily on their carry-out service.
“I’ve always loved this business,” says Lahl, “ and my heart aches for restaurateurs and their employees who are unable to hang on”.
As Director of Dining at Kingswood Senior Living, Lahl oversees 62 employees, eight dining rooms and 20,000 meals per month. Prior to this position he spent twenty years as regional director of the Myron Green Corporation with restaurants and cafeterias throughout the region including EBT’s.
Lahl lobbies for the industry in Jefferson City and Washington, D.C. and was instrumental in establishing Restaurant Week in Kansas City, but his induction into the Hall of Fame was based on more than his endeavors for the industry. He introduced the Pro Start Culinary Program to local high schools providing students with restaurant and culinary skills as well as providing equipment. He and his wife Juanita are active members of the Show Me Riders Club sharing their love of horses with children from the inner city and even delivering Christmas gifts to their homes on horseback.
“These are troubling times”, says Lahl, “but we all need to carry on and “carry out”.
When asked to share a recipe, Lahl recalled the signature cinnamon rolls sold at Myron Green Cafeterias via vending machines and managed to come up with this old recipe. It will be featured in the Governor’s Mansion 150th Anniversary Cookbook.
Here’s the dish…
Myron Green’s Cinnamon Rolls
For Dough
- 2 packages active dry yeast
- 6 tablespoons sugar
- 1 ½ cups warm water
- 6 ½ tablespoons non fat dry milk (Not reconstituted)
- 5 cups bread flour (divided)
- 1 ¼ teaspoons salt
- 2 ½ teaspoons shortening
- 2 eggs
For filling
4 tablespoons margarine
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons brown sugar
3 ½ teaspoons light corn syrup
3 teaspoons water
2 teaspoons cinnamon
6 tablespoons sugar
For dough: in large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add 4 ½ cups flour, salt, sugar, and dry milk. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed equipped with a dough hook if available, for about 5 minutes. Add shortening and eggs, blending at low speed until dough is thoroughly mixed and cleans the sides of the bowl. Add remaining ½ cup of flour and blend until dough begins to form a ball. Dough will be quite soft. Cover and set aside to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
For filling: Melt margarine in saucepan over low heat. Add brown sugar, corn syrup and water, stirring until well mixed and heated through. Cover and set aside to cool. Mix cinnamon and sugar together.
When dough has risen, roll into a rectangle ¼ inch thick and about 12 inches wide by 15 inches long. Spread with margarine mixture; next sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Roll up as for a jelly roll. Cut roll into 10 equal slices and place in greased 9 x 13 pan. Cover and set aside until doubled in bulk, about 30 minutes. Bake in preheated oven set at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Allow to set a few minutes, flip and serve bottom side up.