Governor George Nigh's "Bubble Bread"
I had a long few weeks — the 7-day Trump diet knocked me out, I was busy working, interviewing, writing. All good things, but still, I needed a little culinary pick-me-up. Comfort food.
And then I found Bubble Bread. Nestled in the 1983 Pots, Pans and Politics cookbook, this recipe stuck out to me because, 1) I had never heard of bubble bread and, 2) if there is one thing politicians seem to know how to make throughout time, it’s breads and pies. I trusted that George Nigh the bubble bread guy would not lead me wrong on this carb-filled journey.
Chef George Nigh
Democratic Governor from Oklahoma
Favorite Food/Homespun Recipe: Recipe
Notable:
Jim Thorpe Lifetime Achievement Award winner; loved 20-minute naps
Quotable:
“Give a young man a chance.” —Nigh’s campaign slogan in 1950
As always, I followed the recipe word for word, no alterations:
INGREDIENTS
24 Frozen Parker House dinner rolls
1 cup brown sugar
1 small box regular (not instant) butterscotch pudding
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup melted butter
INSTRUCTIONS
1) Grease and flour bundt cake pan and place frozen rolls in pan.
I hand-greased it with Crisco, as it was already out for the Hillary Clinton cookies. Looks like this recipe is similar to monkey bread (which I’ve heard of and eaten at a carnival and it was delicious), but with a George Nigh special twist.
2) Mix brown sugar and pudding mix — sprinkle over rolls.
The pudding is the twist.
3) Mix granulated sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over top of other mixture.
4) Spread pecans on top of this and pour melted butter over pecans. Place on cabinet overnight. Do not cover.
Cabinet? You mean counter, Governor? Either way, I did neither. I have cats and they would lap the butter up in a heartbeat. It sat on my dresser in my bedroom.
5) Next morning, bake at 350 degrees 30 minutes. Let it stand for 10 minutes then turn out onto a plate. Slice.
Wow, that thing ROSE overnight. Maybe a bit too high. If you’re actually recreating this at home, maybe take out 2-4 rolls. Twenty rolls may be just fine.
Voila! If you want to actually watch me attempt to eat it, go to the Cookin’ with Congress Instagram or TikTok. Look at that gooey beauty. I cannot overstate the aroma that permeated my entire household — usually when I say that, it’s a bad thing and my wife gets upset. But today, it was a glorious thing; a glorious aroma.
Verdict:
Delicious. No notes. Get this thing away from me before I eat 24 dinner rolls in 24 hours.
