You Put Your Meat In There

I like my meat hot and spicy before I stuff it in … a roll. I also like my recipes paired with a good story, and that’s what you’re getting today.

This delicious recipe for Tina’s Stuffed Rolls has been in my family for over seventy years. Although I’ve enjoyed the rolls at various gatherings my entire life, I had never actually made them myself until recently. As with most things food-related, I went to the master, my 95-year-old Grandma, for instruction.

I’m extremely close to my grandmother. We share passions for food, shopping, and inappropriate humor. She is a feisty, loving, and generous woman—who has been known to say some pretty outrageous things. She once noted, “It’s a good thing we aren’t contemporaries. We would have gotten arrested by now.” (That’s probably true.)

Grandma graciously invited me to her house to make Tina’s Stuffed Rolls together. Secretly, I’m sure she wanted to ensure I would make them “correctly.” After all, there are a number of “not-as-good-as-Tina’s” variations out there.

First, we went shopping for the ingredients. Naturally, we made jokes the entire time.

“It’s important to get high quality meat. You like good meat?” she snickered.

“Oh, I like good meat, alright,” I played along, trying to suppress my laughter.

“You want the hard ones, not the soft ones. Always go for the hard ones,” she lectured as we searched for the perfect dinner rolls, and we both burst into a fit of giggles.

We went to three different stores to find those perfect rolls. My grandma prefers French rolls; I prefer sourdough. We agreed to disagree, and I bought some of both. We decided to make the recipe the following day so she could rest after our shopping marathon.

By the time I arrived at her house the next morning, she had already cooked and cooled the meat and grated all of the cheese. With one look from her, I knew I was slacking.

So I quickly got to work chopping the olives, draining and adding the pimentos, and opening the cans of tomato sauce. She watched me with her hand on her hip as I chopped the olives, but she kept her mouth shut.

When I started chopping the onions, however, it was just too much for her.

“Here. Let me show you a faster way to do it,” she demanded, grabbing the knife from me. She proceeded to chop the onions in the exact same manner I was doing, but with a lot more speed. Pretty impressive for a woman in her nineties.

While we were mixing the filling, I asked her, “Where did this recipe come from? The recipe card says ‘Tina’s Stuffed Rolls.’”

“Your great aunt. You know her name was Tina, right?” she teased.

I smirked at her. “Of course I knew that. Was it her family recipe though?”

“She got it from your aunt Alma, I believe.”

“Then why aren’t they called ‘Alma’s Stuffed Rolls’?” I not-so-innocently inquired.

She looked at me only slightly annoyed, “Well, Alma got the recipe from a prominent family in San Jose—the one that owned the pool halls in the 40s.”

“Then why aren’t they called ‘Prominent Pool Hall Family Stuffed Rolls’?” I jabbed.

“Because they’re TINA’S ROLLS. And don’t you try and take credit for them,” she warned. Then she continued, “The first time I made them was with Tina and Alma. We made dozens of them for a wedding shower.”

In fact, the stuffed rolls are a regular feature at my family’s parties. One time, my cousin made these same stuffed rolls at her house. Her neighbor remarked to my grandma, “Aren’t Carla’s Stuffed Rolls fantastic? They’re my favorite.”

That did Grandma in. She wasn’t going to let anyone take credit for the rolls. She made sure that guest (and anyone nearby) knew where they came from, “Those aren’t Carla’s Stuffed Rolls. THEY ARE TINA’S ROLLS.”

So I’m forever calling them Tina’s Stuffed Rolls. Because Grandma said so. And it’s wise to do what she says.

Tina’s Stuffed Rolls

Ingredients:

1 pound ground hamburger
½ pound grated sharp cheddar cheese
¼ cup chopped black olives
¼ cup chopped pimento
¼ cup grated or finely chopped onion
½ cup tomato sauce
1 teaspoon chili powder
salt and pepper
12 small, hard French or sourdough dinner rolls

Directions:

Brown and season hamburger with salt and pepper. Let the meat cool and drain excess fat. Add cheese, olives, pimento, onion, tomato sauce, and chili powder. Mix together and adjust seasoning, if necessary.

Make the dinner rolls into small bread bowls by cutting the top off each roll and scooping out the center. (Save the centers for bread crumbs or another purpose.) Fill the hollowed out roll with the prepared filling and put the top back on the roll. Wrap in wax paper or aluminum foil. Heat at 350 degrees until the filling is hot (about 15 minutes).

Variations: You can substitute any cooked meat (ground pork, turkey, chicken, etc.), any cheese (mild cheddar, Monterey Jack, Feta, etc.), and the seasonings (green chilies, green onions, peppers, etc.). Of course, I cannot be held responsible when Grandma berates you that it’s not the original recipe.

P.S. I love Cholula sauce (Grandpa’s favorite) on my stuffed rolls, but don’t tell Grandma.

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