Once again, kudos to Deborah Madison's 'Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone' for serving as a field guide to the recipe I just invented. I took her process for a basic potato 'straw cake' and went a little crazy with it. It turned out well. It's one of those nights where all we had in the fridge was two potatoes, three eggs, and a few random other veggies; but a dish like this makes it look like you did it on purpose. ;)
I created a little semi-roasted topping for these fusion-frittatas which I'll also post here, but one of the great things about potatoes & eggs is that they're so easy to pair with other stuff; feel free to invent your own topping out of whatever leftover veggies you have in your fridge.
By the way, I impressed the hell out of my hubby just by serving the topping in these cool ramekins instead of on the straw cakes or next to them. Presentation is half the battle. (The other half is an easily impressed significant other... ha ha ha...) The ramekins also ensured that just in case the topping failed, it wouldn't taint the frittata, which you really could eat on its own if you felt like it.
Fusion Frittatas
~ 1 lb potatoes, washed & peeled
3 eggs
2 Tbs butter
garlic powder
cayenne
fresh ground sea salt
fresh ground pepper
Grate the potatoes on the large holes of a grater; if they're high starch, rinse them in cold water and towel-dry. Heat a small cast-iron skillet that's a couple inches deep over medium heat. Once it's hot, melt 1 Tbs butter in it, then add half the potatoes, patting down into a circle. Add garlic powder, cayenne, salt & pepper to taste, then add the other half of the potatoes. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook 10-15 minutes until the bottom is golden brown.
Meanwhile, whisk the eggs in a small bowl and add salt, pepper and cayenne to taste. Once your eggs are prepped and the potatoes are cooking, it's a good time to prep & make the topping (recipe below).
When it's time to flip your frittata, put a plate over the skillet and flip the whole thing upside down, so that the potatoes are on the plate. Add the other tablespoon of butter and slide the potatoes back into the skillet. Cover again, but turn up the heat a little, to medium-low-ish. After 10 or so minutes (when the bottom is becoming golden), pour the eggs on top and cover again for 3-5 minutes. Uncover and do the plate-flipping thing again, but without adding any more butter, and let the eggs cook on the bottom (without the lid) for another 3-5 minutes to your desired doneness. Slide back onto the plate so that the eggs are still on the bottom, and do one last round of sea salt and a little pepper. Cut into wedges as you would pie, and serve immediately with the topping on the side.
Serves 2.
Red Pepper, Garlic & Tomato Topping
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 - 1/2 red pepper (about 2 tablespoons), diced
1 roma tomato, finely diced
1/2 Tbs butter
fresh ground salt & pepper to taste
~1/4 tsp smoky seasoning (we love Penzey's Northwoods Fire Seasoning)
Heat a small, thick saucepan over medium heat. Once hot, add the minced garlic & red pepper and cook 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently and removing from the heat as necessary - you are basically using the hot pan to roast the veggies. Reduce heat to medium-low, add the butter, salt, pepper, and smoky seasoning, and continue stirring frequently for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit for about 2 minutes before stirring in the diced tomato. This topping doesn't need to be hot when served with the straw cakes.
Also serves 2.
30 December 2008
24 November 2008
My Most Favorite Food Ever
So delicious! It's like mashed potatoes on wonder-drugs. You'll love it. Trust me. You'll be collapsing with joy over every bite. Well, I do anyway.
Mom's Mashed Potato Casserole
~ 4 lbs baking potatoes (about 12 med. or 4-5 large)
1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened (don't you dare use low-fat, come on, it's the holidays!)
1 8 oz carton sour cream
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 to 1/4 c chopped chives (fresh is best, but dried's okay too)
2-3 Tbs cold butter
paprika to garnish.
Peel & rinse potatoes, and cut into eighths. Boil potatoes in a large pan of salted water, ~ 20 minutes. Drain water & mash potatoes. Add cream cheese, sour cream, salt, pepper & garlic. Beat at high speed until light & fluffy. Stir in chives. Spoon into lightly buttered 9 x 13 glass dish or 2.5-3 quart casserole. Lightly garnish with paprika. Generously dot with chunks of butter.
If making ahead, refrigerate here & let sit on counter about 30 minutes before baking.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.
23 November 2008
The Pie-tastrophe Story
In honor of Thanksgiving, and all you cooks who are stressing out right about now, I thought I'd resurrect this email to a friend from late November 2005...
So here’s a story for your entertainment: after doing a bunch of cleaning last night, I finally got around to making a ‘test pie’ for the Thanksgiving pumpkin pie. Understand that my stepmother and her mom are incredible bakers, and that my grandma has taught me to make a pie crust from scratch. The problem is that I only do this once a year or every couple of years, so every time, it’s like starting from square 1, except I don’t have my grandma or Janet there as I did the first time.
So at 10 o’clock last night I call up Janet – fortunately, only 9 p.m. there. I’m covered in flour, the entire kitchen is covered in flour, and I can’t decipher my notes from when I learned the recipe with Grandma. So I call Janet, who has Grandma visiting, but of course is a darn good baker herself. Janet proceeds to talk me through the entire process, but only when I’m rolling the dough on the counter and it’s cracking all over the place – in fact, it looked like a map of Ireland rather than the circle it was meant to be – do we figure out that because the climate here is so freakishly dry, I need a lot more water.
So I put it back in the bowl, add more water mixed with flour, and try working it again. At this point, what is supposed to be adhering to itself in a ball is flaking like freaking Paris Hilton. It’s all over the place. So I add still more water. Now, it strongly resembles play-dough. I roll it out again, and this time manage to achieve something that basically looks like a pig, which is at least rounder than a map of Ireland. I put it in the pie pan, cut off the ragged edges, and pinch the rim into shape. I preheat the oven and make my pumpkin pie filling.
So you’re supposed to bake a pumpkin pie for 10 minutes at 450 degrees and then reduce heat to 325 and bake for 35 minutes. And this works great if you are in Owensboro, Kentucky. But in Colorado, at 6700 feet, this does not work so well. An hour and twenty minutes later, it was close enough to being fully cooked that I just turned the oven off, left the pie in there and went to bed at 1 in the morning.
This morning, Ben and I tried the pie for breakfast. We each had about two bites and threw the rest of the pie out. The crust was hard as a rock, and the filling was still too mushy. At least the flavor was good. Thank god I made a test pie, because I think now I know what to do (and not do) on the next go-round.
And yes, I am buying a ‘back-up pie’ on the pretext of having two flavors!!
So here’s a story for your entertainment: after doing a bunch of cleaning last night, I finally got around to making a ‘test pie’ for the Thanksgiving pumpkin pie. Understand that my stepmother and her mom are incredible bakers, and that my grandma has taught me to make a pie crust from scratch. The problem is that I only do this once a year or every couple of years, so every time, it’s like starting from square 1, except I don’t have my grandma or Janet there as I did the first time.
So at 10 o’clock last night I call up Janet – fortunately, only 9 p.m. there. I’m covered in flour, the entire kitchen is covered in flour, and I can’t decipher my notes from when I learned the recipe with Grandma. So I call Janet, who has Grandma visiting, but of course is a darn good baker herself. Janet proceeds to talk me through the entire process, but only when I’m rolling the dough on the counter and it’s cracking all over the place – in fact, it looked like a map of Ireland rather than the circle it was meant to be – do we figure out that because the climate here is so freakishly dry, I need a lot more water.
So I put it back in the bowl, add more water mixed with flour, and try working it again. At this point, what is supposed to be adhering to itself in a ball is flaking like freaking Paris Hilton. It’s all over the place. So I add still more water. Now, it strongly resembles play-dough. I roll it out again, and this time manage to achieve something that basically looks like a pig, which is at least rounder than a map of Ireland. I put it in the pie pan, cut off the ragged edges, and pinch the rim into shape. I preheat the oven and make my pumpkin pie filling.
So you’re supposed to bake a pumpkin pie for 10 minutes at 450 degrees and then reduce heat to 325 and bake for 35 minutes. And this works great if you are in Owensboro, Kentucky. But in Colorado, at 6700 feet, this does not work so well. An hour and twenty minutes later, it was close enough to being fully cooked that I just turned the oven off, left the pie in there and went to bed at 1 in the morning.
This morning, Ben and I tried the pie for breakfast. We each had about two bites and threw the rest of the pie out. The crust was hard as a rock, and the filling was still too mushy. At least the flavor was good. Thank god I made a test pie, because I think now I know what to do (and not do) on the next go-round.
And yes, I am buying a ‘back-up pie’ on the pretext of having two flavors!!
05 November 2008
Victory Apple Crisp
We had a few friends over to watch the election last night, and celebrate Obama's win. I wanted to have something patriotically apple-y, but didn't feel like making pie crust. So I made my apple crisp recipe that I first posted here in June '07 - except I added a few things to enhance the yumminess.
Note - the instructions given here have you make this in a baking dish, but this last time I used eight ramekins at the same temp & time, and it worked fine. Hopefully this is common sense, but do not torture yourself trying to split the recipe into eighths - mix it up in a bowl and divvy it out. Riiiight.
Victory Apple Crisp!
Topping:
6 T cold butter, cut into half-inch pieces
2/3 c all-purpose flour
3/4 c packed brown sugar
1/4 c chopped pecans (could also try chopped walnuts)
1/4 c oatmeal
~1/8 c toffee bits
1/4 t salt
1/2 t ground nutmeg
1/2 t ground cinnamon
Whisk all ingredients except the butter together in a large bowl. Add the butter and use a mixer with a paddle attachment, pastry blender or your fingers to work it into the remaining ingredients, until the butter pieces are thoroughly coated and the rest of the mixture is coarse and crumbly.
Filling:
5-6 large apples, peeled, cored, and diced
2 T packed brown sugar
1 T lemon juice
1 t ground cinnamon
Make the topping and set aside. Preheat the oven to 375F. Put the apples into a 2-inch tall, about 2-2 1/2 quart gratin dish and gently toss with the filling's remaining ingredients, evenly coating the apples. Cover the filling with the topping. Place the dish on a baking sheet to catch any dripping juices and place in the middle rack of the oven for 30-45 minutes, until apples are tender, juices are bubbling and the top is golden brown.
Once cooled, it can be covered and stored at room temperature up to two days. Reheat in a 250F oven for 15 minutes (also good cold or microwaved). Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, but also tastes awesome on its own.
Note - the instructions given here have you make this in a baking dish, but this last time I used eight ramekins at the same temp & time, and it worked fine. Hopefully this is common sense, but do not torture yourself trying to split the recipe into eighths - mix it up in a bowl and divvy it out. Riiiight.
Victory Apple Crisp!
Topping:
6 T cold butter, cut into half-inch pieces
2/3 c all-purpose flour
3/4 c packed brown sugar
1/4 c chopped pecans (could also try chopped walnuts)
1/4 c oatmeal
~1/8 c toffee bits
1/4 t salt
1/2 t ground nutmeg
1/2 t ground cinnamon
Whisk all ingredients except the butter together in a large bowl. Add the butter and use a mixer with a paddle attachment, pastry blender or your fingers to work it into the remaining ingredients, until the butter pieces are thoroughly coated and the rest of the mixture is coarse and crumbly.
Filling:
5-6 large apples, peeled, cored, and diced
2 T packed brown sugar
1 T lemon juice
1 t ground cinnamon
Make the topping and set aside. Preheat the oven to 375F. Put the apples into a 2-inch tall, about 2-2 1/2 quart gratin dish and gently toss with the filling's remaining ingredients, evenly coating the apples. Cover the filling with the topping. Place the dish on a baking sheet to catch any dripping juices and place in the middle rack of the oven for 30-45 minutes, until apples are tender, juices are bubbling and the top is golden brown.
Once cooled, it can be covered and stored at room temperature up to two days. Reheat in a 250F oven for 15 minutes (also good cold or microwaved). Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, but also tastes awesome on its own.
15 October 2008
Peace, Love, and Winter Vegetables
I'm so happy it finally feels like autumn outside. I love the chilly weather, and I especially love to cook during chilly weather. It's so homey and fun to get the kitchen all warm and smelling good while the grey skies outside make everything feel cosy. Plus, winter vegetables are so delicious!
I spent the entire chilly, grey day yesterday dreaming of using acorn squash and sweet potatoes in my dinner. The nice thing about dreams like that is that it's pretty easy to make them come true. Last night I invented a pretty darn tasty stuffed acorn squash, if I do say so myself, and the basis for it was these absolutely delicious mashers made of a combination of sweet potato and roasted acorn squash. You could easily just serve the mashers as a flavorful, yummy side dish (perfect for Thanksgiving) or use them as the basis of the stuffed squash.
This made two generous servings. If you were using the mashers as a side dish, it would easily serve 4-6. Do yourself a favor and get organic veggies.
Sweet Potato & Acorn Squash Mashers
2 medium sweet potatoes, scrubbed, peeled and diced in medium/small pieces
1 largish acorn squash, halved and deseeded
2-3 Tbs. olive oil
2 heaping Tbs. brown sugar
2 Tbs. unsalted butter
~2 tsp. rosemary
salt & fresh ground black pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Coat the cut sides of the acorn squash with olive oil and place them face down on a nonstick cookie sheet. Put the sheet in the oven.
To prepare the sweet potatoes, I recommend a good steamer that sits above your pan of water, not the kind that you insert in the bottom of the saucepan. Bring several inches of water to boil and steam the sweet potatoes for about 25 minutes or until tender. This is also about how long it'll take your acorn squash to roast.
If your sweet potatoes are done before the squash, go ahead and mash them with half the brown sugar, butter & spices while they're hot, then scoop out the squash (try to leave about an inch or so of flesh in the shell, if you're making stuffed squash) and mash it in with the sweet potatoes and the rest of the sugar, butter & spices. Taste & add more salt & pepper as needed.
Stuffed Acorn Squash
Additional Ingredients:
2-3 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 cup diced walnuts
2-3 cloves minced garlic
~ 1 Tbs. fresh minced ginger
1/2 medium white onion, diced
1 large or 2 medium white mushrooms, halved and sliced
1 - 1 1/2 c broccoli, chopped into tiny florets
~ 1 tsp. crushed red pepper
~ 1 tsp. smoked paprika (or regular paprika)
pinch of fenugreek seed (about 1/4 tsp) (if you don't have it, don't stress; the recipe will still taste good)
~ 1 tsp. oregano
salt & fresh ground black pepper to taste
Follow the instructions for the sweet potato & acorn squash mashers above, but when you've got about 17 minutes left on the timer for the steaming/roasting veggies, heat the olive oil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat (or a little less than medium). Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the onion, crushed red pepper, paprika, and fenugreek seed and cook another 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently. Lightly toast the walnuts for about four minutes in the toaster oven, then add those to the saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for another 3-5 minutes, stirring often. When there are about 5 minutes left on the timer, add the mushrooms, oregano, salt & pepper; mix thoroughly and let sit, making sure your pan isn't too hot, and stirring occasionally.
As soon as your timer's gone off and you've mashed up the sweet potatoes, put the broccoli in the steamer and let steam for 3-5 minutes, depending on your texture preference. While it's steaming, finish the mashers and spoon the mashed potato/squash mixture back into the squash shells as the bottom layer of the stuffed squash. The mashers should fill up the squash shells to about half an inch from the top, and you should have some left over. Next, spoon the steamed broccoli on top of the mashers in a mound, then pour the walnut-mushroom mixture over top. You should have some of the walnut-mushroom mixture left over too (and/or spillage onto the plate seems inevitable); spoon the rest of the mashers onto the plate too, and top with any remaining walnut-mushroom mixture. It makes for a pretty presentation, and like I said, it's a nice hearty winter meal.
I spent the entire chilly, grey day yesterday dreaming of using acorn squash and sweet potatoes in my dinner. The nice thing about dreams like that is that it's pretty easy to make them come true. Last night I invented a pretty darn tasty stuffed acorn squash, if I do say so myself, and the basis for it was these absolutely delicious mashers made of a combination of sweet potato and roasted acorn squash. You could easily just serve the mashers as a flavorful, yummy side dish (perfect for Thanksgiving) or use them as the basis of the stuffed squash.
This made two generous servings. If you were using the mashers as a side dish, it would easily serve 4-6. Do yourself a favor and get organic veggies.
Sweet Potato & Acorn Squash Mashers
2 medium sweet potatoes, scrubbed, peeled and diced in medium/small pieces
1 largish acorn squash, halved and deseeded
2-3 Tbs. olive oil
2 heaping Tbs. brown sugar
2 Tbs. unsalted butter
~2 tsp. rosemary
salt & fresh ground black pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Coat the cut sides of the acorn squash with olive oil and place them face down on a nonstick cookie sheet. Put the sheet in the oven.
To prepare the sweet potatoes, I recommend a good steamer that sits above your pan of water, not the kind that you insert in the bottom of the saucepan. Bring several inches of water to boil and steam the sweet potatoes for about 25 minutes or until tender. This is also about how long it'll take your acorn squash to roast.
If your sweet potatoes are done before the squash, go ahead and mash them with half the brown sugar, butter & spices while they're hot, then scoop out the squash (try to leave about an inch or so of flesh in the shell, if you're making stuffed squash) and mash it in with the sweet potatoes and the rest of the sugar, butter & spices. Taste & add more salt & pepper as needed.
Stuffed Acorn Squash
Additional Ingredients:
2-3 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 cup diced walnuts
2-3 cloves minced garlic
~ 1 Tbs. fresh minced ginger
1/2 medium white onion, diced
1 large or 2 medium white mushrooms, halved and sliced
1 - 1 1/2 c broccoli, chopped into tiny florets
~ 1 tsp. crushed red pepper
~ 1 tsp. smoked paprika (or regular paprika)
pinch of fenugreek seed (about 1/4 tsp) (if you don't have it, don't stress; the recipe will still taste good)
~ 1 tsp. oregano
salt & fresh ground black pepper to taste
Follow the instructions for the sweet potato & acorn squash mashers above, but when you've got about 17 minutes left on the timer for the steaming/roasting veggies, heat the olive oil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat (or a little less than medium). Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the onion, crushed red pepper, paprika, and fenugreek seed and cook another 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently. Lightly toast the walnuts for about four minutes in the toaster oven, then add those to the saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for another 3-5 minutes, stirring often. When there are about 5 minutes left on the timer, add the mushrooms, oregano, salt & pepper; mix thoroughly and let sit, making sure your pan isn't too hot, and stirring occasionally.
As soon as your timer's gone off and you've mashed up the sweet potatoes, put the broccoli in the steamer and let steam for 3-5 minutes, depending on your texture preference. While it's steaming, finish the mashers and spoon the mashed potato/squash mixture back into the squash shells as the bottom layer of the stuffed squash. The mashers should fill up the squash shells to about half an inch from the top, and you should have some left over. Next, spoon the steamed broccoli on top of the mashers in a mound, then pour the walnut-mushroom mixture over top. You should have some of the walnut-mushroom mixture left over too (and/or spillage onto the plate seems inevitable); spoon the rest of the mashers onto the plate too, and top with any remaining walnut-mushroom mixture. It makes for a pretty presentation, and like I said, it's a nice hearty winter meal.
28 September 2008
Odds & Ends Cookies
I wanted to make cookies, so I pulled out my trusty 'Chocolate On the Brain' cookbook. But when I went to the cupboard, I found I didn't have the right ingredients for traditional chocolate chip cookies. Instead of two cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips, I ended up raiding my cabinets and using large bittersweet chocolate chips, some semi-sweet chocolate chips, toffee bits, and semi-sweet baking cocoa to achieve the necessary level of chocolatiness. :) The result was delightfully gooey and chocolicious.
Beneath my impromptu recipe is my paraphrase of the original chocolate chip cookie recipe from 'Chocolate On the Brain'.
Odds & Ends Cookies
2 sticks of butter, softened to room temperature, plus more for greasing pan
1 c brown sugar
1/2 c sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c semi-sweet baking cocoa
1 c bittersweet chocolate chips
1/4 c semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 c toffee bits
Preheat oven to 350F (high altitude 375F) and grease two cookie sheets. In a large bowl, mix together butter and sugars, either with a wooden spoon or an electric mixer. Add egg and vanilla and mix again. Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cocoa and mix until thoroughly blended. Add chocolate chips & toffee bits and mix again.
Pinch small portions of dough and roll in your hands to make balls about 1 inch across. Place in 5 rows of 3 cookies each on a cookie sheet. Bake one sheet at a time, about 7 minutes each. Remove from oven and let sit for about 3 minutes, then move to rack. Let the cookie sheet sit another minute or two so it's not too hot for the dough.
Traditional Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 sticks of butter, softened to room temperature, plus more for greasing pan
1 c brown sugar
1/2 c sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350F (high altitude 375F) and grease two cookie sheets. In a large bowl, mix together butter and sugars, either with a wooden spoon or an electric mixer. Add egg and vanilla and mix again. Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and mix until thoroughly blended. Add chocolate chips and mix again.
Pinch small portions of dough and roll in your hands to make balls about 1 inch across. Place in 5 rows of 3 cookies each on a cookie sheet. Bake one sheet at a time, about 7 minutes each. Remove from oven and let sit for about 3 minutes, then move to rack. Let the cookie sheet sit another minute or two so it's not too hot for the dough.
Beneath my impromptu recipe is my paraphrase of the original chocolate chip cookie recipe from 'Chocolate On the Brain'.
Odds & Ends Cookies
2 sticks of butter, softened to room temperature, plus more for greasing pan
1 c brown sugar
1/2 c sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c semi-sweet baking cocoa
1 c bittersweet chocolate chips
1/4 c semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 c toffee bits
Preheat oven to 350F (high altitude 375F) and grease two cookie sheets. In a large bowl, mix together butter and sugars, either with a wooden spoon or an electric mixer. Add egg and vanilla and mix again. Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cocoa and mix until thoroughly blended. Add chocolate chips & toffee bits and mix again.
Pinch small portions of dough and roll in your hands to make balls about 1 inch across. Place in 5 rows of 3 cookies each on a cookie sheet. Bake one sheet at a time, about 7 minutes each. Remove from oven and let sit for about 3 minutes, then move to rack. Let the cookie sheet sit another minute or two so it's not too hot for the dough.
Traditional Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 sticks of butter, softened to room temperature, plus more for greasing pan
1 c brown sugar
1/2 c sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350F (high altitude 375F) and grease two cookie sheets. In a large bowl, mix together butter and sugars, either with a wooden spoon or an electric mixer. Add egg and vanilla and mix again. Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and mix until thoroughly blended. Add chocolate chips and mix again.
Pinch small portions of dough and roll in your hands to make balls about 1 inch across. Place in 5 rows of 3 cookies each on a cookie sheet. Bake one sheet at a time, about 7 minutes each. Remove from oven and let sit for about 3 minutes, then move to rack. Let the cookie sheet sit another minute or two so it's not too hot for the dough.
24 September 2008
Mmm, sweet potatoes...
I just invented these sort of sweet potato chips. They turned out to be so yummy that we ate them all out of the pan while the rest of dinner cooked. So, I guess I'd recommend these as an appetizer. :) I was originally going for a side dish. Either way, it serves 2.
Sweet Potato Chips
1 good-sized sweet potato, sliced into thin rounds
~4 tbs olive oil
~1/8 tsp smoked paprika (or regular paprika)
~1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (depending on how hot you like it)
~1/4 tsp rosemary
1 tbs brown sugar
Heat the olive oil in a heavy pan over medium heat. Add the sweet potato slices and stir to coat with oil. Stir every 2-3 minutes. After about 10 minutes, add the remaining ingredients and stir to coat. Cook another 5-10 minutes, stirring often, until tender. Serve hot (or eat right out of the pan).
Mixed Straw Cakes
The inspiration for this recipe begins with that vegetarian bible, Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, but I took it in a completely different direction. In fact, this recipe is still in evolution, so I may come back and update it later. The idea was to make potato pancakes, but they ended up not sticking together very well, so turned out more like yummy, bizarre hash browns. I only used one egg, so I'm thinking two eggs will give it more cohesiveness.
This serves two.
1 sweet potato - peeled, and grated on the large holes of the grater
1 large potato - same as above; rinse high-starch potatoes in water, then blot dry with a paper towel.
2 eggs
1 tbs fresh dill
1 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1/4 tsp cayenne powder
1 tsp marjoram
1/2 tsp sage
fresh ground sea salt & black pepper to taste
4 tbs butter
Set a heavy 10-inch skillet over medium heat and melt half the butter. While it's melting, mix the shredded sweet potato and potato together in a medium bowl, then stir in the eggs. Next add all the spices except the salt & pepper, and mix thoroughly.
Take half the mixture and flatten it in the skillet, neatening the edges of the cake. Salt & pepper the top of this layer, then do the same with the other half of the mixture. (If you wish to include a sauteed vegetable filling, spread it on top of the bottom layer and cover with the top layer.) Cook over medium to medium low for 15 to 20 minutes, then slide onto a plate (good luck - this is according to the cookbook, but I've never really managed to accomplish it). Add the rest of the butter to the skillet and flip the cake so it cooks on its other side, another 10 or so minutes. Serve hot. Top with a sauce or just eat straight, with a side of some steamed or sauteed veggies.
Sweet Potato Chips
1 good-sized sweet potato, sliced into thin rounds
~4 tbs olive oil
~1/8 tsp smoked paprika (or regular paprika)
~1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (depending on how hot you like it)
~1/4 tsp rosemary
1 tbs brown sugar
Heat the olive oil in a heavy pan over medium heat. Add the sweet potato slices and stir to coat with oil. Stir every 2-3 minutes. After about 10 minutes, add the remaining ingredients and stir to coat. Cook another 5-10 minutes, stirring often, until tender. Serve hot (or eat right out of the pan).
Mixed Straw Cakes
The inspiration for this recipe begins with that vegetarian bible, Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, but I took it in a completely different direction. In fact, this recipe is still in evolution, so I may come back and update it later. The idea was to make potato pancakes, but they ended up not sticking together very well, so turned out more like yummy, bizarre hash browns. I only used one egg, so I'm thinking two eggs will give it more cohesiveness.
This serves two.
1 sweet potato - peeled, and grated on the large holes of the grater
1 large potato - same as above; rinse high-starch potatoes in water, then blot dry with a paper towel.
2 eggs
1 tbs fresh dill
1 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1/4 tsp cayenne powder
1 tsp marjoram
1/2 tsp sage
fresh ground sea salt & black pepper to taste
4 tbs butter
Set a heavy 10-inch skillet over medium heat and melt half the butter. While it's melting, mix the shredded sweet potato and potato together in a medium bowl, then stir in the eggs. Next add all the spices except the salt & pepper, and mix thoroughly.
Take half the mixture and flatten it in the skillet, neatening the edges of the cake. Salt & pepper the top of this layer, then do the same with the other half of the mixture. (If you wish to include a sauteed vegetable filling, spread it on top of the bottom layer and cover with the top layer.) Cook over medium to medium low for 15 to 20 minutes, then slide onto a plate (good luck - this is according to the cookbook, but I've never really managed to accomplish it). Add the rest of the butter to the skillet and flip the cake so it cooks on its other side, another 10 or so minutes. Serve hot. Top with a sauce or just eat straight, with a side of some steamed or sauteed veggies.
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