Toasting nuts is easy – there is really nuttin’ to it! Have a stovetop? Have a frying pan? You are golden. Simply heat a frying pan over medium high heat until hot, and then add the nuts into the pan. No oil, no water – this is dry fry. Stir them around periodically to avoid burning. Ideally, they should turn golden brown. As long as they are not black, you should be okay. Always keep an eye on your nuts, especially when toasting.
By now, hearing me describe how I ate an entrée sized portion of a side dish should come as no surprise. My theory is that if you can eat enough of a side to satisfy a meal, it’s going to be one hell of a side dish. (My other theory is that meat is expensive, so I’m saving my money for that Friday night rib-eye.) Goat cheese is a lavish splurge, I know. But cream cheese will give you a similarly luscious mouth-feel for half the price. Like creamy velvet, the cream cheese generously coats the sweet potatoes without smothering them. Sprinkling in green onions added a perky, spring-green bite. Toasted nuts developed the texture of each fork-full, as well as adding to the overall richness.
I could eat sweet potatoes three nights a week. Some weeks I do. This recipe is for those of us who love sweet potatoes and are “in-nut to win-nut”.
Sweet Potato and Goat Cheese Hash with Toasted Pecans and Scallions
Ingredients: ¼ cup pecans, chopped 2 T canola oil 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into ¼ inch cubes 1 garlic clove, finely diced ½ to 1 cup water Salt and pepper to taste 2 cups fresh spinach 2-3 oz goat cheese, cream cheese, or both 3 T scallions or green onions, sliced
Instructions:
1. Heat an 8 inch frying pan over medium high heat until hot. Add pecans and toast for about 3-4 minutes. Remove from pan; set aside. 2. Turn heat down to medium low, add oil. (Make sure the oil is not smoking – may need to remove pan from heat source for about 30 seconds.) 3. Add sweet potatoes, sauté for about 8-9 minutes. 4. Add garlic, sauté for another 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. 5. Add ½ cup of water to the pan and cover. Let potatoes simmer for about 5 more minutes (may need to add more water as they are cooking). 6. Once sweet potatoes are fork tender, add in spinach. Cover pan again and wilt spinach for about 2-3 minutes. 7. Add in goat or cream cheese; gently stir to help melt the cheese. 8. Garnish plate with toasted pecans and green onions. Makes about 2-3 cups.
Sweet potatoes are the new Russet potato.In the restaurant scene, we have already seen the starchy switch from the traditional French fried potato to the sweet potato alternative.But is this just another food fad? Yet another outlet to feed our secret addiction to all things saccharine sounding?
First, let us dispel the notion that sweet potato implies sugary potato.Although that may have been the best way to convince us to eat them as kids, it is limiting.Now, because of that incriminating description, “sweet”, we automatically assume that sweet potatoes are already sugar soaked.
On the contrary, sweet potatoes have a creative and complex sweetness.Envision her at a masquerade, weaving in and out of various masks and disguises. Discover that beyond her overdone, cloying sweetness, she can be an irresistibly spicy siren.Dressed in adobo sauce and decorated with orange zest, I uncovered the spicy siren side of my sweet potatoes.
The chili sauce gave the sweet potato a vibrant, evocative taste, yet allowed it to retain much of its earthy quality.Sprinkled with the fresh zing of cilantro, and then smoothed out by the creaminess of goat cheese, was the perfect way to finish each bite. My experiments with sweet potatoes have made me appreciate their versatility, and I am encouraged by their rewarding results.
Note about cooking sweet potatoes:Add some fat to that!Sautéing your sweet potato with a small amount of fat, such as olive oil, actually helps your body pick up more of the antioxidant beta-carotene that is found in sweet potatoes.You can also add fats (such as olive oil, nuts, cheese) after cooking to help the bioavailability of the antioxidants.Other recommended ways to cook your sweet potatoes are steaming and boiling.These methods give you the fullest amount of fiber, vitamin A, and antioxidants.
Orange Adobo Sweet Potatoes, Peas, and Quinoa
Ingredients:
3 T olive oil
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 medium sized sweet potato, chopped into ½ inch cubes
½ - 1 cup water (when needed to cook potatoes)
½ cup frozen peas
2 T – ¼ cup adobo sauce (depending on how spicy level tolerance)
2 tsp orange zest, grated
¼ cup cilantro, chopped
1-2 oz goat cheese
1 cup cooked quinoa
Instructions:
1.Heat a medium sized pan over medium heat until very warm, add olive oil.
2.Add garlic, sauté garlic until browned.
3.Keeping pan between medium and medium high heat, add sweet potatoes, sauté until just soft, adding water when needed.About 7-8 minutes.
4.After about 5 minutes of cooking the sweet potatoes, add the frozen peas.
5.Add in the adobo sauce and orange zest.Stir to coat and combine.
6.Add cilantro, reserve some for garnish.
7.In bowl, spoon cooked quinoa into the bottom.Layer on top the sweet potato mixture. Place cheese on top.Sprinkle with cilantro.
As my German friend told me, “Your classic sweet potato casserole or pie with the billowing marshmallows hovering on top is hard not to love”.Being a traditional American dish, it’s seldom swapped out and changed up.For good reason– it’s cheap, sweet, and filling.Can we say, perfect family potluck dish?But I find limiting sweet potatoes to this application alone stifles its potential to go beyond that one-dimensional starchy, sweet fluff.
When it comes to food, I tend to consider myself a bit of a radical.You can catch me flipping flavors, creating savory from sweet, or mixing together polarizing tastes. Although I love twice baked potatoes, loaded with bacon, cheddar cheese and sour cream, it only recently dawned on me to do the same with sweet potatoes.I kept the texture progression (crunchy, smooth, savory), but switched out the traditional toppings in favor of panko and pecans, goat cheese, green onions and cracked black pepper.
Before you cry blasphemy, imagine the soft peaks of sweet potato, contrasted with the crackle of toasted panko and pecans alongside a juicy steak or roast chicken. Each bite like a pillow of creaminess accented by slivers of green onion and cracked black pepper.The pecans bring back hints of sweetness and the panko adds the crunch needed to snap back into reality.It feels bright and playful, but seductively satisfying.It’s definitely a side dish fit for dinner. Might the loaded (with fat) baked potato be teetering on the edge of extinction?
Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes
Adapted from Martha Steward
Servings: 3-4
Ingredients:
2 large sweet potatoes
4 oz goat cheese
3 T butter, salted and divided
¼ cup green onion tips, finely sliced (only the green part midway up the stalk)
1/8 tsp black pepper
¼ cup pecans, chopped
¼ cup plain panko
Instructions:
1.Preheat oven to 375˚F.
2.Cut sweet potatoes in half, place on greased cookie sheet or large baking dish.
3.Bake for 1 hour, or until fork tender.
4.Take potatoes out of oven.Once cooled slightly, scoop out sweet potato into medium sized bowl, leaving the skins intact. (May need to peel off hard layer of cooked potato on top first)
5.With electric beaters, whip together the potato, 2 T butter and 4 oz goat cheese until very smooth.
6.Stir in green onions and black pepper.
7.Melt remaining 1 T butter.In a small dish, combine pecans, panko, and butter.
8.Spoon mix back into potato skins and top with panko mixture. (May end up not being able to refill all potato skins, I started with 4 and ended up with only enough for 3.Keep it in mind.)
9.Return potatoes to oven and cook for 10 minutes longer.
10.Season with salt and pepper – enjoy the deliciousness!
From my sleepy college town on the coast to my super-suburban pocket in the boonies, not much changes: most of my day is spent in and around the kitchen. Last night we divided about least 3 hours between watching Food Network on a stained yellow couch and working on a homemade French baguette in a dorm kitchen. Today I took the hour long journey back home to spend 8 hours of it the kitchen making an Easter feast. Then right as I returned back to my dorm I was already starting up a vegetable stock. This is just the way I like it. My life is food.
I took that one-way ticket to the world revolving around food a while ago, and I do like it here. I’ve been cooking for myself for a while now, that’s nothing new. But this venture back home gave me the odd sensation of unfamiliarity with my setting. One would expect cooking to be transferable. Wherever there are wide, open gas-ranges and a water tap nearby, we should be right at home. Though now I am not so sure. There is an unsettling out-of-control feeling when we are not in our own element. It’s strange to think that my comfortable kitchen setting is now the hectic, community dorm kitchen. What I have taken away from this environment are the time and sharing sacrifices, along with the reward of having cooked a meal just the way I like it. I am forming “my own place” in a sense, one meal at a time.
My blog tonight has another purpose as well. As I was going through my old photos I realized that I have neglected a great summer/grilling recipe, a blue cheese and cracked peppercorn burger and Jamaican sweet potatoes. I made it for a few of my friends the other weekend and they were a hit. The burger was simple, a lot like the ultimate bacon and guacamole one I made a while back. This time however, I put some crumbled blue cheese and caramelized red onions on the top [with a little guac on the side]. The Jamaican sweet potatoes are the focus of this recipe tonight though. We all know about roasting kabobs, meats, and maybe even potatoes, but sweet potatoes? It turned out to be an absolutely delicious grill buddy to the burger – the sweetness from the bourbon and the brown sugar, along with a little tang from the ginger and nutmeg complimented the twinge of the blue cheese and salt and peppery-ness of the burger.
Jamaican Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients:
1 large sweet potato
2 T butter
2 T bourbon
¼ c dark brown sugar [maybe more?]
½ t fresh ginger, grated
1 t ground cinnamon
¼ t ground nutmeg
Instructions:
1.Wash off sweet potato, poke holes in it with a fork.
2.Microwave for about 7 min, or until just tender.
3.Meanwhile, mix remaining ingredients into a basting sauce for the potatoes.
4.Slice sweet potato and situate on top of tin foil.
5.Brush sauce onto the potatoes.
6.Seal tin foil pouch, place on grill for about 15-20 min.
** You can also try putting the slices straight on the grill for different type of texture.
