Healthier Sweet Potato Casserole

One of my favorite things in the world is sweet potato casserole.  Probably due to the insane amounts of sugar that are added to this side dish.  Brown sugar is usually mixed in and some sort of candy coating goes on top- often marshmallows (made with sucralose and gelatin- gelatin is made from animal hooves and bones) and more sugar.

 So I've made a healthier, less sweet version. Sweet potatoes are naturally sweet (duh), so I don't see a reason to load up on added sugar.  I added 1 tsp of honey to 2 cups mashed sweet potato, and then added a granola topping mixed with a bit of turbino sugar (also called muscavado sugar- a brown sugar made by adding mollasses to white sugar). Turbino sugar gives a nice sugary crunch. 

Sweet potatoes are also considered one of the world's healthiest foods, so don't wait until Thanksgiving to eat! They give you a big dose of beta-carotene, are high in vitamin B6, vitamin C, and also contain vitamin D, vitamin A, iron, fiber, potassium  and magnesium- the 'relaxation and anti-stress' mineral- necessary for healthy artery, blood, bone, heart, muscle, and nerve function. Read more about sweet potatoes health benefits here.  

It may not be Thanksgiving but I'm enjoying sweet potatoes year round.  If it WAS Thanksgiving, this is a nice make-ahead dish.  You can add the sweet potato mixture to a glass baking dish and store in refrigerator a day or two.  Just add the granola topping right before you pop in the oven or it'll get soggy in the fridge. 

Sweet Potato Casserole

Sweet Potatoes
2 cups mashed sweet potatoes
1 tsp honey
2 tbsp melted butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1/4 cup milk

Granola Topping
1 1/2 cups granola 
2 tbsp melted butter
1/4 cup turbino sugar (can also use brown sugar if you have on hand)

Preheat oven to 325.

1. Lightly beat egg. Add all sweet potato ingredients to bowl and mix well. Pour into 8 x 8 glass baking dish.

2. Toss all granola ingredients together. Sprinkle on top of sweet potatoes. 

3. Bake 45 min to an hour, until granola topping a light brown in color. 

Herbed Shrimp Risotto with Balsamic Tomato

Is there anything better in this world?

This dinner received another 'restaurant quality' rating from The Boyfriend. 

We both had seconds, and had no leftovers. 

These pictures are a bit fuzzy from the steam, but it was so good we had to eat it immediately.  

So I apologize for picture quality!

This is a warm, comforting risotto with a deep seafood flavor, chunks of shrimp, topped with a bit of dill and chive tomato salad.

Risotto gets all it's flavor from the stock you use.  I highly recommend making your own seafood stock for this dish.  It may sound hard and labor intensive (for those of you that have never made seafood stock) but it's really quite easy.  You just throw a bunch of stuff in a pot and let it simmer for about 45 minutes. That's pretty much it.

If you don't have the time or energy to make your own stock and are purchasing store-bought chicken stock, do yourself two favors:  

1. Buy low sodium (store bought stocks are SO SALTY!)  
2. Simmer the stock in a saucepot with some fresh herbs (thyme rosemary, sage, etc) and some chopped onion, carrot and celery.  It'll make store-bought taste more like homemade. 

Herbed Shrimp Risotto 

with Balsamic Tomato

Shrimp:

1/2 lb uncooked shrimp, deveined, shells and tails removed and reserved for seafood stock

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp fresh thyme

1/2 tsp fresh finely chopped rosemary

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp smoked paprika

1/4 tsp fresh cracked black pepper

Risotto:

1 cup arborio rice

2 shallots, minced

1 tsp finely chopped dill

1 tsp finely chopped chives

1 tsp salt

Zest of one lemon

Extra virgin olive oil

About 1 quart shrimp stock, fish stock, or chicken stock

Balsamic Tomatoes:

4 plum tomatoes, diced

1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp basil chiffonade

1/2 tsp chopped chives

fresh pepper to taste

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional, for garnish)

For Balsamic Tomatoes:
Combine olive oil and balsamic vinegar, whisk. Toss together the tomatoes, basil, chives, and pepper. Dress with olive oil mixture. Refrigerate until ready.

For Shrimp:

In a bowl, add the shrimp and all the remaining ingredients for shrimp. Toss well to coat the shrimp in the olive oil/herb mixture. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. 

Heat a skillet over medium high heat with a few drizzles of olive oil. Add the shrimp.  Cook a few minutes until shrimp start to look golden.  Flip, and continue cooking about 2 more minutes until golden on both sides.  Remove from heat and set aside.  Once cool, roughly chop the shrimp into chunks, leaving 6 shrimps whole to place on top of risotto. 

For Risotto:
In a large skillet, heat about 2 tbsp of oil over medium heat.  Add the shallot, and saute a few minutes until starting to soften. Add the arborio rice and cook, stirring constantly, until the rice is fully coated with olive oil (1-2 minutes). Add 1/2 cup fish stock and cook, stirring often,  until the liquid is almost completely absorbed (4-5 minutes). Add another 1/4 cup shrimp stock and simmer, stirring occasionally, until liquid is absorbed (~8-10 minutes).  This step is important- to cook arborio rice correctly, you must add the chicken stock in small increments.  Once absorbed, add another 1/4 cup, waiting for that to be absorbed, and continue adding 1/4 cups of stock until rice is creamy looking but still al dente, about 30-40 minutes. You may have leftover stock.  If you run out of stock, use water. 

Add the dill, chives, salt, lemon zest, and chopped shrimp to the risotto. Stir, and cook just a few minutes longer, adding a bit more stock if risotto is looking dry. 

To assemble:
Mound risotto of plate.  Top with a spoonful of balsamic tomato salad and whole shrimp.  Sprinkle with Parmesan if desired. 

Garlicky Chinese Broccoli

Broccoli can be so boring sometimes.  

I actually love broccoli, but in my house it's always the same.  

Dependable. Trustworthy. 

But sometimes you gotta let your hair down, broccoli! 

This could be served as a Chinese side dish- the perfect accompaniment to stir-fry. 

It's Quick. Easy. Healthy.  

With limited ingredients. 

Lots of flavor but not drowned in sauce.  It's just a bit spicy from the sambal oelek, but not too spicy for everyone to enjoy.  

A little education for you:

Sambal Oelek can be found in the Asian aisle of the supermarket. It's a red chili paste that is used in Asian cooking (a staple in Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia).  'Oelek' means ground, and this really is just a variety of ground chilies with not much else added.  Because it's not heavily spiced with additional ingredients, it will add heat to any dish without imposing on the flavor of the dish.   

A couple similar chili sauces/pastes: 

Sriacha-

Sriacha is more of a condiment or dipping sauce.  It's spicy, and I love adding it to chili, wing sauce, pizza, and eggs. It is spiced with vinegar, garlic, sugar and salt, and has a distinctive taste. 

Spicy Garlic Sauce-

Similar to Sriacha in flavor, this is a deliciously garlicky sauce that carries a bit more substance than sriacha.  It has a fuller flavor, if you will. 

You can use spicy garlic sauce for this recipe, just eliminate a clove of garlic (and remember not to try to kiss your significant other after eating! ;)  

I stepped away and overcooked my broccoli a couple minutes, I will admit. It was more a broccoli mush.  

Okay broccoli.. I let your hair down and you go bananas. Jeez.

Served my mush with Asian-spiced short ribs and rice noodles.

Garlicky Chinese Broccoli

1 large head of broccoli

1 tsp sambal oelek

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp olive oil plus extra for cooking

1 tsp minced fresh ginger

4 cloves thinly sliced garlic

1/4 cup of water, chicken stock, or veg stock (I used water)

Cut stem off and cut broccoli into bite sized pieces, rinse, and place in large mixing bowl.  Add the sambal oelek, sugar, and olive oil and use your hands to combine- make sure you evenly distribute that sambal oelek!

Heat a large saucepan over medium high heat.  Once hot, add the broccoli.  Saute for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the ginger and garlic and stir to combine.  Saute another 2 minutes, until fragrant.

Add 1/4 cup of water and cover with a lid. Reduce heat and let broccoli steam about 2 minutes.  Remove broccoli with a slotted spoon when broccoli is tender but still firm.  

Scalloped Potatoes

Winter Comfort Food

These scalloped potatoes are so quick and easy to prepare.  Perfect accompaniment to hearty meat entrees like pot roast, ham, turkey, and roast chicken.

The perfect accompaniment to a cold winters night, if you ask me.

If you feel daring, add some diced prosciutto, pancetta, or bacon and throw in some chives.

Scalloped Potato Gratin 

Adapted from Tyler Florence's recipe

2 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/8 inch slices
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 sprigs thyme
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, divided in half
1/4 cup freshly grated swiss cheese
salt and pepper
butter

In a saucepan combine the cream, thyme, and garlic.  Heat until just warm, but do not boil.  Remove thyme stems.

In a bowl, combine half of Parmesan cheese with all of swiss cheese.

Preheat oven to 375.

Butter a casserole dish and layer one third of the potato slices in 4 rows so slices are overlapping.  Pour a couple spoonfuls of the warmed cream over top and sprinkle with one third of the cheese mixture.  Arrange another layer of potato slices on top, pour a bit more cream over top, and sprinkle another third of the cheese mixture over top.  Repeat with final layer, using the rest of the cream and cheese mixture. 

Bake uncovered for 40 minutes. Pour the rest of the Parmesan over top of the potatoes, and bake another 10 minutes, until top is golden brown.  Let cool a few minutes before serving.

Gougeres (Cheese Puffs)

Gougeres are a baked savory choux pastry.  In English- basically a French cheese puff.   They are traditionally served cold during wine tastings, or served warm as an appetizer.

I made them as a side for Sunday dinner- Pot Roast with Roasted Grape Tomatoes and Cremini Mushrooms, Scalloped Potatoes, Sauteed Asparagus, and of course, the Gougeres.

They'd be a nice addition to a cheese plate perhaps (yes more cheese!!).  I'd serve them in place of dinner rolls, with soup, with brunch, with breakfast.  I could go on.. 

They are crispy on the outside, with an almost hollow, fluffy interior with an undeniably cheesy taste. 

In fact they taste like Cheez-Its.

EXACTLY like cheez-its.  

I haven't decided if that's a good or bad thing yet. 

This is your basic gougere recipe, but there's endless amounts of variations you can make.  You could use different cheeses, add ingredients like chives, shallots, maybe even prosciutto?!  Maybe a sweet version could be made with the right cheese, a bit of sugar, and diced apples..

In any case, make sure your ingredients are measured and ready-to-go.  This recipe doesn't mess around, when it says add something immediately, do it immediately.  No turning your back to grate cheese here- have it ready, you'll thank me later. 

This recipe makes about 3 dozen.  Make enough that everyone can have at least 3.  You'll want extra though, as every time they walk by the platter of gougeres they'll be popping another in their mouth.

Make extra- these freeze well.  Simply let them cool completely, set them out on a baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Place in freezer and once frozen, pop the gougeres into a ziploc bag.  

Gougeres

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup water

5 large eggs

3/4 cup freshly shredded Gruyere cheese

3/4 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese

6 tbsp unsalted butter, cut in small pieces

1 tsp milk

1 tsp fine sea salt

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp sweet paprika

Preheat oven to 425. Lightly butter 2 baking sheets.

In a saucepan, combine the water, butter, salt, cayenne, and paprika. Bring to a boil, allowing the butter to melt completely over medium, medium high heat.

Remove pan from heat, and immediately add the entire one cup of flour at once, beating ferociously until completely incorporated. Continue beating until mixture forms a mass in the center of pan, about 1 to 2 minutes longer.

Make a well in the dough and add one egg.  Beat ferociously again until COMPLETELY combined.  Add the next egg, again combine completely, and do the same with the 3rd and 4th eggs, making sure egg is completely combined before adding another.  The 5th egg will be used later.

Beat in the gruyere and one-third of the cheese. until melted and thoroughly blended.  

Using a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip, or using a Ziploc bag with a small corner cut off, pipe the dough onto the baking sheets about 1 inch in diameter and 1/2 inch high.  Leave 2 inches between each, as they will double in size.

In a small bowl, beat the remaining egg with the milk.  Brush the egg mixture over the top of the gougeres gently, and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan.   Bake 20 minutes, or until gougeres are golden.  Remove from oven (leave oven on) and use a paring knife or other small sharp knife to cut a small slit into the side of each gougere.  Return to oven for 5 minutes to dry out the inside.  Remove from oven and cool on wire racks.  Gougers may be served warm or at room temperature.

Some other favorite recipes:
Double Orange Goat Cheese Cupcakes
Sweet Potato Croquettes

Sweet Summer Squash Pudding

Remember that huge homegrown summer squash I had? 

Well I didn't use the whole thing in the Chicken Chili.  That would be absurd! 

Which left me thinking... what am I going to do with all this squash?  

I used to work at a restaurant that serves a Sweet Corn Pudding.  Oh my God, it was to die for.  So I wondered if a squash pudding would work.

Guess what? It does.  

Roasting the squash with thyme and garlic really gave it a good flavor- and the chili powder added towards the end gave it an unexpected kick.  

This is a great, simple, yet impressive side dish.  It's easy to make, and will impress your guests (have they ever had Squash pudding?  Heck no they haven't! They'll be thinking.. 'How did you think of this?' 'Who would think to make pudding out of squash?' 'How surprising that pureed squash tastes so good!' 'I wish I could cook like this!')      :))))    

It's okay, take the credit.  I don't mind.

The squash a considerably more delicate flavor than corn pudding- corn is a lot sweeter and has a bit of a stronger flavor that stands up to heavier meats (burgers, steak, etc).  Squash is better served with poultry or fish. 

I served this with pork- tender southern style boneless ribs roasted in the oven for 3 hours.  But I wish I had served it with a firm fish- swordfish, mahi mahi, maybe grouper.  I found it a little too delicate in flavor to be paired with pork.

If you want a thicker pudding, add 2 or 3 tbsp of flour when blending.  

Gorgonzola Sage Popovers

Hellloooo Beautiful.

These bad boys have a delicate, hollow interior and a crisp exterior.  

A savory popover with hints of sage, the perfect complement to a nice pork tenderloin, beef roast, chili or soup, or almost any other meal I can think of! 

Add this to your Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner for a really special dinner roll.

The use of a blender in making these popovers makes sure that air is incorporated in the batter, which enables the popovers to blister and give them the beautiful, hollow interior.  

Make sure you use clarified butter when called for, or the popovers will burn.

Chicken Salad with Pecans, Grapes, and Green Peppers

A little sweet, a little crunch.. this chicken salad has it all.  I made this to bring to a BBQ, and unfortunately it never made it there.

Why, you ask?

Not because it got gobbled up ever-so-quickly.  No.  Because on the way to the car the container slipped from my fingertips in slow-motion fashion as I (in slow motion) yelled a inappropriate curse word at the top of my lungs, resulting in a super dramatic chicken salad explosion.

I would've taken a pic of the Chicken Salad with Mulch, but didn't think you all would be into that recipe. Here's what it looked like in my house before the explosion:

Luckily I had already tried the chicken salad, so I know it was good.  I liked the green pepper in place of the celery.  I also enjoyed the different textures of sweetness from the dried cranberries and sliced grapes.

The Boyfriend got to eat some too, since I had a little container of it stashed in the fridge just for him, the Most Excellent Girlfriend that I am.

This was very much a contents-of-the-fridge-and-pantry chicken salad.  The original recipe calls for tarragon vinegar, walnuts, shallots, and celery.. none of which I had.  I would've liked to use the tarragon vinegar though.  But I made due, and it turned out great.

Chicken Salad with 

Pecans, Grapes, and Green Peppers

Recipe adapted from Epicurious

Makes 4-6 servings

4 cups cubed (1/2 inch) cooked chicken (about 1 3/4 pounds)

1 cup pecans, chopped

2 large or 3 small garlic cloves

1 small onion, minced

1 green pepper, diced small

2 cups red seedless grapes, sliced in 4 or 5 slices each

1/2 cup dried cranberries

3/4 cup mayonnaise

3 tbsp white wine vinegar

2 tsp dill week

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Throw all ingredients in a bowl and mix.

Special note:  Make sure you use a grip of steel when carrying to your car.  

A few other fave summertime recipes:

Zucchini Spaghetti with Spring Vegetables

Grilled Shrimp and Smashed Avocado

Strawberry Salad with Halloumi and Cucumber

Oh, Fiddleheads!

Fiddleheads, fiddleheads, roly poly fiddleheads...

In case you didn't know, fiddleheads are a type of fern the grows in the New England area (as well as other areas worldwide.  They are the unfurled fronds of a fern.

Don't eat them before cooking!  They will make your tummy hurt.

I prepared them for an appetizer yesterday, and upon presenting them to The Boyfriend he looked at me like I had lost my mind.  'Am I supposed to eat that?' he says.

Of course!  And they were so good!  

They are extra-special because they are only available once a year for a couple weeks ONLY.  And that's it, they're gone!

They have a 'grassy' taste and texture- think asparagus or artichoke.   They're delish with something fatty/salty- like prosciutto di parma!

I got a super-simple recipe from MSNBC oddly enough.

Fiddlehead Ferns with Brown Butter and Prosciutto

1 lb fiddle head ferns, washed and trimmed (cut off  a couple centimeters of the cut end)

12 paper thin slices of prosciutto

3 tbsp brown butter (recipe follows)

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

pinch salt

1. We are going to boil the fiddleheads. Add about 1 quart of water to large pot and bring to a boil.
2. Grab a large bowl and fill it halfway with ice water. Set aside. 
3. Place a colander in sink.
4. When water is boiling, add fiddleheads.  Cook one minute (do not overcook!).
5. Remove fiddleheads.  Pour in colander to drain.  Then pour the fiddleheads into the ice water, submerging completely.
6. While they are in ice water, brown butter. Add the 3 tbsp of butter to a saucepan over med heat.  
7. The butter is going to start to turn a brownish color.  Start to stir constantly.  We are looking for the butter to turn a brown color and have a nutty aroma.  Once the butter begins to froth at the edges, keep stirring for about one more minute, and remove from heat. The butter will keep cooking in the pan.
8. Grab the plates and arrange a slice of prosciutto on each one.
9. Add the fiddleheads to the pan with the butter, and toss gently.  Add pepper and salt.
10. Top the slices of prosciutto with the fiddleheads, and voila!  Spring's finest. Serve at once.

Grilled Shrimp and Smashed Avocado

A perfect quick snack or light lunch. You will need skewers for the grill.

You will need:

10 shrimp, raw, shelled and deveined
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 avocado
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1 1/2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 lemon
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Lightly oil grates of grill.  Preheat grill to med-high heat.

In a bowl, toss the shrimp with 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.  Thread shrimp on skewers.

Cut lemon into slices.

Add lemon and shrimp skewers to grill.  Grill about 2-3 minutes, flipping both shrimp and lemon once.  Cook until shrimp is opaque.

In the meantime, peel and core the avocado,  Place in a mixing bowl and lightly mash with a potato masher, leaving kind of chunky.  Add lime juice, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper to taste.

To serve, top the smashed avocado with the grilled shrimp.  Serve with grilled lemon.

Blogging is hard.

So I've had a blog site and been on Twitter for about 2 weeks now, and I've come to the realization that blogging is hard!  In this food-blog era, there are so many awesome blogs that have been existence for a while and have kinks worked out.  I can't even figure out how to get tabs at the top of my page to organize recipes, links, etc!  How the heck do you bloggers do that?!?

But I'm working on it.  It's taking a while to figure this all out, being new to blogs and blogging and having not much computer knowledge.  I don't know what I'm doing.  I just make up stuff as I go.  Cooking too.  Let it be noted that I am no chef, no expert in the culinary field.  I post recipes of things I made that are good (I don't post ones that didn't work out haha, but maybe I should.)  I throw in a little of this and a little of that, and voila!  My boyfriend likes these meals.  Though I take inspiration from other recipes or restaurant meals, these dishes are my own creation (unless otherwise noted).    I look forward to developing what exactly I am doing in the culinary field, where I am going with this, and I invite you to watch me keep making up stuff as I go!

So far, most of my dishes are healthy, using fresh, seasonal, and as much as possible organic ingredients.  I believe in real food, not canned, chemically injected, pesticide ridden, mass produced 'food'.  You'll find I often make gluten free dishes- I do not have celiac disease, but my step-dad does, and I think it's a healthier way of living anyway.  So I'll continue on, reforming my blog, tweeting away.  I'll start a facebook page shortly as well so stay tuned!

And here's my fresh side dish of the day!

Super Simple Heirloom Tomato Salad

This is so simple and easy I'm not sure I can call it a recipe.  Just something I threw together real quick. Fresh, sweet, and juicy heirloom tomatoes are really what does it here- don't even bother if you have any other kind of tomato on hand.

3 Heirloom tomatoes, in different colors and sized for distinction on plate
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar (plus little extra for drizzling)
Fresh parsley
Sea salt and pepper to taste

Mix balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and 1 tbsp fresh parsley together in bowl.

Slice tomatoes into 1/2 thick slices. Pour a little balsamic vinegar on plate.  Layer 1 slice of each tomato on a dish, layering smaller slices on top of larger slices.

Drizzle with olive oil mixture.

Enjoy!