Sweet Potatoes with a Kick

Whiskey-glazed Sweet Potatoes and Apples

When I saw whiskey and cayenne pepper on the ingredient list, I knew this would be a winner.  And true enough, everyone at the Thanksgiving dinner soiree liked it. Easy to make and not too time intensive, this is a nice change from the usual brown sugar slathered, over-baked yams that are so common this time of year. Credit for this one goes to Food Network’s Guy Fieri. To check out his official recipe, click here.

I upped some of the quantities and it still worked out fine. This version serves 8 – 10 hungry people.

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Ingredients:

6 medium to large sweet potatoes

4 – 5 crisp, tart apples (Fuji or something similar)

1 cup of pecans, shelled and crushed

4 Tablespoons of unsalted butter

1 cup agave nectar (look for it next to the honey in your market)

1/2 cup of whiskey (the better the quality, the better the dish. Don’t be cheap.)

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg

A good dash of salt

Directions:

First you need to bake the potatoes. After washing them thoroughly, place the potatoes on a baking sheet and bake in your pre-heated oven for 30 minutes. You do not want to cook them all the way through, but the spuds should be “almost” done after half an hour. If you cook them all the way, that’s okay. It is just easier to slice them if they still have some firmness. If all else fails, let them cool a bit more before moving on.

Once the potatoes are out of the oven, set aside to cool. DO NOT TURN OFF THE OVEN YET. Sorry, didn’t mean to yell. But don’t do it.

Sauce time next. In a medium sauce pan, toast the pecans over high heat for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring regularly. If you think they are starting to burn, remove from heat. Burned nuts smell like, well, burned nuts. And no one wants that.

To the pecans, add the butter, which should melt and sizzle very quickly. Then add the agave nectar, cinnamon, cayenne, nutmeg and salt. Stir and simmer over medium heat for 3 – 4 minutes, just enough to get those flavors popping.

Add the whiskey and stir some more, again over medium heat for about 5 minutes. The alcohol will cook off but the flavor will remain.

Remove from heat and set aside for a few minutes.

Peel and core the apples, then slice them into half inch wedge-like slices. The exact shape is up to you, be as artistic as you want, as long as the slices are not too thick. Try to stay at a half inch thickness or slightly less.

The potatoes should be cool enough for you to handle now. Peel off the ‘tater skin and discard. Cut the potatoes crosswise into half inch slices. I went ahead and cut those in half, creating little half moon shaped slices.

Putting it all together:

Find your 9×12 inch, glass baking dish. It’s the one that is always in the lowest cabinet, under the biggest collection of random baking dishes you have. Yes, that’s the one. Now, spray the baking dish with cooking spray to keep everything from sticking.

Place the potato and apple slices in the baking dish. Again, artistry is up to you. If you are in a hurry, just toss them in and mix. I tried to be fancy and alternated potato and apple, using three rows. Just get them in there somehow and you will be okay.

Give your pecan-whiskey sauce a stir, then drizzle all over the potatoes and apples.

Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. While you are waiting, you can make more sauce (minus the pecans) and drizzle on top once the dish has fully baked. It’s an option, not a requirement.

Now you are done!

As long as you have talked someone else into baking a turkey, you are all set for a feast.

Happy eating, Pilgrims!

 

 

Related articles

• Potluck Gold: Chipotle sweet potatoes (unsettlingdown.wordpress.com)
• Sweet Potatoes with Caramelized Apple Topping (hiphostessblog.com)
• A Savory Spin on Sweet Potatoes (thecocinamonologues.com)
• Pecan, Cranberry, Apple, & Goat Cheese Stuffed Sweet Potatoes (thiscountrygirlcooks.com)

A Fantastic Falafel “Burger” with Crazy Couscous!

Falafel with couscous

Now I will be the first one to admit, I am not a trained chef with a tall toque, but I am a guy that likes to venture beyond the drive-through when it comes to food. Of course, I have no degree from the CIA and my French is limited to “bon jour,” but I can read instructions and at times I follow them. And thanks to television (I know, really?) I have now learned about falafels with bean sauce and couscous. How did I accomplish this feat, you ask? Well, I must give credit to Melissa d’Arabian, a Food Network chef who has her own show on Sundays. Check it out if you can, it’s called Ten Dollar Dinners.

Last week Melissa showed a non-traditional way to make a falafel - by forming it into a patty and frying it up kind of like a chickpea-burger. She adding a pasta not used often in my part of the world, Isreali couscous, and flavored it with spices, diced tomatoes and some fresh herbs such as mint, parsley and cilantro.

To complement the falafel and couscous, diced tomatoes and thinly sliced cucumber sticks are added as sides. A creamy white bean yogurt sauce is drizzled over everything to tie it all together.

Now I am no Food Network Star, but if I can watch one episode and follow the recipes, you can to! Try it sometime. Pick your favorite TV chef (I have several) and try your hand at copying their show. You will impress your family and friends with your amazing technique and plates full of excellent food.

I did.  You can, too!!

P.S. To see these recipes, just click on the links above!

Buen Provecho,amigos!

 

Tex-Mex on the East Coast?

Sure enough, this displaced Texano and his familia had an awesome time last night team cooking a fabulous batch of chicken fajitas and Mexican rice. If you aren’t familiar with the name, it’s pronounced “fa-hee-tas” with the emphasis on the “hee,” but I digress…
We had four cooks, no injuries and enough food to feed everyone plus some.

The recipes came off the Internet, given to me by one of the sous chefs, so I can’t give credit where credit is due, but I’ll tell you up front, they aren’t mine…I only wish they were! These turned out great and I do believe that we will be using these again, many times!

Here we go:

Chicken Fajitas and Mexican Rice

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, pounded flat

Marinade
2 Tablespoons olive oil
3 Tablespoons lime juice
2 cloves garlic
1 jalapeno, seeded
salt and pepper to taste

Put the marinade ingredients into a blender and puree. Put the flattened chicken into a gallon-sized zip lock bag and add the marinade puree. Seal the bag up and let the chicken soak for 30 minutes or so (in a cooler or refrigerator – no need to take chances!)

Next…

3 potatoes, cut into small cubes
3 zucchini, also cut into small cubes
1 yellow squash, cut into small cubes (see a trend?)
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 Tablespoons cayenne pepper
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1 Tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Put the potatoes, zucchini and squash in a glass baking dish. Add oil and seasonings; mix well.
Bake in a 375 degree oven until potatoes are soft; should take about 30 minutes, maybe more.

Now for the arroz Mexicano:

2 Cups long grain white rice
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 white onion, chopped
1 cup of your favorite salsa (I use Mrs. Renfros, out of Fort Worth Texas)
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped

Soak the rice in a bowl of hot water for about 5 minutes. Drain, rinse and shake dry.

Heat the vegetable oil in a large, deep skillet over medium high heat. Add the rice and toast – stirring often to prevent too much sticking to the pan. Do this for about ten minutes; the rice should start to turn tan, slightly brown, but not too much!
Meanwhile, put the onion, salsa and garlic into a blender. Puree, then add to the rice mixture and cook until the liquid is absorbed.
Don’t ask questions – now add 3 cups of water, and the chopped jalapeno. Mix well, then cook over medium heat until the rice is tender. This will take about ten more minutes.
Remove from heat; cover.

Back to the fajitas…

1 large white onion, peeled and cut into slices
1 green bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
2 Tablespoons olive oil

In a different skillet, heat oil over medium heat.
Add sliced onions and bell peppers.
Cook until the onions start to turn translucent and the pepper soften.
Set aside on the stove top to keep warm.

In yet another skillet (use the vegetable skillet above, unless like me, you have vegetarians in the house) pan fry the chicken. Once done, cut into strips.

Finally…

8 inch, soft flour tortillas (three per person, at least)

Let’s use some technology here:

Using a microwave oven, steam the tortillas. Start by dampening two folded paper towels with water. Wrap the tortillas in a different paper towel and place on top of the damp ones. Put the whole stack in the microwave oven and cook on high for 30 to 45 seconds. Check to see if the tortillas are warm and steaming. If so, you are done. If not, cook for 20 seconds more. This should do it! If not, keep trying 20 seconds intervals until done.

Get the plates ready, because by now the potatoes should be done!

Grate some Colby Jack cheese and get some sour cream ready for optional toppings.

Serving:
Put a tortilla on the plate. Add a bit of potatoes, zucchini and squash, chicken (for those who partake) and some onions and peppers. Fold the tortilla over, top with cheese and sour cream if it suits you, and serve with a side of Mexican rice.

Recommended beverages:

Any fine red wine will do, as will tequila straight up (but we didn’t have any so Merlot it was)

Buen provecho, mis amigos!

Sometimes it pays to live with vegetarians

Today was a busy day.  Drove a lot, worked a lot, drove some more.  Got the oil changed in the buggy, probably because I drove so much. Now here it is, 13 hours later and the personal chef has yet to arrive.  What to do, what to do?

Well, it’s starting to get cooler outside.  Swine flu is running amok across the land. There is only one solution:

Amy’s Black Bean Soup “Plus.”

If you go to your local grocer, you will hopefully find Amy’s brand vegetarian foods.  Tasty, a little heat in some of them, and probably good for you; I have yet to find one I didn’t enjoy eating.  And this coming from a meat and potato guy.

When you find the black bean soup, you “could” just heat and eat. Or…you could make it “Plus.”  This is where I start having fun.

Try this…it’ll warm your insides.

1 can Amy’s black bean soup

1 tsp minced garlic (can this EVER be bad?)

Tostitos restaurant style chips

1/2 cup of shredded Colby Jack cheese

Salsa to taste (you can pick your own brand, but I have my opinions…)

Directions:

Heat the soup in a sauce pan.  Add the garlic.

Fill a big soup bowl with chips.  Cover with shredded cheese.

Pour the soup on top of the chips.  Top with more cheese if you want.

A good spoonful or two of salsa on top and you got yourself some tasty vittles.

Don’t wait, start chowing down before the chips get too soggy.  Once that happens, keep eating anyway!

Better than chicken soup, I tell you  =8>)=

Enjoy!