Sweet Potato Biscuits

I under utilize sweet potatoes in my cooking. I love them, but I always seem to make a candied sweet potato dish, so I decided to expand my sweet potato cooking. I have always wanted to make sweet potato biscuits, so I found an intriguing recipe from wonder time. I like the blend of spices in this recipe. I was a little worried that the biscuits would taste too much like pumpkin pie (don’t get me wrong I like pumpkin pie but I don’t want everything to taste like Thanksgiving.) Thankfully, the beautiful orange biscuits had just the right amount of spice. The biscuits seem ho-hum when you first bite into the biscuit then the nutmeg and cinnamon come through and finally you are left with the delicate flavor of sweet potato. The complex flavor of the biscuits really excites my palate. I loved this biscuit with a nice juicy steak. I highly recommend this biscuit if you are looking for something different.


Dr. Lazy Palate was a little put off by the orange color of the biscuit at first. He is not a fan of sweet potatoes or cinnamon, so I knew this dish might not be a good fit for him. However, I was pleasantly surprised when Dr. Lazy Palate declared that the biscuits were, “all right.” He said he could tolerate them at a dinner party. This recipe was not a complete success, but it was a wonderful baby step.

Speaking of babies, Little BBQ did love the biscuits. Little BBQ is our 3 year old little boy who will try almost anything. I even caught Little BBQ trying to sneak some of these biscuits into his room, so you are looking for another kid friendly way to prepare sweet potatoes, then I highly recommend this dish.

 
Recipe by Ann Hodgman
 
Ingredients (makes 16 biscuits)
2 to 3 medium sweet potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

Directions

Heat oven to 400. Scrub sweet potatoes, prick them in several places with a fork, and microwave them until tender, at least 10 minutes. Carefully slice them in half, scoop the hot flesh from the skins, and add to a mixing bowl along with the butter. Using an electric mixer, whip together potatoes and butter until well combined, about 2 minutes. Beat in sugars, salt, and spices. Let the mixture cool for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile stir together flour and baking powder in a medium bowl with a fork. Add flour mixture to potato mixture and use the fork to combine well. You may have to knead the dough by hand a bit at the end. On a floured surface, roll out or pat the dough into an 8-by-8-inch square about 3/4 inch thick. With a sharp knife or square biscuit cutter dipped in flour, cut out 2-inch square biscuits. (Making them square means you can use all the dough in one go, rather than rerolling it.)

Place the dough squares 2 inches apart on a baking sheet that has been greased or lined with parchment. Bake until they're golden brown on the bottom and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Avocado Soup

I do not have television, but when I am travelling, I like to watch Emeril Lagasse. I call him the, “Bam Man.” I love the way he takes his dishes and adds a bit of bam and kicks it up a notch. He is a great entertainer. However, I have never tried any of his recipes, so when I saw some avocados at the store, I decided to give the Bam Man a try with his avocado soup recipe. I liked this recipe because there is no cream in the soup. I am currently breastfeeding my daughter who cannot tolerate me eating any dairy, so this recipe was a great fit for my current situation.


Dr. Lazy Palate was skeptical. He does not like avocados. He is not a fan of cold soup. All around this dish sounded like it was going to be a giant failure for him, but in the end he proclaimed, “The soup is tolerable.” As he explained he could go to a party and politely take a few bites of the soup. I was hoping that he would like it more than just 3 stars, but I am happy that he at least tried the soup and said that he could tolerate it.

I on the other hand liked the soup. I think next time I make it I would use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth because I thought the chicken competed a little too much with the avocado flavor. Additionally, the salsa on top made the dish for me. I love the chickpeas with the avocado. The bell pepper worked well and added an extra dimension. Sour cream on top would be wonderful, but like I mentioned before I cannot have dairy. If you make this soup, don’t skimp; make the salsa on top as well as the soup. The recipe is modified from Food Network.

Ingredients for the soup (serves 2)


1 large ripe avocado
2 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon chopped fresh cilantro
2 teaspoons sherry
Salt and pepper

For the Salsa:
1/4 cup cooked corn kernels
2 tablespoons cooked black beans or chickpeas
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon finely diced red bell pepper
1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 lime, juiced
Fresh cilantro, chopped
Salt and pepper

Directions

Peel and mash the avocado. Place the avocado, chicken or vegetable stock, lime juice, cilantro, and sherry into a food processor. Puree until smooth, season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate for 1 hour. For the salsa. In a bowl combine the corn, beans, peppers, garlic, olive oil, and lime juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve the soup in chilled cups topped with the salsa and fresh cilantro.


Posted on Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Market Yourself Monday, Mexican Dishes

Sauerkraut and Ribs

My definition of comfort food is not your typical American fare. I don’t get overly excited about pot roast or tuna and noodles. These foods just don’t entice me or comfort me like rouladens or sauerkraut and ribs. Before you squish your face into that I just ate a rotten sunflower seed look, understand that sauerkraut does not have to be an overwhelming flavor that only Germans can love. Instead sauerkraut can be enticed with the help of an apple to bring out the juicy succulent side of pork ribs. When sauerkraut and ribs is done right, the meat will fall off the bone and the sauerkraut will add the perfect flavoring to the dish.


The first time my mother made sauerkraut and ribs for Dr. Lazy Palate, Dr. Lazy Palate swore that he would rather go hungry that eat sauerkraut and ribs. Fast forward a few years later, Dr. Lazy Palate actually requested that I make sauerkraut and ribs. He actually enjoys the wonderful flavor of the sauerkraut! For me, this has been one of my biggest successes in reforming his lazy palate.

I make my sauerkraut and ribs in a 4 quart slower cooker. The recipe is super simple and the time is flexible. The longer the meat cooks, the easier the meat will be to fall off the bone.

Ingredients (serves 4)

1 rack of pork ribs cut into 4 even sections

1 32 oz jar of sauerkraut

1 apple, cored and coarsely chopped

1 tbsp caraway seeds (optional)

Directions

1. Add all the ingredients to a slow cooker and cook on high for 12-20 hours.

Simple Fish Tacos

I love these simple fish tacos modified from a Martha Stewart recipe. The recipe is light and easy to make. The combination of lime and cilantro adds a wonderful burst of flavor to tilapia, a wonderful budget friendly fish. I usually make this recipe when I need a fast and healthy meal on a week night. I usually start with frozen tilapia. The total prep time for this dish is 20 minutes for frozen tilapia or 10 minutes for fresh tilapia.


Dr. Lazy Palate likes the flavor of the fish. Generally, Dr. Lazy Palate does not like tilapia because he feels that it tastes “cheap,” but he likes the lime and cilantro combination of this dish. Another win for a clashed palate household!

Ingredients (makes 4 tacos)

4 tilapia fillets
1 bunch fresh cilantro, roots and stems removed
Juice from 1 lime
1 tbsp of olive oil
4 corn tortillas

Directions
1. Heat broiler, with rack set 4 inches from heat. Place tilapia on a rimmed baking sheet. Brush the tilapia with olive oil on top. Pour the lime juice over the tilapia. Place the cilantro leaves on top of the fish.

2. Place the fish in the oven for 4-5 minutes for fresh tilapia or 12-15 minutes for frozen tilapia.

3. Meanwhile, wrap the corn tortillas in damp paper towels and heat on high for 30 seconds or until warm.

4. Break up the fish into chunks and place inside the tacos.

The Colors of Spring

This post has been moved to Nirvana Homeschooling. Please visit this new blog for all our homeschooling activities.

April's Daring Cook Challenge: Brunswick Stew

I have decided to join Daring Cooks to expand my cooking horizon. Each month a group of daring cooks all take on the same challenge to make the same dish. These dishes are supposed to be outside of your run of the mill recipes that you can find in almost any kitchen. They are meant to expand your cooking skills and your palate. For April, the challenge was Brunswick Stew. Here is what the challenge leader, Wolf of Wolf’s Den, had to say about Brunswick Stew:


“Brunswick Stew has a long, and oft debated history. Brunswick, Georgia claimed that the first Brunswick Stew was created there in 1898. There is, at the Golden Isles Welcome Center on Interstate 95, a bronzed stew pot with a plaque proclaiming this fact.

However, Brunswick, Virginia claims that the first Brunswick Stew was created there by a camp cook named Jimmy Matthews in 1828, for a hunting expedition led by Dr. Creed Haskings, a member of the Virginia State Legislature for a number of years. He was said to have used squirrel in the original Brunswick Stew created for the group when they returned. The hunters were at first skeptical of the thick, hearty concoction, but upon tasting it, were convinced and asked for more.

Every year, there is an Annual Brunswick Stew Cookoff that pits ‘Stewmasters’ from both Virgina and Georgia against their counterparts, and takes place every October in Georgia.

In the early 20th Cent, the rivalry of the two Brunswicks helped make this dish as popular as it is today, and it quickly became a pan-Southern classic. Some recipe call for the original addition of squirrel, but most allow for chicken, turkey, ham, or pork, even beef on occasion. Rabbit is also used. The vegetables can vary widely from variation to variation, however, the Brunswick Stewmasters recipe says *exactly* what is used in competion stews, and states that “Adding any additional ingredient(s) will disqualify the stew from being an original Brunswick Stew.”

However, most agree that, Brunswick stew is not done properly ‘until the paddle stands up in the middle.’”

The recipe I chose for my Brunswick Stew is from The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook: Stories and Recipes for Southerners and Would-Be Southerners by Matt Lee and Ted Lee. I did not have any rabbit so I modified the meat to use chicken and pork shoulder. Also, I did not have any butter beans so I used black beans instead. I found the stew to be all right. I do not care for Southern cooking a lot. The heat level of the pepper was nice, but I found the stew to be too heavy on the onions. The beans did not really add anything to the stew. Instead, I felt the beans took away from the stew. As predicted, Dr. Lazy Palate hated the recipe. He did not care for the pepper, the onions, the beans, or the pork. I call this recipe a failure for both of our palates.

Posted below is the modified recipe using chicken, pork, and black beans.

Ingredients

1/4 lb slab bacon, rough diced

2 Serrano, Thai or other dried red chiles, stems trimmed, sliced, seeded, flattened

1lb chicken breast, shredded

1 4-5lb pork shoulder, cubed , and most of the fat removed

1 Tablespoon sea salt for seasoning, plus extra to taste

2-3 quarts Chicken Broth

2 Bay leaves

2 large celery stalks

2lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, or other waxy type potatoes, peeled, rough diced

1 ½ cups carrots (about 5 small carrots), chopped

3 ½ cups onion (about 4 medium onions) chopped

2 cups fresh corn kernels, cut from the cob (about 4 ears)

3 cups black beans

4 cups whole, peeled tomatoes, drained

¼ cup red wine vinegar

Juice of 2 lemons

Tabasco sauce to taste

Directions

1-In the largest stockpot you have, which is hopefully larger than the 5 qt ones I have, preferably a 10-12 qt or even a Dutch Oven if you’re lucky enough to have one, fry the bacon over medium-high heat until it just starts to crisp. Transfer to a large bowl, and set aside. Reserve most of the bacon fat in your pan, and with the pan on the burner, add in the chiles. Toast the chiles until they just start to smell good, or make your nose tingle, about a minute tops. Remove to bowl with the bacon.

2- Season liberally both sides of the pork and chicken pieces with sea salt and pepper. Place the pork pieces in the pot and sear off all sides possible. You just want to brown them, not cook them completely. Remove to bowl with bacon and chiles, add more bacon fat if needed, or olive oil, or other oil of your choice, then add in chicken pieces, again, browning all sides nicely. Remember not to crowd your pieces, especially if you have a narrow bottomed pot. Put the chicken in the bowl with the bacon, chiles and rabbit. Set it aside.

3- Add 2 cups of your chicken broth or stock, if you prefer, to the pan and basically deglaze the4 pan, making sure to get all the goodness cooked onto the bottom. The stock will become a nice rich dark color and start smelling good. Bring it up to a boil and let it boil away until reduced by at least half. Add your remaining stock, the bay leaves, celery, potatoes, chicken, pork, bacon, chiles and any liquid that may have gathered at the bottom of the bowl they were resting in. Bring the pot back up to a low boil/high simmer, over medium/high heat. Reduce heat to low and cover, remember to stir every 15 minutes, give or take, to thoroughly meld the flavors. Simmer, on low, for approximately 1 ½ hours. Supposedly, the stock may become a yellow tinge with pieces of chicken or pork floating up, the celery will be very limp, as will the chiles. Taste the stock, according to the recipe, it “should taste like the best chicken soup you’ve ever had”.

4- With a pair of tongs, remove the chicken and pork pieces to a colander over the bowl you used earlier. Be careful, as by this time, the meats will be very tender and may start falling apart. Remove the bay leaf, celery, chiles, bacon and discard.5 After you’ve allowed the meat to cool enough to handle, carefully remove all the meat from the bones, shredding it as you go. Return the meat to the pot, throwing away the bones. Add in your carrots, and stir gently, allowing it to come back to a slow simmer. Simmer gently, uncovered, for at least 25 minutes, or until the carrots have started to soften.

5- Add in your onion, butterbeans, corn and tomatoes. Simmer for another 30 minutes, stirring every so often until the stew has reduced slightly, and onions, corn and black beans are tender. Remove from heat and add in vinegar, lemon juice, stir to blend in well. Season to taste with sea salt, pepper, and Tabasco sauce if desired.

6 You can either serve immediately or refrigerate for 24 hours, which makes the flavors meld more and makes the overall stew even better. Serve hot, either on its own, or with a side of corn bread, over steamed white rice, with any braised greens as a side.

Links:

Taste of Brunswick Festival in Brunswick County, VA

Brunswick Stew Cook Off in Brunswick, GA

Brunswick Stew Cook Off in Brunswick County, NC
History of Brunswick Stew

Brunswick Stewmaster's Association

New Georgia Encyclopedia on Brunswick Stew

Georgia's version of Brunswick Stew

Strawberry Soup

If a warm spring day had a flavor, then it would be the flavor of this strawberry soup. The soup reminds me of a strawberry daiquiri. This wonderful soup makes a great starter for a light spring lunch or dinner. The color is wonderful and refreshing. The soup gets its distinct flavor from fennel and a small glass of sweet wine. You will want to use decent glass of wine for this soup. I would save your table wine for another recipe.


Dr. Lazy Palate found the soup to be very pleasing to the eye and surprisingly refreshing. He thought the flavor of the fennel was a little strong, so if you don’t like a strong fennel flavor, then you can decrease the amount of fennel in the soup or increase the amount of strawberries in the soup.

The soup is adapted from a recipe from Chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall of the show River Cottage on UK’s Channel 4. I changed some of the amounts of the ingredients, made a few minor substitutes and left off the yogurt for serving.

Ingredients (serves 2)

1 tsp unsalted butter
½ fennel bulb, trimmed and cut into small cubes, fronds reserved
1/3 cup sweet white wine or rose wine
2 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp water
2 cups strawberries, hulled and chopped
Juice from a half a lemon

Directions

1. Heat the butter in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the fennel and let it sweat gently, without colouring, until soft.

2. Add the wine, sugar and 2 tsp water and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Add the strawberries and cook for a further 2-3 minutes. Add the lemon juice and puree the lot in a blender.

3. Serve the soup hot or chilled, topped with a few snipped fennel fronds.


Posted on Tuesday Night Supper Club.Your recipe my kitchen, Promote Yourself, Delicous Links, Mangia Monday, Melt in your mouth Monday, Just another meatless Monday, Meatless Monday, Recipe Round Up, Ingredeint Spotlight, Life as Mom

One of My Favorite Recipes Ever: Rouladens!

Rouladens is one of my all time favorite meals! I think this has to be the best German invention ever. At first the combination of pickle, onion, mustard, beef, and bacon sounds weird, but it is actually perfect. The flavors all come together nicely and when you add the gravy on top you get a wonderful flavorful little roll of perfection.


Dr. Lazy Palate does not care for this recipe because he hates pickles and onions. However, he will eat the beef and bacon, so he gives this recipe three stars. Our palates definitely differ when it comes to this recipe. I taste perfection while he tastes repulsion. Dr. Lazy Palate finds the flavors to be too pungent. To each is their own.

My mother taught me this recipe, but I modified the gravy a bit to make it more flavorful. Additionally, I also wrap the bacon around the beef instead of inside the beef to make it easier to roll.

Ingredients

1 pound of flank steak
German stone ground mustard, to taste
¼ yellow or white onion cut into strips
1 large dill pickle, cut into strips
½ pound bacon
toothpicks
1 tbsp butter
6 cups beef broth
¼ yellow or white onion diced
¼ tsp garlic
3-6 tsp cornstarch

Directions

1. Pound the flank steak with a mallet to make the steak thinner and longer. Cut the steak into long strips 3-6 inches long and 1/8-1/4 inch thick (the dimensions of the steak will depend upon the original dimensions of your steak).

2. Spread the mustard on one side of each piece of steak to taste. Place the onions that were cut into strips and pickle on the filet and roll the steak. Wrap the bacon around each beef roll. I usually use one strip of bacon per beef roll. Use toothpicks to hold the rouladens together.

3. In a skillet on medium high heat the butter and brown all sides of each of the rouladens.

4. Put six cups of beef broth in a slow cooker (Crockpot) and turn on high. Add the diced onion and garlic to the beef broth and stir. Add the rouladens to the beef broth and let them cook in the slow cooker for 1.5-2 hours.

5. After the 1.5-2 hours has elapsed, take 2 cups of the beef broth and move it to a pot on the stove and turn on the stove to medium high. Slowly add cornstarch to the broth while whisking. Continue to add more cornstarch and whisk until the gravy is of the desired thickness.

6. Serve the rouladens warm with gravy on top.



Posted on Mouthwatering Monday, Family Favorites, Gooseberry patch: turn off the oven, Gooseberry Patch: Passed down recipes

Chicken Broth Challah

I saw this delicious recipe by Campbell's soup on allrecipes. I was allured by the thought of soft moist chicken flavored bread to pair with my rosemary chicken. Luckily I had a batch of homemade chicken broth in the refrigerator so I could easily whip up this recipe. The original recipe calls for condensed chicken broth and water, but I just used regular homemade chicken broth. It turned out wonderful. Dr. Lazy Palate enjoyed it as well. He thought the flavor was excellent. Without further ado, here is the recipe modified from allrecipes.

Ingredients (makes 2 loafs)


2.5 cups chicken broth
2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
4 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
9 cups all-purpose flour

Directions


1.Heat the broth in a 1-quart saucepan over low heat until warm but not hot. Place the yeast into a large bowl. Add the broth mixture and stir until the yeast is dissolved.

2.Add 3 eggs, oil, salt and sugar to the bowl and beat with a fork or whisk. Stir in the flour. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead until the dough is smooth.

3.Lightly grease a large bowl with butter or oil. Add the dough and turn to coat. Cover and let rise in a warm place for about 1 1/2 hours or until the dough has doubled in size.

4.Beat the remaining egg in a small bowl with a fork or whisk.

5.Punch down the dough. Divide the dough into 6 pieces. Roll each into a 12-inch rope. Place 3 ropes side-by-side on a greased baking sheet. Begin to braid in the middle of the ropes and braid to one end. Turn the baking sheet around and braid from the middle to the other end. Repeat with the remaining ropes. Brush the loaves with the egg. Cover and let rise in a warm place for1 hour or until the loaves are doubled in size.

6.Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 30 minutes or until the loaves are golden brown. Remove the loaves from the baking sheets and let cool on wire racks for 10 minutes.