Alton Brown's Sweet Potato Pie

Joey really likes Alton Brown's show and DVRs it at his dad's house for future watching. Recently, he saw a video of Alton making sweet potato pie which he describes as a better pumpkin pie--it tastes similar but is so much fresher since it doesn't use the canned stuff. The best part is that fresh sweet potatoes are a whole lot easier to work with than fresh pumpkin because all you do is peel, slice and dice. With pumpkins you have to scoop out the guts and deal with the thick peel.

I agree that this pie was super easy. The only problem was that it wasn't a huge hit at Thanksgiving because everyone went for their favorite classics as fast as possible. I think though if we hadn't brought a pumpkin pie as well, and we removed the toasted pecans from the top, people would've eaten the Sweet Potato and not really noticed a huge difference. I think that this was one of the prettiest pies we brought to Thanksgiving, of the five.

I learned that at Thanksgiving, sweet potatoes are suddenly synonymous with yams even though they aren't really the same thing. The first time I bought yams with a yellowish flesh. The second time (after one got moldy from improper storing techniques)I purchased red yams which were on special and they were really more sweet potato-esque with orange flesh. I'm kind of glad the first set went moldy cause otherwise the color would have been way off.

Ingredients

* 1 pound 3 ounces sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
* 1 1/4 cups plain yogurt
* 3/4 cup packed, dark brown sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
* 5 egg yolks
* Salt
* 1 (9-inch) deep dish, frozen pie shell
* 1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
* 1 tablespoon maple syrup
* Special equipment: steamer basket

Directions

Put cubed potatoes into steamer basket and place steamer basket into a large pot of simmering water that is no closer than 2 inches from the bottom of basket. Allow to steam for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender. Mash with potato masher and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place sweet potatoes in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat with the paddle attachment. Add yogurt, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, yolks, and salt, to taste, and beat until well combined. Pour this batter into the pie shell and place onto a sheet pan. Sprinkle pecans on top and drizzle with maple syrup.

Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until the custard reaches 165 to 180 degrees. Remove from oven and cool. Keep refrigerated after cooling.

Alton Brown's Super Apple Pie

Joey and I watched a video of Alton Brown's take on apple pie and were hooked on trying it out. Of course, it requires all sorts of things we didn't have so it was quite the shopping list to get it all taken care of. The result? An apple pie that tastes like apples--not the traditional spices--with a hint of rye bread. Perhaps if we had reacted earlier to the grocery list, we would've gotten the Grains of Paradise and then not had that hint of rye bread involved. We made two apple pies Alton style, one following the recipe and one with traditional spices. Both were eaten and well liked. Different strokes for different folks I guess. The liquids in the pie made it more of a sticky pie like peach pie than your typical apple.

We got a lot of use out of our kitchen scale for this recipe. We also bought the 2 inch deep tart pans so that the sides could come off for easy slicing and serving. Those worked really well, but if you want to stick with the fall-apart slice from a traditional pie tin that's your prerogative. Alton used a 12-slice apple cutter, but you could just cut your apple slices in half. We got a 16 slicer from William-Sonoma and it wasn't as great as we hoped it would be.

We didn't have a pie bird. For one pie we just cut the slits in the top. For the other, Joey constructed a pie bird (or funnel) out of tin foil. It was quiet the topic of conversation but it let the steam escape so that we didn't have to slice the top. The glaze on the top is from the apples but I don't think it looks that pretty--although it did taste good.

The addition of crisco and brandy in the pie crust made it so easy to work with when I rolled it out! I couldn't believe how easy it was. Usually any kind of dough fights me for the last word and wins. The crust didn't really even taste like the brandy at all.

Alton Brown's Super Apple Pie
For the crust:

* 6 ounces unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
* 2 ounces vegetable shortening, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
* 5 to 7 tablespoons applejack
* 12 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 2 3/4 cups, plus extra for dusting
* 1 teaspoon table salt
* 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
* This must sit in the fridge at least 1 hour or overnight

For the filling:

* 3 to 3 1/2 pounds apples, mixture of Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Braeburn and Golden Delicious, about 6 large apples
* 1/2 cup sugar, divided
* 3 tablespoons tapioca flour
* 2 tablespoons apple jelly
* 1 tablespoon apple cider
* 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice
* 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground grains of paradise

Directions

For the crust:

Place the butter, shortening and applejack into the refrigerator for 1 hour.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, salt and sugar by pulsing 3 to 4 times. Add the butter and pulse 5 to 6 times until the texture looks mealy. Add the shortening and pulse another 3 to 4 times until incorporated.

Remove the lid of the food processor and sprinkle in 5 tablespoons of the applejack. Replace the lid and pulse 5 times. Add more applejack as needed, and pulse again until the mixture holds together when squeezed. Weigh the dough and divide in half. Shape each half into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to overnight.
For the filling:

Peel and core the apples. Slice into 1/2-inch thick wedges. Toss all of the apples with 1/4 cup of the sugar, place in a colander set over a large bowl and allow to drain for 1 1/2 hours.

Transfer the drained liquid to a small saucepan, place over medium heat and reduce to 2 tablespoons. Set aside to cool. Toss the apples with the remaining sugar, tapioca flour, jelly, cider, lime juice, salt and grains of paradise.

For assembling and baking the pie:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Remove one disk of dough from the refrigerator. Place the dough onto a lightly floured piece of waxed paper. Lightly sprinkle the top of the dough with flour and roll out into a 12-inch circle. Place into a 9 1/2 to 10-inch tart pan that is 2-inches deep. Gently press the dough into the sides of the pan, crimping and trimming the edges as necessary. Set a pie bird in the center of the bottom of the pan.

Place the apples into the unbaked pie shell in concentric circles starting around the edges, working towards the center and forming a slight mound in the center of the pie. Pour over any liquid that remains in the bowl. Roll out the second pie dough as the first. Place this dough over the apples, pressing the pie bird through the top crust. Press together the edges of the dough around the rim of the pie. Brush the top crust with the reduced juice everywhere except around the edge of pie. Trim any excess dough. Place the pie on a half sheet pan lined with parchment paper and bake on the floor of the oven for 30 minutes. Transfer to the lower rack of the oven and continue to bake another 20 minutes or until the apples are cooked through but not mushy. Remove to a rack and cool a minimum of 4 hours or until almost room temperature.

Roast Beef and Vegetables

I recently was browsing my Betty Crocker cookbooks for something that I could make in a short period of time but make it look like I spent all day. I came across the recipe for Roast Beef. Betty Crocker says to look at the meat chart and roast your meat until it reaches the temperature on the chart in a 400 degree oven. The recipe is literally 2 steps long and has no further information except that it is "fast" and "low fat." I had also recalled reading a recipe for Roast Beef in one of my magazines possibly last year for roast beef and learning that it only takes an hour. I couldn't believe it so I put it out of mind.

Joey did the grocery shopping this week and suggested we do one of those one-bag weeks that they feature in Food Everyday. one of Martha Stewart's magazine. The idea is that you buy only a couple of ingredients and rely on staples and then make something one day and use the leftovers to make something different another day. Joey thought it would fun for us to make roast beef and then French Dip Sandwiches later. I thought that sounded like a great idea!

My favorite place to look for recipes is Martha Stewart's website. It turns out, all her recipes aren't crazy-hard, but are actually made for the home cook. This dish was so quick and easy! I got home from work around 5:30pm. The most time consuming part was peeling all the shallots, but if you wanted you could do those in advance. Then I cut up some carrots and potatoes and threw it all in the oven. It really did take about 15 minutes to prep and about 50 minutes to cook. That may sound long to you, except if you think about what you might have done instead of cooking--in the long run you would probably save time and money. If instead, Joey and I decided to go out for dinner. The whole affair, if we went to a sit down restaurant would probably take more than an hour and be much more expensive.

Roast Beef with Vegetables
1 1/2 pounds eye-of-round beef roast, tied (mine came tied)
1 1/2 pounds small red new potatoes halved or 3-4 medium sized yellow potatoes quartered
5 carrots, cut into chunks about the same size as the potatoes
1 lb shallots, peeled and halved
2 T olive oil
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
1. Cut potatoes, shallots and carrots. Place them on a jellyroll pan with edges and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper.
2. Move vegetables to the short edges of pan and place the roast in the middle. Rub the roast in the oil on the pan. Salt and Pepper generously.
3. Place the pan in the middle of the oven and roast for 40-50 minutes until a thermometer entered in the thickest part of the meat registers 130 for medium rare. (mine took about 50 minutes and then ended up being 135 which was actually still pretty rare).
4. Slice and serve with vegetables

Instant Mashed Potatoes (and rutabaga)

This evening while driving home with the crisp fall breeze that is rarely a candidate of LA weather, I started to crave chicken thighs. There were two recipes I had in mind--Braised Chicken and Prunes (recipe under Chicken tag) or Baked Chicken with Rosemary. I went to the store still not knowing which it would be.

The grocery store was packed. I chose my chicken thighs and tried to recall if the braised recipe had anything else in it that I didn't have. I have recently been working on keeping a stocked pantry. I was pretty sure the recipe called for wine (if you don't drink wine, those little picnic bottles are perfect for cooking..they come in the size most recipes call for so you're not left with an open bottle), dried plums, and chicken...but I was sure something else was hiding from me. I also recalled that the braised chicken was best over mashed potatoes. I browsed the pre-made section and saw that in order for me to get potatoes pre-made I'd have to buy enough for four. Dinner was possibly just for me. Finally I recalled that I had a potato, milk and butter at home...so I reasoned I could just make them myself.

Mashed potatoes are easy! I don't know what all the fuss is about! I will share with you the recipe I made up so that you too can make just a little instead of family-size. I added rutabaga to my potatoes for the satisfying bitterness that I love, but you could omit that

Ingredients:
1 - 2 baking potatoes, peeled and cut into small even chunks
1 small rutabaga, peeled and cut into small even chunks (optional)
1 1/2 T butter +
2/3 C milk or cream, any variety
Lots of salt

1. Boil water in a pot big enough to fit all the potatoes
2. Add potato chunks to pot and boil until fork-tender (about 20 minutes)
3. Drain potatoes and return to pan
4. Add butter and milk and mash with a potato masher or hand mixer until the texture you prefer. Salt to taste (I used a lot of salt but it all came from the salt shaker so, no measurement) and serve warm.

Pan-Roasted Pork Loin and Leeks

On Sunday we decided to have Gavin over for dinner and games. In the fridge I have a big pot of swoop er soup, but I had the time to make something different and equally as good. So, I pulled out my big recipe binder and started flipping through the pages. It finally landed on a recipe for Pan Roasted Pork and Leeks from the September 2007 issue of Cooking Light. I saw that, like most recipes in that binder, I had never tried it. I scanned the details to find that the recipe was unbelievably simple and required barely any ingredients. I expected the final product to be tasteless. As it turned out however, it was divine. The pork was moist and delicious and the leeks, after simmering for hours, turned sweet with a texture of cooked cabbage but a taste of something more like apples.

The recipe says this is worthy of a special occasion...and it could be, but it is simple enough for a nice weekend meal, especially if you're going to be home anyway tending to other things.

Pan-Roasted Pork Loin and Leeks
Ingredients:

• 4 large leeks (about 2 1/4 pounds)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tablespoon butter, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided
• 1 (2-pound) boneless pork loin, trimmed
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• *Large Pot big enough to fit the pork, or cut the pork into chunks so that it fits in the pot
  

Directions:
1. Prepare leeks according to this video, slicing the light green and some white parts into 1/2 inch thick.
2. Fish leeks out of bowl of cold water with your hands and add with, 1/2 cup water, 1 t butter (it appears that 1 TBSP butter is equal to 2 1/2 t), 1/4t salt, 1/4 pepper to a large pot.* Saute for 10 minutes over medium-high heat.
3. Pour leek mixture into a bowl and set aside.
4. In the same pot, heat the remaining 2 t butter. Add pork and brown on all sides, about 5 minutes of cooking.
5. Add remaining salt and pepper and wine. Cook for 15 seconds scrapping brown bits from the bottom of the pan
6. Return leek mixture to pan, cover, and reduce heat. Simmer for 2 hours.
7. Slice pork in thin slices and serve with leek mixture.

I don't have a picture, but Cooking Light does.

Tex-Mex Stuffed Acorn Squash

Greetings!

I pulled this recipe from Prevention Magazine's Flatten your belly with food... (Intriguing, I know..)

It needs a little something, something. I'm not sure if it's just because I had eaten something spicy right before hand or not. Perhaps I just needed some salt on it.

Here it is:
(4 servings)

2 Acorn Squash
2 tsp Olive Oil
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 cup canned black beans, rinsed, drained
1/2 cup pine nuts (Fareway doesn't sell these, so I subbed sunflower seeds)
1 large tomato, coarsely chopped
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 tsp ground cumin
2 oz Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Coat rimmed baking sheet with olive oil spray.

Brush cut sides and cavity of squash with oil. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper. Place cut-side down on prepared baking sheet. Bake 30 to 40 minutes until tender (don't pierce with fork). Turn cut-side up

Mix beans, pine nuts, tomato, scallions, cumin, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper in medium bowl. Spoon heaping 1/2 cup of bean mixture into each squash half, pressing down gently to get all filling in. Sprinkle evenly with cheese.

Bake 10 to 15 minutes, until cheese is melted and golden brown

let cool and then eat :)
I did take a photo of it, but my phone and computer aren't cooperating with the blue tooth connections. My apologies

Pasta and Bean Soup

Bacon is one of my favorite foods, it adds a delicious flavor to beans and stews, it adds that salty crunch with sweet pancakes and it even adds quite a distinct texture to cookies (its true, I made bacon chocolate chip cookies last Christmas) but that's neither here nor there.  The problem I have with bacon is the size of the package it comes in.  Most recipes called for 4-6 strips of bacon leaving a sizable amount of unused bacon.  I have to admit, freezing stuff isn't currently an option in my house.  I freeze a couple of slices of bacon or an extra piece of chicken and then forget about it until it is unrecognizingly covered in ice crystals.

So my only alternative with leftover bacon is to use it in a number of recipes that are different enough from each other to not taste like we're eating bacon all week.  In my search for a second use of bacon (since the potato chowder), I found a recipe for Pasta e Fagioli.  This soup promised to taste "very similar to Olive Garden's soup."  Joey assures me that this is not true.  This soup was really tasty--but in Joey's words "Olive Garden's soup has two colors of beans which change the taste and it's beefier."  Indeed--every soup that has beef as one of the ingredients is beefier than this one ;). 

This soup was posted by someone else..who you ask? I don't have that in front of me...oops.  It is really easy to make and tastes great.  This recipe makes a LOT of soup, so you may either want to cut the recipe in half or do that thing people call "freezing" for a rainy day.

Pasta and Bean Soup

Ingredients:
6 slices bacon, diced *I recently discovered that a serrated bread knife is a great tool for cutting up bacon*
1 small onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
2 14oz cans cannellini beans, drained *or 1 can red kidney beans and 1 can cannellini beans
1 10oz package frozen spinach, thawed for 2-3 minutes so it's not in a huge brick
6 C chicken broth
3 C water
1 8oz can tomato sauce
3 t Italian seasoning
1 scant t cilantro
1 t salt
1 t pepper
1 t oregano
8oz small pasta of your choice, uncooked *I used this new mini rotini that was on sale

Directions
1. Heat a very large heavy pot over medium heat.  Add bacon and fry until just crisp.  Add onion and sauté until soft (about 8 minutes).  Add garlic and sauté an additional 2 minutes.
2. Add all other ingredients except pasta to the pot.  Simmer for 30-40 minutes stirring occasionally. 
3.  After simmering, bring soup to a boil.  Add pasta and cook until al dente as shown on the pasta directions.  Serve with bread.