Pattycake, Pattycake...

I think if there's one thing I've established beyond the shadow of the doubt around here, it's that I've developed a full-fledged obsession with sweet potatoes. It's crazy to me, considering I didn't even eat them two years ago, but now I find myself bookmarking virtually every sweet potato recipe that crosses my path. 

Because Justin has expressed a desire to eat more meatless and vegetarian meals lately, I've found myself taking a second look at my stockpile of sweet potato recipes in search of inspiration. After all, sweet potatoes are full of nutrients, and unlike most vegetables, I actually enjoy eating them. This week, I thought I would try adding some meatless or meat-lite dishes to our weekly meal plan, just to test the waters a bit, and my first selection was, unsurprisingly, a recipe that promised to fuse two things I enjoy: sweet potato and crispy cakes, not unlike the semolina-quinoa cakes we had last month. In fact, this recipe was quite similar to that one, only it substituted mashed sweet potato for the semolina; quinoa was still there to add chewy texture and protein.

Without the need to make the semolina, allow it to thicken, and refrigerate it long enough to cut it into cakes, this recipe was much faster, making it more appropriate for a weeknight meal (something to keep in mind when I find myself employed once more and no longer having the luxury of cooking all day.) It would probably also be good, if not quite the same, with leftover mashed sweet potatoes. 

I really liked the texture of the quinoa, and the savory-sweet contrast of the sweet potato with the onion, herbs, and cheese. My only problem was that the recipe was designed to be a side dish for a larger meal, and we were making the patties as an entree with a bit of salad on the side. As a result, there wasn't enough food to be satisfying, so I resolved to double the recipe in the future. And I'll definitely be making these again, not just to meet Justin's request for less meat in our diets, but because they are absolutely delicious. Seriously, if you are even half the the sweet potato fan that I am, you owe it to yourself to give this recipe a try!

Sweet Potato Quinoa Cakes

adapted from How Sweet It Is

2 medium sweet potatoes, about 12 oz., peeled and chopped

1 onion, diced

salt and pepper to taste

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 c. cooked quinoa

1/2 c. plain breadcrumbs

1/2 c. grated Parmesan

1/4 c. fresh basil, chopped

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat and add oil. Add in sweet potato, onion, season with salt and pepper, stir, cover and cook for 10-12 minutes, or until potato is soft. Remove lid and add garlic, cooking for 30 seconds.

Transfer potato mixture to a large bowl (slightly mashing potato with a fork) and add quinoa, breadcrumbs, cheese, herbs, remaining salt and pepper and mix well. Once combined, add in egg, then mix until moistened. Using your hands to bring it together, form four equally-sized patties. Heat the same skillet over medium heat and add olive oil. Add cakes and cook for 3-4 minutes per side, or until golden brown.

How Sweet It Is...

I can't deny it any longer: I've been involved in a long-simmering love affair beyond the confines of my relationship with Justin. You can relax though, the object of my affection is not another man, but rather, a vegetable -- sweet potatoes to be precise. It started last year, when I discovered that my appreciation extended beyond the occasional plate of fries, and now I've been trying to sneak them into every dish I can find a recipe for. There was a delectable breakfast hash, a perfect mashed sweet potato side dish, and I even attempted to put them on a pizza, though that turned out to be a questionable decision on my part.

My latest experiment involved a sweet potato pie, but not the version laden with warm spices that one tends to see on holiday menus. Instead, this version, from Donald Link, the chef behind Cochon, the restaurant where we ate so well in New Orleans, was a savory, Cajun-inspired spin on the dish. As if the presence of sweet potatoes and the Donald Link connection wasn't enough to motivate me to try it, the recipe included andouille sausage, which makes everything better, in my experience.

In order to turn the pie into a more practical weeknight meal, I made the crust yesterday, and chilled it overnight, which had the added benefit of netting me a bonus pie crust for the freezer, since my favorite recipe makes enough for a double-crusted pie. I also baked the sweet potatoes in advance, so all I had to do was saute the meat and onions, combine the ingredients for the filling, and bake. It wasn't the quickest meal I've ever made on a work night, but it certainly wasn't the most laborious either.

I ended up having mixed feelings about the pie. While I though that the spicy sausage was a perfect compliment to the sweet potatoes, the texture of the filling was a little light and fluffy for me. A savory entree seems to call for a denser, more substantial mouth feel, and the lightness of this pie made it feel like a dessert with some misplaced meat and vegetables. I think the textural problems could be remedied by pureeing the sweet potatoes with the egg yolks, and stirring in the heavy cream by hand, as the action of the food processor started turning the cream into whipped cream before the mixture was fully incorporated.

It would be worth testing this technique, because this savory pie was a huge hit with Justin, and I did enjoy the flavors, if not the texture. I like the idea of savory pies in general, but then again, I seem to be having something of a pie moment lately. After all, I've made more pies than cookies in our new home, and that's highly unusual for me. Stay tuned to see what I think up next!

Andouille and Sweet Potato Pie

adapted from Food and Wine

1 lb. small sweet potatoes, pierced with a fork

1/2 lb. andouille sausage, cut into 1-inch pieces

1/2 small onion, finely chopped

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon dried sage, crumbled

1 c. heavy cream

3 large egg yolks

freshly ground black pepper

1 recipe pie crust

Preheat the oven to 350°. Wrap the sweet potatoes in foil and bake for 45 minutes, until they are soft. Let the sweet potatoes cool. Meanwhile, bake prepared pie crust.

In a large skillet, heat a tablespoon of olive oil. Add the andouille sausage and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until it is lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the onion, garlic and dried sage and cook until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Let cool slightly.

Peel the sweet potatoes and transfer them to a food processor. Puree until very smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Add the egg yolks and process until incorporated. Stir in the heavy cream by hand. Transfer the filling to a large bowl and stir in the andouille mixture. Scrape the filling into the crust and bake for about 45 minutes, until the custard is set. Let cool for 20 minutes, then cut the pie into wedges and serve.

When The Moon Hits Your Eye...

Have I mentioned lately how amazing Justin is to put up with me? This point was driven home to me earlier this evening, after the two of us engaged in a ridiculous tug-of-war over a bowl of bread flour. You see, I tend to be rather anal retentive about my baking, and am a stickler for accurate measuring. The volumetric measurements preferred by American cooks, and therefore employed by American recipe authors, are the bane of my culinary existence. Depending on how hard you pack flour into a measuring cup, a seemingly standard measure can hold a wide range of actual product. Weight, however, is universal. A pound of flour weighs a pound, no matter how densely you cram it into a container.

So when I noticed Justin sweeping the excess flour from the top of a measuring cup into the bowl he was measuring it into instead of the regular container, I kind of freaked out. Cooking may be an art, but baking is a science, and I wanted the pizza crust he was making for our dinner this evening to turn out perfectly. It's hard to gauge the quality of a new recipe when you don't follow it to the letter the first time around.

Justin looked at me like I was from another planet when I asked him to re-measure it, and when I offered to do it myself, a tug-of-war ensued over the bowl of flour. Thankfully, he acquiesced, or we could have been vacuuming up bread flour from the epic mess that could have potentially ensued. I re-measured the flour using a kitchen scale, the pizza crust turned out just fine, and more importantly, Justin didn't leave me over the whole episode. When it comes to baking, I'm crazy, I know. I'm just incredibly lucky to have this man who is crazy enough about me to overlook my irrational perfectionist streak in the kitchen.

As for our dinner... it was interesting. I'd spotted an unconventional combination of toppings in Food and Wine that included sweet potatoes (which have been my recent object of obsession lately), caramelized onions in a balsamic vinegar reduction, mozzarella cheese, and soppressata, a spicy Italian salami, and was keen to try it, mostly as a potential way to use up leftover mashed sweet potatoes. While the onions were delicious, and will definitely be making an appearance elsewhere in my culinary adventures in the future, the pizza was far from the best I've ever made.

Sweet potatoes are not a good pizza topping -- very texturally challenging. I think this pizza would actually be fine without them, as the savory, spicy pork was a perfect foil to the sweet, tangy onions. Minus the sweet potatoes, I'd certainly recommend the other toppings on this pie, if you're into making your own pizza. Just don't follow my example of being a total kitchen drama queen if you decide to go that route.

If you look closely, it turned out somewhat heart-shaped...

Balsamic Onion and Soppressata Pizza

adapted from Food and Wine

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large white onion, thinly sliced

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 c. plus 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 12-inch pizza crust, par-baked

1 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

4 oz. soppressata, cut into thin ribbons

Preheat the oven to 450.

1. In a large skillet, melt the butter in the olive oil. Add the onion and dried oregano, cover and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of water to the skillet and cook over moderate heat until the onion is caramelized, about 10 minutes; add a few tablespoons of water to the skillet if necessary. Add the balsamic vinegar and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until it has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Season the onion with salt and pepper.

2. Top pizza crust with the mozzarella, onion and soppressata. Bake for about 10 minutes, until bubbling and golden in spots. Cut into wedges and serve.

Let's Talk Turkey...

It feels like a huge amount of my time is taken up with meal-planning now that I'm making a conscientious effort to prepare dishes that both utilize cost-effective ingredients and the items I already have on hand. So far, I'm enjoying it, but it's definitely an adjustment compared to the more spontaneous attitude I used to take. This week, for example, I actually drew up a table of ingredients in the fridge that need to be used before we leave this weekend for five days, and came up with a strategy for how everything would get used. The leftover chipotle chilies from last week's chicken tacos? They'd go into mashed sweet potatoes that I had originally purchased to try out as an unconventional pizza topping, but wouldn't have time to get around to before we leave.

Ground turkey was on sale this week, so I decided to dust off my much beloved, albeit underutilized turkey burger recipe in order to use up some celery that was starting to wilt. The leftover buns from the turkey burgers will get turned into garlic bread later this week, to accompany some refrigerated ravioli that I was able to find a deal on. Very little goes into my refrigerator these days without a plan.

The meal we ended up with was a delicious, quick mid-week dinner. Usually, I'm drawn to elaborate, complicated recipes that don't translate well to workday dining, but with Justin's help and a recipe from (I'm embarrassed to admit this, but she does have some good ideas on occasion) Rachel Ray, we had dinner on the table in under an hour.

I particularly liked the technique for making the mashed sweet potatoes, which came from Alton Brown. Instead of boiling, Alton recommends steaming root vegetables (and that goes for potatoes too) before mashing them, because they cook faster and absorb less excess water. The chipotle added a smoky, spicy note that Justin really enjoyed, so I think this side dish will definitely be entering regular rotation around here, especially in light of my recently discovered fondness for sweet potatoes. I kind of want to eat them all the time now...

Cranberry Bog Turkey Burgers

adapted from Rachel Ray

1 1/4 lb ground turkey

1 small red apple, finely chopped

1/2 white onion, finely chopped

1 rib celery, finely chopped

seasoned salt, to taste

dash of Worcheshire sauce

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and mix by hand until homogenous. Shape into four equal-size patties. Spray a grill pan or large skillet with Pam and place over medium-high heat. Cook the patties 5-6 minutes per side until completely cooked through. Serve on toasted hamburger buns with cranberry mustard and provolone cheese. 

Chipotle Mashed Sweet Potatoes

adapted from Alton Brown

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 chipotle chili, finely chopped

1 teaspoon adobo sauce from canned chipotles

1/2 teaspoon salt

Put cubed sweet potatoes in a steamer basket and place over a pot of simmering water that is no closer than two inches from the bottom of the basket. Allow to steam for approximately 20 minutes, or until sweet potatoes are fork tender. Add butter to sweet potatoes and mash with a potato masher. Add chili, sauce, and salt, and continue mashing to combine. Serve immediately.

One Potato, Two Potato...

Generally speaking, I try to refrain from imposing my beliefs on others. Evangelism is not my style; in fact, it kind of drives me crazy. I feel that everyone is entitled to their own beliefs, as long as they don’t force them on anyone else. Ever since a relative of mine locked me in a room and read the Bible to me in an effort to “save” me, I’ve been a proponent of the “live and let live” approach to life. I suppose I should be touched that said relative cared enough about my eternal soul to want to “help” me, but if a major religious conversion is in my future, I’d rather find Jesus when the time is right for me, not when someone else decides is convenient.

Nevertheless, I have seen the light about something in my life recently, and I want to share it with you. You see, I have recently discovered that I love sweet potatoes. All my life, I associated the vegetable with the sickly sweet marshmallow and canned yam dish served on Thanksgiving, and I wouldn’t let them creep onto my plate in any form. Then, earlier this year, the café at work snuck some sweet potato fries onto my plate in lieu of the normal variety, and I tried one for the hell of it. I was hooked.

I started ordering sweet potato fries any time I saw them on a menu, but I assumed that my love for them was rooted in the fact that they were fried. I mean, when does frying not make something tastier? I started getting curious, however, if I could make myself eat them in other forms. After all, they’re perennially listed as a superfood, and touted for their nutritional superiority. Given that I don’t really like vegetables in general, it would be nice to find something healthy that I actually like to eat.

By then, it was fall, and a spate of sweet potato recipes were popping up all over the cooking blogosphere. I filed some away on Pinterest, but it wasn’t until I found some Italian sausage languishing in the freezer (I’m trying, seemingly in vain, to reduce its contents in preparation for our move), that I decided to actually give one a try. I was very glad I did.

The recipe was for a sweet potato and sausage hash, and Justin and I made it for a weekend breakfast a few weeks ago before heading over to our new place to work for the day. The complex carbohydrates in the sweet potatoes kept us full much of the day and fortified us for a day of manual labor. More importantly, however, it tasted amazing. The sweetness of the vegetables paired perfectly with the salt and spiciness of the sausage. Basil added a fresh herbal note. With a breath of relief that I could get myself to eat non-fried sweet potatoes and still love them, I vowed to make it again soon.

Tonight, I did just that. I had a couple sweet potatoes left over from the previous batch, and some Italian sausage from last week’s lasagna soup, and both items needed to go. I topped the hash with a fried egg, and it was the perfect breakfast-for-dinner. Seriously, even if you think you don’t like sweet potatoes, this might be the dish to win you over. Just make it.

Sweet Potato and Sausage Hash

adapted from Improv Kitchen

4 c. sweet potatoes (from about 4 sweet potatoes), diced

3 links spicy Italian sausage, casings removed

1/2 onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

8 basil leaves, chiffonaded

3 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 450.

1. Drizzle the diced sweet potatoes with 3 tablespoons olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven approximately 20 minutes, stirring once or twice, while you complete the remainder of the recipe.

2. Cook sausage and garlic powder over medium-high heat in a large saute pan until browned. Add onions and a pinch of salt, and cook until softened. Add the minced garlic and cook one minute more. Remove the sweet potatoes from the oven, add to the saute pan, and cook two more minutes. Toss in the chiffonaded basil just before serving. Top with a fried egg if desired.