Suweet Potatoes
What does one do w/ the EIGHT or so sweet potatoes generously bequeathed upon one by one's grandmother? Well, I decided to go where no one I knew had gone in sweet potato cooking. I made three scrumptious delights, which pleased even the pickiest of pickies stnuke! If you, too, would like to make such pallet pleasing delights, please follow the following simple recipes:
Sweet Potato and Lemongrass Soup from the Avoca Cafe Cookbook (Avoca Cafe in Ireland - now they know potatoes)
Ingredients:
1.5 lbs onions, peeled and chopped
8 oz. potatoes, peeled and chopped (that's the Irish variety)
2 oz. butter
1.5 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
3 pints vegetable stock (I picked up the vegan, organic stuff, but it's not necessary)
6-8 lemongrass stalks (I'd go w/ the 8)
Sweat the onions and potatoes in butter over very low heat (in a stock pot of at least 3 quarts) for 5 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes and stir to coat them in butter. Pour in stock, bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. In the mean time, remove the outer dry layers of the lemongrass (just look for more tender pieces) and finely chop the moist interior. Cover chopped lemongrass with boiling water and leave for 10 minutes, then add the lemongrass and its soaking water to the soup. Puree in a blender, then reheat (if necessary) and season to taste.
Sweet Potato Puffs from the Joy of Cooking
Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
Have ready:
2 cups of riced (I boiled whole w/ skins on) cooked sweet potatoes.
Peel, mash and add:
1 cup of ripe mashed banana
Combine and add, stirring well:
1.5 tablespoons melted butter
1 beaten egg yolk
1.5 teaspoons salt
3 to 4 tablespoons (used 4) hot milk or cream (used cream)
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg or ginger (optional - I chose ginger)
Beat until stiff:
1 egg white
Fold stiff egg white lightly into potato mixture. Drop the batter from a tablespoon in mounds - well apart - on a greased tin, or place the mixture in buttered ramekins (I used ramekins, and it worked wonderfully. It also makes for easy reheating). Bake about 12 minutes (might take a bit longer as the recipe makes 4 servings. I divided it into 6 servings to make cooking time shorter, but ended up cooking 12 minutes. I think the 4 serving size would be better b/c you'll want to eat a good size portion of this stuff. So, maybe a little extra cooking time for 4 servings?).
Sweet Potato Pie from Easy Cooking from the Cove (I have no idea where this book came from)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Ingredients:
1 stick butter
1 can sweetened condensed milk (I know, heresy, but it's an "Easy" cookbook)
1 tablespoon vanilla flavoring (I used about 1/2 stick of real vanilla)
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (I cannot stand this stuff, so I put in a little nutmeg, cinnamon and paprika - really small amount of paprika)
3 cups sweet potatoes - cooked and mashed (once again boiled whole and peeled after)
1.5 cups sugar
3 eggs beaten
Cook potatoes, drain. Add sugar and butter. Cover and let set until sugar and butter melt. Add other ingredients and mix w/ electric mixer (duh) until smooth. Pour into 2 deep crust or 3 regular crust pie pans. Bake for about 30 minutes (I did the deep crusts and found it took 45 minutes in the steel pan and a little less than one hour in the glass pan).
Plain Pastry for a Two Crust Pie from the James Beard Cookbook (yes, I made a crust)
I just used the recipe to line the bottom of the two deep dish pie plates. I suppose the pie could have a top crust, but I'd never be able to get it to stick together enough.
Ingredients:
2.5 cups flour, sifted
1 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons of butter (shortening or lard if you prefer)
3-4 tablespoons of ice cold water (not kidding on the "ice cold")
Hints from James Beard: "I feel that pastry is best made w/ butter." "Handle the pastry as little as possible [he is not kidding on this one]. Make it in a cool spot using ice cold water and cold butter and be sure your fingers are as cool as possible." [The cool is big as my butter sat out of a while and my fingers, for once, were very warm. I think it made my job much harder.]
"Into a large bowl....sift the flour and salt. Add the butter or shortening (see above). Put shortening in a hollow in the center of the flour and blend it w/ your fingertips until it is distributed through the flour and has a mealy consistency. Don't press it or knead; just flake it gently. When it is mealy add about 3-4 tablespoons of ice cold water and work the mixture into a ball.If you need a little more water, add it, but be very careful not to add too much. The less water used, the better. The pastry should stick together but not be doughy. Roll the ball of pastry up in wax paper and put it in the refrigerator to chill for 20-30 minutes.
"To roll out: Divide the dough in half and put one half on a lightly floured board. Flour a rolling pin lightly and press it down into the center of the dough. Roll gently out toward the edge, turning the dough around to shape it evenly into a circle. When it is rolled out large enough to fill the bottom of the pie tin, roll it over the rolling pin and transfer it to the pie tin, unrolling it evenly over the bottom [IF ANYONE GETS THE DOUGH TO THIS POINT, YOU ROCK! I just transferred my pathetic looking semi-shaped and falling apart dough w/ my two hands to the pie tin and then proceeded to shape it to the bottom of the pan. Yes, it was ugly, but tasty!!]. Pat it down to fit the pan and trim off the edges, leaving a slight overhang to seal w/ the top crust. [So, no overhang for me as this is where my story ends.]"
This crust is tedious and do not roll it too many times as it will start to stick to the rolling pin and become a pain. However, it is so good w/ the pie that I could not include the pie recipe w/o the crust recipe.
No pictures of my delights, but I assure you they are pretty as well as pleasing.
Bon appetit!
Sweet Potato and Lemongrass Soup from the Avoca Cafe Cookbook (Avoca Cafe in Ireland - now they know potatoes)
Ingredients:
1.5 lbs onions, peeled and chopped
8 oz. potatoes, peeled and chopped (that's the Irish variety)
2 oz. butter
1.5 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
3 pints vegetable stock (I picked up the vegan, organic stuff, but it's not necessary)
6-8 lemongrass stalks (I'd go w/ the 8)
Sweat the onions and potatoes in butter over very low heat (in a stock pot of at least 3 quarts) for 5 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes and stir to coat them in butter. Pour in stock, bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. In the mean time, remove the outer dry layers of the lemongrass (just look for more tender pieces) and finely chop the moist interior. Cover chopped lemongrass with boiling water and leave for 10 minutes, then add the lemongrass and its soaking water to the soup. Puree in a blender, then reheat (if necessary) and season to taste.
Sweet Potato Puffs from the Joy of Cooking
Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
Have ready:
2 cups of riced (I boiled whole w/ skins on) cooked sweet potatoes.
Peel, mash and add:
1 cup of ripe mashed banana
Combine and add, stirring well:
1.5 tablespoons melted butter
1 beaten egg yolk
1.5 teaspoons salt
3 to 4 tablespoons (used 4) hot milk or cream (used cream)
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg or ginger (optional - I chose ginger)
Beat until stiff:
1 egg white
Fold stiff egg white lightly into potato mixture. Drop the batter from a tablespoon in mounds - well apart - on a greased tin, or place the mixture in buttered ramekins (I used ramekins, and it worked wonderfully. It also makes for easy reheating). Bake about 12 minutes (might take a bit longer as the recipe makes 4 servings. I divided it into 6 servings to make cooking time shorter, but ended up cooking 12 minutes. I think the 4 serving size would be better b/c you'll want to eat a good size portion of this stuff. So, maybe a little extra cooking time for 4 servings?).
Sweet Potato Pie from Easy Cooking from the Cove (I have no idea where this book came from)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Ingredients:
1 stick butter
1 can sweetened condensed milk (I know, heresy, but it's an "Easy" cookbook)
1 tablespoon vanilla flavoring (I used about 1/2 stick of real vanilla)
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (I cannot stand this stuff, so I put in a little nutmeg, cinnamon and paprika - really small amount of paprika)
3 cups sweet potatoes - cooked and mashed (once again boiled whole and peeled after)
1.5 cups sugar
3 eggs beaten
Cook potatoes, drain. Add sugar and butter. Cover and let set until sugar and butter melt. Add other ingredients and mix w/ electric mixer (duh) until smooth. Pour into 2 deep crust or 3 regular crust pie pans. Bake for about 30 minutes (I did the deep crusts and found it took 45 minutes in the steel pan and a little less than one hour in the glass pan).
Plain Pastry for a Two Crust Pie from the James Beard Cookbook (yes, I made a crust)
I just used the recipe to line the bottom of the two deep dish pie plates. I suppose the pie could have a top crust, but I'd never be able to get it to stick together enough.
Ingredients:
2.5 cups flour, sifted
1 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons of butter (shortening or lard if you prefer)
3-4 tablespoons of ice cold water (not kidding on the "ice cold")
Hints from James Beard: "I feel that pastry is best made w/ butter." "Handle the pastry as little as possible [he is not kidding on this one]. Make it in a cool spot using ice cold water and cold butter and be sure your fingers are as cool as possible." [The cool is big as my butter sat out of a while and my fingers, for once, were very warm. I think it made my job much harder.]
"Into a large bowl....sift the flour and salt. Add the butter or shortening (see above). Put shortening in a hollow in the center of the flour and blend it w/ your fingertips until it is distributed through the flour and has a mealy consistency. Don't press it or knead; just flake it gently. When it is mealy add about 3-4 tablespoons of ice cold water and work the mixture into a ball.If you need a little more water, add it, but be very careful not to add too much. The less water used, the better. The pastry should stick together but not be doughy. Roll the ball of pastry up in wax paper and put it in the refrigerator to chill for 20-30 minutes.
"To roll out: Divide the dough in half and put one half on a lightly floured board. Flour a rolling pin lightly and press it down into the center of the dough. Roll gently out toward the edge, turning the dough around to shape it evenly into a circle. When it is rolled out large enough to fill the bottom of the pie tin, roll it over the rolling pin and transfer it to the pie tin, unrolling it evenly over the bottom [IF ANYONE GETS THE DOUGH TO THIS POINT, YOU ROCK! I just transferred my pathetic looking semi-shaped and falling apart dough w/ my two hands to the pie tin and then proceeded to shape it to the bottom of the pan. Yes, it was ugly, but tasty!!]. Pat it down to fit the pan and trim off the edges, leaving a slight overhang to seal w/ the top crust. [So, no overhang for me as this is where my story ends.]"
This crust is tedious and do not roll it too many times as it will start to stick to the rolling pin and become a pain. However, it is so good w/ the pie that I could not include the pie recipe w/o the crust recipe.
No pictures of my delights, but I assure you they are pretty as well as pleasing.
Bon appetit!