Sweet Potato Beef Chili and Savory Corn Cakes

Hearty Sweet Potato Beef Chili

With our gazillionith snow storm, my slow-cooker has been working overtime lately.  Here's another easy and hearty winter meal.

Ingredients

• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped 
• handful of mushrooms, quartered
• 1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes or whole tomatoes (chop if whole)
• 1 pound ground beef (85% is what I used)- or ground turkey
• 1 tbls chili powder
• 1 tea cumin
• 1 tea garlic
• 1 tbls paprika
• 1/2 tea cayenne/red pepper
• 1/2 tea garlic powder
• 1 tea salt
• 1 tbls cinnamon
• 1 tbls unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 15 ounce can white canellini beans, rinsed (or another favorite)

Directions

1. Add all ingredients to crock, except for beans.

2. Cook on LOW for 6 hours

3. Add beans, cook for 1 additional hour. (If mixture is too liquidy, cook for last hour with top off.)

4. Serve with Savory Corn Cakes (see below) or corn muffins/bread.

Savory Corn Cakes

A much easier version adapted from this Epicurious Recipe

Makes about 6 medium corn cakes

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/3 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
• 1 egg white
• 1/2 cup buttermilk (I used whole milk with a few drops of lemon juice to curdle)
• 3/4 cup corn kernels (frozen or canned would also work)
• 3/4 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
• 1/3 cup sour cream (for serving, optional)

Directions

1. In a large bowl combine all ingredients.

2. Using a non-stick flat pan sprayed with PAM, drop the batter onto the skillet 1/4 cup at a time (or however big you want your cakes).

3. Cook 2-3 minutes on each side or until the cakes are golden brown. Add more cooking spray between batches, if needed.

4. Transfer finished cakes to a warm toaster oven and continue cooking the rest of the cakes.

5. Serve warm, with sour cream if desired.

NOTE: Original recipe called for scallions and jalapenos to be added.  If you use them, be sure to pre-cook in frying pan before adding to mixture.  Cooked bacon can also be added.

Snow Day Turkey Chili

Snow Day Turkey Chili

I posted a similar recipe in January of 2011 http://andialacarte.blogspot.com/2011/01/game-day-turkey-chili.html, but here's the latest version I made.  I really liked using the baked beans for a good layered flavor.  Happy snow day!!

There's tons of varieties so play around with it a little if you're missing some stuff.  It always comes out good when it's along these lines....

1 package ground turkey (or chicken or beef) *about 1- 1.5 lbs

1 medium onion chopped

1 can baked beans (I've used kidney, red, black, or whatever I have in the house) *rinse all but baked beans

1/2 large can crushed tomatoes (or fire roasted, or chopped- again, whatever you have handy)

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon paprika

1 tablespoon cumin

1 teaspoon cayenne/red pepper (adjust to heat preferences)

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (again, white or red wine would be fine too)

1 teaspoon salt

Mix everything in crock and cook on low for 7 or so hours.

Enjoy!

Classic Cheesecake with an Oreo Crust

So my good friend, Phyllis, has perfected this recipe and it's out of this world!  The cheesecake is creamy and classic NY style.  The Oreo crust I've added gives it a pop of chocolate that makes the final product irresistible.  

The recipe is easy- just note that you need room temperature eggs and cream cheese.  Also, leave plenty of time, because after it bakes for 1 hr 15 min, it needs to sit in oven for at least 2 hours- if not overnight.  Making it a day in advance is best.  

Ingredients:

26 Oreo's (regular or double stuff)                          ¼ cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted

4, 8oz packages cream cheese (room temp)           1 ¾ cups sugar                     

1 pint heavy cream                                                     1/4 tsp almond extract

6 large eggs (room temp)                                          2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. In a cuisinart, pulse Oreo's until fine they become crumbs.  Add melted butter and mix until well-combined.

2. Press crumbs into bottom and up the sides of 8 or 9" springform pan.  Place pan in large roasting pan, close to oven (believe me, this will make life much easier later).

3. Mix together cream cheese and sugar in stand mixer (or with hand mixer in large bowl but it's worth getting out the stand if you have one) until smooth.  

4. Add eggs, one at a time, until batter is smooth.  

5. Add heavy cream, vanilla and almond extract, mixing well.  

6. Here's the tricky part (no pics of this step for that reason): At the same time you're pouring batter into springform pan, add water to roasting pan.  There should be about 1-2 inches up the side of spring pan.

7. Carefully, bring roasting pan to center rack of oven (here's why it's handy to have pan close to oven).

8. Bake @ 350 for 1 hour 15 min. DON’T OPEN OVEN!!!

9. LEAVE CAKE IN OVEN AT LEAST 2 HOURS TO COOL SLOWLY- or keep in oven overnight. Cool completely before putting in refrigerator.

10. Run knife around side of pan before removing.

Cheesy Butternut Squash Pasta Bake

This morning, during another snowy day, I found a recipe I had ripped out of Better Homes and Gardens for a "Cheesy Butternut Squash Cavatappi Bake".  I had some, but not all of the ingredients; I liked some, but not all of the instructions.  Here's my take on this cool weather one dish meal.  

Ingredients:
1/2 butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1/2 pound farfalle (or your preference of short pasta)
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 white onion, sliced
5 medium mushrooms, sliced
salt/pepper
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup milk (I used half whole, half water because that's what I had in the fridge)
6 oz fontina cheese, shredded
5-8 slices bacon,cooked and chopped


Directions:
1. Spray sheet tray with PAM and roast squash for 20-25 min at 350 until soft.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions; set aside.
3. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in medium pot and add sliced onions. Cover and cook on low until soft and translucent- about 15 minutes.
4. Add sliced mushrooms and salt/pepper; stir. Add butternut squash.
5. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon flour over mushrooms/onions/squash and stir gently.  Cook 3 min on medium.
6. Add 1 cup milk and cook until mixture thickens, about 3-5 minutes.
7. Add cooked pasta and stir gently to combine.

8. Spray 8x8 deep pyrex or 9x13 baking dish with PAM and add half of pasta mixture.  Top with 1/2 cheese.
9. Add rest of pasta and rest of cheese.  Top with bacon.
10. Bake for 20 minutes covered at 350.  If desired, top with breadcrumbs and uncover for last 5 minutes.  A low broil will get it nice and crispy!

Creamy Blueberry Pie

With recent supermarket sales and my daughter's love for blueberries, my fridge was overflowing with blueberries.  When I was invited to a luncheon at a friend's house, I thought this would be the perfect treat to bake after seeing a friend's post of the finished product on FB.  Today we went blueberry picking, and I'm tempted to make the recipe again with the sweet berries we collected!

 This recipe is my adaption of a recipe from allrecipes.com. After reading reviews on the website and talking with a friend who made the pie, I cut back on the sugar (by almost 2/3 cup).  I also used some of my favorite flavor combinations with the addition of lemon zest and cinnamon.  I used my grandmother's cast-iron pan which is about 11 inch across which made for a more spread out pie than in the picture on the website.  Definitely my new favorite blueberry pie recipe- and very easy!

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
1 9 inch pie crust (I used Pillsbury)

For the custard:
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/8 tea salt
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sour cream (I used light)
1 tea grated lemon zest

For the streusel:
1/3 cup white sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup butter
1 tea cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place the blueberries in the pastry shell and set aside. 

2. Combine 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, salt and 1 tea cinnamon. Add eggs, sour cream and lemon zest, stirring until blended. Pour the sour cream custard over the blueberries.

3. In another bowl, combine 1/3 cup sugar and 1/2 cup flour. Cut in the butter with pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the topping over the sour cream mixture and berries in the pie shell.




4. Bake in the preheated oven for 50 to 55 minutes, or until lightly browned. I waited until the pie crust sticking out around the side got golden brown.  Cool on wire rack. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream- or BOTH!

• 
  
  
  
  
  

Shrimp Tacos with Honey Lime Mayo and Mango Salsa

These are great for an easy and fun summer meal.  Start to finish you can take under 30 minutes to create a spicy and lively dish.  Oh and yes, I'm back to blogging with a challenge from my co-teacher to get back into this form of writing this summer.  Hope you enjoy my latest culinary creations!

Shrimp Tacos

pinch cayenne/red pepper powder
1/4 tea salt
1/4 tea granulated garlic
2 tea smoked paprika
2 tablespoons lime juice
zest of 1 orange
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped finely

16-20 jumbo shrimp (I got mine at Whole Foods for a good price- and they are HUGE!) shelled, cleaned, deveined, rinsed

• Mix top group of ingredients in a small bowl.
• Add shrimp to large ziploc bag and top with spice mixture.
• Shake and smush until all shrimp are well coated
• Marinate for 15 min-1 hour (more than that the lime juice will start to cook the shrimp)
• Skewer shrimp using railroad method (not a real name, but one I just made up because I don't know how else to describe it.  I could also say, "see picture").
• Grill on high for 4 or so minutes per side, turning when slightly browned and deliciously charred.

• Serve with corn tortillas and toppings such as sliced avocado, grilled red peppers/onions, tomatoes, lettuce, cilantro.  I also recommend serving with honey lime mayo and/or mango salsa (see recipes below).

Honey Lime Mayo

1/4 cup lowfat mayo

sprinkle cayenne

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 tea honey

1 tea paprika

• Stir well and serve with Shrimp Tacos

Mango Salsa

2 ripe mangoes, chopped

2 ripe tomatoes, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped

1 tablespoon lime juice

1/2 tea paprika

sprinkle cayenne

sprinkle salt

• Stir well and serve with Shrimp Tacos, chips or any other "Fiesta Food"!

Dave's Birthday German Chocolate Cake

So, this was an all day event, but definitely worth the work if it’s for a special occasion. If you’re prepared for that, you almost forget the work because of how delicious it is. Your guests will probably rave even more if you make sure to share that tid-bit….mine certainly did! Also, sorry for the lack of pictures...I was so consumed I forgot! Hopefully my directions in red will create enough info.  Let me know if you have any questions.

 

German Chocolate Cake With Coconut-Pecan Cajeta Frosting

Recipe courtesy Bobby Flay for Food Network Magazine

Prep Time: 1 hr 35 min
Cook Time: 1 hr 50 min
Inactive Time: HOURS! (Don’t say I didn’t warn you J
Level: Difficult
Serves: one 4-layer cake

 

Ingredients

For the Cake:

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pans

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups firmly packed light muscovado sugar (used light brown sugar)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups strong brewed black coffee, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups buttermilk (added white vinegar to whole milk)
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
 

For the Frosting:

1 3/4 cups whole milk

1 3/4 cups unsweetened coconut milk
1 cup goat's milk or additional whole milk (used additional whole milk)
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Seeds scraped from 1/2 vanilla bean
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 egg yolks (see comments below)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, cold (only had salted, so omitted 1/8 tea salt- below)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons coconut rum (optional) (didn’t use)
1 1/4 cups coarsely chopped pecans, toasted (burned my first round, so only  used about ¾ cup, which was plenty)
1 1/4 cups sweetened shredded coconut, toasted

For the Ganache:

1 cup heavy cream

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (had read reviews that it was too bitter, so I used 4 oz german choc, 3 oz milk choc, 1 tablespoon unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder)
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut, toasted, for garnish
1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted, for garnish
Coconut Whipped Cream, for serving (couldn’t bear to make anything else so we served with Vanilla ice cream)
 

Directions

Make the cake: Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Butter two 9-inch-round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl.

Melt the 12 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the cocoa powder and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat, add the muscovado and granulated sugars and whisk until the sugar has dissolved. (sugar didn’t dissolve until liquid ingredients were added)

Add the coffee, buttermilk, eggs and vanilla extract and continue whisking until smooth and just combined. Add the dry ingredients and stir until the batter is smooth.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 40 to 45 minutes. Let the cakes cool in the pans on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Invert the cakes onto the wire rack and let cool at least 1 hour before frosting. (cake was ready in 40 min, easily came out of the pan- crumbs tasted great! Start frosting while cake is cooking)

 

Here comes the fun part…Make the frosting: Combine the whole milk, coconut milk and goat's milk in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over low heat. Keep warm while you prepare the caramel.

Combine the sugar and 1/4 cup water in a medium saucepan over high heat and cook without stirring until a deep amber color, 8 to 10 minutes. (my first batch burned, so I had to start over.  Do NOT leave the stove- to change a diaper or give a bottle, like I did- and keep a close eye on this.  It goes from perfect to burnt in 10 sec!)

Slowly and carefully whisk in the warm milk mixture and continue whisking until smooth. Add the vanilla seeds and corn syrup. Bring to a boil, (mine overflowed here- again do NOT leave the stove!), reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until the sauce is reduced by half and the consistency of a caramel sauce, about 55 minutes.(This sounds easy, finally you can get something done….not so!  I stirred every 5 or so min for the entire hour.  The sauce had reduced but it was not thick like a caramel sauce.  Around 75 minutes I decided to take matters into my own hands, and added 2 egg yolks to get it thick.  Worked like a charm and the sauce was now perfect!)

Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter, vanilla extract, salt and rum (if using). Transfer the sauce to a medium bowl and stir in the pecans and shredded coconut. Let the frosting cool to room temperature, stirring it occasionally, before frosting the cake.

Make the ganache:(*This was listed later in the original recipe, but it should be made before you start to assemble.)  Bring the cream to a simmer in a small saucepan. Put the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl, add the hot cream and the corn syrup and let sit for 30 seconds. Gently whisk until smooth. Let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes.

To assemble the cake, slice each cake in half horizontally. (easiest way to do this is to use a serrated knife and score around the outside so you make the layers even.) (Cut 3-4 strips of parchment paper and cover rim of plate you’re going to serve on.  Then…)Place 1 cake layer (rounded part down) on a cake round and spread one-third of the frosting evenly over the top. (leave about ¾ in border around edge because it will spread out when the layer stack on.) Repeat to make 3 layers, then top with the remaining cake layer, top-side up. (end with flattest layer on top)

Set the cake on a wire rack placed over a rimmed baking sheet. (I was not about to move the masterpiece now but it was fine because I had the parchment paper to catch all of the gooey deliciousness!  Your pre-cake treat….and you certainly deserve it after all the work this takes!!) Pour the chocolate ganache over the cake, letting the excess drip down the sides. Sprinkle the top with toasted coconut and pecans. Let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes and up to 4 hours before slicing.

Slice the cake and top with a dollop of Coconut Whipped Cream.(I used Vanilla Ice Cream- yum!)