Week 73: Sweet Potato, Apple, and Caramelized Onion Gratin

Have you ever found a recipe that, after trying it, you wanted to immediately make it for everyone you know? You feel like you have hit a culinary jackpot, and you just need to share the wealth?

For example, when I first made Poblano and Mushroom Tacos from Epicurious, I wanted to quit my day job and spend eternity making these vegetarian masterpieces. Okay...maybe a SLIGHT exaggeration.

Well, I have struck gold once again, my friends. I knew that this dish had potential. When I saw all of those ingredients that I loved in the TITLE of the dish, and saw it was followed by a word synonymous with CHEESE, I knew I was in for a treat.

Here's the thing, though: It is not in the least bit healthy. I'm talking heavy whipping cream, FULL fat sour cream, and cheddar cheese. This is okay for the occasional treat, but if I make this a habit, I'm going to have to invest in a new wardrobe in the next size up. If you know how many clothes I tend to buy, this could get quite expensive. AND THEN I MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO AFFORD TO BUY INGREDIENTS TO MAKE THIS DISH! Woe.

Year of Yum Rating: 5 STARS

INGREDIENTS
1 medium sweet potato, (ridiculously) thinly sliced
1 granny smith apple, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1/2 cup caramelized onions
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon coriander
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 cup full fat sour cream
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon cornstarch

DIRECTIONS
Heat the oven to 375F and spray a small casserole dish with non-stick spray.

In a small bowl mix the cornstarch into the cream, then blend in the sour cream. Set aside.

In another small bowl mix together the salt, cinnamon, coriander, and smoked paprika until evenly mixed. Set aside.

In the prepared casserole dish layer 1/3 of the sweet potatoes, apples, and caramelized onions. Dust with 1/3 of the spice mixture then add 1/3 of the cheese and pour over 1/3 of the cream mixture. Repeat two more times.

Bake the gratin covered in foil for 40 minutes, then uncover and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, our until the gratin is bubbling and the cheese has browned.

Week 72: Steak Fajitas with Sweet Potato and Poblano

This week's recipe came from Real Simple. Such a beautiful magazine, and a just-as-beautiful website.

These fajitas confirmed what I already knew:

-I adore sweet potatoes.
-I should really try to cook with poblano peppers more often.
-I stink at cooking/eating/understanding meat.
-I love mexican food. Especially slathered in sour cream.

The flavors were really good. The only thing I might have added is feta cheese, but I am a little obsessed with the feta/sweet potato flavor combination at this point in my life. The steak was a little chewy for my liking, but I'm sure it added some much-needed iron to my diet. I wouldn't mind making these vegetarian next time.

Year of Yum Rating: 3 1/2 STARS

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large sweet potato (about 12 ounces), peeled and cut into 1⁄4-inch pieces
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 small poblano pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
kosher salt and black pepper
1 1/4 pounds skirt steak, cut into 4 pieces
1/2 cup sour cream
1 to 2 teaspoons chopped canned chipotle chilies in adobo
8 small flour tortillas, warmed

DIRECTIONS
1.Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
2.Add the sweet potato, onion, poblano, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Cook, tossing occasionally, until tender, 10 to 12 minutes.
3.Meanwhile, heat broiler. Season the steak with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper and place on a broilerproof rimmed baking sheet.
4.Broil the steak for 3 to 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. Let rest at least 5 minutes before slicing.
5.In a small bowl, combine the sour cream and chipotles. Fill the tortillas with the steak, vegetables, and chipotle sour cream.

Easy + Cozy = DELICIOUS

My favorite thing about crockpot recipes is that you can put the ingredients in before work, and you can come home to a completed home-cooked meal. Sometimes I don't try slow-cooker recipes because I am going to be gone longer than I am supposed to cook it for. So until I get a crockpot with a timer, I will be looking for recipes that cook for 8-10 hours.

This minestrone soup had a lot of things going for it:

Healthy? Check! (Seriously...look at all those veggies!)

Easy? Check! (It just required a little bit of veggie-chopping the night before, and then I was able to throw it all in the crockpot that morning.)

Long cook-time? Check! (I was able to not worry about it all day.)

I also liked that I got to add in uncooked pasta about 30 minutes before I wanted to eat the soup.

INGREDIENTS
8 cups beef broth
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes (whole can, Italian-seasoned)
1 cup dry beans: I used mixed soup beans, --- rinsed in hot water
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup sliced celery
1 tablespoon dried minced onion (or 1 small onion, finely diced)
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1/2 cup uncooked pasta

DIRECTIONS
Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Pour broth into your cooker, and add tomatoes and the beans.

Add vegetables, seasoning, and thawed spinach. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours, or until the beans are soft. Add dry pasta, and cook on high for about 30 minutes, or until pasta is bite tender. Serve in bowls with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

Week 71: Lemon Ricotta Gnocchi

This recipe for gnocchi intrigued me because it didn't contain any potato. I'm also a huge fan of lemon in pasta, so that always catches my eye.

We had to change the recipe as we went, because the dough was way too sticky with the amount of flour that it called for. The recipe below reflects the recipe as we made it (more or less).

Next I want to try this. Pan-frying gnocchi sounds pretty much like perfection.

I wanted to try to make a light tomato sauce to top the gnocchi. I don't know that it turned out to be very "light," but it sure was yummy, cheap, and easy! Now I'm motivated to try to make more of my own sauce, and to experiment with different flavors.

Year of Yum Rating: 4 STARS

INGREDIENTS
For the gnocchi:
1 1/2 15-oz containers of whole milk ricotta cheese
2 cups of flour (give or take...we just added flour until the dough was easy enough to work with)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 egg
zest of 2 small-ish lemons

For the sauce:
1 large can crushed tomatoes
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup red wine
1 large garlic clove, crushed
several basil leaves, roughly chopped
salt to taste
red pepper flakes to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
1. Start the sauce by just throwing all the ingredients in a large, shallow pot, and allow to simmer while you're working your gnocchi magic.

2. Spread the flour out on a clean, dry work surface. Place the ricotta, salt, black pepper, egg, and zest on top of the flour and lightly knead it with your hands bringing together all the ingredients. Gently knead the dough into an 10-inch log and allow it to rest a few minutes.

2. Lightly dust a clean, dry work surface with flour. Cut the log into four equal pieces. Gingerly, lightly, roll each piece into a 1-inch thick piece of rope. Cut the gnocchi into 1/2-inch pillows.

To Cook: Place gnocchi in boiling salted water. When the gnocchi have floated to the top, allow them to cook for another two minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon and serve.

Week 70: Yummy Chicken Tenders

I was proud of Abby for looking one of her fears in the face this week: RAW CHICKEN! She really showed it who was boss. One of my favorite things about this recipe was the fact that it was dipped in mustard before it was "breaded." That really gave it some great flavor! This was a great alternative to the stuff you can buy at restaurants or even the grocery store, when you don't quite know the quality of the chicken you are eating. We knew exactly what we were eating!

You will notice that the original recipe calls for you to bake the chicken, but we didn't want to wait that long, so we pan-fried it for a couple minutes on each side before baking to reduce cook time. This added some extra oil to the chicken, plus it was a difficult to keep the "breading" on, but was still yummy!

Year of Yum Rating: 4 STARS

INGREDIENTS (Exactly how we made it...thanks, Abby. You're funny.)
1.37 lbs of chicken, cut into strips
a little jar of brown mustard
4 c crushed corn flakes...this is dangerous if done by hand!:)
2 TBSP olive oil
salt & pepper
400 degree oven

DIRECTIONS
1. Toss chicken with mustard to coat.

2. In another bowl, mix cereal, oil, and salt & pepper.

3. Coat mustard chicken with cereal mixture.

4. Put in oven in a casserole dish. Bake for 45-50 minutes.

5. Time saver: fry 1 min. each side, then but in baking dish for 20 minutes



It was a cold evening, so Abs and I got cozy with some hot green tea.

Week 69: Dried Mushroom Soup

I've been wanting to make a mushroom soup for a while, and a lot of the recipes that I have run across have called for re-hydrated/dried mushrooms. My mom had a huge vat of dried mushrooms from Costco, so I went ahead and tried the recipe on the side of the container. I considered trying to make it healthier, but decided I didn't' want to change it TOO much the first time I made it. The only thing I changed was to use half and half instead of heavy cream.

Year of Yum Rating: 2 STARS

Here's the deal. The flavor was good-ish. The problem was that the mushrooms (especially the larger ones) were incredibly rubbery, and I just couldn't get over it. It's possible that I just prepared them incorrectly, but I still think I am going to find a recipe using fresh mushrooms next time. I think I also prefer soups that I don't have to chew. Does that make me lazy...?

INGREDIENTS
3 cups re-hydrated Gourmet Mushroom Blend
2 large onions, finely chopped
8 large cloves of garlic, crushed
2-3 Tablespoons freshly chopped thyme
3 cups half and half
6 cups chicken broth
2-3 Tablespoons sea salt
1 stick whole butter
1/2-1 cup flour (more flour = thicker soup)
1 cups sherry

DIRECTIONS
In a large soup pot, melt the butter on medium low heat. Cook the garlic and onion until translucent. Add the re-hydrated mushrooms and cook until the moisture is mostly gone. Add the flour. Stirring often, cook for 5-7 minutes or until the flour looks and/or smells slightly toasted. Add the wine, and cook for two minutes. Add the broth. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook for fifteen minutes. Add the fresh thyme and cream and cook for 2-3 minutes. Serve with crunchy croutons or toast.

Week 68: Grilled Fontina, Mushroom, and Sage Sandwiches

Good news: I haven't dropped off the face of the Earth.

Bad news: A few of our recipes have gotten forgotten in all the craziness that's been going on.

Can I make it up to you with a WHOLE LOT OF MUSHROOMS? Let's hope so, because that's what you're about to get...

Year of Yum Rating: 4 STARS

This was really delicious. Unfortunately I didn't really feel like eating at the time, so I may not have given this yummy sandwich a very fair shot. I should probably try making it again soon. Just to be fair...

INGREDIENTS
3 Tablespoons butter (2 melted)
1/2 pounds mushrooms (cut into thin slices)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
4 teaspoons chopped fresh sage (or 1 1/4 teaspoons dried sage)
8 slices bread
1/2 pounds fontina (this cheese was HEAVEN in my mouth)

DIRECTIONS
1) In a large nonstick frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the butter over moderate heat. Add the mushrooms, salt, pepper, and dried sage, if using, and cook, stirring frequently, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in the fresh sage, if using. Put the mushrooms in a bowl and wipe out the pan.

2) Using a pastry brush, coat one side of 4 slices of the bread with half of the melted butter. Put them, buttered-side down, on a work surface. Top the bread with the cheese and then the mushrooms. Cover with the remaining 4 slices of bread; brush the tops with the remaining melted butter.

3) Heat the frying pan over moderately low heat. Add the sandwiches and cook, turning once, until golden, about 2 minutes per side.



This recipe even came with a wine recommendation! How fancy! Try a crisp, dry, Italian white, such as Soave, Frascati, or pinot grigio to refresh your mouth after every bite of this flavorful sandwich.