Crash Hot Sweet Potatoes

I love the name. I love the potatoes even more. I think the recipe originated here, but it's been making the rounds on lots of different websites. With good reason. They are sweet and spicy and creamy and completely addicting. Try them. Try them right now.

Ingredients:

• As many sweet potatoes as you think you can eat (and you'll be stuffing yourselves with them). My amounts will be for about 4 medium-sized sweet potatoes. Adjust as needed.
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp kosher salt (I used no salt and substituted onion salt for onion powder)
• 1 tsp ground cumin (don't be scared, it tastes great in the end)
• 1 tsp New Mexico chili powder
• 1 tsp smoked sweet paprika (regular paprika, if regular and hot are the only two choices)
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder
• 1/2 tsp ancho chili powder
  
• 1/4 tsp granulated garlic (I'm sure garlic powder would work, too)
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
  

I found the chili powders and the paprika (and the granulated garlic) at The Spice Merchant in Wichita. I'm sure they're not too difficult to find. And they're worth it. Actually, the original recipe didn't call for ancho chili powder, but ancho chili powder is a bad idea never, amiright?

Peel your sweet potatoes and then slice them about an inch and a half thick. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Drop in your sweet potatoes, be suspicious of any that sink, and boil them for 10-20 minutes, until they're smashable but not cooked completely through.

Take them out and let them cool.

Now, if you're adventurous, you smash them. You can do it right on the parchment paper (yes, you need parchment paper. They'll stick otherwise.) with a clear bowl so that you can see what you're doing. Use a spatula to slide the smashed potatoes off the bottom of the bowl. What we're doing here is making pretty edges, and giving them an opportunity to get sort of crispy and brown in the oven. Mine didn't, so I might not be smashing them next time. You could even do this to an entire sweet potato, but for that I would recommend smashing it, just to get more surface area for the spices.

Mix the spices in a bowl and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 375.

Melt the butter in small bowl, mix with olive oil, and then brush onto each potato. Sprinkle some of the spice mixture onto each one. Don't be stingy. Try gently patting the spices on to make sure they stick to the butter and oil. Flip each one over. They flip surprisingly well. Brush on the butter and oil, sprinkle with the remaining spices, and pop them in the oven for about 15 minutes. Take them out, flip them over (this does not work surprisingly well - it's kind of messy), eat all the crusty black caramelized sugar-spice from the spatula, and put them back in the oven for another ten minutes or so.

ETA: If you want a quicker and/or potluck appropriate dish, try it this way: Peel and slice your sweet potatoes like you're making scalloped potatoes (if you have a food processor with a slicing blade, it works just fine) and spread about half of them in a greased baking dish. Brush over some butter/olive oil mixture, then sprinkle a goodly amount of spice over them. Add another layer of potatoes and brush with butter/olive oil again. Sprinkle on some more spice. Bake, covered, until potatoes are tender - about 45 minutes to an hour. In the meantime, prepare some more spice mixture by combining it with equal part of brown sugar - we have a lot of surface area and we don't want it to be too spicy. Spread this over the top, put it back in the oven uncovered for another fifteen to twenty minutes to get the top all caramelized, and you're good to go. I think I may actually prefer them this way.

Fudge Frosting

This is my favorite chocolate frosting. It's very easy to make and has such wonderful homemade flavor. If you want it to be even more fudgy, add another square of chocolate.

2 (1oz) squares unsweetened chocolate, melted
1/4 cup butter (not margarine)
3 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk, cream, or half-and-half
1 tsp. vanilla

In a medium mixing bowl, combine melted chocolate and butter, stir to blend. Slowly add powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla. Beat well.

Mom's Scalloped Chicken

This has always been a holiday dish because it makes a large amount. It's so good! One serving won't be enough... you'll be back.

1 hen or 2 fryers, stewed, deboned, and cut into bite-sized pieces (save the broth)
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
1/2 onion, chopped
1 can condensed mushroom soup
1 cup processed American cheese, shredded
2 beaten eggs
round, buttery crackers, crushed to make 4 cups
4 cups chicken broth

Combine celery and onion with broth and simmer until tender. Mix all ingredients except crackers thoroughly. Add 3 cups of the crackers, mix gently. Pour mixture into a 13 x 9 inch pan; sprinkle remaining cracker crumbs on top. Bake at 325 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes or until golden brown.

For a quicker version, simply use a deli-roasted chicken and canned chicken broth. The taste is still fantastic!

Blackberry Wine Cake

Everyone comes back for more of this moist, delicious cake.

1 (18.25 oz.) white cake mix
1 (3 oz.) package blackberry gelatin mix
4 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup blackberry wine

Glaze:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup blackberry wine


Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 10-inch Bundt cake pan. In a large mixing bowl, stir together cake ingredients, then mix at medium speed for 4 minutes. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in 325 degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Spoon half of the glaze over the warm cake. After 10 minutes, remove from pan. Cool cake and spoon remaining glaze over the top. To make the glaze, simply whisk together the wine and the powdered sugar.

Roasted Broccoli

I wasn't really sure what to title this recipe. When I found it, it was called The Best Broccoli of Your Life, which was appropriate. I considered Broccoli to Make People Beg, or Everybody's New Favorite Lunch, Dinner, Side Dish, or Snack. But those are rather long and complicated. So I'm going with the subtle, understated, boringly descriptive Roasted Broccoli. This broccoli is amazing. It could be a meal all by itself. It should be. It's that good. Oh and also it's super easy.

Ingredients:

• Two large heads of broccoli
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
  
• 1 lemon
• Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Cut the broccoli into bite-sized florets. Either don't wash them at all (on the theory that half an hour in a hot oven will kill all the germs) or dry them obsessively after you do wash them. They need to be dry.

Line a cookie sheet with tin foil and throw down the broccoli. Toss it with 1/4 cup olive oil, salt, pepper, and the garlic. Bake for 20-25 minutes. The tips of some of the broccoli should just be starting to brown.

You're not done yet. Here comes the fun part. Dump the broccoli into a pretty serving bowl and zest the lemon into it. Then squeeze out the lemon juice. Then add another tablespoon olive oil. Then add the parmesan cheese, freshly grated or from a can.

Stir well. Be prepared to hand over the recipe.

Perfect Tortillas

I never considered making tortillas until the day when I wanted to make fajitas for dinner and found that tortillas are somewhat scarce and expensive in France. But as it turns out, tortillas are super easy to make and ten times more delicious than store-bought. And fun! If, you know, you happen to find bread baking types of activities fun. Recipe via The Fresh Loaf. Go there for pretty pictures and an enlightening discussion about various fats.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup lard (this is the Secret Ingredient)
  
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 cup warm milk (or water, for somewhat less tender results)

Throw the dry ingredients in a bowl and combine. Add the lard, and mix by hand or with a mixer until the mixture is grainy. By hand isn't as difficult as you might think. I use a fork and a spoon and it works just fine.

Add the warm milk and mix until it becomes dough that you can pick up with your hands. If you use some fancy cooking equipment, like a wooden spoon, this will work better. It's not that tablespoons don't work, it's just that they become a bit...bendy. Such are the perils of cooking abroad with an understocked kitchen.

When the dough comes together, lightly flour your hands and scoop it up. Or just turn on the stand mixer for five minutes. If you're doing it by hand, knead it and squeeze it and squish it and dance with it for a few minutes.

Divide into twelve equalish balls. Put them in time-out for thirty minutes.

After the thirty minutes is up, flatten them with your hand and use a rolling pin (i.e. an old wine bottle) to roll them into 6 or 7 inch tortillas. The idea is to make them round, but splatter-shaped tastes just fine.

Lightly grease a griddle or a skillet or a crêpe pan (I am in France) and throw on the tortillas. As many as will fit at a time. They cook very quickly. Regrease, repeat, and try to avoid eating them all before dinner.

Japanese Sesame Chicken

I found this recipe through a complex and untraceable channel of internet links, copied it to Wordpad, didn't save, and lost it when my computer crashed. And couldn't find it again. This is the recreated recipe, and honestly I can't imagine the original recipe being any better.

This is good chicken. Especially if you have a passionate love for sesame seed oil, like I do.

Ingredients:

• Boneless, skinless chicken or turkey breasts (enough for two to four people)
• Vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 1 or two eggs (depending on how much chicken you want to make)
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tbsp sesame seed oil
• 2 tbsp sushi rice seasoning (2 tbsp rice or balsamic vinegar plus a couple tsp sugar)

Preheat a skillet with enough oil to fry your chicken. Combine the cornstarch and the egg in a bowl. When the oil is hot enough, dip the chicken breasts in the mixture (you can cut them into nuggets or strips first, if you like) and drop in the oil, preferably without burning yourself. Cook for a minute or two, turn, and cook until done.

This goes very well with red bell pepper. Add bell pepper slices to the oil right from the start. If you're feeling adventurous, give them a swirl in the cornstarch mixture first.

When the chicken is cooked, drain the oil and return the skillet to the heat. Add the soy sauce, the sesame seed oil, and the vinegar mixture. Heat. This won't take long. Toss your chicken onto a plate of that wonderful sticky rice you've already prepared, pour the sauce over everything, and enjoy.