December is the season of cookies and champagne and lots and lots of cheese. Everyone has their own favorite food traditions this month. I indulge in Bailey’s-spiked hot chocolate with real whipped cream, in two slices of cranberry-vanilla coffee cake on Christmas morning, and in the truly excellent gouda my grandfather sometimes brings to our house. This year we are headed to Munich and Brussels around Christmastime, so I expect there will also be Belgian waffles, glühwein, pretzels, and lots of yummy Belgian beer. I try not to feel guilty about these indulgences – it’s part of the season! – but I do find myself strongly craving vegetables after a few days of heavy meals. Of course, it’s freezing cold in Boston, so the vegetables still have to be warm and comforting, which is where grain bowls save the day.

Grain bowls are a pretty regular feature of our weekly menu. Usually they are a pretty basic affair. Roast brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes are a staple, along with a few pieces of whatever cheese we have sitting in the fridge. There is maybe a dollop of hummus that serves as dressing and a handful of greens. The grain itself is whatever we have on hand – usually farro or rice. These grain bowls are always satisfying, but they aren’t always cohesive – it’s just a mess of stuff I like to eat on one plate. So every once in a while, I like to put a little more thought into how the components of the bowl will go together. Recently, we made a Middle-Eastern inflected grain bowl that came out so well that I thought it was worth sharing here (as well as documenting for myself!).

This grain bowl has a lot of goodness in it. Spicy honey-cinnamon roast sweet potatoes. Cumin-scented roast cauliflower with sticky dates. Crispy brussels sprouts. To pull it together there’s a tangy tahini-yogurt sauce, creamy goat cheese, and jewel-like pomegranate seeds. Each individual component is highly flavorful – the sweet and spicy sweet potatoes in particular are addictive. All together in one bowl each component enhances the others, for a warming, slightly exotic meal. Plus, if you double up on the quantities below you’ll have plenty of leftovers to see you through the week.

Middle-Eastern Grain Bowl with Sweet Potatoes and Cauliflower

A step above your average throw-it-all-together grain bowl. This recipe combines honey-cinnamon-roasted sweet potatoes with cumin-spiced cauliflower and tahini dressing for a Middle-Eastern inflected grain bowl.

Cauliflower recipe is adapted from Dining In. 

• Author: Katie at the Kitchen Door
• Prep Time: 20
• Cook Time: 30
• Total Time: 50 minutes
• Yield: 2-3

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup dry farro

For the sweet potatoes:

• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into wedges
• 2 TBS olive oil
• 1 TBS honey
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ground cayenne pepper
• sea salt and black pepper to taste

For the cauliflower and brussels sprouts:

• 1 head of cauliflower, washed and cut into florets
• 20–30 brussels sprouts, outer leaves removed, cut in half
• 3 TBS olive oil
• 1 tsp whole cumin seed
• sea salt and black pepper to taste
• 8 dates, halved

For the dressing:

• 3 TBS tahini
• 3 TBS plain Greek yogurt or skyr (the tangier the better!)
• 1 TBS honey
• 1/4 cup lukewarm water
• Juice from 1/2 a lemon
• Sea salt and pepper to taste

Toppings/other:

• Several handfuls fresh baby spinach
• 2 oz. fresh goat cheese, crumbled
• Arils from 1/2 a pomegranate, about 1/2 cup

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. When the water is boiling, add the farro. Cook until al dente, about 20-25 minutes. Drain farro and set aside.
2. For the sweet potatoes: whisk the olive oil, honey, cinnamon, cayenne, salt and pepper together in a large bowl. Add the sweet potato wedges and toss to completely coat with the honey-olive oil mixture. Spread the sweet potatoes out on a rimmed baking sheet and place in the oven. Roast until very tender, about 25-30 minutes.
3. For the cauliflower: in the same bowl you used for the sweet potatoes, whisk together the olive oil, cumin seed, salt, and pepper. Add the cauliflower florets and toss, making sure to thoroughly coat the tops of each floret with the olive oil mixture. Add the halved brussels sprouts to the bowl and toss to coat. Spread out on a rimmed baking sheet and roast until the vegetables are tender in the middle and crispy on the edges, about 30 minutes. About 10 minutes, before the vegetables are done, add the halved dates to the roasting pan so that they roast slightly (they will get a little bit more sticky and caramelized).
4. For the bowls: whisk all dressing ingredients together in a medium bowl until smooth, then adjust seasoning to taste. Divide the cooked farro and the baby spinach between two bowls. Top each bowl with several roast sweet potato wedges, pieces of cauliflower and brussels sprouts. Crumble goat cheese on top of the bowls, then sprinkle with pomegranate arils. Drizzle with dressing and serve immediately.

Notes

All the cooked ingredients have approximately the same cooking time, meaning if you start the farro at the same time as you put the vegetables in the oven, everything will be ready almost at once.

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This post was supposed to be a cocktail. Something springlike and sparkling because we just bought a house. And, well, it’s worth celebrating. The problem is it’s 45° and raining, I’m leaving on another 10-day trip to Latin America in 36 hours, and the idea of packing and moving and fixing all of the things in the house that need fixing has my brain in overdrive. Don’t get me wrong – I’m excited and I know this is a huge milestone – it’s just all a little overwhelming right now. So a cocktail, however springlike and celebratory, is not what I needed today. What I needed was something comforting, energizing, nourishing, and whole. Something to warm me up and keep me focused. Like this soup.

This soup, which is lightly adapted from Sprouted Kitchen Bowl + Spoon, is healthy soul food  (because another thing I need right now is to be especially careful about what I put in my body). It’s based on a mixture of gently spiced sweet potatoes and coconut milk, served with a few spoonfuls of crisped black lentils to give it more staying power. I followed the original recipe fairly closely, only adding the step of roasting the sweet potatoes for a bit more sweetness and depth, and serving the whole thing over a bowl of brown rice for extra body. The flavors in this are balanced just right – I often find vegetable purees too spicy or too one-dimensional, but this uses a good amount of fresh ginger, and just a touch of turmeric and curry powder. You can taste the coconut but it doesn’t overwhelm the other flavors, and the soup has a good body. It’s a keeper. And despite the fact that it’s the first day of June and Sweet Potato Soup sounds like something you should make in October, it’s exactly what I want to eat right now.

I promise I’ll tell you all about the house soon. In fact, you might even get tired of hearing about it, given that we’re planning on remodeling practically everything, and I’m sure I’ll be coming here to share our victories and challenges. And maybe later this summer – once we have some furniture and a place to enjoy a cocktail – we’ll get to that festive, sparkling drink.

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More nourishing soups…

Spicy Chorizo Soup with Italian Couscous

Lentil and Roasted Tomato Soup with Saffron

Black Bean Soup with Roasted Poblano

Sweet Potato and Coconut Milk with Brown Rice and Lentils

Slightly adapted from Sprouted Kitchen Bowl + Spoon. Serves 6.

• 2-3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
• 2 TBS olive oil
• sea salt and pepper to taste
• 3 TBS coconut oil, divided
• 1 large yellow onion, peeled and diced
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 TBS curry powder
• 2 TBS freshly grated ginger (from a 1 inch piece of ginger)
• 4 c. vegetable or chicken broth
• 3/4 c. orange juice
• 1 c. coconut milk
• 2 large shallots, peeled and minced
• 1 1/2 c. cooked black lentils
• 3 c. cooked brown rice
• yogurt, for serving
• fresh minced cilantro, for serving

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Toss the sweet potatoes with the olive oil, salt, and pepper and spread out on a large rimmed baking sheet. Roast until tender when pierced with a fork, about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
2. Melt 2 TBS of the coconut oil over medium heat in a large saucepan. Add the onion and saute until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the turmeric, curry powder, and ginger and saute until fragrant, 2 minutes more. Add the roasted sweet potato and broth and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 2o minutes, then remove from heat and carefully transfer to a blender. Add the orange juice and coconut milk and blend until very smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set soup aside.
3. In a small frying pan, melt the remaining 1 TBS of coconut oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and saute until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the cooked lentils and saute until crispy, another 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.
4. Scoop a 1/2 cup of brown rice into each bowl. Pour soup over the rice, then top with lentils, yogurt, and cilantro.

The post A House // Sweet Potato and Coconut Milk Soup with Brown Rice and Lentils appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

Last April, Trevor and I made the drive up to Montreal just to partake in the sugar shack dinner at Au Pied de Cochon, Martin Picard’s infamous and lively, pork-loving restaurant. We’d been waiting for over two years to go – reservations open December 1st at midnight, and over 2,000 people submitted requests in the first five minutes – and it 100% lived up to our (very high) expectations. I wanted to write about it right away, but by the time we were back and I’d processed what I wanted to say, we were well into May, and it just seemed like an inappropriate time to share maple-syrup laden pork and duck dishes. So I waited until now, when heavy winter dishes are once again on the menu (and now this post can serve as a more timely reminder to those of you who might want to snag a reservation!).

As I flip through the pictures from that trip, I’m wishing now that I took better notes for you. I’m left mostly with a memory of warm yellow light filling a crowded cabin-style room, anticipation and excitement building with every course. A loud and convivial atmosphere of friends and strangers enjoying food that is completely over-the-top in more ways than one. A giant block of cheddar cheese being wheeled around the room on a trolley cart, the servers tossing steaming hot blood-and-ink fettucine in the hollowed out center to coat the noodles with  melted cheese. A cognac-doused duck-stuffed-duck being placed in front of Trevor and me, flaming, the whole duck just for the two of us. Sitting at the bar, watching the waitresses pour mug after mug of maple beer. Walking through the still-cold, still-muddy woods at twilight, enjoying the contrast between the still woods and the jolly feast inside. It was a wonderful experience: lively and joyful and a bit otherwordly, like something out of a book or a play. I’d go back in a heartbeat.

I do have a good list of what we were served, course by course. First, the drinks: a hefty mug of maple beer for Trevor, and a series of just-sweet-enough maple daiquiris for me. The appetizer course had three meal-sized components: a huge piece of maple foie-gras served with duck fat toast; a “sushi cake,” made with layers of rice, salmon tartare, and wasabi avocado mash; and pork cracklings served with little pots of maple-soaked scrambled eggs and maple baked beans. Next up was sturgeon in mussel and bacon sauce, followed quickly by an omelet of sorts, baked into a skillet with potato, beef, tomato, and a parmesan bread crust. Then one of my favorites, a make-it-yourself sandwich with duck fat fried dough as the bread, mustard, and inch-thick slices of juicy ham unlike any ham I’d every had before. Perhaps the most impressive course was the afore-mentioned duck, fed on maple syrup then stuffed, drenched, doused with cognac, and flambeed. This was served with baked sweet potatoes topped with maple-meringue, a dish I’ve recreated for you here. The last savory course was the blood and ink fettucine with blood sausage and cheddar cheese, and then we moved on to the desserts. Served all together, the desserts were a banana cream pie with maple meringue, maple taffy on ice, a mocha maple cake, and a maple frozen yogurt with maple sugar and whiskey.

There was an absurd amount of food served, and all of it was incredibly rich and delicious – easily the most lavish meal I’ve ever been a part of. The standouts for me were the maple daiquiris, the ham sandwich, and the maple frozen yogurt, which had an incredible tang to it. We may try to recreate all of these dishes at home at some point, but the easiest, and the most appropriate for this month, were the simple but clever baked sweet potatoes with maple meringue topping. Although I know that realistically, anyone who is cooking Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow has had their menu set for weeks and is not looking for last minute additions to their very long to-do list, these baked sweet potatoes would theoretically be a great addition to a Thanksgiving menu. They are super easy – just bake the potatoes, whip the egg whites, and broil just before serving – and they capture the much-loved flavors of sweet potato casserole without as much added sugar or fat.

Whatever you’re serving tomorrow, I hope that all of you have a lovely, relaxing, and delicious Thanksgiving! Ours will be small and non-traditional this year – we’re having steak tips and stuffing and raspberry pie – but I’m looking forward to the long weekend, spending downtime with my family, and eating whatever turkey leftovers Trevor manages to salvage from his family’s dinner. Plus going to the movies at least twice. Have a great holiday!

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Baked Sweet Potatoes with Maple-Meringue Topping

Inspired by dinner at Au Pied de Cochon. Serves 4.

• 4 small sweet potatoes
• 2 egg whites
• pinch cream of tartar
• 1/2 c. maple syrup

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Wash the potatoes and poke all over with a fork. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake until tender, about 40 minutes to 1 hour depending on the size of the potato. Flip the potatoes halfway through, at about 25 minutes.
2. Remove the potatoes from the oven and let cool slightly. Cut a lengthwise slit into the tops of the potatoes, and scoop out a small amount of the potato flesh so that there is a shallow, circular hollow on top of each potato.
3. To prepare the meringue, beat the egg whites and the cream of tartar on high until soft peaks form. Set whites aside. Place the maple syrup in a small saucepan, and heat over medium heat until just simmering and the temperature is 235°F. While beating the egg whites on high, slowly drizzle the hot maple syrup into the whites, until the meringue is shiny and holds stiff peaks. Spoon or pipe the meringue on top of the sweet potatoes. Broil on high until meringue is golden brown, about 3-5 minutes, or use a pastry torch to cook the meringue only. Serve immediately.

The post Montreal Travelogue: Cabane A Sucre Au Pied de Cochon // Baked Sweet Potatoes with Maple-Meringue Topping appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope that none of you have had any major kitchen or travel mishaps, and that you’re all getting ready/happily in the midst of/recovering from a relaxing day of family, friends, and delicious eating. We’re in the car on our way up to Maine to see Trevor’s family, but before we sit down to overindulge, I wanted to share our Thanksgiving submission to the Captain’s Table Challenge.

As I mentioned Monday, we’re part of a group of 15 bloggers that are teaming up with Captain Morgan to create delicious rum-based food and drink recipes for the holiday season. There’s a bit of a contest aspect to it as well, so I’m extra motivated to make these recipes top notch (there’s nothing like a little competition to get me going). For the Thanksgiving edition of the challenge, we decided to work with two classic November ingredients, sweet potatoes and cranberries, turning each into a rum-infused masterpiece. After a bit of group brainstorming at the wedding we were at last weekend, we decided that the only thing for the sweet potatoes was a souffle, and not just any souffle, but a light, fluffy, rum-scented souffle drizzled with a rum-raisin caramel sauce. There are a surprising number of sweet potato souffle recipes out there, but you’ll quickly notice that most of them are not actually souffles, but instead just mashed sweet potatoes buried under some form of sweet goo (I so enjoyed Sommer’s rant on this topic). What we were going for was a real souffle, with a classic roux-base, a bit of rum, and a hint of sweet potato flavor.

Creating our own recipe for souffles was a bit of a risky move, and it was a tense 30 minutes in the kitchen as we waited to take them out of the oven. We’ve made souffles before, but tweaking any baking recipe can be hit or miss, plus souffles are notoriously challenging and we did significantly more than tweak a base recipe. We did our research, though, and what came out of the oven was far more perfect than we expected – puffed up gracefully over the top of the ramekins, cooked through yet still creamy, light and sweet and everything you want a souffle to be. With the thick, syrupy-sweet rum raisin caramel drizzled on top, I am not ashamed to admit that we each had two of these, one after the other. And then we skipped dinner.

As for the cranberries, I knew I wanted to do a festive riff on Dark and Stormy’s, the classic ginger and dark rum cocktail that’s pretty much perfect any time of year. I wanted to incorporate cranberries, but I didn’t want the drink to be too sweet or cloying, so instead of using cranberry juice, I made a thick, almost jam-like cranberry-ginger syrup for the base of the drink. After reading an article in Bon Appetit about how we should be celebrating Thanksgiving with the new crop of artisanal hard ciders that wouldn’t have been out of place at early colonial celebrations, I decided to replace the traditional ginger beer with one of my favorite sparkling ciders, Bantam’s Wunderkind. The resulting drink was strong and slightly sweet, with hints of spice, cranberry and apple.

So, if you’re looking for something to do with your leftover mashed sweet potatoes or that bag of cranberries you didn’t end up using? Try a souffle, or a cranberry-ginger cocktail, or maybe even both. And let me know what you think! Also, if there’s any flavor combinations or recipe types you’d like to see for our Christmas Captain Morgan challenge, leave a note in the comments – we’re looking for inspiration anywhere we can get it. Have a wonderful holiday!

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Captain Morgan, who provided me with product samples and monetary compensation in exchange for my participation in this program. All opinions are honest and my own, as always.

Sweet Potato Souffles with Rum Raisin Sauce

Serves 5.

For the souffles:

• 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 2 TBS olive oil
• 3 TBS butter plus extra for greasing the ramekins
• 3 TBS flour
• 3/4 c. warm milk
• 1/4 c. Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/4 c. sugar plus extra for preparing the ramekins
• 6 egg whites
• pinch cream of tartar

1. Preheat the oven to 375F. Toss the sweet potato cubes with the olive oil and place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until very tender and almost falling apart. Stir the sweet potatoes once after 20 minutes. While still warm, add the sweet potato cubes to a blender and puree until smooth. Scrape the puree out of the blender and set aside.
2. Adjust the oven temperature to 350F. Butter five 6-oz. souffle dishes or ramekins, then sprinkle a bit of sugar into each. Tap the sugar around the edges of the dish, tapping out any excess. Set the prepared dishes aside.
3. In a wide frying pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour, and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the mixture is a pale yellow and smells nutty. Add 1/4 c. of the warm milk to the roux and whisk until smooth, then slowly whisk in the remaining warm milk. Cook over medium-low heat until thick and smooth, about 1-2 minutes, then remove from the heat. Whisk in the rum, and let cool slightly.
4. Beat the egg yolks and the sugar together until thick and pale yellow. Quickly whisk into the roux, taking care that the roux is not hot enough to scramble the eggs. Then, whisk in 3/4 c. of the sweet potato puree, adding 1/4 c. at a time. When the mixture is smooth and evenly colored, set aside.
5. In a large, clean bowl, beat the egg whites until frothy. Sprinkle the cream of tartar over the top, and then beat until the egg whites are shiny and hold a stiff peak. Fold the sweet potato mixture gently into the egg whites until they are just combined. Spoon the souffle mixture carefully into the prepared dishes, filling them just shy of the brim. Place the ramekins in a larger baking dish, and fill the baking dish with hot water so that it reaches halfway up the sides of the souffle dishes. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until souffles are puffed up and set in the middle. Remove and serve immediately with the warm rum raisin sauce.

For the sauce:

• 1/2 c. Captain Morgan Black Spiced Rum
• 1/2 c. raisins
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. cream

1. Place the rum and the raisins in a small saucepan. Heat over low heat until the rum just begins to steam, then immediately remove from heat and set aside. Let sit for at least 10 minutes to allow the raisins to plump up.
2. Pour the sugar into the bottom of a heavy-bottomed saucepan in an even layer. Place over medium heat, and melt sugar, whisking frequently. As you whisk, the sugar will clump up, but once melted, all the clumps should dissolve. As soon as all the sugar is melted, stop whisking but swirl slightly. Watch the sugar closely as it begins to darken. As soon as it reaches a golden caramel color, add the heavy cream all at once. Be careful, the caramel will bubble violently when you do this. Whisk until the mixture is even. Now add the rum and raisins all at once, again, being careful to avoid the bubbling up, and whisking until the mixture is even. As soon as the mixture is smooth and consistent. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Sauce should be served warm.

Cranberry-Ginger Sparkling Rum Cider

Serves 4.

• 3/4 c. sugar
• 3/4 c. water
• 1 1/2 c. fresh cranberries, rinsed (remove any squished/deflated berries)
• 1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced thinly
• 6 oz. Captain Morgan Black Spiced rum
• ice cubes
• 2 c. sparkling cider (alcoholic)
• sugared cranberries, for garnish

1. Add the sugar and water to a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves, then add the cranberries and ginger. Simmer the mixture until thick and syrupy, about 15 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent the cranberries from foaming up, pressing the cranberries against the side of the pan to pop them.
2. Pour the cranberry mixture through a fine-mesh sieve and strain the liquid into a medium bowl. Press gently on the cranberries to extract more juice, but be warned that if you press too hard you may end up with more of a jelly than a syrup (still delicious!). Refrigerate the syrup until cold; save the berries for another use.
3. Add 1 to 2 TBS of the cranberry syrup to each of 4 glasses, then add 1 1/2 oz. (1 shot) of rum to each glass. Stir vigorously to mix. Add a few ice cubes to each glass, then top off with 1/2 c. of sparkling cider. Garnish with sugared cranberries and serve immediately.

The post Captain’s Table Thanksgiving // Sweet Potato Souffles with Rum Raisin Sauce + Cranberry-Ginger Sparkling Rum Cider appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

The big day is almost here! I’m headed home for the holiday (and bringing this cake and this salad with me), but I wanted to say a quick hello first and share with you this yummy little recipe I’ve put together for Greatist. When you all come out of your turkey and mashed potato comas, give this hash a try. It’s got brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, roasted chestnuts, chorizo, and goat cheese – in other words, health and flavor. The perfect thing to ease you back into normal eating habits without depriving you of deliciousness. Just please don’t forget a sunny-side up egg to top it off – the runny yolk oozing into the warm hash lifts this dish from good to great. You can find the full recipe here.

Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving!

The post Greatist Collaboration: Brussels Sprout, Sweet Potato, and Chorizo Hash appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

Does it feel like pumpkin has been all the rage a little bit more than usual this fall?  It does to me – I’ve even seen complaints about the internet overdose of pumpkin: “Find a new darling ingredient!” and “What about cranberries, guys??”  So, yes, I know some of you are over pumpkin.  And frankly, it’s not my favorite ingredient of all time (although who doesn’t love the occasional pumpkin muffin?).  But when I saw this recipe for Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Moussaka, I knew I had to try it out anyway.  It’s so… different.  In the best sort of way.

The first time I had moussaka I was in Budapest.  While I was studying abroad in Prague, we had a 10 day fall break during which we could travel independently.  Most people in the program took off on a city-hopping tour of Europe, trying to hit as many major cities as possible in the short time.  My roommates and I took the opposite approach, visiting only two cities, both accessible by train – Vienna, and Budapest.

I have never felt more out of place than I did in Budapest.  Don’t get me wrong – I loved the city.  Beautiful, old-world, twisty-turny, and a little bit hipster.  But I could not say a single word in the language – not even “thank you.”  I’ve never had that experience before, and I felt completely helpless.  We managed to get by for the most part, but it was embarrassing!  The next time I’m there I’ll be prepared.

Anyway, one night we decided to go out to a Greek restaurant near our apartment (we’d already had plenty of chicken paprikash).  It was like being transported – whitewashed walls with bright blue murals, two brightly lit lofts with stone arches, waiters with Greek accents, etc.  It was one of the stranger dining experiences I’ve ever had – they actually used a dust-buster to vacuum off the table between courses!  But the food was delicious, and moussaka will always remind me of that little place in Budapest, and of the whole lovey trip, for that matter.

Originally, this post was meant to double as a review of The Country Cooking of Greece.  But as I began writing my grocery list and assembling ingredients, I made too many changes to the original recipe to really make it a fair “review” recipe.  You can’t judge a cookbook on a recipe you’ve changed!  The original recipe was vegetarian, but I couldn’t imagine having moussaka without ground beef – the salty, meatiness of it is the perfect counterpoint to the creamy bechamel and the sweetness of the roasted veggies.  Then, the grocery store didn’t have any eating pumpkins, so I used sweet potatoes and butternut squash instead of all three orange veggies.  I also had to play with the ratios a bit – I had way too much squash/sweet potato for the amount of bechamel I had made.  By the end, it wasn’t really a fair representation of the original recipe – but it was super delicious.  So you’ll have to hold out for the cookbook review, but you should try this adapted recipe in the meantime.

Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Moussaka

Adapted from The Country Cooking of Greece.  Serves 6-8.

For the bechamel:

• 4 TBS salted butter
• 1/4 c. flour
• 4 c. milk, slightly warmed (on the stove or in the microwave)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 c. crumbled feta cheese
• 1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese
• pepper to taste
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg

For the filling:

• olive oil
• 3 large red onions, peeled and diced
• 1 1/2 lbs ground beef
• 2 large sweet potatoes (about 2 lbs), peeled and sliced lengthwise into 1/4 inch thick slices
• 1 medium winter squash or pumpkin (about 2 lbs), peeled and sliced lengthwise into 1/4 inch thick slices
• flour, for dusting
• 1/2 c. chopped fresh mint
• 1/2 c. chopped fresh parsley
• salt and pepper, to taste

1. Make the bechamel: Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat.  Add the flour and whisk to combine so there are no lumps.  Cook for 1 minute, until lightly browned.  Slowly pour in warm milk, whisking continuously.  Whisk the mixture non-stop until it thickens, about 10-12 minutes.  (Note, to save a bechamel that’s not thickening, melt a little extra butter (2 TBS) in the microwave and mix with an equal amount of flour – add to the bechamel to restart the thickening process).  Once thickened, pour a ladleful of the hot mixture over the beaten eggs, whisking the eggs vigorously, to temper the eggs.  Pour the egg mixture back into the bechamel, whisking the whole time, and remove from the heat.  Stir in the cheeses, and season with pepper and the nutmeg.  Set aside.
2. Prepare the filling: heat 2 TBS of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat and cook diced onions in it for 10 minutes, until soft.  Add ground beef and brown thoroughly.  Remove from heat, and use a slotted spoon to scoop beef and onion mixture into a bowl.  Season with salt and pepper, and set aside.
3. Heat enough olive oil to rise a 1/4 inch up the side of the pan in a large frying pan.  Use medium heat, and let oil heat fully before beginning frying.  Test the temperature by dipping a piece of squash in the oil – if it sizzles immediately, the oil is ready.  Dredge the squash slices lightly in flour, then fry in the oil until lightly browned on both sides.  Remove to a paper-towel lined sheet pan to drain.  You will need to do this in batches.  Once the squash is done, lightly fry the sweet potato slices (you do not need to flour these) until golden brown.
4. Preheat the oven to 350°F and assemble the moussaka: In a 9×13 roasting pan, place a single layer of sweet potatoes along the bottom such that they overlap slightly.  Sprinkle with half the mint and half the parsley, then top with half of the beef and onion mixture and half of the bechamel.  Cover these layers with a layer of the squash, then sprinkle remaining mint and parsley on top, as well as remaining beef and onion mixture.  Spread the rest of the bechamel on top, spreading out to the edges of the pan if possible.
5. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until bechamel is puffed and golden.  If the top is not browning, broil it on low for 2-3 minutes and then remove.  Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.  Serve warm.

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Even though my roommates make some variation of roast chicken breasts probably 80% of the nights that they cook, I almost never think to do the same.  I’m more of the one-pot-soup or pretend-healthy-pasta type.  However, after seeing this recipe in Melissa Clark’s In The Kitchen With A Good Appetite and realizing that it was perfect for Greatist (easy, quick, and healthy), I decided to join my roommates in their nightly chicken-baking routine.

Only partly through, I got distracted.  See, the reason I don’t usually make roast chicken is that, well, I don’t really like it.  To be 100% honest, chicken freaks me out a little bit, even though I think it tastes good.  But something I do like is fried chicken, especially when it’s in the form of super kid-friendly chicken fingers, which my 13 year old brother basically subsists on.  Whenever he makes them, all of my other family members, including me, sneak them from the baking tray when he isn’t looking, which causes him much angsty 13-year-old wrath. So as I was laying the lovely chipotle and honey marinated chicken strips in the roasting pan, I couldn’t get the image of hot, crispy, crunchy fried chicken tenders out of my mind, even though fried chicken is a decidedly un-Greatist-friendly recipe.  So I compromised, and made both – the first half of the chicken got baked with the sweet potatoes, the second half of the tenders got dipped in flour mixed with panko, then shallow-fried in canola oil, because I  believe in satisfying cravings.

I had some of both versions – baked and fried – for dinner that night.  And I can say with honesty that both were very, very good – the spicy-sweetness of the marinade gave the chicken a surprising and interesting flavor.  So I feel comfortable recommending the healthy baked version, for which you can find the full recipe over at Greatist.  However, if you’ve got ‘dem fried chicken cravings, go ahead and indulge.  You won’t regret it.

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My first experience with homemade gnocchi was through Violeta.  She decided to host a dinner party in our dorm, Osadni.  The menu was homemade gnocchi with either meat sauce or vegetable sauce.  The size of the guest list was eighty.  EIGHTY.  Homemade gnocchi for eighty people??  Major undertaking.  But she pulled it off and of course everything was delicious and after eating our resident band The Relatives played a very intimate concert in one of the piano rooms and Prauge is just a magical place.

Sweet potatoes also have a special Prague story.  It’s very short: you can’t get them.  There are a lot of foods that are still very hard to find in Prague, even if you can find them in Germany, Austria, Hungary, and Poland.  The Czech Republic is still a bit more closed than it’s neighbors.  At first this was a major source of frustration for me, but it ended up forcing me to explore the city in search of things like cranberries and cilantro.  And sweet potatoes.  Which I never found.  But my neighbor Steph did.  As Thanksgiving approached everyone got a little bit anxious about how Thanksgiving would be so far away from home (it was great – Violeta cooked) and people began to scramble to put together their favorite dishes, which is why Steph went to the TESCO hypermarket and bought their entire supply of sweet potatoes.  Which I think was about six.  They were delicious, and oh so American.

These sweet potato gnocchi are not specifically something I ate in Prague, but they definitely remind me of it a bit, which makes any food better.  At least for me.  But for everyone who is not me, these were also easy and fun and very tasty.  Gnocchi have a reputation for being difficult to get right, but these came together very well on the first try.  Of course, that could be because they’re not traditional potato gnocchi.  Or it could just be because I’m awesome.  But it’s most likely because it’s a very good basic recipe.

Here’s the gist of the recipe, originally from Bon Appetit: cook 2 or 3 sweet potatoes in the microwave and let them cool.  I was impatient and tried to scrape them out hot, which resulted in pain (I would say minor burns but I would be exagerrating too much).  If you’re really in a hurry, wrap the bottom of the potato in a towel to protect yourself.  Scrape all of the insides of the potatoes out and mash with a fork.  Don’t worry too much about chunks of potato that won’t mash – as long as they’re not too big they won’t affect the final consistency of the gnocchi.  Mix ricotta and grated parmesean into the sweet potato mash, followed by brown sugar and salt.  Stir, stir, stir.

Once you have an even mixture, begin incorporating flour by the half cup.  I used 2 1/2 cups of flour for 3 medium sized sweet potatoes, and probably ended up incorporating another cup during the rolling process so that I had a workable dough.  I was worried that my dough would be too flour-y, but it turned out fine.  Divide the dough into six equal pieces and roll them into worms about an inch thick.  I had so much fun doing this – it was like being in elementary school art class.  I almost made a coil pot out of one worm but I refrained.  Don’t play with your food, unless it’s in the recipe instructions.  Cut your worms into 20 or so equal sized pieces.  They look like little pillows, and they have a great fluffy texture too.  If you’re feeling fancy, gently press a fork onto the top of each pillow for that true gnocchi look.  And once you’ve done that – boil them!  The recipe says to cook them in batches and then leave them out on the counter until you’re ready to re-heat them in whatever sauce you are going to serve them in, so that’s what I did.  I was wondering though if you could refrigerate the dough for 24 hours or so and cook them the next day, or if it would be better to cook them and then refrigerate them.  Thoughts?  The only problem I had with leaving them out on the counter already cooked was that every time I walked by I popped one into my mouth, so I had about 20% less at dinner time then I did at 4PM.  Oh well.

I served these in a sage-gorgonzola sauce adapted from Gretchen’s Cookbook.  It was delicious!  Margie (my roommate from Prague, just so many connections) came over and Megan was home and the three of us ate 2/3 of this recipe.  The other 1/3 was in the freezer so we couldn’t eat that.  I would say that this recipe makes 5 dinner sized servings, but people who eat less than me (i.e. regular amounts) might get 6 or 7 servings out of it, especially if you skipped the 20% reduction on the counter. =D

Sweet Potato Gnocchi in Sage-Gorgonzola Cream Sauce

makes 5-6 large servings

For the gnocchi:

• 2 lbs. sweet potatoes
• 12 oz. ricotta cheese, drained for 2 hours
• 1 c. parmesan cheese, grated
• 2 tsp. salt
• 2 T brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 2 1/2 c. flour, plus more for rolling

For the sauce:

• 3 T butter
• 10-20 leaves sage
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• 1 c. heavy cream
• 1/2 c. crumbled gorgonzola
• black pepper

Sweet Potato Gnocchi

1. Wash the sweet potatoes and poke all over with a fork.  Microwave on high until tender, about 7 minutes per side.  Cut in half and allow to cool.
2. Scrape the potato out of the skin into a large bowl.  Mash with fork.  Add ricotta cheese and stir until well-blended.  Add parmesan cheese, brown sugar, salt, and nutmeg, and stir until mixture is even.
3. Add the flour a half cup at a time, incorporating slowly, until a soft dough is formed.  Turn the dough out onto a well-floured counter.
4. Divide the dough into 6 equal portions.  Roll each portion between your palms and the floured surface until it is a log with thickness of about 1 inch.  Cut each log into 20 pieces.  Gently press the tines of a fork into the tops of pieces.  Place pieces on a floured pan to prevent sticking.
5. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Once boiling, add about 2 T of salt, and return to boil.  Boil the gnocchi in batches until tender – they are done cooking when they float to the surface of the pot.  Re-salt between batches.  Return cooked gnocchi to a clean, lightly oiled pan, and allow to stand at room temperature for up to 4 hours.

Sage-Gorgonzola Cream Sauce

1. Melt butter in a large skillet over low heat.  Add sage leaves and garlic clove and allow to stand 2 to 3 minutes.
2. Add cream, gorgonzola, and black pepper to taste, and stir until cheese is melted.
3. Add gnocchi to skillet and coat with sauce, cooking until heated through.

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