Filed under: Comfort Food, Guilty Pleasures | Tags: thanksgiving, sweet potato casserole
For this dish I roasted four sweet potatoes and mashed them with cream, lemon juice, salt, pepper and pumpkin pie spice. For the topping I mixed flour, brown sugar, butter and chopped pecans and sprinkled the mixture on top of the mashed sweet potatoes, along with a few mini marshmallows. Say want you want about the Southern tradition of adding marshmallows, but it’s my opinion most people who knock it certainly have not tried it.
Cranberry sauce is so easy to make, it’s a wonder people buy it already made. I added mandarin orange zest to add a little citrus complexity to the flavor.
12 oz fresh cranberries
3/4 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
zest from 2 mandarin oranges
In a nonreactive pot bring water, sugar and salt to a boil and stir until sugar is completely melted. Add cranberries and orange zest, simmer for about five minutes. Pour into a nonreactive container to cool in the refrigerator.
That’s it! And it’s delicious!
Filed under: Comfort Food, Guilty Pleasures | Tags: trader joe's meatballs, pasta, tortellini
Another Trader Joe’s dinner. I am back to working on all of the days that there are farmers markets available, and the stores that sell local, organic veggies are out of my current price range. However, I am not ungrateful that I have any somewhat healthy, cheap food options. I’d rather make everything from scratch, but the frozen meatballs and canned pasta sauce were pretty tasty, nonetheless.
Filed under: Farmers Market Finds | Tags: autumn harvest, beets, borscht, carrots, farmers market, root vegetables, rutabagas
I finally had a chance to get back to the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market after a long hiatus. I stocked up on more squash blossoms as well as fresh potatoes, Peruvian style goat cheese, rutabagas, beets, heirloom carrots, and butternut squash. Last night I made a simple borscht by throwing all of the root veggies into a crock pot with water, salt and pepper, and I roasted the butternut squash with onions and butter. After several hours the roots had magically turned into a delicious, hearty soup that I think will be a staple in my house this fall.
Filed under: Comfort Food, Farmers Market Finds, Guilty Pleasures | Tags: bacon jam, corn fritters, grilled cheese
I somehow forgot to post the photos I took in August of my experiments with Bacon Jam. From the Skillet Street Food website:
“…we take a big bunch of really really good bacon, and render it down…add a bunch of spices..onions, etc..and let it simmer for about 6 hours…give it a quick puree, and blast chill it…and you have bacon jam…”
I made grilled cheese with Bacon Jam and chipotle cheddar as well as Bacon Jam corn fritters. Both were delicious. I was able to make a surprising amount of both from one small jar, so I feel it was well worth the $17 it costs when ordering online. The flavor is akin to a delicately spiced pulled pork, and while the texture when cold is a bit off putting, once heated through it is divine.
Filed under: Comfort Food, Farmers Market Finds, recipes | Tags: cast iron, local food, seasonal, southern cooking, squash blossoms
I finally had a chance to get back to the farmers market, just in time for autumn harvest vegetables! In addition to beautiful acorn and butternut squash, I was able to score fresh squash blossoms. I made two batches, one last night with chevre and one this morning with cheddar cheese; both were totally scrumptious.
Fried Squash Blossoms-
14 – 20 blossoms
2 eggs
1 cup cornmeal
4 oz. cheese (soft cheeses work best)
half cup vegetable oil (I used grape seed with a pat of butter added.)
Wash squash blossoms and spoon a small amount of cheese into the middle of each one. Gently press petals closed. Mix eggs in one bowl and put cornmeal into another. Dip each blossom in egg, wipe off excess, and roll in cornmeal. Fry in oil over medium heat for about three minutes, turning over halfway through, until golden. Drain on paper towel covered plate and serve immediately.
Filed under: Comfort Food | Tags: grilled cheese, home fries, teaching boys to cook
The man person is finally getting the hang of cooking. He’s got the basics of comfort food down and is now experimenting with recipes of his own creation. I believe this was the first full meal he cooked for me, grilled cheese and home fries.
Proof that I cook just about everything in my beautifully non-stick cast iron skillet these days. Nachos topped with sharp cheddar, chevre, fresh jalepenos, and salsa verde. 
