Savory Sweet Potato Gratin

I think I am going to make this again for Thanksgiving on Thursday so I should have more pictures soon, but seriously this got gobbled up so fast and everyone loved it I never had a chance to get pictures!

Chanel had mentioned a few weeks before Friendsgiving this year that she wanted to do a sweet potato dish, but was tired of it always being so sweet and didn't want to do anything with marshmallows or brown sugar everywhere - I got what she was saying.  We both love sweet potatoes and they are sweet as they are and I can't turn down savory.

So I went on the hunt and starting turning options over in my head and we ended up with this slightly adapted recipe from the kitchn. I loved the addition of a mild and nutty cheese that wasn't Parmesan, the Jarlsberg was both those things and tangy - perfect!  A great tip when using a softer cheese like Jarlsberg, but don't want it to melt into gooeyness but rather be grated like a hard cheese, you can just freeze it first!  Toss it in the freezer at least a few hours before using and then grate it and it should come apart into tiny crumbs pretty well.

Savory Sweet Potato Gratin

Serves 8 - 12

Ingredients:

• 1 stick butter
• 1 large yellow onion (or two small), halved and sliced
• 3 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into thin discs (as thin as you can, less than 1/4 of an inch)
• 1 tbs. ground sage
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 tsp. whole grain mustard
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1/2 tsp. chipotle powder
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• Salt and pepper
• 1 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 3/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs
• 1 cup grated Jarlsberg, Gruyere or White Cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Preheat your oven to 350° and butter an oval gratin dish (or 9 x 13 rectangle). Melt 2 tbs. butter in a skilled over medium heat and add the onions.  Season them with salt and pepper and caramelize them, stirring frequent for 20-30 minutes, until browned and sweetly fragrant, not burned.

While your onions cook, layer half the sweet potato slices in your gratin dish. You may need to make more than one layer to use half the sweet potato slices.  Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

After the onions have caramelized, add the sage, thyme, mustard, paprika, chipotle powder, garlic and cream.  Season with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer.  Stir until the cream is thickened, just a few minutes.  Remove from heat.

Using a slotted spoon, remove the onions from the cream sauce and spread the onions evenly over the sweet potato layer.  Once all the onions are in your dish, layer the remaining half of sweet potatoes on top.  Season with salt and pepper and pour the cream sauce evenly over the whole gratin.  The cream will not fill the dish, just spread it around as much as you can - don't worry.

Cover the dish with foil and bake for 15 minutes.  Remove the foil and return to the oven for another 15 minutes. 

Meanwhile, assemble the topping.  Melt 2 tbs. of butter, set aside.  In another bowl, combine the Panko, grated cheeses and salt and pepper.  Pour the butter over the bread crumbs and cheese and toss to combine.

Remove the gratin from the oven and sprinkle the topping evenly over the top.  Return the gratin to the oven, uncovered, for another 15 minutes, until topping is golden brown and crispy.

Goat Cheese Mashed Potatoes

I remember when Aaron first made these for me, I was super skeptical.  Like super skeptical.  Why are you putting goat cheese in my mashed potatoes? No no, only butter and cream and salt belong there. I guess I was imagining like crumbled feta or something because man, was I wrong.

I was hooked, for real. It may even be responsible for our marriage, they are that good.  I went back to New York for Christmas that year with my family and insisted on making them for my equally skeptical family - they were quickly converted.

All of my friends back here were won over pretty quick too.  They became a staple with any comfort food when I would make a big dinner for everyone.  If they aren't on the table at our Friendsgiving there might be a revolt.  So now I will share them with you.

Its not even hard, these are very simple but are rich and delicious.  Trust me.

Goat Cheese Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

• 4 large red potatoes (each about 3-4 inches long)
• 4 tbs. butter
• 4 oz log of goat cheese
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup heavy cream
• Salt and pepper

Quarter each of the potatoes and place in a large stock pot.  Fill the pot with water, one-inch above the potatoes. Add a generous pinch of salt to the water. 

On the stove, over high heat, cover the pot and bring the water to a boil.  Boil the potatoes, covered, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are fork tender.  Turn off the heat and leave covered for 15 minutes.

Drain the water from the pot, leaving the potatoes in the warm pot.  Add the butter to the potatoes and half of the goat cheese.  Mash the potatoes with a potato masher (for a "rough" mash) or using a hand mixer (for smoother potatoes). After the butter has melted completely, season with salt and pepper and add the remaining goat cheese.  Mix well.

Slowly add the cream, mixing as you go, until the potatoes are your desired consistency. Serve immediately.

You can sub chicken broth for the heavy cream if you prefer, or do a little of both.  Chicken broth will give it a more layered flavor, but can also make the potatoes runnier, so go slow!

NY Deli Macaroni Salad

I grew up in NY and we love our delis.  I mean, really, love delis.  There are two basic and important kinds: Jewish and Italian.  They both are similar, but feature some different types of specialties - one of which is the Macaroni Salad.  I have no idea if it started in a Jewish deli or an Italian one, but I think these days you can find it in either. 

Some variations have a whiter, more sour sauce - others, like this one, have a pinkish, sweet and tangy sauce.  That's my favorite kind.  I have spent YEARS since moving away from NY trying to figure out how to make it.  I had no idea what the secret to the recipe was, or what flavor it was that I was missing, but a few tweaks to this fantastic recipe from The Comfort of Cooking and I finally got it!

Every time I have made it, I loved it even more.  I will say this about the recipe though, it makes A LOT of macaroni.  So its great for a party or a pot luck, but not the easiest thing to get through if you just make it for yourself.  It keeps well in the fridge though and tastes better over time.

One of the biggest determining factors in the taste of this salad is the pickles and resulting pickle juice that you choose.  The original recipe recommends using a specific brand, Wickles Pickles, and I strongly urge you to do the same if you can find them. If not though, it will still taste good with some Vlasic (which I've used before as well).  You want to find a sweet and sour variety.

Final note on the pickles - I buy spears and then dice them.  However, before you dice up the spear, slice off the seeded, mushy parts so you just have a crisp pickle to dice up.

NY Deli Macaroni Salad

Serves 12

ingredients:

• 1 lb. elbow pasta, cooked
• 1 small jar (15 oz) or roughly 2 cups, mayo
• 2 tbs. apple cider vinegar
• 4 tsp. sugar
• Salt and Pepper
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/3 cup Pickle juice from Sweet and Sour pickles
• 1 jar (16 oz) roasted red peppers, diced small
• 3/4 cup diced sweet and sour pickles
• 1 bunch green onions, sliced small

Whisk together the mayo, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper, milk, and pickle juice.  Taste and adjust seasoning, I like to add a bit more pickle juice normally.

Stir in the peppers, pickles and green onion.

Pour over cooled macaroni and stir until evenly coated.  Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving for flavors to meld.

Back to School Time: Pimento Cheese Sandwiches

It is completely crazy that summer is already over! Well, its not, we are still going to suffer through weeks more of insane heat, long days, and sad, dry lawns.  Yet, back to school the kiddos go next week.  I can't believe it.  Townes has been in school for a year now, so for him, I'm so excited to get him back and just let him have a great time and watch him grow.  For Hondo though, I am struggling a little bit with my sweet baby leaving me already.  

I'm being a little dramatic.  They don't even go to school for a full day.  Or a full week.  They go twice a week for four hours.  But still, he's my sweet little baby and I just can't believe its already been a year since he was born and he is going off to school.  He, on the other hand, is probably super excited (if he had any idea what was going on) because he loves other kids.

While I am stressing out a little that in just seven days my babies will be leaving me, the silver lining is that I got to go pick out a cute new backpack for Hondo to tote his lunch in, Townes gets a new lunch box (because one year was enough for the last one), and I will be more motivated to actually make dinner every night.  Why?  Because last night's dinner is almost always what my kids eat for lunch.

I have a pretty simple formula for packing lunch: 1) a protein, a.k.a. last nights chicken, 2) a fruit, 3) a little something crunchy, like pretzels or granola.  Sometimes I get crazy and toss in a cheese stick.  I almost always include a vegetable, but thats often encased in the category of last night's dinner too.

However, there are a couple of staples that I try to keep on hand in case we did something like actually finish the entire meal I cooked the night before, or went out to eat.  It's always great to have the fixings for a simple PB&J or grilled cheese, a carton of yogurt, and our family favorite: pimento cheese.

Aaron has always made the Pimento cheese around here and its so simple and easy.  The recipe makes a lot and it keeps very well.  I often make it on a Sunday during the school year, and just keep it in the fridge all week.  Townes will eat it on bread, out of bowl with pretzels for dipping (his favorite), or even fancied up in a grilled cheese.  I even have used it for entertaining and whipped some up with hard-boiled egg yolks and a little mayo and made Pimento Cheese Deviled Eggs, like I did for Alice's Baby Shower last July.  They were a HUGE hit.

It doesn't take many ingredients: cream cheese, cheddar cheese, pimentos, jalapenos, and a little cayenne.  Literally, just throw them into the bowl of stand mixer and whip it up.  Spread some onto some home-made sandwich bread, put mayo on the outside, grill, and enjoy!

Aaron's pimento Cheese

Yields about 3 cups

ingredients:

• 16 oz (2, 8-oz blocks) of cream cheese, room temp
• 16 oz block of cheddar cheese, freshly grated*
• 4 oz diced pimentos, drained
• 4 oz diced jalapenos, drained (or more, to taste)
• Salt & Pepper
• 1/2 tsp. Cayenne pepper (or more, to taste)

*I think its important for a recipe like this to use freshly grated cheese rather than a bag of pre-shredded if you can.  Pre-shredded cheese has a coating of powder that prevents the shreds from sticking together and clumping in the bag and it helps the shreds keep their shape.  This makes the cheese rather dry, in comparison to a freshly shredded block.  This moisture is important because it helps the cheese blend into the cream cheese well and makes for a smoother final product.*

In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the cream cheese and cheddar cheese.  Mix on medium speed until well blended.  Add the remaining ingredients, mix until combined.