Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Thanksgiving has come and gone and i'm sad cuz its one of my favorite holidays. Yeah the turkey is always good but its the side dishes that I always look forward too. My all time favorite are these stuffed sweet potatoes. I really don't care for sweet potatoes plain but when they are stuffed with pecans, brown sugar and toasted marshmallows, even the pickiest eaters will love them! Too bad they are only made once a year! Yummy!

Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
6-8 large sweet potatoes, with skins
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
2 cups pecans, toasted and coursely chopped
1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1. Heat oven to 400˚
2. Place potatoes on baking sheet. Pierce potatoes in several places.
3. Bake in 400˚ oven until fork-tender, about 55-60 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, in a medium-size bowl, stir together butter and sugar until well blended. Gradually stir in pecans, marshmallows and flour until mixture forms loose crumbs.
5. Remove potatoes from oven. Cut a slash lengthwise in each potato. Using oven mitts, gently push together ends of each potato to open the slash. Season potatoes with salt and pepper. Stuff opening with marshmallow mixture. Return to oven.
6. Bake in 400˚ oven until stuffing is golden brown and melted, 5-7 minutes, taking care not to let the marshmallows burn. (I find that the marshmallows melt before this time is up. I like to add more to each potato when there is about a minute left.)

Cheesecake Brownies

I apologize again for my delay in posting new recipes but I have been incredibly busy, between work and planning my wedding! :) I know that isn't an excuse.....

Anyways to make it up to you, I am posting some brownies....also some cheesecake. No wait even better, brownies and cheesecake combined into one wonderful morsel of yummyness. These are so yummy if you let them sit out for an hour to get to room temperature. Enjoy!

Cheesecake Brownies
recipe from Baking Bites
1/2 cup butter
2-oz dark chocolate, chopped
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt

8-oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8×8-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil and lightly grease.

In a small, heatproof bowl, melt butter and chocolate together. Stir with a fork until very smooth. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs and vanilla extract. Whisking steadily, pour chocolate mixture into sugar mixture. Stir until smooth. Sift flour, cocoa powder and salt into the bowl and stir until just combined.

Pour into prepared pan and prepare cheesecake mixture.

In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla extract until smooth. Drop in dollops onto prepared brownie batter. Gently swirl two batters with a butter knife.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until brownies and cheesecake are set. A knife inserted into the cheesecake mixture should come out clean and the edges will be lightly browned.

Cool in the pan completely before slicing and serving, either at room temperature or chilled. Brownies can be refrigerated, covered, for several days.

Makes 16 large brownies.

My Stepmom's Mashed Potatoes

Just in time for Thanksgiving, I had to post my stepmom's mashed potatoes recipe. However, this is really more of a technique than a recipe. There are tons of ways to make mashed potatoes and none are any better than the next. But for some reason, this recipe just tastes better then any other mashed potato I've had.

Simple Mashed Potatoes
serves 4 or 5
• 5 or 6 large Yukon gold potatoes or 8-9 Mini Yukon Gold Potatoes (this potatoes seems whip better and doesn't end up too starchy)
• 1 stick of butter
• Milk (I can't give a measurement because I just pour it in)
• Salt and Pepper for Flavor

If you are using large potatoes, cut them in half.

Put the potatoes (not peeled) in a large pot of water. Bring to a boil. Once boiling cook until potatoes are tender (about 25-35 minutes depending on the size of the potatoes).

Put a stick of butter in a large bowl.

Once the potatoes are cooked, drain and put immediately in the bowl with the butter.

Salt and pepper and dont be stingy with the salt because the potatoes suck up the seasoning. (Seasoning is very important or you will have some bland potatoes!)

Pour in some milk. You can do this in increments because you dont want to add too much milk. You can always add more milk but you can't take it out!

With a hand mixer, mix the potatoes until smooth. If they are too thick, add more milk. Also, taste the potatoes. If they seem too bland, add more salt!

I find that mashed potatoes seem to get cold pretty quick. I like to just cover with a paper towel and microwave for 30 seconds immediately before serving.

Enjoy!

Shrimp Scampi Pasta

There are some days that I just don't want to have a heavy dinner. This dish is light yet incredibly satisfying. It has a lot of flavor and besides that, I love shrimp! You can use any kind of pasta you like but I love the curly noodles, cellentani. I'm sure linguine or fettuccine would go well with this also.

Shrimp Scampi with Pasta
16 oz. box of any kind of pasta you desire
2 Tbsp. of Butter plus and extra 4 Tbsp. of butter
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil plus and extra 4 Tbsp. of oil
2 Shallots, Diced
10 cloves of garlic, diced
1 pkg. grape tomatoes - cut in half
1 Lb. uncooked shrimp, deviened
3/4 cup white wine
1 Lemon, juiced
1/4 cup chopped parsley
Red Pepper flakes, salt and pepper for flavor
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese for topping

For the pasta, put a large pot of water on the stove to boil. When it has come to a boil, add a handful of salt & the pasta. When pasta is done, reserve a cup of pasta water (you can use this later if the pasta is too dry) Drain the pasta, then set aside.

Meanwhile, in another pot or large pan, melt 2 Tbsp. butter in 2 Tbsp. of olive oil over medium-high heat. Saute shallots, garlic and a pinch of red pepper flakes until shallots are translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Season shrimp with salt and pepper, add to pan. Add grape tomatoes to pan. After about 2-3 minutes, remove shrimp and grape tomatoes from pan and set aside. Add wine & lemon juice and bring to a boil. Let cook down 2-3 minutes. Add remaining 4 Tbsp. butter and 4 Tbsp olive oil. When butter has melted, return shrimp and tomatoes to pan, along with chopped parsley and cooked pasta. If the pasta looks dry, add some of the reserved pasta water to pan. Stir well and season with salt and pepper and more red pepper if you like. Drizzle with a bit more olive oil, top with grated parmesan cheese and serve. Goes great with a Caesar salad.

Mint Cookie Brownies

One of my favorite food blogs is Baking Bites. Soooo many recipes to try off of there and I had to start somewhere. What immediately caught my eye were these Peppermint Cookies and Cream Brownies. Oh my gawd. These things are awesome. They are incredibly dense and minty and chocolately without being too minty. The only thing I will do differently next time is keep the brownies stored in the pan and covered. I took them out and cut them like the recipe stated and stored them in a tupperware but they ended up getting stale after a couple of days. I guess I dont have good tupperware. :) But other than that, make these! Soo good!

Peppermint Cookies and Cream Brownies
Recipe from Baking Bites

1 cup butter
6 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
3 cups sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 cups roughly chopped peppermint oreo-type cookies (approx 18)

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, and grease lightly.
In a medium-large saucepan over low heat, melt together butter and chocolate, stirring occasionally. Whisk in sugar, salt and vanilla, then turn off heat. Whisk in eggs one at a time, waiting until each is fully incorporated before adding the next. Stir in flour and cocoa powder until mixture is uniform. Stir in peppermint oreo cookies and pour batter into prepared pan. Crush 3-4 additional cookies finely and sprinkle on top of batter, if desired.
Bake for about 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs, but not coated with batter.

Cool brownies in pan for about 20 minutes, then lift brownies in the foil out of the pan and place on a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

Makes 36 brownies (or 48 bite-sized brownies).

Puffed Apple Pancake

Autumn. My favorite season. The heat of summer is gone and the wonderful cool weather is here. Autumn also means pumpkin farms, apple orchards, halloween, the smell of campfires and burning leaves (oh that smell...), driving just for the heck of it and hiking through the colored forests and feeding the ducks. :)

Well a cool day a couple of weekends ago I had a ton of apples from my mom who went to the orchard the day before. I didn't want to make an apple pie (too predictable and boring). So I scoured the internet and found this wonderful recipe for an apple puffed pancake. If you've never made a puffed pancake, its something to see. It rises super high in the oven and deflates while it cools. The texture of the pancake is smooth like a crepe but its thick like a regular pancake. The taste of this particular recipe goes soooo well on a cool autumn day. It makes for a great weekend breakfast or would go great with a holiday meal!

Puffed Apple Pancake
recipe found in the September 2002 Bon Appetit

1 cup whole milk
4 large eggs
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2/3 cup all purpose flour
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
2-3 Golden Delicious or Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored, thinly sliced

3 tablespoons brown sugar
Powdered sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 425°F. Whisk milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla, salt, and cinnamon in large bowl until well blended. Add flour and whisk until batter is smooth. Place butter in a glass pie dish. Place dish in oven until butter melts, about 5 minutes. Remove dish from oven. Place apple slices in overlapping rows atop melted butter in baking dish. Return to oven and bake until apples begin to soften slightly and butter is bubbling and beginning to brown around edges of dish, about 10 minutes.

Pour batter over apples in dish and sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake pancake until puffed and brown, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired. Serve warm.

Makes 4 servings

Creamy Dijon-Dill Potato Salad

I know I'm a bit late in posting this recipe considering summer is over and all. But its been sitting in my (to be uploaded) folder on my desktop for some time now. I have to share it because its so amazing! This potato salad is so incredibly flavorful and is great to bring to parties. When picking a potato, I recommend small red potatoes because they hold their shape better after they are cooked.

Make it and you won't be sorry! :)

Dijon-Dill Potato Salad
based off a recipe by Dave Lieberman

3 Lbs. Red Potatoes (regular or small), also I dont peel them, but feel free to peel them if you like them better that way.
2 stalks Celery
1 cup Mayo
1 small red onion, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1/4 cup tightly packed chopped fresh Dill
2 Tbsp. White Vinegar
1/2 Lemon, Juiced
1 Tbsp. Dijon Mustard
3/4 tsp. salt
4 or 5 Hard Boiled Eggs (roughly chopped)

Put potatoes in a large pot with enough water to cover them by 1-inch. Season with salt and bring to a boil. Cook until tender (about 25-30 minutes). Drain potatoes and return them to the uncovered pot off the heat. Let them sit until they are at room temperature.

While the potatoes are cooling, cut celery in half lengthwise, then into cut 1/4-inch slices. Stir the celery, 3/4 teaspoon salt, a pinch of pepper, 1 cup mayo, red onion, dill, vinegar, lemon juice and dijon mustard together in a serving bowl large enough to hold of the potatoes.

When the potatoes are cool, cut the potatoes into about 1-inch pieces, add them to the bowl as you go. Add the chopped eggs after the potatoes. Stir gently until all of the potatoes and eggs are coated in the dressing.

This potato salad tastes best the day you make it, at room temperature. If you keep the salad in the fridge for a couple of days and it gets stiff, just add a bit more mayo and maybe a little tiny bit of vinegar and mustard to bring back the original flavor.