Sunday, November 19, 2006

bibliosylph's Sweet Potato Pie

sylph posted in the Hizzy, "here is Jeff Smith's sweet potato pie recipe, which is the only one I've ever used. It's from The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American, which was one of his most enjoyable TV seasons, for me.

"Sometimes I drizzle a little maple syrup on this before baking. The parentheses are mine."

* 2 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
* 4 tbs butter
* 3 eggs, beaten
* 1 cup sugar (brown is nice, but alters the texture slightly)
* 1 tsp vanilla
* 1 tsp nutmeg (you may sub. cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, or ginger)
* 1 tbs lemon juice
* 1/2 cup bourbon (the alcohol, of course, evaporates during baking.)

Mix all the ingredients together and place in an unbaked pie shell. Place in a preheated 400 degree oven, and immediately turn the oven down to 325. Bake for about 45 minutes until the center of the pie is set. You can test by inserting a table knife into the center of the pie to see if it comes out clean.

If you have leftover filling, you can bake it in a baking dish and serve it as a pudding.

Sunday, November 05, 2006

MartianIceQueen's Scones

How tempted was I to name this recipe "Martian Scones"? Heh. I've had these & they are divine. Martian uses dried cherries and I can't imagine them any other way. (Also? I hate raisins in scones & don't know that I've ever had currants.)

Preheat oven to 425. Position rack in center of oven.

Whisk together in large bowl:
  • 2 C flour
  • 1/3 C sugar
  • 1 TBSP baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
Drop in 6 TBSP (3/4 stick) cold butter; cut into pieces. Cut in the butter with two knives or pastry blender until largest pieces are the size of peas. Do not allow to melt or form a paste. Stir in 1/2 C dried currants/raisins/cherries.

Whisk together, then add all at once:
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 C heavy cream
  • 1 tsp orange zest (optional)
Mix just until dry ingredients are moistened. Gather into a ball & knead gently inside the bottom & sides of the bowl 5-10 times, turning and pressing and loose pieces into the dough. Transfer to lightly floured surface & part into round, approximately 8" diameter by 3/4" thick.

Cut into 8-12 wedges & place on baking sheet. Brush tops with 2-3 tsp cream or milk. If desired, sprinkle tops with cinnamon & sugar. Bake until tops are golden brown, 12-15 minutes.

adharas' Butternut Squash Soup

I'm frankly jealous of adharas' local paper.
  • 1 butternut squash (about 3 pounds) (you will need 4 cups diced)
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 teaspoons ground thyme
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 2 teaspoons granulated garlic
  • ¼ cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1½ cups diced onion
  • ½ cup diced celery
  • 1 cup diced carrots
  • ¼ cup flour
  • 3 quarts chicken stock
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Set halved or quartered squash on a cookie sheet. In bowl, combine seasonings and brown sugar. Sprinkle mixture over squash. Bake in preheated oven until tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool slightly, then remove pulp from peel and discard peel. Cut or scoop into measuring cup to measure 4 cups.

Meanwhile, in large pot, heat oil. Add onion, celery and carrots and sauté until tender.

Add flour to vegetable mixture and cook over medium heat, stirring, 2 to 3 minutes. Add cooked squash. Add stock and simmer over low heat, uncovered, 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Transfer mixture to blender or food processor (in batches if needed), and puree until smooth.

Soup also can be pureed with an immersion blender. Add cream, if using, and mix well. Makes about 10 main-dish servings.

adharas' Pumpkin & Butternut Squash Soup

Another gem from adharas' local newspaper.
  • 2 pounds pie pumpkin, halved and strings and seeds discarded
  • 2 pounds butternut squash, halved and strings and seeds discarded
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 3 large carrots, chopped
  • 4 ribs celery, chopped
  • 2 large yellow onions, chopped
  • 1 medium bulb fennel, chopped
  • 12 cups chicken broth, vegetable broth or water
  • 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • ½ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ½ teaspoons ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • ½ cup pure maple syrup
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In shallow baking pan, arrange pieces of pumpkin and squash, cut sides up. Bake 45 minutes or until soft. Scoop out pulp. You should have 6 to 8 cups. Transfer to food processor or blender, in batches if necessary, and puree. Set aside.

In large heavy kettle, heat butter over medium heat until foam subsides. Add vegetables and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften, 10 to 12 minutes.

Add broth, reserved squash, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, garlic and black pepper and simmer, covered, 40 minutes

Stir in maple syrup and cream and simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Cool soup slightly and puree in small batches until smooth. Transfer to large soup pot and reheat if necessary. Makes about 10 to 12 main-dish servings.

adharas' Tunisian Tomato Soup with Chickpeas and Lentils

adharas found this in her local newspaper & it sounds wonderful.
  • 1 cup uncooked chickpeas, soaked overnight (or 1 to 2, 15-ounce cans chickpeas)
  • Water
  • 1 cup uncooked lentils, rinsed and picked over
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4 cups minced onion
  • 2 tablespoons minced garlic
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 tablespoon ground turmeric
  • 1½ teaspoons cumin seeds
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 2 or 3 bay leaves
  • 6 cups chopped tomatoes, peeling and seeding optional
  • Black pepper and cayenne to taste
  • 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (or to taste)
  • Yogurt (optional)
  • Minced fresh parsley (optional)
  • A few currants (optional)
Place the soaked, uncooked chickpeas in large pot and cover with water by 3 inches. Bring to a boil, lower heat to a simmer, partially cover and cook 1 hour. (If you're using canned chickpeas, rinse and drain them, and set them aside.)

Add lentils and cinnamon stick, partially cover again, and cook another 30 minutes, or until chickpeas and lentils are perfectly tender, but not mushy. (If you're using canned chickpeas, just cook the lentils with the cinnamon stick in 7 cups water until tender, about 30 minutes.) Remove and discard cinnamon stick, and drain legumes, saving water.

Meanwhile, heat oil in soup pot or Dutch oven. Add onion, garlic, salt, turmeric, cumin seeds, ground cumin and bay leaves, and sauté over medium heat 15 to 20 minutes, or until onions are very soft.

Add 6 cups of the reserved cooking water from lentils (supplement with fresh water if there's not enough) and the tomatoes, and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer, partially cover and cook another 15 minutes or so. (The timing does not need to be exact.) Fish out and discard the bay leaves.

Stir in chickpeas and lentils, and cook about 5 minutes longer (but not too much longer, because you don't want legumes to become mushy). Season to taste with black pepper, cayenne and lemon juice.

Serve hot, topped with some yogurt and a sprinkling of parsley, if desired, and pass a small bowl of currants. Makes 6 servings (maybe a little more).

sylph's Bloody Mary

I'm dying to try this. Right now. Waaaah! sylph says that she plans to experiment with this more, so there may be updates or alternate recipes. And, of course, should anyone else experiment, let me know!
  • 6 oz tomato juice
  • 3 oz vodka
  • 1 tsp horseradish
  • 1 tsp fresh lime juice
  • 1 tsp Tabasco sauce
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 pinch pepper
  • 1 pinch celery salt

Goldrush Girl's Camembert Tart

Goldrush Girl sent me this recipe ages ago. I'm finally catching up on all my backlogged recipes. Anyhoo, she sent me an approximate recipe, so keep that in mind as you try this. Also, she reports that you can yummily subsitute fontina or tallegio or any other cheese you fancy!
  • Puff pastry sheets (available ready-rolled from your grocer's freezer!)
  • 6 small onions, chopped
  • 1 TBSP butter
  • Good-sized triangle of Camembert
  • Fresh thyme, chopped finely
Preheat oven to 430 degrees Farenheit (220 Celsius). Place puff pastry on a floured baking tray and prick it with a fork, also scoring it around the edges so you'll get a crust.

Cook onions in butter over low heat for approximately 30 mins or until golden yellow (not brown) and sticky.

Spread onions on to the pastry, dot with bits of camembert however much you want. Sprinkle with thyme and bake for approximately 20 minutes.

Serves four and is delicious cold as well.

jophan's Pickled Peaches

  • 4 lb. Peaches
  • 3 lb. brown sugar
  • 1 c. white vinegar
  • 1 T. cinnamon
  • 1 T. whole cloves
  • 1 tsp. ginger
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

Boil brown sugar and vinegar. Scald peaches, remove skins and cook in syrup. Tie spices into cheesecloth and add to fruit. Cook until peaches are tender. Pour into stone jars.


Daily for a week, drain the syrup into a saucepan, re-heat to boiling and pour it over the fruit again.

Used as a relish with roast meats.

jophan's Suburban (Cocktail) Meatballs

More recipes from jophan... All hail the generous jophan!
  • 3 lb. ground beef
  • 1 small onion, minced very fine
  • Dried basil, Worcestershire sauce, salt & pepper
  • 12 oz. bottle Heinz chili sauce
  • 15 oz. can jellied cranberry sauce (no whole berries)
(I usually make the meatballs a few days ahead and freeze them. Or you can buy commercial meatballs, just make sure they are not Italian style. The seasoning doesn’t work.) Blend ground beef with minced onion, basil, salt, pepper & Worcestershire to taste. Form into 1 inch meatballs. In a hot frying pan, brown 12 – 15 at a time on all sides (about 5 minutes), transfer meatballs to an oven-safe dish and put into a warm oven (275 – 325 degrees). Add each batch to the oven until all meatballs are brown. Remove from oven 10 minutes after the last batch is added.

Add the cranberry sauce to a saucepan over medium-low heat. Break it up. Add the chili sauce and stir until the cranberry sauce is dissolved. Put the meatballs in a casserole dish and cover with the sauce. Bake at 275-325 for 30 minutes if meatballs are fresh or 1 hour if they are frozen. Serve in a chafing dish.

(Sauce also is good on roast pork.)

jophan's Grasshopper Soufflé

I still need to get my mom's Grasshopper Pie recipe... But jophan is way ahead of me & obviously a kind, generous soul who doesn't procrastinate. This sounds delicious.
  • 1 c. sugar
  • 2 c. water
  • 2 envelopes unflavored gelatin powder
  • 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
  • 4 eggs, separated
  • 1/4 c. crème de menthe
  • 1 c. heavy cream
Combine 3/4 c. sugar and gelatin in saucepan. Gradually add water and stir over low heat until dissolved. Remove from heat. Temper eggs yolks with mixture and return to saucepan. Cook 2-3 minutes on low.

Add hot mixture to cream cheese, stir in crème de menthe. Mix well. Chill until slightly thickened.

Whip cream. Beat egg whites to soft peaks, gradually add remaining 1/4 c. sugar and beat to stiff peaks. Fold both whipped cream and meringue into cream cheese mixture.

Pour into large soufflé dish and chill until firm.

(The recipe says 8 servings, but I think you’d probably get twice that.)