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.

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.)

Martian's Green Bean & Tomato Salad

Martian sent us a recipe! And it sounds lovely. She writes: The original recipe called for twice as much oil and vinegar, but it was too much for my taste. But others may prefer it that way.

• 1 pkg strawberry tomatoes (cherry would be good, too)
• some green beans
• a large handfull of chopped herbs: mint, parsley, basil
• garlic clove, chopped
• 2 T olive oil
• 1/2 T balsamic vinegar
• salt & pepper

Cut tomatoes in half and place in large bowl. Cook the green beans in boiling water to your preferred doneness, drail well and add to tomatoes. In a separate bowl, mix remaining ingredients. Pour over beans and tomatoes...let sit a little bit so the beans absorb the dressing flavors. It is yummy warm or cold.

NorthenLass's Teriyaki Salmon Ramen

NorthenLass posted a picture of this dish that she took after making it recently. I drooled all over my computer & electrocuted myself. Then, I did my usual begging shctick & she sent me the recipe. NorthenLass warned that she doesn't so much measure & it changes a bit each time she makes it - since that's how many of us here cook, I assured her it would be fine.

• Salmon fillets
• Onions, chopped finely
• Garlic, chopped finely
• Red chiles or jalapenos, chopped finely
• Ginger, chopped or grated
• Cilantro, chopped
• Assorted vegetables (see below)
• Bouillon or stock cube
• Chinese five spice
• Teriyaki sauce
• Sweet chili sauce
• Soy sauce
• Fish sauce
• Soba noodles

Marinade salmon fillets in Teriyaki sauce (for as long as possible)

Sautee finely chopped onion, garlic, red chilies (or jalapeños), ginger and coriander (cilantro) stalks in a large wok.

Roughly chop (or leave whole if not too big) any vegetables you want. E.g: Red bell pepper, Mushrooms (e.g chanterelle, portabella, shiitake, whatever floats your boat really), Sugar snap peas, Bok Choy (and/or spinach)

Put boiling water into the wok. Crumble in a stock cube. Add to taste: Chinese five spice, Teriyaki sauce, sweet chili sauce (if you like it hot, normal chili sauce) fish sauce, soy sauce.

Grill (or fry in a pan with a lid) the salmon.

While the fish is cooking add the vegetables to the water. If you are using spinach rather than bok choy, add it later, i.e. a few of minutes before you are ready to serve.

Boil up some more water to cook the soba noodles in (should take about 5 minutes).

Drain the noodles and then you are ready to serve up the bowls.

Put the noodles into the bottom of the bowl. Add the vegetables and soup. Then place the salmon on top (remove the skin first). Sprinkle with coriander and finely chopped chilies.

As side dishes have bean sprouts, mint and limes.

Goldrush Girl's Carmelised Onion & Sausages

I begged for this recipe and Goldrush Girl kindly (& wisely) obliged. She also began it with a confession that proves she's one of us (one of us, one of us): I should confess, my dear Britomart, that there is not an actual recipe as such. I don't hold with following recipes because I don't like being MADE TO OBEY INSTRUCTIONS. But this is what I cobbled together, and it goes really well with very good quality butcher-made English sausages, which should be browned in a frying pan then oven-cooked till nice and crispy. All amounts are entirely up to you.

Chop an onion or two into chunks (rather than slices). Melt a bit of butter in a lidded saucepan and throw the onion in. Put the lid on and turn the heat down very low. Leave for 20 or 30 minutes. You can sprinkle a little soft brown sugar on it if desired. Occasionally you can shake the pan around a bit, or give it a little a scrape if it starts to burn, but it's best if the onion sort of sticks to the bottom of the pan a little bit.

When the onion's deliciously soft and brown and sweet-smelling (with luck, this will be the same time as the sausages are ready), scoop some lovely thick creme fraiche into the saucepan along with as much wholegrain mustard as you desire, and a bit of freshly-ground black pepper. Stir together... the onion juices are divine with the creme fraiche.

Plop some of the sauce on your plate with the sausages. A vegetable or two would be good (braised fennel works well) and maybe a starch (mash, or mashed sweet potatoes, even better). The other day I had it with a beetroot salad on the side, and that was lovely.

Britomart's Baingan Bharta

I'm apparently going through an eggplant phase. And Martian emailed me about making this last night. As I was in a hotel at the time with no access to a kitchen or Indian food, I was quite miffed & rather petulantly jealous. I remedied the situation tonight. Anyway, this turned out to be absolutely lovely!

Note: from emails with adharas tonight, this isn't the same as hers (and I'll get a full recipe of her version to post in here because she is a cook of astonishing talent), but it's awfully damn yummy.

• 1 large eggplant
• 2 medium sized onions, minced
• 1 small tomato
• 4-5 green chilies, minced (to taste, depending on your tolerance for spiciness!)
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 inch piece of ginger, grated finely
• small pinch of garam masala powder
• small bunch of cilantro, chopped finely
• salt
• 2 tbsp ghee (or oil)
• 2 tsp black mustard seeds
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• ½ tsp asafetida (available at Indian stores)
• ½ C yogurt

Roast eggplant in oven at 475 F for around 45 minutes. After half an hour, or when the skin of eggplant loosens up from the inner flesh, insert a knife and check if the inner portion of eggplant has turned soft. Remove from oven & cut eggplant open to help cool.

Once it’s cooled, peel the skin off the eggplant and scrape out the inner flesh of the eggplant. Scoop out black seeds, if any. Mash it with a spatula or chop coarsely.

Heat ghee/oil in a pan. When it's hot, add mustard seeds. As they pop, add asafoetida and turmeric powder. Add chilies, onions, garlic & ginger and fry till onions are browned. Add tomatoes and again fry till the oil separates from the mixture. Add mashed eggplant and give it a good stir.

Add garam masala powder and salt. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Stir in yogurt, and serve with any Indian bread or rice.

blue artemis' Clafoutis

Okay, so I've never even heard of this dish, nor am I sure I'm even pronouncing it correctly. Regardless, I rather desperately want to eat this. Right. Now. blue artemis writes: This recipe came from the LA Times Food section a few years ago. Of course, I usually stick in in the fridge and eat it for breakfast, but that is me.

• 1 to 1 1/2 pounds of firm but ripe apricots, cut in half if small, quartered if large and pitted
• 2 tablespoons peach or apricot brandy (I usually use 3)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 6 to 8 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup yogurt
• 3 eggs
• 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped or 1/2
• teaspoon vanilla extract
• salt
• 2/3 cup sifted unbleached or all purpose flour
• butter for greasing
• powdered sugar for dusting

Toss apricots with brandy, lemon juice and 3 tablespoons granulated sugar in bowl. Let sit 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Drain liquid from apricots and combine with milk and yogurt. Beat eggs with vanilla, and rest of sugar (3 to 5 tablespoons depending on sweetness of fruit) and a dash of salt. Beat together. Slowly beat in flour, then mild mixture. Mix together well.

Arrange apricots in greased 10 or 10 1/2 ceramic tart dish or clafoutis dish,rounded side up. Pour in batter.

Bake at 400 degrees until top is browned, and clafoutis is firm, about 45 minutes. Cool slightly on rack. Use powdered sugar to dust. Serve warm.

Britomart's Eggplant Delight

As adharas has cruelly left us on her extended vacation in India, I was stuck surfing the web for Indian dishes with eggplant. I found this & enjoy it muchly. A number of recipes on this site looked yummy, so check it out. I have altered this one a bit and changed some of the instructions because that's just who I am.

• 2 medium-sized eggplants (or 6-7 little eggplants)
• I tbsp ghee or vegetable oil
• 1 medium-sized onion, diced
• 2 small tomatoes - diced
• 2- 3 green chilies - minced
• 3/4 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 2 tsp salt
• small piece of ginger - washed & diced
• small bunch of chopped cilantro leaves

Wash eggplants and poke them with a knife. Bake for about an hour & a half at 350F. Eggplants are done when they've collapsed and look quite wretched.

In a blender, put the tomatoes, salt, green chilies, garam masala, black pepper and ginger and puree them.

Heat oil in a skillet & add onions and tumeric. Fry them for 4 - 5 minutes until the onions turn slightly brownish.

Remove the eggplants from the oven, slice open & let cool. Peel eggplant skin & mash or chop the lovely eggplant innards. Add the eggplant to the onions & the blended mixture aND cook over low heat for 5 - 7 minutes, stirring often.

Just before removing it from heat, add lemon juice and stir in cilantro.

valosin's Moscow Mule

valosin made me this drink once! I can vouch that it is divinely delish.

• 2oz vodka
• 1oz fresh lime juice
• Ginger beer (This can be hard to find. Ginger ale will work ok, but ginger beer is darker, a litte sweeter, and more intense. It adds a lot to the drink).

Combine ingredients over ice in a highball glass. Garnish with a slice of lime.

sylph's Mock Sangria

Mix together 1 cup of orange juice, 1 cup of lemon juice, and 1 cup of sugar. Add 8 cups of grape juice--the 100% kind, not the cocktail. Chill this, then just before serving, pour it into a punch bowl with an ice ring or just a bunch of ice, add 2 cups of chopped fruit, which you can buy already done, and then add 4 cups of club soda. That will make 16 servings.

invisible girl's Sherbet Punch

Ducklet asked for punch recipes for a shower... I stole them for the recipe blog.

• Sherbet (raspberry, orange, whatever your pleasure!)
• Equal parts ginger ale & pineapple juice

Mix together for a nice fruity, frothy, spritzy punch!

Note from Britomart: I've had this punch with vodka, too. Yummy!

blue artemis' Chicken & Potato Enchiladas

blue artemis made these in her weekly cookfest this weekend. I thought they sounded wonderful, so asked for a recipe. Thank you, ba! She does warn that this is one of the approximate recipes - it was one she learned from her grandmother, so exact measurements were never involved. (In my opinion, these types of recipes always ended up being the best.)

• Chicken (can be leftover from baking or stew or something) shredded.
• Potatoes
• Green (tomatillo) salsa (TJ's works fine)
• If you want, a can of French cut green beans
• Cheese (either queso ranchero or jack or mozzarella)
• corn tortillas
• Oil for frying

Peel and chop the potatoes into little pieces. Using a non-stick frying pan, cook them (with a little oil) and some seasoned salt, until they are soft. Once they are cooked, throw in the shredded chicken and mix.

You will then need two small frying pans, in one, heat oil for frying, in the second, heat the salsa. Take your tortillas (unheated) and fry them, one at a time, until they are kind of golden, but not fried to a crisp, they should still be bendy. Then take them (one at a time) and dip them in the heated salsa. (Basically, fry them enough that they don't fall apart when you do it, but not enough to make tostadas).

Put your tortilla on a plate, then use a bit of the chicken and potato mixture to fill, throw on some shredded cheese and a bit of the green beans (if you want them), and roll your enchilada. Top with a bit more sauce and shredded cheese. Make as many as you want (or have enough chicken and tortillas for).