Sweet Potatoes with Toasted Marshmallow Swirls

Although this recipe calls for 'sweet potatoes', we highly recommend using yams, jeweled yams to be exact. Sweet potatoes and yams are very different and are even from different families of plants. Well, we were not 'quite' sure what this recipe meant, so we got both sweet potatoes, which were white. We also got jeweled yams which were bright orange in color and much sweeter.
The marshmallow turned out shockingly delicious! There was too much of the orange/honey syrup though, so would recommend maybe halving it. We did toast the marshmallow topped yams in the oven to make them warm and delicious. We did substitute maple syrup for corn syrup in the marshmallow which gave it a little bit more of a mapley flavor which we liked.

Sweet Potatoes with Toasted Marshmallow Swirls http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/sweet-potatoes-toasted-marshmallow-swirls

Ready to eat!

In the orange honey syrup

Ingredients:

6 medium sweet potatoes (4 pounds), scrubbed but not peeled
Extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt
1 cup pecans
1 cup fresh orange juice
3/4 cup honey
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup water
2 large egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°. Peel and cut the potatoes into rounds, about 1" thick and put them on a rimmed baking sheet. Brush with olive oil and season with salt. Bake the potatoes for about 1 hour, until tender.
2. Meanwhile, spread the pecans in a pie plate and toast in the oven until golden and fragrant, about 7 minutes. Let cool, then coarsely chop.
3. In a medium saucepan, combine the orange juice with the honey and brown sugar and bring just to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Let the honey syrup cool.
4. In another medium saucepan, combine the granulated sugar with the maple syrup and water and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar syrup registers 240° on a candy thermometer.
5. In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar at medium speed until soft peaks form. Turn the machine to medium-high and drizzle the hot sugar syrup into the egg whites in a very thin stream down the side of the bowl; beat until stiff peaks form and the marshmallow is cool. Scrape the marshmallow into a pastry bag fitted with a medium straight tip.
6. Spoon some of the honey syrup over the potatoes and on the platter. Pipe the marshmallow topping onto the potatoes and, using a kitchen torch, lightly toast the tops. Sprinkle the pecans over the top and serve.

What we liked:

Very yummy! The marshmallow and syrup was great!

What we didn't like:

too much honey syrup. 

What Kaspian thought about it:

He was suspicious of this food item. 

Next time:

Haricots verts with shallots and pine nuts

This was really the only recipe that we made that we were disappointed in this Thanksgiving. The picture on the recipe looked so good, it was such a great idea. Also, these were fried on the stove without using up the oven space, which was a huge plus. However, the flavor really lacked in these. They just didn't have the delicious sauce covering that we would have expected them to.

Haricots verts with shallots and pine nuts http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/haricots-verts-shallots-pinutse-n

Served

Still in the frying pan

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3 tablespoons chopped shallots
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces trimmed haricots verts (French green beans)
1 tablespoon pine nuts, toasted

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add next 4 ingredients (through haricots verts) to pan; cook 6 minutes or until beans are crisp-tender, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle evenly with nuts.

What we liked:

It was pretty - we loved that it was not cooked in the oven as the oven was needed for other items. It was quick to throw together right before calling everyone to dinner - important, as these cool down very fast!

What we didn't like:

It just didn't have much flavor

What Kaspian thought about it:

He was not a fan

Next time:

Try a different recipe

Supersavory Wild Rice Pilaf

This was, in fact, a supersavory rice. It was great! We bought the wild and brown rices separately and, although we cooked it in a rice cooker, it was still great. We prefer to cook our rices in a rice cooker, especially for a busy meal like Thanksgiving because you don't have to babysit it. It can be thrown in and everything cooks on its own. After it's done, it will automatically switch to just keeping it warm! Yum! Also, in the midst of all the hectic holiday preparations, we totally forgot to add the parsley, but that was okay, it was still delicious!

Supersavory Wild Rice Pilaf http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/supersavory-wild-rice-pilaf

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons butter
3 cups finely chopped onion
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups uncooked wild rice
1 cup uncooked long-grain brown rice
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
4 cups unsalted chicken stock (such as Swanson)
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a frying pan over medium-low heat. Add onion; cook 8 minutes. Add garlic; cook 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Increase heat to medium-high.
2. Transfer all over to a rice cooker and add rices and thyme.
3. Stir in stock, salt, pepper, and bay leaves.
4. Set rice cooker to cook rice.
5. After rice is done stir in parsley.

What we liked:

This was a great rice recipe with lots of flavor!

What we didn't like:

Nothing, it was great. We would like to try making it in the dutch oven though as well, we just did not have one available, nor did we have the time to watch it while we were busy with other preparations. 

What Kaspian thought about it:

He liked the rice. 

Next time:

No Changes needed. 

Citrus and Butter Turkey

This citrus and butter turkey cooked relatively quickly and didn't require too much attention. We did a little bit more water to it though as the chicken broth evaporated. The cheesecloth worked surprisingly well to keep the turkey from burning and gave it a perfect golden skin! We had a slightly bigger turkey (about 17-18 lbs) than the recipe called for, but we just scaled everything by about 30% to account for it. It turned out great! We really just used the zest of the whole grapefruit, orange and lemon - we didn't measure it too closely, but this might also depend on the size of your citrus; ours were pretty big.

Here is the original recipe for Citrus and Butter Turkey http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/citrus-and-butter-turkey

Ready to carve!

Stuffed with citrus

Pouring the citrus butter over the turkey

Turkey with soaked cheesecloth

Citrus Butter 

Salt/Peppered Turkey

Ingredients:

One 16-18 lb-pound turkey, rinsed and patted dry
Salt
Black pepper
2 sticks unsalted butter
2 tablespoons finely grated grapefruit zest, plus 1/2 cup fresh grapefruit juice
2 tablespoons finely grated orange zest, plus 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest, plus 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
8 garlic cloves, finely grated or chopped
2 tablespoon minced thyme plus 5 sprigs
1 grapefruit, cut into wedges
1 orange, cut into wedges
1 lemon, cut into wedges
4-5 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth

Directions:

1. Season the turkey inside and out with salt and pepper. Transfer to a rack set in a roasting pan and let come to room temperature.

2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400°. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Whisk in the citrus zests and juices along with the garlic and minced thyme; let cool slightly. Transfer half of the citrus butter to a small bowl and refrigerate until spreadable. (We had to freeze for about 10 minutes as it was not solidifying in the fridge)

3. Run your fingers under the breast and thigh skin to loosen it, then spread the chilled butter under the skin and over the breast and thighs. Stuff the turkey cavity with the thyme sprigs and the grapefruit, orange and lemon wedges. Dampen an 18-by-18-inch double-layer piece of cheesecloth with water and squeeze dry. Soak the cheesecloth in the remaining citrus butter and drape it over the breast and legs; pour any remaining butter on top. (We had to use two cheesecloth pieces, one for each thigh/leg and half of breast)

4. Roast the turkey for about 30 minutes. Add the stock to the roasting pan and continue to roast for about 1 hour and 45 minutes longer, rotating the pan a few times, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the inner thigh registers 165°.

5. Carefully peel the cheesecloth off the turkey. Transfer the turkey to a board; let rest for 30 minutes. Skim the fat off the pan juices and transfer to a gravy bowl. Carve the turkey and serve with the pan juices.

What we liked:

This was one of the best turkeys we have had - it was moist and delicious. The only thing is that it did not have much of a "citrus" flavor. 

What we didn't like:

Nothing, it was great!

What Kaspian thought about it:

He was not too into the meat this holiday. 

Next time:

No change needed to this recipe. 

Thanksgiving 2016!

This Thanksgiving we tried out a few new recipes! Overall, it turned out delicious and we got to try out new recipes! The turkey turned out juicy and moist. We started cooking everything the morning of Thanksgiving, so nothing was prepared in advance.

We made:
Citrus and Butter Turkey http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/citrus-and-butter-turkey

Garlic Whipped Potatoes http://www.nickandalonakitchen.com/search/label/mashed%20potatoes

Supersavory Wild Rice Pilaf http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/supersavory-wild-rice-pilaf

Haricots verts with shallots and pine nuts http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/haricots-verts-shallots-pine-nuts

Sweet Potatoes with Toasted Marshmallow Swirls http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/sweet-potatoes-toasted-marshmallow-swirls

Mile High Cranberry Meringue Pie http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/mile-high-cranberry-meringue-pie

Cranberry Sauce - SUPER easy (1 bag cranberries - 1 cup sugar (vary to taste) and 2 oranges all blended up until desired consistency is reached!)


We will go in detail over each recipe in the following posts.

All on a plate!

Our Thanksgiving Feast

Turkey and Marshmallow Yams

Another view of the feast

We also had some turkeys come visit us while we were eating Thanksgiving dinner: 

Shrimp and Pasta with Garlic Shallots and Fried Radishes

We have always eaten radishes raw until we met a farmer at our local farmers market this summer who suggested we fry them. They are sooo good fried. They taste completely different and make a great side dish!
We tried a new garlic/shallot sauce for this pasta shrimp dish and it turned out really good as well. We had bought an elephant garlic and were using it in everything because, well it's just fun, but also the elephant garlic is a little different than the regular garlic. It has a different, more soft flavor to it. Also, it's fun to cut it up like an onion, since each piece is almost as big as a small onion!

Shrimp and Pasta with Garlic Shallots and Fried Radishes

Preparing the sauce

Delicious delicious radishes!

RADISHES!

Ingredients:

8 oz cooked angel hair pasta
8 oz shrimp
1 -2 shallots, chopped
4-5 cloves of garlic
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup white wine
salt to taste

1 bunch radishes - sliced
2 chopped green onions
salt and pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter

Directions:

1. Saute garlic and shallots in butter until soft.
2. Add shrimp and saute until shrimp are cooked.
3. Add white wine and let cook for a few minutes.
4. Add pasta and serve.

Radsihes:
1. heat up butter and olive oil in a frying pan
2. Add radishes, green onion and salt and pepper. Saute until radishes are soft. 

What we liked:

Great weeknight meal. Radishes were delicious!

What we didn't like:

Nothing, it was great. 

What Kaspian thought about it:

He liked the pasta

Next time:

No change needed

Seared Ahi Tuna Rice Bowl with Ginger Sauce

We combined a few recipes for this one. We are still trying to figure out the sauce that comes with the search tuna appetizer at a local restaurant here called Elephant Bar (if anyone knows how that sauce is made let us know!).This was really easy, simple and fast. Throw some rice to cook in the rice cooker - we didn't have any seasoned rice wine, so we substituted with some dry white wine (chardonnay + sugar) for the rice. It really adds flavor to it and changes the texture as well. The variations on this rice bowl are endless, you can add whatever ingredients you like!

Ingredients:

1 cup sushi rice
8 oz tuna steak
chives (optional)
sliced cucumbers
sesame seeds

Sauce:
2 oz fresh ginger
2 oz shallots
1/4 to 1/3 cup soy sauce (vary to taste)
1 - 2 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Set rice to cook in a rice cooker with water.
2. While rice is cooking prepare the sauce - combine all ingredients in a magic bullet or blender and blend until smooth.
3. For tuna - rinse and pat dry. On a plate, mix sesame seeds, salt and pepper and spread around. Roll the tuna in the mixture. Heat a frying pan to medium high- sear the tuna on each side about 1-2 minutes until pink in the middle but seared on the outside (cut a piece to test it).
4. Serve with Rice in a bowl topped with tuna, cucumber, chives and sauce. 

What we liked:

Very quick and delicious. The sauce turned out great too.

What we didn't like:

Nothing - it was great!

What Kaspian thought about it:

Kaspian liked the rice and cucumbers but we didn't offer him any fish.  

Next time:

Keep this sauce...but maybe try one with some orange in it?